The future of most organisations relies on finding a balance between these two vital roles, writes Nicholas Bradbury of the NHS Leadership Academy
It’s not unusual to hear people talking about the importance of having both great managers and leaders inside an organisation. Indeed, Nigel Edwards from the Nuffield Trust published a very interesting blog recently on the subject, which emphasised that, although leadership is important, our obsession with it has obscured the importance of effective management and administration. But when it comes to defining what each role entails, the lines become a little blurred.
Managers must know their subject. So, for example, if you’re clinical lead for a hospital and you’re also a manager, you need to know what you’re talking about – you need clinical expertise in your given area.
Being a leader is all about interpersonal skills; they show you to be open-hearted, generous, warm and caring. If you can do that, even if you’re the toughest of managers, known for taking a firm line, you can still be respected, admired and appreciated. A great leader is a developed and evolved human being with empathy, who wants to empower their team and delegate to grow new leaders.
Go to any organisation and listen to people talking about their manager and you soon understand what matters to them. Does their manager have genuine leadership skills and authenticity as a human being? Do they welcome them and treat them as a person and not just a role? Do they look them in the eye and listen to them? You can be a fantastically capable manager, but, if you’re not also a wonderful leader, you’re quickly going to alienate everyone in your team and beyond.
The NHS Leadership Academy recognises that as soon as you’re in a formal ‘leadership’ role you need management skills as well. That’s why, in our programmes, there isn’t a clear distinction.
So what’s stopping us from combining the two elements in our everyday roles?
Small-picture thinking
First, we’re still prioritising our own organisation rather than the system as a whole. This is short-sighted and not good for patients, staff or citizens.
Lack of ownership
It’s ok to admit what we don’t know but we feel frightened that ‘coming clean’ will mean we won’t be respected. It’s actually the opposite. It’s important that we move towards a culture of acceptance, not fear.
Red tape
Regulators are currently a barrier to successful system leadership in the NHS, as research from The King’s Fund recently revealed. Rather than encouraging each organisation to just act independently and compete on its own terms, we need to encourage a whole-system approach with every Trust working towards the same end-goal.
Lack of trust
Leadership works on the fundamental assumption that systems can only move forward where there is complete trust. You can’t have system collaboration without everyone coming together and believing and trusting in the same end-goal. It’s about overcoming rivalries and fear of giving up power by sharing.
Nicholas Bradbury is senior associate at the NHS Leadership Academy