What role can education play in developing leadership?

Abstract

© 2 01 4 M A H ea lth ca re L td T here is only one profession other than nursing that constantly seems to be in the glare of public scrutiny over the quality of their practice and that is social work. Indeed, in spite of the untold success stories of millions of people benefitting from our health and social care services, social workers and nurses seem to be in competition when it comes to the media portrayal of public criticism. There appears to be a burning desire to identify someone to point the finger at in an attempt to seek public recrimination for the regrettable, exceptional cases of poorquality service. Nevertheless, some individuals are blameworthy, so what is it in our ‘systems’ that places a professional caregiver in a position where they act contrary to their own fundamental beliefs and values, and what place does education have in shaping the decisionmaking in such circumstances? Reflecting back on the host of high-profile reports of scandalous failures of care in recent years, epitomised in the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust inquiry, Robert Francis (2013) highlights the lasting physical and emotional damage we, as professionals, can cause when things go wrong. For me, the most striking aspect of the report was the presence of an “unhealthy and dangerous culture” (Francis 2013: 1360) and its link with leadership. Francis (2013: 1348) remarks “it is a truism that organisational culture is informed by the nature of its leadership”, observing that there was a significant lack of quality leadership at Mid Staffordshire. So, understanding the role of leadership in an organisational culture that allowed hundreds of patients to die unnecessarily seems key to accepting what needs changing and how education can play a role in supporting such change. If leadership holds such a key role in the culture of an organisation, it suggests that the development of leadership skills should hold an important place at an early stage in the developing professional’s preparation. Of course, this begs the question of whether leadership skills can actually be taught. The NHS seems to have invested heavily in leadership education and training, mainly at the post-qualifying level, Elizabeth Rosser