Leadership styles: how flexible are you?
“How would you describe your leadership style?”
It’s the kind of question which can throw the most brilliantly qualified and technically competent clinician, whose career to date has been built on exactly those attributes. But there comes a time when being brilliant is not enough.
The question causes alarm because most people don’t have time to pause, and think about how they have got something done through other people. What did they say? How did they say it? What else did they do? What impact did it have on the recipient? Most people are unaware of how they actually get things done – they just get on with it, and there is little time to think about the impact they’re having on those around them. But in fact the leadership style – or styles – that people use, are largely responsible for the success or otherwise that they experience.