Leadership in healthcare education

 

Background

Leadership has many interpretations, and has been lik-

ened to “the abominable snowman whose footprints are

everywhere but who is nowhere to be seen” [1]. It is an in-

fluential process, through which groups of people work

towards the achievement of a common goal [2]. Leaders

have the ability to shape and influence their followers’

values, attitudes and behaviours through a dyadic rela-

tionship. They are able to gain and enlist the support of

others in order to achieve shared goals [3, 4]. Effective

leadership is a complex and highly valued component of

healthcare education, increasingly recognised as essential

to the delivery of high standards of education, research

and clinical practice.

Management versus leadership

Management and leadership are considered just as important

as each other in accomplishing organisational goals. How-

ever, there are differences in the functions of the two roles.

Management produces order and consistency, while leader-

ship produces change and movement .

Transactional and transformational leadership

Leadership is a social construct, and there are many different

leadership models [6]. Two broad types of leadership are

identifiable: “transactional” and “transformational”. And their

respective features are a useful way to think about the many

types of leadership.

Transformational leadership

Since the introduction of transformational leadership, the

concept of leadership has undergone a major shift from

representing an authoritative relationship (transactional), to a

process of influencing individuals.