Editor's comment: Taking the lead

The 3 Feb issue of Frontline offers some examples of CSP members who have taken on leadership roles – not least Claire Madsen, who appears on the cover.

 

Many books have been written on – and careers made by people who develop theories about – leadership. You don’t have to be head of your department or service to lead those in your team, though it does, of course, help.

 

You may be a support worker or student who sees an unmet need, garners support for a response, and brings about change from the bottom up.

 

And if you work outside the NHS, the skills for running a successful business may not necessarily give you the listening skills that are part of a leader’s toolkit.

 

Those of you working in the NHS will know that it adopted a ‘command and control’ approach to management at its inception. This was adopted from the military. But, as anyone in the forces could tell you, managing and leading are very different skills.

 

The CSP offers members some of the resources they need to become leaders of the profession through its Physiotherapy Works campaign. Many of you took the chance to take part in seminars, and more resources are planned.

 

You may feel it’s inappropriate to put your head above the parapet (and I wonder if that’s something women have tended to do less frequently than men). But plenty of people in the healthcare field have done just that in the past. Now it’s your turn!