Time for leadership in the Health Service – Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Citation

(2009), "Time for leadership in the Health Service – Saïd Business School, University of Oxford", Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 22 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhs.2009.21122dab.001

Time for leadership in the Health Service – Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

Article Type: News and views From: Leadership in Health Services, Volume 22, Issue 4

Edited by Jo Lamb-White

Keywords: Leadership development, Organisational leadership, Leadership skills

“There has never been a stronger case for pausing to examine leadership issues in the healthcare sector”, said Professor Tim Morris, Director of the new Oxford Diploma in Organisational Leadership at Saïd Business School. “The public sector is a dynamic environment with the healthcare system perhaps being one of the most complex. Leaders in healthcare organisations are facing testing times and are increasingly required to provide greater effectiveness, innovation and efficiency so there is a continuing demand for the skills and expertise to drive these changes forward.”

Four senior health service executives and two doctors have recently completed the first module of the new Oxford Diploma in Organisational Leadership and have made time in their schedules to engage with critical leadership issues facing the health service. The programme draws together 30 participants from a wide range of roles in the public and private sectors to address the challenge of leading individuals and teams towards organisational effectiveness.

“This new programme is created very much with twenty-first century business challenges in mind”, said Professor Morris. “It explores the key determinants of organisational success from a leadership perspective. Its purpose is to equip practitioners with leadership skills and to help them develop a strategic approach to shaping and developing organisational structure to make the most of the leadership talent within their organisation.”

The programme participants are drawn from 14 countries from the USA to the Gulf. All bring a significant degree of experience with them, and they are united in wanting to develop their personal leadership abilities to help their organisations achieve their strategic goals.

Ovais Badat, one of the programme participants and Specialist Registrar in Psychiatry at 2gether NHS Trust recognises the benefits to both participants and employers: “Health professionals are often very well informed within their own skillset but are bound, through no fault of their own, into a circle of inflexibility. It is difficult to innovate when your profession thrives on stability. The first module of the Diploma has provided an understanding of how to invoke change and innovation within my organisation. Throughout the programme we have to work on a project based on one’s own organisational issues, testing the theories we learn along the way. It is likely that my project will become a viable service by the time I have designed and tested it, so the programme is not only of personal benefit to me, but is mirrored by a direct cost and service benefit to my employer.”

John Lee Operations Manager, Addenbrookes Hospital reflected that the first module had already gone some way to help him achieve his objectives. “This is an exceptionally well organised programme which feels personal, bespoke even, adapting to the needs of the students. Leaving the module I felt invigorated, motivated and ready to go back to the coal face. Armed with the arsenal of new knowledge and tools, I have already used much of what was covered in module one and look forward to the next.”

Professor Tim Morris said: “I am delighted that the first intake has benefited so clearly from the initial module of the Diploma. It is designed for managers who want to think more broadly about their business and the strategic issues they face. It is a programme with a distinct intellectual edge, designed to embed knowledge but also to question assumptions about management practice. It combines the highest standards of academic rigour – as you would expect from Oxford – with a practical approach to the study of strategic management, organisational development and design, and leadership, built from our extensive experience of developing leaders at the Business School. The programme will provide the insight and knowledge needed to help managers realise their leadership potential and harness it for the competitive advantage of the organisation.”

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