Most leadership development activity in health and social care has been intra-organisational or confined to a particular sector. However, there is increasing recognition of the need to move beyond simple collaboration and partnership and work towards different models of care which involve addressing the whole health and social care system. This is particularly important when addressing complex and 'wicked' problems in a time of resource scarcity.
This book provides a much-needed guide for individuals, professionals, and organisations making the shift towards working in radically different ways in this current climate. It provides a rationale for systems leadership, describing the basic underlying principles behind it and their origins, and explores the various aspects of it, with particular emphasis on the development of systems leaders in health and social care. It also captures good practice, which is illustrated by a number of case studies, and suggests further reading on the topic.
Combining theory with practice, this book will be essential reading for those studying on courses in public service, public policy, health and social care, as well as policymakers and professionals interested in honing best practice.
1. What do we mean by systems leadership and why is it needed?
2. Systems leadership
3. Developing systems leadership
4. Systems leaders leading change
5. The challenge of evaluating systems leadership
6. Four journeys to systems leadership
7. Vignettes and personal accounts
8. Lessons learned
9. And finally…
Further exploration and reading
Biography
John Edmonstone is a leadership, management and organisation development consultant in public services in the UK and internationally with over 25 years' experience in the human resources and organisation development field in the UK NHS, local government and higher education. John is also Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the School of Public Policy & Professional Practice, Keele University, UK.
