The words ‘leader’ and ‘manager’ are not synonyms of each other, although there is common ground between the two roles. I became a ‘manager’ (nominally ‘supervisor’) for the first time, aged 22, when I was appointed to a job above the lowest level of a hierarchy. I only really began to become a leader later. There was an intermediate state which I would describe as being a ‘group advocate’, representing the collective views and interests of a group but without necessarily overly pressing my own ideas. But the critical aspect, which for me encapsulates leadership, is the ability to inspire people to follow you.
I have completed many training events which purported to teach aspects of leadership. These include
- Lead and manage change in health and social care. Open University. OpenLearn. Level 3 Advanced. Completed 2018.
- Coaching Skills Workshop. Cumbria Learning and Improvement Collaborative (CLIC). 2017
- Improving Leaders. CLIC. 3 day course. 2017
- Successful Team Leadership Masterclass. Prof Stephen Singleton. CLIC. 2017
- Making an Impact and Influencing
Change. CLIC. 2016
- Leadership Development programme. Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. 10 one day workshops 2009
On reflection, much of the NHS training seems to have been as much about management, or influencing skills, as about leadership in the purer sense. The focus is predominantly on 'leading your team' rather than leading beyond your team.
Arguably, these days, the term 'leadership' is being overused to the point where it is losing its meaning and being absorbed into the vocabulary of 'management speak'.(and in management speak 'leader' and 'manager' apparently can be synonyms of each other). For example, I may hear a colleague refer to having 'led a team through a major transformation' when to an outside observer there seemed little more than that they were in post when a change was underway.
Successful management leans heavily on leadership skills. This is at its most essential when attempting to manage volunteers, which I have done in two previous roles (as an archaeologist, when running a mental health voluntary organisation). I have also worked as a volunteer and observed the leadership that I was inspired to follow. It takes effort and skill to recruit, retain and motivate volunteers. Unlike paid employees on a contract, if volunteers are unimpressed they can simply walk away. The critical leadership skill here seems to me to be the ability to transmit a genuine passion and belief in the value of a common cause. It is something which I would say is nearly impossible to feign, certainly for any length of time longer than a job interview. People are adept at spotting a fake. Any leader, or manager, will struggle, increasingly, if they 'lose the dressing room'
Reflecting on my own exercise of leadership skills, I see that I operate in two different modes, which loosely mirror extravert and introvert personality types.
In my extravert mode, my leadership behaviour is tangible and explicit. For example, when I led Carlisle MIND, I proposed and drove a significant shift in the purpose, focus and activities of the organisation. I championed user empowerment and user representation in statutory service planning. Some members of the organisation, notably some of those who also held statutory sector roles, were uncomfortable with the shift. So, to succeed, I had both to mobilise support and counter opposition. I was elected and successively re-elected as Chair of the organisation. I think the main reason for this was that I believed 100% in the direction we were taking. I learnt a lot about leadership at this time.
In my introvert mode, my leadership behaviour is more subtle and often may not even be recognised by many colleagues. This can include pressing for the adoption of my own ideas or for the introduction of good practice which I have encountered elsewhere. I appear to think in a different way to many colleagues. One side of this is a flow of ideas, such as the eCPA system, a digital innovation used by my NHS organisation for 15 years. I had the vision, developed a prototype as a 'proof of concept', then obtained senior management backing and IT help to implement and develop the product further. My approach here seems incremental, enrolling support slowly. Sometimes, for the ideas to be taken forward, it is even necessary to allow selected senior people to believe - or at least claim- that they have thought of them. Rather than present the ideas as a 'sales pitch' headed by myself, I convince influential individuals who then back and propel the ideas for me.
Recently, I have enrolled on a course (M.Sc. Digital Transformation Specialist, University of Northumbria) one module of which is 'Technical and Digital Leadership'. This course forces me to consider whether I think that there is a significant difference between 'Digital Leadership' and 'Leadership' in the wider, general sense.
Cleary, there can be a space, and a need, for 'Digital Champions' in many organisations. Recognising the potential of digital technology, suggesting, promoting, driving its use, are all leadership activities.
Can a Digital Leader refuse to transact non-digitally, or disengage from non-digital projects? The natural end point for a such an extreme form of digital leader would be to completely replace themselves with an 'Artificial Intelligence' application, leaving as a legacy a product which would continue to tweet its own suggestions long after they had gone.
A real-world Digital Leader has to accept the imperfect current state whilst always striving for improvement. Reach may always exceed grasp, vision extend beyond the immediately obtainable. It helps to chip away at organisational culture by demonstrating as many new digital ways of working as possible. But going too far too fast risks being dismissed as a 'gadget man', the 'nerd' trap. And it is important to recognise that sometimes a non digital solution may be quicker and more flexible (for example a pencil and a sheet of A3 paper often outguns any computer application - in my hands anyhow). So a Digital Leader needs a deep understanding not only of digital possibilities but also about the readiness of the organisation to respond to them.
In terms of seeing and selling the big digital vision, this is not really different to how ideas have been promoted and implemented for centuries. A good understanding of digital technology is a great help, But it may not be the major requirement for such a role.
My LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/edgar-bolton-7a992b25/
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