Leading from the middle: Constrained realities of clinical

leadership in healthcare organisations

ByMarin and Waring (2012)

Key points

• Healthcare organisations attempting to Increase leadership capacity

• Notably in ‘lower-status’ staff• Creating frontline leaders is seen as a means

of improving the quality of healthcare• Interview of 23 staff based in UK operating

theatres• Given new titles as ‘team leaders’

Results

• Participants were familiar with leadership theory

But• Felt constrained by management and

hierarchy within the organisation• As ‘leaders’, staff felt that they actually had no

influence on any change within their areas

Discussion……• What needs to change in order for healthcare

organisations to drive this new ‘breed’ of leaders to make change ?

Thinking points…..

• Do all organisations have the capacity to ‘look’ at themselves and identify what needs to change?

• If this involves financial investment…..can organisational wide changes actually happen?

• Do ‘old style’ ‘leaders’ need to move on?• As healthcare is driven by public demand,

politics and policy drivers, are these key stakeholders constraining change?