The government has launched what it calls the ‘most far-reaching review’ of NHS leadership since the Griffiths report of the early 1980s. The history of the NHS is littered with such reports, many forgotten without trace. Both the timing and the terms of reference are curious. Has the Secretary of State asked himself whether such […]
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Leadership through adversity by Prof Keith Chappell
I believe most scientists are driven by the goal of making a positive difference in the world. That is certainly true of my team. Last year we had a shot at achieving that goal. Our team at the University of Queensland was one of the first groups tasked with creating a vaccine for the novel […]
‘Sometimes being invisible isn’t helpful’ by Jim Thomas
There is something about invisibility that has always appealed to me and at its best I have always thought the best social care support is invisible. What I mean by this is that when social care support is going well, it sits there in the background, always making sure it is the voice of the […]
We need True Leadership During the Pandemic by Hong Wai Onn
Leadership is just not about the title or power; Leaders need to be bold, brave, daring, open, vulnerable, and sensitive, in order to lead wisely. However, the true test of effective leadership in an organisation is not how they perform in good times, but more in times of crisis, such as the Coronavirus outbreak; which […]
Floodlights by Rich Taunt
Why have a lightbulb moment when you can have a floodlit one? Picture it. You’re out after dark. Somewhere a switch is flicked, a floodlight comes on, and your view suddenly changes. Then another lights up, and another. How you thought the world looked is now completely different. We talk about lightbulb moments: that sudden […]
Bearing Witness – a new digital campaign connects healthcare workers in the UK with their peers in Humanitarian Disasters by Hesham Abdalla
Humanitarian disasters seem pervasive in the news, with Afghanistan being only the latest in a long list of devastating events. When reading and watching accounts of these crises however, I often find myself swiping past them, shutting out the victims’ pain that would otherwise be overwhelming. The stress is particularly acute amongst Healthcare professionals working […]
My experience as a Hexitime ambassador by Myra Malik
This is the second blog in a series about timebanking. You can read the first blog here. In the midst of a global pandemic where life has been turned upside down, where we have our own worries and concerns, there has been an outpouring of understanding of just how interconnected we are as individuals in […]
Three lessons by Dipit Sahu
Three lessons to be remembered from the second wave as we unlock in India: COVID-appropriate norms will be soon forgotten, leadership by city administrators can make a big difference, and the virus will never leave us until everyone is immune The second COVID-19 wave in India was a significant learning experience about the Indian population’s […]
‘Magical Meander’: Walking the tightrope…
This is the eighth part of the BMJ Leader blog series written anonymously by “Magical Meander”, a medical manager working in the NHS, to help align perspectives and build understanding of medical management across these two professions. As with so many management decisions, there isn’t really a bible to tell you what to do. Instead experience […]
Heroes and kryptonite by Katrina Sheikh and Partha Kar
Challenging the narrative Leadership has always had an odd aura around it- the vision of the hero standing tall, protecting the rest, putting themselves at risk- yet never quite being seen to be fallible. It’s the pictures that are created in our mind which form the narrative- whether it be history, popular culture or indeed […]