Leading Change in Health and Social Care

By Vivien Martin.
Routledge
ISBN 0415305462
£17.99

Management is no longer fashionable – leadership is the current buzzword, so Martin’s book is timely. The distinction is between the classic management tasks of planning, budgeting, staffing, controlling and problem-solving; and the leadership role concerned with establishing a vision, sense of direction and inspiring change. In reality, the two are different sides of the same coin. Vision unsupported by systems and organisation is a recipe for disaster. 

The reader is taken through the process of leadership including learning how to learn, creative thinking, dealing with stress, and the development of an organisational learning culture. What is so good about the book is the comprehensive range of theories of leadership discussed, the summaries of key texts, the variety of helpful exercises for self-development, and the presentation of the whole work in a clear and accessible style. 

The work does not draw exclusively from health and social care in its examples, but locates leadership in those fields in the broader context of organisational development. It is unusual in that it is relevant both to students and senior managers, and many in between. Leading Change in Health and Social Care deserves to be widely read. 

Terry Bamford is chairperson, Kensington and Chelsea Primary Care Trust.