ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews approaches to leadership, and behavioural leadership which includes autocratic leadership, democratic leadership, laissez-faire leadership and situational leadership. A good leader must be able to know their followers in terms of ability, knowledge, desire and willingness. Rigolosi related leadership to contemporary healthcare by claiming that all healthcare professionals are leaders in some form, relating closely to the concept of self-leadership, particularly relevant to those autonomous practitioners that work in primary or intermediate care. Effective leadership is essential to the optimal functioning of clinical practice. The Royal College of Nursing runs a clinical leadership programme to help practitioners develop patient-centred leadership strategies to cope with day-to-day management. It claims that clinical leaders who have attended the course have been converted to adapt their leadership styles, with improvements in patient care and working relationships, which suggests that leadership style and emotional intelligence can be taught.
