ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors look in more detail at the qualities required of leaders. They address the types of skills required to enable robust leadership. Leadership skills, like assertiveness skills, can be learned and developed. Good leadership is crucial as it can transform the performance of the organisation. New and more robust leadership will be expected as primary care takes the commissioning lead within the NHS. It is hoped that as the NHS matures into the functions expected of it, the clinicians leading the commissioning process will respect the skills of, and rely on, their managers to support the process. Bureaucratic leadership is characterised by hierarchical organisation and delineated lines of authority in a fixed area of activity, with any action taken on the basis of, and recorded in, written rules. Leadership is about sharp interpersonal communication skills.
