ABSTRACT
Modern Healthcare Environments We live and work in a world where there are now many safety considerations which are part of everyday healthcare business-considerations that some see as barriers to leadership. It is not uncommon to hear people admiring those individuals such as Jeremy Clarkson from the BBC TV show Top Gear for his uncompromising attitudes towards most forms of political correctness. In a marketing sense for that programme, it is highly effective; as a tool to appeal to everyone’s frustration with endless rules and officious bureaucracy, it is also highly effective; and as a source of humorous connection to the audience, it is ideal. However, would you want to have him as a leader? He does not pretend to be that, nor does he advocate widely his style in fronting the Top Gear team, and in all truthfulness, he evokes responses from the public which encompass the complete spectrum of possible opinion towards him. This highlights the difference between recognition and leadership, and it is important that this distinction be kept in mind. It would seem that many modern politicians seek, not unreasonably, to ensure that they are recognised, and it is we who make the mistake of assuming that leadership and recognition are one and the same thing. This distinction is a key point and one which we hope might make you stop and think about leadership in a revised light. It should also lead you to consider that different environments, such as health care, as distinct from entertainment or business, require different attributes for their leaders.
