March, 2013 | The Three Levels of Leadership

A Brief Look At Charismatic Leadership

Posted on March 19, 2013 by James Scouller

The purpose of this short article is to give you a bite-sized insight into charismatic leadership. So what is charismatic leadership?

It’s the name given to a particular leadership style – in other words, it describes the behaviour of a certain category of leaders.

The term “charismatic leadership” draws on the word “charisma”, which comes from the Greek language and means “gift”.

Thus, charismatic leadership relies on a leader’s personality gifts to influence others and shape their future. Such gifts can include great wisdom or insight, heroism, extraordinary certainty about the future and perhaps even the claim of a direct link to God.

However, charismatic leadership demands more than just an exceptional personality. Continue reading →

Leadership, Culture Change and the NHS

Posted on March 7, 2013 by James Scouller

This is my longest article since I started the blog two years ago. That’s because it’s dealing with a tough, complex subject – how to change the culture and performance of the NHS following the recent spate of scandals and the hundreds of unnecessary deaths in mid-Staffordshire.

Background

If you’re not British or living in the UK you might not know what the NHS is or why it’s hitting the headlines right now. So let me explain. The National Health Service (NHS) – launched in the UK in 1948 and funded by taxation – offers free medical treatment at the point of delivery. So for example if you go to a NHS hospital for surgery, you won’t have to pay. But the NHS is caught in a scandal that’s hitting the headlines and isn’t going away. Continue reading →

Leadership Styles Quickly Explained

Posted on March 6, 2013 by James Scouller

The term “leadership styles” is often used interchangeably with “leadership models”. However, for me, leadership styles are different from leadership models. I see “leadership styles” as referring to descriptions of the ways in which real-life leaders behave… whereas leadership models are ideas about how to be effective in action as a leader.