OPINION
iLeadership - not from Apple
predictable operating environment. In fact most management and leadership training assumes a world that oscillates between control and order and is quite rationale. I don’t believe we live in such a world; the real world oscillates between order and chaos. Just look at what is happening around you and whether it is Greek credit crisis, the immigrants at Calais trying to get to the UK or the team member who has just received bad news, as to what will happen next we do not truly know.
M
Likewise in pharmacy, what will Prescription for Excellence really look and feel like? What is the future role of the community pharmacist in 2020?
Naturally some people are more comfortable with chaos, others with order. However, by accepting that leadership is a dance between these two complimentary worlds your approach to leadership naturally tends to be more flexible, less controlling and more resilient.
Having practiced, observed and taught on the subject of leadership over the last 30 years, I have come to the conclusion that the best leaders practice consciously or subconsciously the five i’s of leadership. If leadership is about creating goals, giving a sense of direction and gaining the commitment of others, then leadership can be explained as a social process which enables people to make sense of where they are and where they are going. As a social process leadership is negotiated, sometimes tacitly and sometimes explicitly because it is not enough to offer direction, as that direction has to be accepted. In this social process, formal authority, as such, is not necessarily leadership and in fact can be a barrier to leadership in
42 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST
any organisations and companies teach leadership which is based on a rational and
some organisations and cultures.
These five i’s of leadership enable this social, negotiated and evolving approach to leadership to flourish and become a real differentiator. So what are the five i’s:
• Integrity • Inspiration • Influential • Imagination • Intuition
Integrity - put simply this is about doing what you say you will do. It is about doing the right thing when no one was looking and thereby building trust with people. It is about living your life based on your own inner scorecard and not an external scorecard founded on others views and perceptions. It is about being true to yourself and knowing your strengths and weaknesses. In fact management of self is key to integrity; knowing what you want, where you are going and why, is the foundation on which your principles and standards are based.
Inspiration - this is not about being ‘yeeha’, being an extrovert or measured by the ability to give rousing speeches. It is about being true to something that really matters. It comes across in story telling, your ability to make connections, your ability to make conscious choices rather than reactive choices, inspiring people to achieve more than they ever thought was possible. Building peoples self belief, self esteem and belief in a better place, way of working or situation. In other words, ‘It’ll all be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end’.
Influential - this is about providing meaning and direction to generate action and get people moving. To do this a successful leader needs to network, be a good ambassador and by doing so they can better
understand others views, values and prepare the ground for commitment. It is about having a willingness to listen to people you don’t necessary agree with. It is about asking more questions and giving fewer answers.
Imagination - people follow dreams, not action plans. This is the ability to think about possibilities and options rather than just KPI’s and next steps. Your ability to make connections for people, to be able to bring meaning to their role and contribution, for them to be able to understand and buy-in to how they contribute to the bigger picture. Likewise the ability to imagine one’s self in another person’s place is very important to social relations and understanding of situations and context. Albert Einstein said, ‘Imagination …. is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world’.
Intuition - in a world of big data, where we have more KPI’s and information than we need, how do you make sense of it all. Sometimes the numbers say one thing and you think the other. Intuition is the ability to see beyond the numbers and the reasoning/proof to understand the wider context. Intuition needs to be managed, as you need to consciously challenge your thinking and insights. You need to be aware of how your past experiences, culture and motives can impact on your thought processes and decisions.
Being both a pharmacy leader and leadership practitioner, I understand the difference between theory and practice and the importance of making learning practical and applicable back in the day job. Remember that everything is created twice. Firstly there is the mental creation followed by the physical doing or second creation. By understanding how to bring the five i’s alive you can have a transformational approach to
leadership. It is really important at this time of considerable change in Scottish pharmacy that we reflect on our approach, learn from each other and rise to the challenge. Now, more than any other time I can remember in my 30 years in pharmacy, we truly need great leaders who can maximise the opportunity that Prescription for Excellence offers us. •
Mark Douglas is a community pharmacist, a management & leadership development specialist and a business mentor with a proven track record of delivering significant business improvements and results. His business, Blue Ptarmigan, works across the UK and partners businesses and individuals to ‘unlock their potential and unleash profitable growth’.
Mark has a breadth of experience working with business owners and managers, which has been gained from an extensive and wide-ranging career. In addition, he is an associate lecturer with Dundee Business School and a business mentor and coach with the Princes Trust.
Contact Details: Email:
markdouglas@blueptarmigan.com Mobile: 07720-699869 Website:
www.blueptarmigan.com
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