Evaluation of Leadership Development Programme of National Health Service

In this regard, the essay below is based on concept of leadership and management, which would be discussing these concepts, along with their similarities and differences. Moreover, the essay would also be focusing on discussion of relevant theories related to these elements in form of a literature review. On the other hand, the essay would also be exploring the evaluation of leadership development programme of National Health Service, which is one of the biggest and most recognised healthcare organisations within the United Kingdom. This would be covering an appropriate selection of the leadership development programme adopted by the NHS Leadership academy and analysis of the same along with reviewing its components. In addition to this, identification and evaluation of the benefits of this leadership programme on individuals and the organisation itself.

DISCUSION OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT LITERATURE

Concept of Leadership

Leadership could be referred to as a research area for individuals, as well as an effective skill, which is inclusive of the capabilities of a person in order to leader, guide and direct individuals, groups and teams within a company towards achieving their organisational objectives. This concept is highly valuable within an organisation or senior individuals to follow and implement as it requires development of an appropriate vision, along with creation of focus upon which individuals working within the company would be directed towards. Moreover, leadership also has a prominent role of guidance provided by the seniors to their subordinates that is subjected towards helping them throughout accomplishing their jobs (Liphadzi, Aigbavboa and Thwala, 2017).

There are certain features which are associated with leadership and are important to be analysed in order to effectively understand this this concept effectively. One feature in this regard is that this aspect is related to influencing individuals' behaviour and aligning the same in order to achieve a common goal or purpose. Another feature of leadership is that it is an inter-personal procedure, meaning that it takes place within a leader and subordinates and its success is highly dependant upon the the effectiveness and efficiency of how the targets of the company are being met.

Concept of Management

Management is a concept with multiple definitions and ideology due to being a wider perspective than leadership. It means the procedure of planning and forecasting the functions, organising resources, commanding groups, coordinate the operations, as well as controlling of the deliverables and outcomes. This element within the company is one of the main reasons for its success as it provides a structure to the company and its operations, along with ensuring collectivity by coordinating the functions, operations, equipments and people of the organisation. Management also provides directions to individuals and managers towards achieving the short as well as long-term targets, which drives the organisation towards growth and sustainability in markets in which it operates (Kutz, 2018).

There are certain features of management which makes it a rather required and imperative approach within a company. An effective feature related to this element is that it is result-oriented. This means that the goal of management is to derive best and anticipated results within the organisation, rather than emphasising upon the processes which are adopted by the company to accomplish those objectives. Another feature of management is that it is a never ending process. As per this factor, management is incepted and carries on till an organisation's dissolution. This is because management is subjected towards each and every goal of the company which keeps on changing as per the scale and growth of the business organisation.

Similarities and Differences between Leadership and Management

Management and Leadership are concepts that could be used within professional and academic contexts as well (Kok and McDonald, 2017). However, they are very much similar and different from one another, which is essential to be analysed so that these concepts could be understood in a better manner. Thus, below is a detailed exploration of similarities and differences between leadership and management.

As for similarities, leadership and management have several things in common. For instance, one similar factor within both these components are surround around people of the organisation. This means that their application and implementation is subjected towards getting the work done by employees within the company in a sound and efficient manner. Another similarity within both these concepts is that both of them contribute within the organisation in context of creating a firm structure of the same. In addition to this, another similarity in this regard is that leadership and management are responsible within the organisation to in context of allocation of resources in a manner which could increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation.

However, apart from the similarities, there are several differences that are associated with the concepts of leadership and management as well. One such difference within these factors is that the focus on management is upon getting the work done by exercising authority and power upon the subordinates within the organisation. However, leadership is directed towards supporting and motivating the individuals in order to achieve the set goals and targets within the company. A study by Musgrave, (2014) supports this pointer, while the managers see the operational functions to achieve materialistic activities; leaders take a social approach towards supporting those functions within the organisation. Another difference between the concepts of management and leadership is that the former is subjected towards reaction to the changes happening within the business environment of the firm. On the other hand, the latter is responsible for bringing the change within the company which is necessary for growth of the company, along with its higher sustainability. Leaders create a vision for employees within the company towards the standards that are necessary to be achieved, along with providing them information about the changes that are necessary to facilitate those changes. However, managers just set the criteria for the change and bring in methods and processes that would be imperative to adopt and implement (Lai and Cheung, 2015). In addition, a prominent divergence within these factors is that management is surrounded with a structured and proper exercising of power over individuals working within the firm. Whereas, leadership empowers the organisation's employees, through providing they better opportunities, learning and development, as well as motivation through different schemes.

According to Wajdi, (2017), the major element which separates the concept of management and leadership is upon the application. While he believes that both these factors contain several elements in common, however, they are applied in two different scenarios. For example, the skills related to management are used for planning, building, as well as directing the organisational systems in relation to achieve goals, whereas the skills within leadership are applied to emphasise on the change which is conducted through providing a direction, aligning employees and motivating them. The author here focused more on its application rather than its contextual differences, which is a positive aspect as contextually, it is quite complex to find any pointers of difference.

In contrast to this viewpoint, Edwards and et. al., (2015), emphasised more upon the exercising of authority and power within both these elements to draw differences between management and leadership. While this study is based on performance of both these functions, but it highlights the role and scope of these performances. For instance, for the concept related to management, managers become leaders when it comes to bringing and directing the firm towards change. The same is performed by leaders for leadership. However, the extent up to which the former takes place is higher than the latter. The reason for this is because while management is required to enhance the application of leadership, leadership is implemented to support management. Hence, this emphasises on the differences of both these concepts.

However, this idea is a bit problematic when it is directed towards various industries and companies having different sizes. For example, companies in manufacturing with large scale operations could see this difference in their existing practices. However, the same could be said for hospitality organisation where managers are responsible for both management and leadership. Similarly, a large scale companies might have enough human resources for the same, however, smaller businesses see these concepts collectively and hence, and the concept of power is eradicated.

Thus, the above evaluation is associated with the concepts, similarities and differences of management and leadership, both of which are very much effective and important in context of enhancing the growth of the firm, along with productivity of employees (Hallinger, 2018).

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Leadership Theories

The concept of leadership is highly imperative for an organisation to follow in order to motivate, empower and encourage employees to work at par with the expectation of company. However, delivering leadership is one of the most complex activities with individuals in top and middle management have to experience and implement. Moreover, organisational psychology has been very much keen in context of analysing the concept of leadership and what makes an effective leader. Hence, for this purpose, it is imperative that several leadership theories are analysed so that the application of this concept, along with elements which make a good leader are more effectively understood.

One of the most commonly used theories in relation to leadership is Contingency Theory. There are several schools of thought upon the notion in which this theory works.

According to Fiedler, (2015), Contingency Theory works on the notion that there is no specific way in which leadership could be delivered by the organisation. Rather, success of seniors within the organisation in delivering leadership is dependent upon several situations. Moreover, there are specific factors and components which decide as to what approach must leaders adopt in order to deal with a specific situation. Some of these factors influencing the leadership are inclusive of the activity or the task that is required by the employees to perform, along with the leader's personality and formation of teams for that particular task. All these aspects are very much effective and essential to be analysed by leaders to determine the kind of approach that must be adopted by them in order to deal with different scenarios within the organisation (Kantanen and et. al., 2017).

Moreover, the main argument that is derived by this theory is that effective leadership must have effective professional relations between the employees and employers. Moreover, the activities provided to the subordinates must have precise objectives and processes. Along with this, another supporting factor in this regard is that leader of the company must also be very much effective in managing rewards, as well as punishments within the firm. If each of these elements are not met by the leader, then leadership within the organisation would fail.

The display above is Least Preferred Co-worker (LPC) scale, which is associated with rankings provided by the leader with respect to the traits which are least preferred by the leader. Hence, this is one situation in which the leader must choose the kind of leadership style which supports the cooperation of individuals (Huber, 2017).

According to the viewpoints of Robertson, (2015), the contingency theory, particularly, the one provided by Fielder has several advantages. For instance, one such advantage related to this theory is that it contributes within the flexibility of how leadership and management are provided within the organisation. This is because it introduces the managers and leaders of the company with the concept of flexibility, which is necessary to mould the leadership style as per the situations and attitudes of employees within the company. Another advantage of this theory is that the opinions, mindset and preferences of employees are quite effectively considered within this theory and delivering the leadership. Thus, in order to be an effective leader as per this theory, leaders are required to mould their leadership style as per situations and people.

Another theory in regards to the management is Transformational Leadership. According to the viewpoints of Burkus, (2020), this leadership approach emphasises on how valuable, as well as contributing change could be brought within an organisation. As the name suggest, the notion on which this theory works is associated with transformation of the mindset, and goals of others to align the same within the organisational objectives.

As per Towler, (2020), leaders of a contemporary organisation must bring in new ways and transform the functioning of the companies by providing unique, innovative and new approach. Hence, in this context, there are four main components of transformational leadership. The first element is individualised consideration, which is associated with the extent to which the needs of subordinates are attended by the leader. Hence, seniors within the organisation must appropriately take the opinions and concerns of employees into account and must ensure background and situation within each individual. Another component is inspirational motivation, which refers to the degree to which the vision is articulated and inspires individuals within the organisation. This enhances the encouragement levels within the organisation in order to invest their potential more effectively within the company in an appropriate and effective manner. Idealised influence is another component which requires leaders to showcase effective and ethical behaviour within the company which inspires and influences individuals within the organisation to work in the same manner. This is because this theory contains the fact that subordinates are likely to be appropriately and effectively be influenced by their leaders, which requires the latter to follow their ethical code of conduct quite seriously (Hallinger and Hammad, 2019). The last element in this regard is Intellectual Stimulation, which refers to the extent up to which the assumptions and uncertainties are challenged by the leader. Furthermore, the degree of risk taking is also inclusive within this factor. Hence, while the new approaches are tried and implemented by the subordinates, leaders within the company are responsible to support them effectively by using effective and innovative approaches. Hence, this approach is very crucial for an organisation in order to bring appropriate and effective changes within the company and transform the same effectively.

EVALUATION OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Importance of leadership training and development

Leadership training is important so that leaders can acquire the abilities which help them in communicating, inspiring and encouraging the employees of organisation which help them in completing their work efficiently. Training and development of leaders help in enhancing their leadership qualities so that they can influence and persuade team members which help in accomplishing goals and objectives of company on time (Murray, 2017). These programmes are important for company so that employees can be effectively directed and motivated by leaders which help in gaining a competitive advantage in market. Further company performance can be improved as employees can be motivated to increase customer satisfaction which thereby increases company sales. Also talented employees can be retained in company through effective leadership which can help in saving the cost of frequent recruitment and selection of employees. Effective leadership thus can be developed through these programmes which help in building strong brand image in market and increasing job satisfaction of employees.

Thus it is important for NHS to effectively train and develop their leaders which can help in boosting up their leadership skills which is important to effectively monitor, control and direct the work of employees. NHS is a large public healthcare organisation which needs strong leaders to monitor the work of this organisation which can be made possible through training and development programmes so that delegation of work to team members, setting of clear and achievable goals etc. can be done efficiently. Also the leaders can help in ensuring that best quality of healthcare services are provided to patients which help in increasing the goodwill of organisation and attracting funds for further development of company. The training programmes of leadership also help in acquiring new knowledge through which innovative and creative ideas of doing work can be developed which can help in improving the work quality of employees. Thus teams can be made more efficient in dealing with patients which is important to improve their health and give them best quality of services which help in increasing their satisfaction (Oshagbemi, 2017).

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Analysis of programme and review of its components

The leadership development programme which is selected for NHS is Mary Seacole programme which was given by Korn Ferry Hay Group so as to develop the skills and knowledge in leadership and management. This programme help in training and development of first time leaders in healthcare so that they can motivate their team members, set shared goals and handle conflicts in an efficient manner (Weiss, Tappen and Grimley, 2019). This programme helps in integrating the learning process with practical implementation of knowledge so that team members can be lead in an efficient manner. The programme provide various benefits both to the individual and organisation as it help in enhancing the leadership qualities which help them to motivate workers so that they can perform in a particular manner. As the number of efficient leaders in company increase the workforce can be managed and directed efficiently so that company goals are achieved on time. The various components of this programme are:

• Structure of programme: The programme is six months duration with 12 units of study which are taught online. The units are organised into two-week study block which help in scheduling the online learning of leaders. This makes learning easy and convenient which means that learning can be done as per the convenience of leaders. Also the structure of programme is simple which helps in enhancing the learning process (Swanwick and McKimm, 2017).
• First time leaders: The programme is focused on first time leaders in healthcare which means that learning is done from the basic level which helps in gaining complete information about how leaders can manage and direct the work of team members. This help in making learning effective and simple and helps in overall development of leaders.
• Face-to-face behavioural workshops: These workshops are held four weeks after the programme officially starts and there are eight weeks between each subsequent workshop. These workshops help in overall learning of leaders as they provide face-to-face assessment of their capabilities so that improvements can be made and leadership skills can be acquired which are important to direct the work of team members.

Eligibility criteria: The programme is applicable for first time leaders in healthcare which can help in enhancing their leadership skills by integrating their learning with practical application of their knowledge to lead team members.

Programme structure: The Mary Seacole programme is six months long with 100 hours of online study including 3 face-to-face behavioural workshops which are delivered locally. The programme can be undertaken in either of the two ways;

• Nationally with multiple intakes in a year.
• Locally which are tailored by healthcare organisation in which leaders work

The learning in this programme can be accessed through:

• The NHS Leadership Academy's virtual campus which includes programme films, interactive contents etc.
• Through three one day face-to-face skills workshop which are delivered by experst across country (Willis, Clarke and O'Connor, 2017).

The programme is delivered in 12 units and each take 5-10 hours of online study:

• Units 1-8 cover leadership fundamentals.
• Units 9-12 are flexible and can be undertaken at any time of the programme

The training methods of this programme include:

• Work-based learning which help in the application of learning methods in practical situations. This help in application of learning in situations while working at healthcare organisation.
• Face-to-face learning workshops which help in behavioural and personal development of leaders and also help in experiential and simulation learning activities which provide social networking opportunities.
• Online learning is done in this programme and an interactive learning environment is built which makes the process of learning more effective.

Intended outcomes:

Through this programme benefits are intended to be achieved both for leaders and the organisation by building efficient leaders so that they can manage and monitor the work in an efficient and effective manner. This also helps the company in being successful by having potential leaders who can make efficient decisions and help in the growth and development of company.

Benefits of Leadership Programme

Mary Seacole Programme within NHS that is associated with leadership has several benefits associated with this approach towards the organisation, as well as individuals which are necessary to be elaborated an explained in regards to contribute to the evaluation of this leadership development programme.

Individual Benefits

One of the major benefits of this leadership development programme upon individuals is that it enhances encouragement and motivation within them to choose the most apt and effective leadership style, rather than indulging within a comparison with others' related to the same (Castillo and Hallinger, 2018). This is because within the course of Six months within the training, the individuals would be working within several different situations, which might not necessarily be in their favour. Moreover, the programme has a very individualistic approach which ensures development of new and effective leadership style that are derived from personal experiences.

Another prominent benefit of this leadership development programme upon individuals is that it provides them with the motivation, capacity and authority to implement change in an appropriate and desired manner. This is achieved by this programme through hours of online study, which enhances the capacity, as well as motivation of employees due to enhancement in clarity of concepts related to healthcare. Furthermore, behaviour workshops would be providing them with authority to implement the changes within their approaches in delivering leadership as per the requirement of activities.

Furthermore, one effective benefit provided to individuals by this leadership development programme is that it helps them in developing better self awareness, along with emotional intelligence, which allows them to effectively work with others in a team (Bush, Bell and Middlewood, 2019). Workshops provide an effective insight to individuals to work with others, which are helpful in developing self awareness and teamwork spirit within the same.

Organisational Benefits

The leadership development programme in question has a lot of benefits associated with the organisation as well, which is necessary to be evaluated in order to get an effective insight of its contribution in National Health Service.

One benefit related to the same is that it allows in effective succession planning, which is associated enhanced capable leaders emerging from the process. This is because training of individuals for 6 months would allow the individuals to furnish their skill as a healthcare professional, which would allow the organisation to find better and competent workers that could succeed the existing workforce and provide better and effective insight within the professional practice.

Another benefit for the organisation is associated with positive impact on the organisational culture. The leadership programme effectively contributes towards enhances the positivity within the environment of the organisation, as well as highlighting the scope of improvement when it comes to managing the people within the workplace. This is achieved through inducing a culture of training and continuous improvement within the company which allows the new individuals within the company to enhance their working practices and ensure and more effective approach towards healthcare towards working upon enhancement of skills.;

The leadership development programme also ensures bringing in leaders that have powerful strategies in order to helping the organisation towards achieving change (Baltaci and Balcı, 2017). This is achieved by the programme through providing them with opportunities for learning and development that would help the individuals in gaining better strategies and competence to formulate approaches for different situations within NHS. Thus, it contributes within the organisation in a way that is very effective in context of bringing in new approaches and techniques towards dealing with different situations in the entity.

CONCLUSION

Thus, it is concluded that leadership and management are very important for an organisation to follow in order to achieve the organisational goals and objectives in a better and more effective manner. It is crucial that the concept of management and leadership is effectively and appropriately defined and evaluated in order to enhance the understanding in a better manner. Furthermore, the report covered similarities and differences between these concepts which provided a better insight onto the aspects that are similar within them, as well as why it is important for organisation to segregate these concepts when it comes to application. The report also covers analysis and evaluation of two of the leadership theories, which are Contingency Theory and Transformational Approach to leadership. The former is associated with adopting leadership style that is dependent upon different situations that might be related to the organisational elements or employees' attitudes. On the other hand, the latter approach is associated with bringing in positive changes within the organisation, which could be done through developing an effective vision and applying the components of this leadership approach in a justified and effective manner. These require the leaders to enhance consideration of needs of employees, ethical code of conduct and appropriate practices which allows the firm to implement this approach better.

In addition to this, the report above also contains the evaluation of leadership development programme of NHS, which is Mary Seacole Programme, which provides training to new leaders in an appropriate and effective manner. The report did undertake the evaluation of this programme, which includes analysis of several components associated with this process. Moreover, an effective and appropriate insight has also been given to the benefits of this leadership development programme upon the individuals of the entity, as well as on the organisation itself.

REFERENCES

• Fiedler, F.R.E.D., 2015. Contingency theory of leadership. Organizational Behavior 1: Essential Theories of Motivation and Leadership. 232. pp.01-2015.
• Baltaci, A. and Balcı, A., 2017. Complexity leadership: A theorical perspective. International Journal of Educational Leadership and Management. 5(1).pp.30-58.
• Bush, T., Bell, L. and Middlewood, D. eds., 2019. Principles of Educational Leadership & Management. SAGE Publications Limited.
• Castillo, F.A. and Hallinger, P., 2018. Systematic review of research on educational leadership and management in Latin America, 1991–2017. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 46(2). pp.207-225.
• Hallinger, P. and Hammad, W., 2019. Knowledge production on educational leadership and management in Arab societies: A systematic review of research. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 47(1). pp.20-36.

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