Our study aimed overall to seek out the meanings and perceptions of relationships between ‘leadership’ and ‘patient care’ and how leadership is transmitted across organisations to impact upon service delivery.

Two models of leadership are examined in this study:  

First is inspirational and transformational (or engaging) leadership (Alimo-Metcalfe, Alban-Metcalfe et al., 2007). 

Second is distributed leadership (Elmore, 2004; Gronn, 2002). Unlike traditional conceptions of heroic leadership, distributed leadership is the sharing of leadership between several individuals, who jointly generate commitment, cohesion and wisdom (Grint, 2000; Grint, 2005). Furthermore the model of the post-industrial/postmodern and or networked organisation was explored taking a systemic approach in order to review the transmission of leadership and the impact of the organisational structure on service delivery (Campbell, Coldicott, & Kinsella, 1994; Collier & Esteban, 2000; Simpson & French, 2005)

Our research team:

Professor Paula Nicolson1, Ms. Emma Rowland2,  Dr. Paula Lokman1 , Dr. Rebekah Fox3, Professor Yiannis Gabriel4,  Dr. Kristin Heffernan5, Mr. Chris Howorth1, Ms. Yael Ilan-Clarke1, and Dr. Graham Smith1. 

1 Royal Holloway, University of London

2 University of Southampton

3 Kingston University

4 University of Bath

5 New York University Brockport

 Some of us have been promoted since!!