NHS leaders ‘must learn new skills to cope with structural reforms’

NHS managers need to acquire relevant skills from outside the health service in order to adapt to incoming structural changes, according to the chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support.

In a new paper commissioned by the NHS Confederation, Ciaran Devane said NHS leaders need to build a different set of core skills, covering conflict resolution and multi-party negotiation.

This reflects the fact that the new model for the NHS is set to be more collaborative and broad, meaning lessons need to be learned from those with experience in working with matrix organisations and coalitions.

Mr Devane said such bodies need to actively manage and invest in processes such as alignment and cooperation in order to benefit from the creativity and flexibility advantages such structures can provide.

He added: "We can decide that we hope managers and leaders will intuitively know the right thing to do, or we can invest in the development of their skills and capabilities."

Last week, the NHS Confederation called on the government to ensure that healthcare leadership structures are made more stable and frontline staff are appropriately empowered, following the publication of the new NHS Mandate.