(Learning outcome 6).
In Week 9 of the Innovative Physiotherapy Practice module when we explored the concept of person-centred leadership, the interactive nature of the class and the pre-reading material by Cardiff et al. (2018) put me in a situation where I began to examine myself and evaluate my own perception of leadership in relation to physiotherapy practice. Prior to that class, I had not considered that leadership was relevant in my studying to become a physiotherapist or practice of the profession.
The paper and the interactions during the class helped me to see that compassionate leadership as is relevant to healthcare is detached from managerial or hierarchical roles and relates more to person-centredness. According to Santana et al. (2018), transformational leadership incorporates positive values, behaviours and skills towards the delivery of personalised care that provides people with the high-quality care they need and improve health-care system efficiency and effectiveness .
As I explored the topic further, I understood that people-centred leadership is derived from self-awareness borne from reflecting and working with one's beliefs and attributes (Cardiff et al. 2018). I saw that I already possessed some of the attributes suggested, including compassion, patience, attentive listening, being appreciative as well as having respect and tolerance for divergent opinions. Still I found that I needed to improve on my self-awareness as my reflections led me to the realisation that I have often downplayed my own strengths whereas I could harness some of my positive attributes, knowledge or skills to contribute to change ideas that lead to professional best outcomes. This realisation is critical to building my professional networks.
Having critically reflected on the goals of leadership in physiotherapy practice, I am no longer of the opinion that leadership is outwith my practice as a physiotherapist. I will no longer downplay my strengths but will use them strategically to foster therapeutic relationships with patients and to create a sense of safety for myself and other members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) in the workplace. This approach is not only empowering, it promotes inclusivity in the context of organisational structure and innovation and finds application in a diverse workforce as the NHS (Amin et al. 2018).
Conclusion
My learning experience over the course of this module has led me to think of possibilities, to think about action and to question the effectiveness of my methods. Questioning the effectiveness of my methods is strongly linked to cultivating innovative thinking. This is necessary for identifying areas of physiotherapy service needing improvement but also this module has made me more aware that successful execution of change ideas rely strongly on person-centredness extended towards patients and colleagues.
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