Occupational Therapy News OTnews November 2019 | Page 22

FEATURE LEADERSHIP
The voyages of
professional leadership
I
What does it take to be at the helm of professional leadership? Natalie Jones
suggests that horizon scanning, forecasting and crystal ball gazing are key
n 2017, I was seconded to a head occupational
therapist role; I had never imagined that this opportunity
would arise and was delighted to take a year
secondment, which eventually turned into 18 months.
I was honoured and privileged to be at the helm
of professional leadership for a combined acute and
community NHS trust, with over 100 occupational therapy
posts.
During the last few months of my tenure I was invited
to join the band five occupational therapy peer support
group at one of their meetings. Having offered on previous
occasions to talk about ‘anything’, I was surprised to
discover the group wanted to know about ‘the day and life
of a head occupational therapist’. So where do you start?
In preparation, I started to reflect on the head
occupational therapists that had influenced my career. I
remembered that, when I qualified, there was a district
occupational therapist who provided professional
leadership over several local occupational therapy
services. In fact, this was my first
recollection of being inspired by
professional leadership.
As the years rolled by, the role of district occupational
therapists entered a ‘Jurassic period’ and I observed
occupational therapy leadership posts on the decline.
Currently, many occupational therapy services do
not have a head of profession. With the emergence
of integrated working, new models of operational
management and leadership have changed the landscape
of occupational therapy practice.
Some organisations have retained professional
leadership roles, but not all. Some organisations still have
profession-specific line managers and others have moved
to new models where the professional leadership sits
alongside operational management, delivered by other
professions.
During these changes I have witnessed the occupational
therapy voice quieten or cease to be present. Occupational
therapists around the UK have shared with me the impacts
of not having strong or present professional
leadership. They feel out of the loop, the
bottom of the pile or invisible.
In other cases, there are strong
emerging occupational therapy leaders,
22 OTnews November 2019