Preview Essentials Guide (PREVIEW) Essentials Guide to Medical Leadership & | Page 12

capacity of colleagues. Shared and distributed leadership has been found to be more
appropriate than the single ‘hero leader’ where tasks are more complex and highly
interdependent – as in healthcare.
1.05 When and where are you a leader?
You are likely to be working in any number of different teams at any one time, some
formally defined and some more informal. The teams will fall into two main categories:
1: Hierarchical teams
A diagram of an example of hierarchical team is illustrated above. In medicine, this may
be led by a Consultant or other person of appointed seniority, who will in turn be led by
another person higher up the chain. This may illustrate your speciality team, with
consultants and junior doctors of different grades.
2: Multidisciplinary teams
Examples of multi-disciplinary teams include those consisting of doctors, nurses and
other professionals working together to deliver care to individual patients, or project
12