Leadership “inaction” or Leadership “in Action” – The Change Dilemma – Longwoods.com

This letter is part of series of Open Letters from Canadian leaders in Healthcare. To see the complete series please click here

The old adage that everyone wants change but no one wants to change is alive and well in Canadian healthcare. Governments call for transformation, yet are not willing to transform their own behaviour. Everyone wants collective efforts to be patient centred, but don’t want to partner with each other or patients because they are afraid of losing control of the agenda. Everyone wants a well-honed, integrated system of patient care but wants to retain independence and autonomy from that system. We all want collaboration, shared visions, and collective action to achieve change, but when pressed to deliver, we often revert to demands of ego, turf, and combativeness. It seems that we intellectually “buy” the notion of transformation, but aren’t ready to accept the personal demands associated with its success. Instead of leadership in action—championing and orchestrating change—we have leadership inaction; lots of talk and no action.

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