Sharing the leadership: teamworking

Abstract

Being a manager is much more difficult than it used to be because of the many changes taking place. It also requires a different form of working to cope with rapid change. Teamworking now often takes the place of the traditional hierarchy because experience, embodied in rules and in the knowledge of the boss, is no longer an adequate guide to what should be done. In times of uncertainty, all may have useful ideas and information about the best way forward. An even more important reason for teamworking is that changes are only implemented successfully if people are actively involved.

‘A shift towards more team working within the Department could bring great benefits in terms of flexibility, efficiency and effectiveness, and improved job satisfaction. This would involve greater emphasis on the work to be done, and less on the formal building blocks of organizational structure. Teams should contain within them all the necessary skills and authority to perform a task, and should take responsibility for doing it properly without the need for external approvals and quality checks. Putting new ways of working into practice will take years rather than months.’

(Review of the Wider Department of Health)¹