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Leadership discourse is a predominant influence within the literature of management and organisations. Business schools, leadership development programmes, and in-house training events all stress the role of the manager as leader, with some seeing this as the primary role of senior management (Western, 2008).
Most leadership literature and practice roots itself in the corporate, for-profit, sector, with little written specifically about the needs and differences of leading within the not-for-profit and social care environments. If anything, the implication is that corporate-style approaches are universally applicable, with social care leaders being encouraged to adopt these within their own organisations (Myers and Sacks, 2004).
The UK's not-for-profit social care sector is presently undergoing a transition as market forces and public expectations place pressure on the type and nature of services provided by organisations and also on their corresponding structure and management. As the sector and organisations change, so do the requirements for leadership, with leaders and leadership structures being required to act and function in ways that go beyond traditional third sector roles and responsibilities.
This paper proposes that the complexity of the social care environment and the humanitarian nature of such organisations' mission require that leadership development activities in the sector apply a more subtle and considered approach than that seen in more commercial and transactional organisations. This is especially true when considering the potential impact on ‘leadership of the anxiety and emotional involvement’ experienced by staff working with individuals, families, and communities exhibiting severe physical and psychological trauma.