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30 CPD ACTIVITY DO YOU LEAD OR MANAGE YOUR TEAM? Shannon Kerr MBA General Manager: Projects & Programs at Pharmacy Platform As a marketer and project manager with more than 20 years’ experience, Shannon has focused on the community-pharmacy space for the past 10 years. Shannon’s experience encompasses branding, digital marketing, loyalty programs, above the line and retail marketing. Her project skills enable a coherent and integrated message across all elements of pharmacy marketing Shannon Kerr also works at instigo. For the purposes of full disclosure, instigo has a commercial relationship with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia to deliver the Health Advice Plus program into community pharmacy. Instigo also provides a range of business services to API including some marketing services, professional services coaching for Soul Pattinson and Pharmacist Advice stores and outsourced merchandising resources for Soul Pattinson, Pharmacist Advice and Club Premium. LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing this CPD activity, pharmacists should be able to: • Understand the distinction between management and leadership. • Recognise different leadership styles. • Understand processes of change management. 2016 Competency Standards: 4.1, 4.3, 4.4. Accreditation Number: A2106RP4. ‘Management’ and ‘leadership’ are terms that are often used interchangeably. However, they are two distinctive functions serving different purposes within a business. Interestingly, being a manager doesn’t automatically make you a good leader and, conversely, you don’t have to be a manager to be a leader within an organisation. Obviously, in a time of change, stores need good management and good leadership to survive and thrive. Creating the environment for both is the key to success. John Kotter, Professor of Leadership, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School in the US,1 defines management as “a set of well-known processes, like planning, budgeting, structuring jobs, staffing jobs, measuring performance and problem-solving, which help an organisation to predictably do what it knows how to do well”. He says management creates the structure to repeatedly produce products and services with a consistent quality and to a set budget. He believes that businesses continually underestimate how complex this task is, especially those not in senior management jobs. Management is, however, a very different function to leadership. Leadership is all about the future and seeking out, anticipating and exploiting opportunities. It’s about a vision, engagement in a journey and the right kind of change. Leadership is more about behaviour than attributes, and doesn’t necessarily exist solely at the top of the hierarchy or structure. In fact, a precursor to success is having leadership manifest itself at all levels of the business. A key to good leadership is the ability to motivate and inspire employees (who may be impacted by their experiences, different motivational drivers, moods and personalities) to become engaged and supportive of the common vision. Personality characteristics of effective leaders While there is no definitive list of the personality characteristics of effective leaders, research by Daniel Goleman2 (who first brought the term ‘emotional intelligence’ to a wide audience) indicates that while certain traits traditionally associated with leadership, such as intelligence, toughness, determination and vision, are the basis for success, they’re not enough. Successful leaders also possess a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes facets such as self-awareness, self- regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. Research by the consulting firm Hay McBer,3 which drew on a sample of more than 3850 executives worldwide, aimed to establish the foundations of effective leadership. The research found six distinct leadership styles, each associated with different components of emotional intelligence. The styles, taken individually, have a direct impact on the working atmosphere of a company or team, and eventually its financial performance. The Hay McBer research indicates that leaders with the most effective results don’t utilise one leadership style exclusively. They use a variety of styles at different times, depending on the situation. These leadership styles include: Commanding. This style demands immediate compliance (‘Do what I tell you’). Best time to use this style: in a crisis, to get things ‘turned around’, or with difficult employees. Visionary. This style mobilises people towards a vision (‘Come with me’). Best time to use this style: when a clear direction is needed or people need inspiration. Affiliative. This style aims to create harmony and builds emotional bonds (‘People come first’). The best time to use this style: to heal issues in a team or to motivate people during stressful circumstances. Democratic. This style creates consensus through staff participation (‘What do you think?’). When to use this style: to build general buy-in, or to gain input from key employees. Pacesetting. This leadership style sets high standards for performance in a lead-from-the-front manner (‘Do as I do, now’). When to use this style: to get results quickly from a motivated and skilled team. Coaching. This style develops staff for the future (‘Try this’). When to use this style: to help an employee improve their individual performance or develop long-term strengths and competencies. RETAIL PHARMACY • JUN 2021 1 CPD CREDIT