Leadership will mean different things to different people and cover a whole range of different elements, but it always involves people. Essentially, leaders help themselves and others to do the right things; they practise the art of leading others to deliberately create a result that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

Business results, sales figures and team motivation or engagement will commonly be assessed to measure the success of a leader. The approach to achieving this success can make a difference though.

Some feel leaders are only successful if they direct their teams very clearly on what they need to do and control their actions under close supervision to achieve results. Although successful outcomes may be achieved in this way, what happens when this type of leader is absent from the pharmacy?

If the leader is the only one who knows how to replicate results, the team is always reliant on them being involved. A more effective leader will focus on sustaining results over time by developing others’ commitment to the goal or task and their skills.

There are three steps to successful leadership:

• Sharing the vision
• Applying a flexible leadership approach
• Coaching and developing the team.