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Reflections on leadership Philip Turner
Philip Turner is a Consultant at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport. He was BOA President from 2018 to 2019 and was elected to Council of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2019. He was the founding Chair of the Greater Manchester Orthopaedic Alliance (GMOA) and is co-Chair of the Greater Manchester recovery CRG.
Signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese Orthopaedic Association in Xiamen 2019.
“Leadership, like swimming, cannot be learned by reading about it” – Henry Mitzberg
I
am desperately trying to avoid the word ‘journey’, but there is no getting away from the concept of moving forward through leadership roles. I certainly never set out to be a leader – I just wanted to be a good surgeon. However, it was very clear from early on that good leadership made a huge positive difference to patient care and that poor leadership was incredibly destructive. At that stage I didn’t have the vocabulary to describe what I observed but I knew what worked and what didn’t. My passion has always been medical education, so I progressed through organising regional teaching, meetings and courses, post-graduate degrees and ATLS and AO courses in the UK and overseas. I joined the training committee, became TPD and Head of School, Chair of the Confederation of Post-Graduate Schools of Surgery and IQA Chair for JCIE. Away from education, I have been Clinical Director, Chair of the Greater Manchester Orthopaedic Alliance, and Improving Surgical Care committees as well as roles with GIRFT.
20 | JTO | Volume 10 | Issue 01 | March 2022 | boa.ac.uk
Before setting out my thoughts on leadership, particularly relating to my time as BOA President, it may help to set out the pathway to achieving the highest office in the organisation. The first step is to become an elected Trustee selected by the entire membership. This requires a profile that members recognise and a wellcrafted statement that shows you have delivered previously and clearly demonstrates what you will bring to the organisation. Election to the Presidential line is by a ballot of the Trustees so once again you must have proven you will be both safe and effective as well as having a vision of where the Association should be heading. You will be committing to at least four years on the Executive as Vice-President elect, Vice-President, President, and Immediate Past President.
The year as President The two years run-in to President really is necessary. The organisation is complicated and the issues wide-ranging. It would be impossible for the President to simply hand over their portfolio.
