What makes a great leader?

Both practices and the profession can benefit from good leadership. Here at Lintbells, our leadership was one of the things singled out by the Sunday Times as making us a great small company to work for.  We asked a few people, “what makes a great leader?”

“Being a leader is not about knowing everything but about leading the right questions to get to the answers; encouraging others and recognising their skills to work together for the solutions. A leader is not someone that has all the words and jargon but is one that makes clear understandable sense with integrity, honesty and vision and gets things done.”

Gudrun Ravetz, Chief Veterinary Officer, Simplyhealth Professionals, Past President  British Veterinary Association and the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons.

“The key to being a good leader is to treat your colleagues as you would like to be treated yourself, be polite (please and thank you go a long way!) and be confident.  This doesn’t mean never taking other people’s opinions on board but your team will have far more confidence in you, if you have confidence in yourself.”

Cat the Vet

“Leadership is about having an inclusive vision for the future and helping others to see themselves as part of it.”

Caroline Johnson, Vetpol

“Leadership is striving to enable people with a shared vision to achieve common goals.”

Niall Connell, RCVS Council member

“Treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself. Don’t ask others to do things you wouldn’t be willing to do. Remember that all cogs in a machine need to be working effectively for the outcome to be successful. Don’t underestimate the importance of the little cogs.”

Ben, Vet & Director. Cotswold Vets