The contribution of leadership to the effective integration of care

Achieving more person-centred and coordinated care around individuals, families and communities is now a common aspiration of health and care systems. This is due to changing demographics, increasing resource pressures, and a recognition that population-level approaches are required to address social determinants of health. This chapter considers the role of leadership in facilitating better integration across professions, organisations, and sectors. Drawing on international research, contemporary theories, and case examples from England, it highlights fundamental paradoxes and distinct challenges of leading for integrated care. These include influencing beyond established power dynamics, collaborating outside of cultural norms, distributing leadership throughout the health and care system, and facilitating opportunities for people with lived experience to shape integrated care policies and implementation. Related development opportunities need to be embedded with professional and managerial careers with the expectation that collaborative leadership becomes the norm, rather than the exception. Further resources and reading are identified for additional study.