Academic Leadership

LeadershipDandekar, S. is essential to the delivery of high standards of academics, research and patient care. In these challenging, changing, complex times, honing of leadership skills in health professionals is the need of the hour. The various theories, styles, models, and traits that are likely to affect the health professional’s developmentDevelopments are paramount to the trajectory of productive teams. Effective academic leadership involves the alignment of all these aspects with the three-prongedPronged collaborativeCollaborative inputs from facultyFaculty, students, and institutionalInstitutional stakeholders. The LancetLancet Commission report on transformative education, suggests the breaking down of silosSilos to form effective teams. Thus, the abilityAbilities to focus on change, equity, decision-making and teamwork shall have the makings of efficient communities. Leadership requires the use of right knowledge, skills, attitudeAttitude and communicationCommunication at the right time on the right cohortCohort of people. There are many leadership models including, servant, emotional, transactionalTransactional and transformational leaderships amongst others. How these can be used along with team leadership, shall be explored in this chapterChapter. This chapter focuses on the applicationApplication of the various aspects involved in academic leadership such as leadership in teaching, research, networking and communicationCommunication skills. We hope that the deliberations upon these shall provide avenues towards positive team building amongst health professionals.