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NHS trust chief executives as heroes?

M Learmonth1

  • 1Centre for Health & Social Care Management, The University of York, Alcuin College, Heslington, UK. ml14@york.ac.uk

Health Care Analysis : HCA : Journal of Health Philosophy and Policy
|March 5, 2002
PubMed
Summary

NHS Trust Chief Executives are portrayed as heroes in interviews, embodying masculine traits to overcome challenges. This narrative mythologizes management, making it appear natural and necessary, despite its potentially misleading nature.

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Area of Science:

  • Healthcare Management
  • Organizational Studies
  • Poststructuralist Analysis

Background:

  • Interviews with National Health Service (NHS) Trust Chief Executives provide insight into leadership narratives.
  • A poststructuralist lens is applied to deconstruct the discourse surrounding these executive roles.
  • The analysis examines how leadership is mythologized and presented as inherently heroic.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically analyze the heroic narratives constructed by NHS Trust Chief Executives.
  • To explore the underlying assumptions and implications of portraying management as a heroic endeavor.
  • To investigate the role of masculine characteristics in these leadership myths.

Main Methods:

  • Poststructuralist discourse analysis of interview transcripts from NHS Trust Chief Executives.
  • Application of the classic hero's journey archetype to interpret leadership stories.
  • Examination of language used to construct executive roles and their perceived capabilities.

Main Results:

  • Chief Executives are represented as heroes undertaking perilous journeys, overcoming obstacles through rationality, strength, and resourcefulness.
  • These narratives draw on ancient myths to powerfully, yet misleadingly, legitimize management as an obvious and necessary function.
  • The analysis highlights the construction of truth and ontological implications within leadership discourse.

Conclusions:

  • The heroic portrayal of NHS leaders serves to mythologize and naturalize management, obscuring complex realities.
  • Understanding these narratives reveals how leadership is discursively constructed and reinforced through archetypal storytelling.
  • The study underscores the importance of critically examining leadership discourse for its underlying power dynamics and truth claims.

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