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MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

MICHAEL DEMPSEY - Cranfield University

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Managing action - leadership<br />

different from what I am describing in terms of the lead person<br />

within the negotiations. I think the important thing is that people<br />

within the Group respect me and recognise my contribution to<br />

the Group and how I work in the past. So therefore I have got a<br />

history and people understand my way of working. I believe I do<br />

show leadership from my own history but also in terms of the<br />

management, the way I lead this group, I believe I show<br />

leadership because I am constantly reflecting on where we are<br />

now and consulting with the managers all the time. We sit down<br />

and have brainstorming, futuristic discussions, look at where we<br />

are going to be going, where the National Health Service is<br />

going to be going and how we are going to gear ourselves up to<br />

about. And, as I say, my position is not about telling the officers<br />

here what they have to do but about ensuring -- knowing what<br />

they need and ensuring they are supported. I think all of that<br />

demonstrates leadership but it also demonstrates management<br />

and I think they go hand-in-hand. (Interviewee D)<br />

This reflects the strategic focus of the first two managers but adds to it<br />

personal qualities demonstrated in her past working life. Maybe the<br />

idea is that she is in some way a role model. She does, however, make<br />

a distinction between leadership and management The General<br />

Secretary does not express a view on this but he believes that there is<br />

no distinction between his political and managerial roles, the latter seen<br />

popularly as the ‘leadership’ role:-<br />

No. None at all (difference between the roles). This morning I<br />

have been talking with an MP about political action that we want<br />

to be taking over public services, talking to our press office<br />

about the political stance that we will take as an organisation on<br />

public services, very, very clear that you have got to actually<br />

position the union in a mainstream position which the activists<br />

and staff feel comfortable with. You want an organisation which<br />

is respected so the political dimension is important to us and<br />

there is the staffing dimension. The two go together. I mean, I<br />

speak on a political stage and I want to be listened to on behalf<br />

of the union. I don't speak on my own behalf, I speak on behalf<br />

of the union. When I meet the Prime Minister and the others,<br />

they don't want to meet me because they like Dave Prentis.<br />

They meet me because I am General Secretary of Unison<br />

One manager, whilst describing his own role as in some ways being<br />

akin to that of a senior civil servant, mentions ‘inspiration’ as a feature<br />

of the leadership role:-<br />

I think the former General Secretary of NUPE was seen as a<br />

rather more inspirational character than our then leader<br />

(Interviewee L)<br />

325

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