Review

The only constant is change

Leading change in health and social care
Vivien Martin
London: Routledge, 2003. £17.99

If, as the much overused adage has it, ‘the only constant is change’, then, coupled with the current NHS preoccupation with leadership, this should be sufficient to ensure the popularity of this book.

Even the optimistic assumption of the title, that change in health and social care can be led rather than merely responded to, injects a reassuring sense of control. Whether this book actually helps achieve that control, or merely creates such an illusion, merits further debate. But it contains most material that one would expect and much more besides.

Prerequisite theories of leadership styles and models of change are allied to a pragmatic emphasis on getting things done, indicated by action-oriented chapter titles such as ‘Developing change agents’ and ‘Inspiring actions’. The chapters also follow an underlying systems approach through the stages of change, linked by both learning and exercises.

The influential output of the Service Delivery and Organisation programme on organisational change is a surprising omission. Nonetheless, I will consult this book often, not least for the case studies, exemplars and pithy quotations. Thanks to it I can now recognise the difference between a ‘difficulty’ and a ‘mess’ — without necessarily being able to extricate myself from either.