The President’s address to the Council after his election
Steve Churton was elected President of the Society at the June
Council meeting. His acceptance speech is reproduced here
 Let me begin by saying how honoured I am to be the 91st individual to
be elected as President of the Society in our 167-year history. As I am
a relative newcomer to this place, it’s even more gratifying that
you have placed your trust in me to lead Council, and the profession — a
profession of which I am exceptionally proud to be a member.
Turning to the future …
I cannot personally recall a time of so much change within our profession.
Pharmacy is undergoing seismic change, and the landscape in which we
currently operate is likely to be unrecognisable in the not-too-distant
future.
There are high expectations of what pharmacy can offer, and public and
government interest in our potential, our enthusiasm to engage, and our
value, is at an all-time high. You only have to look at the contents of
the recent White Paper to appreciate this.
I believe that there are some key constituencies that Council has a responsibility
to lead, influence and support – our people, our profession, our
patients and ourselves.
First, our people …
Our members, our registrants, are rightly looking to us for leadership.
We need to be truly responsive to the needs of those we represent. We
need to accept the reality that the Society is not well regarded by some
and, although we can hypothesise for ever as to why this is the case,
the fact of the matter is that we need to raise our collective game to
do more to overcome the criticisms — and to demonstrate just what
we can achieve — before it’s too late.
We should acknowledge that we have some great people working with us, and
we should take every opportunity to let them know that we appreciate them.
We must lead more by example, we must be more empowering, and we must support,
encourage and provide them with the necessary resources and freedom to
act in the best interests of the profession.
I believe we need to nurture our people and be tough on the issues — and
not the other way around.
Secondly, our profession …
In a time of great change and uncertainty we need to demonstrate strong,
responsible and supportive leadership. We were all elected or appointed
to serve and lead the profession, and never has there been a time more
demanding of truly inspirational leadership.
We have a pivotal role to play in bringing about what can only be described
as a landmark moment in our proud history, and I really want us to pull
together, and to bring about the changes so essential right now to secure
the future of the profession.
For those of us who are counting, we have just 391 working days left until
the doors of a future professional body open for business. Just 391 days
to manage the effective and safe transition of our current regulatory responsibilities
to the General Pharmaceutical Council and to harness the collective expertise
of all those who wish to be associated with the Society’s successor
body. Just 391 days to construct the intellectual and tangible fabric of
our future professional body, and to enthuse and engage our people around
a truly compelling world class offer.
Thirdly, our patients …
We should never lose sight of the real difference that pharmacy makes to
the millions of people whose quality of life depends on our members for
world leading innovative scientific research, through to the development
of new drugs and novel drug delivery systems, the safe and effective
supply of medicines, and for the care which pharmacists provide every
day in our hospitals and in the community.
We have a duty to protect and maintain the standards of healthcare delivery
for which we are rightly renowned, and although right now we have to focus
our resources on how this can best be supported in the future, through
new models of professional leadership and regulation, we must not be distracted
from our current responsibility to the public in upholding the highest
standards of pharmaceutical practice and patient care.
Finally, ourselves …
I believe we need to take stock and recognise the need for us to work together
in a more unified, constructive and productive partnership with each
other. We need also to engender the trust and confidence of others in
our intention and ability to do so.
It’s sometimes easy to be overwhelmed, maybe even disheartened on
occasion, with so much turbulence — but we need to remain focused,
and have more belief in our ability to manage it.
We should celebrate our successes, and we should have confidence that together
we can achieve great results — but only when we are aligned and motivated
to.
For me, a good leader is someone who inspires others to have confidence
in them, whereas a great leader is someone who inspires others to have
confidence in themselves. I will work hard to re-energise and instil more
confidence in all of us — so that we can absolutely achieve what
we need to.
We need to stay focused on what really matters, not be distracted by what
doesn’t. We need to operate at a strategic level, and not get obsessed
with the detail. It’s vital that we should prioritise the important
issues that are really going to make a difference, and not shy away from
taking the tough decisions when we know we need to.
In terms of our values and behaviours, we need to actively live them, not
just talk about them. I think we need to be honest with ourselves, and
accept that there have been occasions of late when we could have demonstrated
more respect for each other.
Great leadership is one which appreciates diversity of experience and cultivates
a range of views. In my experience, the most productive dialogues are predicated
on active listening, not active speaking. We need to learn to be more accepting
of others’ points of view, and be constructive in our comments when
we disagree with something or someone.
We also need greater clarity in our thinking. We know that we are sometimes
tempted to overcomplicate things or go off at a tangent. Let’s accept
the need to improve the efficiency of our decision making, and be less
wasteful of our time and resources.
Let’s be straightforward and transparent, not complicated and secretive.
Let’s use our time more constructively during our meetings and, in
between,
to enable us to operate at a more appropriate, more effective, level of
leadership.
I believe passionately that we have both an obligation and an opportunity
to make a step change in the way we support those we represent, and in
turn to make a lasting impact on the health of those who are dependent
on them for the quality of their lives.
We have a duty to all of those who work in our profession to secure a future
for them — a future which is professionally fulfilling; a future
which encourages and supports self development and everything we wish our
profession to stand for.
It’s absolutely right that we cherish our profession’s heritage,
and it’s absolutely right that we champion our profession’s
future. We need to provide the firm foundation on which generations of
pharmacists, and those who support them, will build their lives.
As I said in my election statement: “Together, as a Council with
world class aspirations, a self belief in our ability to succeed, the effectiveness
of a high performing team, and the determination and leadership to deliver,
we have the potential and the opportunity right now to make a transformational
difference —
and to create something we can all be justly proud of.” |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal