A review of Table I in the context of this article suggests three main conclusions. The first is that when one compares the attributes of leadership on the right hand side of the table to both the Pan-Canadian Health Systems Leadership Capabilities Framework and the LEADS framework, there is significant resonance of expectations. All three (Pan-Canadian, LEADS, and the chart) represent a more “holistic” view of leadership as anticipated by Avolio et al. (2009). Leadership is not perceived solely as the dynamic between individual leader and follower, but as a force operative on an interpersonal, unit, organizational and systems level. It takes expression as a function of complexity of context (i.e. number of interdependent variables influencing its action), individual and group psychology, individual cognition, tools available to it (e.g. technology), and culture (ethnicity; unit of analysis (e.g. province, organization, country); and customs, traditions and precedents implicit in context).
A second major conclusion is that leadership is, as the paper states earlier, a much more complex and unique concept than is management or administration. It is what Manfred Max-Neef(2005) describes as the ultimate trans-discipline; that is, it operates at the intersection of science, values and beliefs, functioning in unique contexts, and faced with the responsibility of often reconciling irreconcilables (Martin, 2007). Another way of putting it is as Hodgkinson(1983) does, stating that “leadership is philosophy in action”. As societal values and beliefs change, as science changes, and as our system and global consciousness expands, so does our conceptions and practices of leadership. This might well explain why so many Canadian leaders feel inactive, as leadership truly demands a skill set and a character set that is very difficult to achieve. If indeed leadership is “going first”, and going first demands a level of wisdom and courage not commonly held, then leadership is going to be a commodity not easily found.