Dr. Carol Gallagher’s book Going to the Top details 15 proven strategies for advancement:

1. Display leadership
2. Don’t take everything so personally
3. Find your passion

"Leadership and mentoring programs aim to increase women’s skills and confidence to take on leadership roles, while introducing them to networks which may facilitate greater access to leadership positions in the workplace or on committees and councils.

Mentoring Australia has a series of benchmarks developed for mentoring programs, to set standards for responsible mentoring. A responsible mentoring program requires:

* A well-defined mission statement and established operating principles
* Regular, consistent contact between mentor and mentee
* Establishment under the auspices of a recognised organisation

Our uncertain future requires new leadership - can the origins and theories of this ancient construct illuminate its capacity to change?

Seemingly teetering on the boundaries of stability and familiarity, today’s societies seem in great need of leadership; leadership which is insightful and courageous. But is leadership a construct flexible to change? And what are the contributors to the formation of a leader? For us to appraise and elect leaders who will encourage humanity towards a sustainable and fair global society, we need to understand the relative contributions of personal character and externalities to the development of a leader. Furthermore, achieving a sustainable future may necessitate a change in leadership style. Examining the evolution of leadership may help us elucidate the potential for such a change.

-  a perspective of a final year medical student

According to Wikipedia, the knowledge base of the 21st century, leadership can refer to “those entities that perform one or more acts of leading, the ability to affect human behaviour so as to accomplish a mission, or influencing a group of people to move towards its goal setting or goal achievement”.1 Leadership in medicine is vital in this age of dynamic practice, with new diagnostic and therapeutic developments occurring constantly, and with the increasing emphasis on accountability and transparency in medical practice. Women in leadership roles have become more prominent in society over the years, in areas such as politics and business. However, in medicine as in these other fields, the increasing number of women studying and practising is not equally matched by a corresponding increase in women in leadership positions.

The key to effective goal setting is to be realistic and to prioritise; however, such goals cannot be achieved without organisation, time management and the ability to implement practical strategies to achieve our goals. It seems obvious. I am going to use myself as an example.

Recently – inspired by my partner of 4 years, who is increasingly frustrated by my lack of income and consequently our inability to leave the confines of our parents’ houses – I decided to write myself a 5 year plan. Now most people would admit to having some idea of where they would like to be in 5 years, but few have practical strategies in place to ensure that they achieve everything they would like to in that time period.

I was browsing through some books on leadership, reflecting on the qualities of effective leaders.  Many of them were obvious - vision, empowerment, collaboration, creativity and so on.  One stood out, as something I had never really considered as a quality of a leader, and on closer inspection there are few that deserve more exploration than the somewhat misunderstood idea of asceticism.