Abstract

Leadership in physiotherapy is essential for improving patient care, advancing the profession, and influencing healthcare policies. Strong leadership enables physiotherapists to guide teams, make informed decisions, and uphold high standards of practice. This narrative review examines leadership in physiotherapy, focusing on key leadership traits, common leadership models, challenges, and future directions for leadership development. Successful physiotherapy leaders possess qualities such as effective communication, teamwork, problem-solving, adaptability, and the ability to inspire and motivate others. Leadership models in healthcare, such as transformational and servant leadership, are particularly relevant to physiotherapy. Transformational leaders drive positive changes, while servant leaders focus on the growth and well-being of their team members. Despite its importance, leadership in physiotherapy faces challenges, including limited leadership training, workplace barriers, time constraints, and a lack of recognition for leadership roles. Many physiotherapists may not receive formal leadership education, making it difficult for them to take on leadership positions confidently. To promote leadership development, physiotherapists should have access to structured training programs, mentorship opportunities, and leadership roles within clinical, academic, and research settings. Support from professional organizations and healthcare institutions is crucial in fostering leadership skills. By reviewing existing literature, this paper highlights the need for leadership growth in physiotherapy and suggests strategies to help physiotherapists develop into effective leaders.

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