‘Leadership for all’ plea as VMG Congress opens

The new president of a prominent veterinary organisation has challenged the sector to promote “leadership for all” at its annual congress.

Rebecca Robinson urged VMG delegates to help deliver change as she opened the event in Stratford-upon-Avon today (24 April).

She said promoting awareness of the importance of leadership skills for all staff would be the focus of her term in office and described the perception that learning leadership was only necessary once in a management role as “the biggest myth we have”.

Lack of support

She added: “For too long, we have promoted people into roles without them having the appropriate support and training. We can change that and starting now.”

Dr Robinson also paid tribute to her predecessor, Liz Somerville, whom she described as “a guiding light for us all” and argued that leadership was the key to making practices enjoyable workplaces.

She said: “I passionately believe that life in practice can be really nice and really great fun, as well as providing really good care for pets and clients.

“But the only way we can achieve that is through good leadership.”

Awards

The opening ceremony also saw the presentation of the group’s Certificate in Veterinary Leadership and Management (CVLM) awards, as delegates heard the programme is now seeing growing numbers of international students registering.

Dr Robinson said: “With our qualifications and all your help, we can make a difference. Let’s make it a year of growth, development and leadership for all.”