A Niroshan Siriwardena, Steve Gillam
This is the third in a series of articles about the science of quality improvement. Leadership and management are required for change and are therefore important for all quality improvement initiatives. We describe the differences between and features of each, and how they support change in individuals, groups and organisations according to the culture and characteristics of the latter. Finally, we see that leadership competencies are conceptualised in the NHS Leadership Framework and how this can be applied to quality improvement in general practice and healthcare more generally.