As a leader or manager in health and social care, you must:
- lead with thought and consideration
- show care and understanding for others – and for yourself. Support people so they feel at home in teams and can thrive
This means:
- prioritising the mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing of colleagues, patients, people who draw on care, their families and communities, and yourself
- acting with empathy and care and considering the impact of your actions on others
- treating everyone with dignity and respect and tailoring your approach to suit each person
- creating space for honest conversations about concerns, errors, and performance
- creating open opportunities for people to learn together, build trusting relationships, and feel part of the team
- challenging inappropriate use of power or hierarchy, whilst ensuring appropriate accountability
- balancing understanding and empathy with the courage to have difficult conversations and managing performance effectively
What do effective and ineffective practices look like?
Effective practice
- Is empathetic and offers support when team members are having problems.
- Understands and recognises the effort people are putting in, and what motivates them. Makes sure they feel valued as members of the team.
- Acknowledges the limits of what team members can take on, reviews workloads and adjusts timelines when necessary.
- Listens to neighbourhood and community needs, uses resources to support inclusive services, and improves access to services.
Ineffective practice
- Focuses solely on outputs and ignores the challenges team members are facing.
- Manages tasks not relationships and isn’t interested in individuals’ wellbeing or the effort they are putting in.
- Ignores signs of burnout, fails to address workload issues and creates unnecessary stress around deadlines.
- Focuses solely on operational goals, overlooks disparities and ignores complaints.