As a leader or manager in health and social care, you must:
- stay true to your values, even under pressure
- be honest and open – stick to the highest professional and ethical standards
That means:
- upholding the highest professional and ethical standards, especially when facing opposition or personal risk
- being honest and open and making sure your actions match your words
- keeping your promises and commitments
- acknowledging your faults and weaknesses, showing humility and willingness to learn
- giving and receiving honest feedback, encouraging openness and accountability
- facing challenges honestly and thinking about how your actions affect others
- being fair and treating people equally – and helping your team do so, too
What do effective and ineffective practices look like?
Effective practice
- Addresses issues privately and respectfully, checks the facts, and escalates when necessary to ensure transparency and fairness.
- Discloses conflicts of interest, removes themselves from decisions, and documents actions.
- Corrects errors promptly, informs all parties (including patients and those who access care and support, where involved) and puts steps in place to stop them happening again.
- Makes fair, open decisions and works with others, including staff representatives, to find balanced solutions that reflect the organisation’s values.
Ineffective practice
- Ignores issues to avoid confrontation, compromising ethical standards and undermining trust within the team.
- Doesn’t disclose conflicts of interest and prioritises personal interests over integrity.
- Conceals errors to avoid scrutiny, leaving issues unresolved and eroding trust and accountability.
- Implements changes without consultation, ignoring ethical concerns and damaging trust and morale.