Summer Newsletter 2017 - Flipbook - Page 3
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Some of the best leaders that we have worked with
may not be the most articulate or the most charismatic
and they may not command the stage or the limelight.
What they are, however, is genuine, human,
approachable, knowledgeable and critically, they are
consistent. They are not prone to outbursts, they act
with honesty and dignity and they afford the senior
leaders that surround them respect and support; in
turn, people want to earn this respect and to keep it. It
never hurts of course, for teams to clearly understand
the ‘red-lines’. They need a clear sense of what will be
tolerated, as good leaders also need to hold the line
when things go wrong; after all, the quality of their
leadership is often judged by results alone.
It is interesting that the leaders that naturally exhibit
these characteristics receive (but do not necessarily
solicit) exceptional feedback from their teams as well
as loyalty, positivity and a ‘can do’ approach which
proliferates throughout the whole organisation. Indeed,
some of these leaders would tend more towards
introversion and a reluctance to ‘shine’ than they
would gravitate towards the spotlight. In essence they
are kind, intelligent, honourable and they are good
people who are adept at fair decision making,
adopting an altruistic approach and treating people
with consistent positive regard.
Signs of leadership dysfunction
Where we can attribute contributory factors to a deficit
in leadership there are classic signs and symptoms
which can often be seen, they include:
• A leader who has misaligned motivations whether that be a ‘careerist’ leader who makes
decisions based upon personal attainment and the
‘next job’, or a leader so singularly driven about their
own reputation and impact that they make poor
decisions for their organisation and team;
• A leader who is inconsistent – prone to outbursts
and unpredictability; this leader threatens by stealth
and can be a covert (or of course, overt) bully. No
one wants to be publicly humiliated and so
information which is escalated is cleansed, adapted
and reworked to fit the leadership frame of
reference;
• A leader who chases hobby horses – and who
champions certain causes, or even, champions all of
the causes that come their way, swaying in the wind.
A leader who favours some people and decides
whether team members are ‘in’ or they are ‘out’ of
the core group. A leader who holds ‘corridor
conversations’, promoting whispers – decisions are
made outside of process; and
• A leader who cannot be trusted – who agrees and
then reneges upon decisions and leaves others to
mop up and repair relationships. People can easily
lose faith in this leader and can easily fall into an
apathetic state where they routinely question “the
point”?
One thing is for sure, ‘tone at the top’ is an abjectly
crucial factor in ensuring a positive and safe care
culture. Leaders can and will emulate the behaviours
of their seniors and they will often reflect this style to
their own reports, whether this is good, or bad. If
shouting, passive aggression and back-biting are
permissible then so that culture will tend to prevail. If
inappropriate behaviour is challenged in a positive and
respectful way, then, so equally, will this be the culture
which engenders an open, learning organisation which
people are proud to work in and through which they
will provide great care.
Things you can do to build a positive
leadership culture:
1. Think long and hard about your own leadership
style. What do you honestly think your team
would say about you?
2. Do a regular 360 review process along with
other members of your team. Accept the
feedback for what it is and don’t try to second
guess who provided it… often you would be
surprised anyway! Develop a plan to work
through the feedback.
3. Stop and think about how you feel on a regular
basis. Do you feel irritated often, do you feel
disappointed, anxious or even threatened.
Name the feeling and then start to understand
patterns and prompts. Recognising the feeling
in yourself is crucial to start to figure out how to
process the resultant behaviour.
4. Try to step outside of your comfort zone to ‘test
out’ different behaviours. Take it on the chin
that sometimes we could all do with pressing
‘reset’ on our individual style and approach
throughout the course of our careers.
Kate is a Partner at Niche Health and Social Care
Consulting and has worked with well over 150
healthcare organisations nationally. Kate leads a
team of talented practitioners at Niche.
Kate.Jury@nicheconsult.co.uk
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