Positively changing the way it feels to work in healthcare.

Let’s start here

It’s 2011 and a couple of weeks after starting as the charge nurse, there I am, refereeing a conversation about eggs and lockers.

I knew this was a test, I was overthinking the whole thing and for the life of me I didn’t know why the eggs were so important. 

What hit me was, that from this point on, I’d be the one that had to sort this out. From the big to the small, it was going to come to me. My first thought was ‘well, this will be interesting’.

I wish I could say that my second thought was ‘how can I empower this team to do this for themselves’ but in all honesty, I was swept up in a list of jobs, tasks, things to learn and working out how to get things done - important things - like order more thermometers. 

Aching to make a difference

I loved that job, I wanted to achieve so much, and I could see potential and opportunity everywhere. I had this energy and was aching to make a difference. 

It was also overwhelming, I would look at my desk, as I walked out to go home, thinking of all the things I hadn’t got to, all the stuff I needed to do tomorrow and I’d get home, my brain ticking over ideas, adding more things to my ‘to-do list’ almost in my sleep. This was different from the likely burnout I experienced in my clinical role in the UK - one of the reasons I ran away to New Zealand. This I felt more in control of - but in all honesty, I was fooling myself.

How on earth could I connect and communicate with the team, bring them along and get them on board with the potential for doing things differently?  I had years of clinical experience, an MSc in Cardiology, to back that up, I knew my craft very well, and I was a great nurse. Plus I enjoyed developing people, well to be honest, I enjoyed teaching people and showing them new things, particularly in creative and innovative or different ways - I made learning fun and joyful.

I was starting to understand that leading a whole team would be a step up on that experience and skill set. How was I supposed to know they were all doing what they should be doing and that the patients were getting what they needed? Oh and that everyone - staff and patients were having a good experience in the process. Where are you supposed to start? 

Enter the hope

Then a mini-miracle happened. I was given hope. It was actually a plan, but what was bigger and more energising was the hope. I could see and know I could do this. Yes, it was a programme that the organisation was rolling out, but it had structure and support to go with it. All of a sudden I didn’t need to try and ‘fix’ everything at once, but I could tackle it one thing at a time. And we did. To the point, where the team took control, led the work, owned the work and surpassed everyone’s expectations of what this team could do.

Along the way I was learning a lot, it fast-tracked my leadership and knowing what made people tick, how to get a message across, how to influence and present new ideas, and how sustainable change could work. I made so many mistakes, I messed up with people, in front of people and my ego ran a little wild at times.

Leadership Matters

From this point on, I consumed all I could about leadership, change, and teams. I put the ideas and theories into practice. Testing what worked, what didn’t and what tweaks I needed to make. I got creative, I got support and help, and I said yes to projects to see if we could make them work. I was all in. 

The stories from those early leadership days are the foundations of why I now do what I do. Leadership in healthcare matters. It matters because you set the tone, the pace and the standards for the team you lead - and they will follow the role model and example you set.

Because If you don’t do that intentionally they’ll follow your lead anyway. You’re the one they will look to, do what you do, and how you do it. 

From there to here

10 years on I now provide healthcare leadership coaching and facilitation for those who work and lead in healthcare. The stories and ideas are collated and shared in the weekly email, podcast and blog. 

Working with you is about creating the space that you need, listening deeply to what’s on your mind, where you are at and what I can support or help with. Then it’s generating the hope that you can get there. With that hope you get your spark, you create your plan and then you are off. The plan won’t always work, and that’s why hope matters. Hope tells you that you can make a new plan if that one fails or is crushed in the weight of a million other things being thrown at you.

I believe working and leading in healthcare can and should be joyful. Yes, it’s challenging, demanding and ever-changing. It is also purposeful, fulfilling, and full of joy.