A little of what we need
I've been pondering how healthcare leaders could tackle the year ahead. For a number of years healthcare has been front-facing as the world became engulfed with COVID-19, with no sign of a let-up into 2022, what do we need to keep moving forward? COVID-19 is only one of the challenges along with worldwide workforce gaps and a national re-structure are a few things that come to mind.
What I've got for you is a delightful mix of hard and soft skills. I believe they will be core to what we'll need as we head into a new year of uncertainty. The longer-term impacts of COVID-19 will begin to influence us all, what we do and how we do it. We are going to need to develop ourselves in these spaces, building on natural strengths and abilities, connect and get support from those who have natural strengths in these zones and realise when we need help.
A mindset of curiosity.
Originally I titled this section adaptability, the more I wrote and rewrote I realised I was describing curiosity, with adaptability being the outcome of curiosity. This is more than being able to change and morph plans as things around us change - which yes, is still going to be a thing. I believe we also need a mindset that creates the space for us to challenge and adapt our own thinking. As Adam Grant asks us in his book 'Think Again' how do we unlearn, consider how we may be wrong, what we might be missing? What got us here, isn't going to get us there. From how we 'do' change, to who we listen to and who has a voice, we need to be open to and able to shift. Doing the things we've always done and expecting different results isn't going to get us anywhere - how we communicate, how we recruit, how we manage our days, how we run meetings, what could we adapt or change? To develop these superpowers we must create the space for - response not reaction. It's about consideration and thought, we don't want to lose what's working, valuable and supporting us, our teams and our patients. Part of the considerate response is describing the possibilities and how those ideas can be heard and shared. Let's get curious about it all.
Developing emotional intelligence.
The acknowledgement of the impact on our well-being as human beings over the last couple of years has brought many topics that have been skirting the edges more to the centre. How do we retain staff when many are rethinking what matters to them and changing careers? How we talk about how people 'feel' and all that means will be more important than ever - and for the record, I think it was always important. How we feel at work makes a difference to the work we do. We need to improve our emotional literacy, both for our teams and staff and also for ourselves. A huge part of emotional intelligence is self-awareness and that too will be needed for leaders into 2022. How we receive and give feedback to increase our awareness and personal development, how we are open to challenges and questions, how we regulate ourselves and share our vulnerability and mistakes with our teams.
Holding the 'And'
I believe more than ever we need to move from an 'or' space to a place of 'and'. We are messy humans trying to get through the days and our lives. That means complexity. I don't want to be put into a box and I bet you don't either. We can celebrate that and acknowledge it in others. Let's welcome diversity of thinking in ourselves. It's an extension of building emotional intelligence, it's acknowledging we can feel and be two different things at the same time, we can be uncertain in the spaces of complexity and realise that being curious will help us work it out.
Have a support crew
It's easy to feel like it all sits on your shoulders alone, and that can be hard to carry. We all need a connection with a crew around us to spread that load. It's not the load it's the way we carry it - and knowing you aren't alone is one of the most powerful boosts I know. It can be the tribe you work with, it can be a crew of supporters with different roles. We all need them. Leading into 2022 is going to take courage to test and try, we aren't going to get it right every time, yes that means failure, and vulnerability. Knowing someone has your back through that makes it about learning, developing and getting back up to try again. A sense of belonging is a prime human need, creating that place and sense of being able to be yourself is harder than it sounds. Are you up for making that space?
Get into the habit of reflection
A frequently mentioned topic in these Jedi emails, reflection is how we learn and get better for tomorrow. When we are facing change and adapting to new ways, when we are building emotional literacy and taking courageous steps - it is the reflection that embeds the learning into changed behaviours and skills. With a reported 23% improvement in performance with daily reflection, there are many ways this can be done to fit your style and personality. What works is what works for you.
These are the topics I regularly share in the weekly email, with practical and pragmatic ways to include them in your leadership.
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