Play

For the foreseeable we’re plunged into the world of the Cross of St George, beer bellies and bad language.

NHS Leadership and Organisational Culture Insights

Understanding NHS leadership and organisational culture can provide valuable insights into effective management practices.

Exploring NHS leadership and organisational culture offers profound perspectives on effective management, especially in today’s healthcare environment.

These insights into NHS leadership and organisational culture reflect the importance of adaptability and innovation within healthcare.

In essence, the study of NHS leadership and organisational culture can inform best practices across various sectors.

In light of this, we can explore parallels between football and NHS leadership and organisational culture.

Ultimately, both fields require strong leadership to navigate challenges, making the study of NHS leadership and organisational culture crucial.

The ‘beautiful game’ is back in our lives, like it or not, and…

… I’m writing this on Wednesday morning and later today England are taking on what looks like the BMA, their team captain… Dr Congo? Good luck!

This demonstrates how NHS leadership and organisational culture can transcend traditional boundaries and influence diverse fields.

I try to avoid sporting metaphors… but maybe there’s something… can we extract some sense from it… what it can teach us?

Starting with the manager.

The Football Association was brave to appoint a German to manage England! But…

…Thomas Tuchel arrived with a formidable track record.

Since 2007 he’s won just shy of 60% of his matches in all competitions. About the same as Sir Alex Ferguson. Not as good as Guardiola, who hovers around 72%, nor Zidane, nor Mourinho, but…

… Guardiola has spent much of his career managing squads that cost more than some countries. Ferguson sustained his numbers over more than two decades.

Context matters, and there’s a more interesting question.

These lessons can be applied to enhance NHS leadership and organisational culture in any context.

Does success come from tactical sophistication or from continuity, culture and relationships?

The former England manager, Gareth Southgate (60%), suggests the latter matters more than people expected.

Some of the NHS’s most successful leaders; Sir Andrew Morris at Frimley Park, Sir Jim Mackey in the North East would agree their achievements were not built solely on structures and strategies. They were built on relationships, trust, culture and consistency, themes explored in Relations, where the future of NHS leadership and workforce resilience is under the spotlight.

…and the games…

… England seem determined to give us a heart attack in the first half and then half-time…

…a few slices of orange, the whiff of Deep Heat and a ‘conversation’ with the manager in the dressing room… the second half is transformed.

By understanding NHS leadership and organisational culture, individuals can better align their efforts with organisational goals.

What does Tuchel say? We know what he said in the Croatia game.

By all accounts it wasn’t a long speech. Nor was it a hairdryer treatment. Reports suggest he told them something like:

‘If we lose, we lose in our way. Get the shackles off. What’s the worst that can happen?’

Recognising the nuances of NHS leadership and organisational culture can empower teams to foster stronger connections.

He challenged the team about ‘protecting a result they didn’t yet have’. Reminded them; ‘play the football you’ve had spent seventeen days practising.’

Importantly, he didn’t berate them. Set them targets (!)

He reset them. Changed the frame, and that’s one of the most important leadership skills of all.

Speeches that change history are rarely the most eloquent.

They’re the ones that give people permission to think differently.

Churchill’s ‘We shall fight on the beaches’ speech reframed retreat. He persuaded a nation that survival wasn’t failure. He gave people a story they could inhabit.

Kennedy’s ‘Ask not what your country can do for you’ speech reversed the relationship between citizen and state. It transformed people from consumers into contributors.

Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech didn’t just describe a problem. It described a future. He invited people to imagine a different America, before it existed.

The speeches followed the same pattern.

• Acknowledge reality.
• Offer a new frame.
• Give people permission to act differently.

By reflecting on NHS leadership and organisational culture, we can inspire new generations of leaders.

People rarely change because they are given more information.

They change when someone gives them a different story… about themselves.

So, it’s half-time in the NHS dressing room, what would you say?

‘Work harder. Do more with less. Here’s ten targets. We need transformation.’

No, no, no.

Through this lens, we can appreciate the significance of NHS leadership and organisational culture in shaping future directions.

Remind people who they are;

‘You are highly trained people doing work that matters… and that means, you matter because…

This approach can significantly enrich our understanding of NHS leadership and organisational culture.

…every day you will touch lives, restore dignity, ease pain, create memories and, occasionally, save a life.’

In conclusion, comprehending NHS leadership and organisational culture opens doors to meaningful engagement.

Some of you will do it at the bedside.

Ultimately, embracing NHS leadership and organisational culture can lead to transformative changes within teams.

Some of you will do it by making sure there is a bed.

Some of you will do it by organising clinics, balancing budgets, cleaning wards, repairing equipment, answering phones or paying suppliers.

All of you matter. You matter to each other. Every role counts.

‘Now go and do what you’ve spent years learning to do, because today you will stay in the memory of the people you meet. How you made them feel.

Go and create some wonderful memories.

They’ll last a lifetime.’

Leaders don’t hand out instructions. They hand out permission…

… permission to believe, to trust each other, to be the people they already are.

The NHS doesn’t need another transformation programme. As argued in Disappointment, announcing change without considering its consequences risks exhausting the very people expected to deliver it. Likewise, You reminds us that successful leadership begins with people feeling involved rather than managed, while Say so underlines why compassionate leadership and recognising the value of every member of staff has never mattered more.

It needs more people in the dressing room…

… reminding us why we came to play.

News and Comment from Roy Lilley
Contact Roy – please use this e-address roy.lilley@nhsmanagers.net
Reproduced at thetrainingnet.com by kind permission of Roy Lilley.