Reflections on another year of learning from leading

Charlie Brown, CEO The Staff College: Leadership in Healthcare

5 January 2024

And so, just like that, another year is upon us.  For me, this week signals a return to the web of different routines in our household and the renewed juggle of complementary and conflicting needs.  But before the new year fully takes off and in recognition that there is something about the transition between years that prompts important moments of reflection, I have endeavoured to put pen to paper with a few reflections of my own learning from leading over this past year.

Sunset behind a lake, with hand touching the water and creating ripples

1.    Awareness is a fundamental but ever-changeable element

Developing a deeper understanding of yourself and awareness of your influence and impact on others is the bedrock of any serious leadership development.  How can you hope to lead others meaningfully if you don’t understand how you come across to them and how your presence is felt by them?  And yet, so many of our assumptions about ourselves are coloured by the way we were brought up, our culture, our experiences (good and bad) and the feedback we’ve had along the way (even more so good and bad!).  And naturally, aren’t always accurate. 

I broadly think I’m a fairly self-aware leader.  I’m fortunate to lead an organisation that has a strong culture of giving and receiving feedback and in my leadership role, enjoy a wide array of perspectives from those that I work with in different settings.  

However, a key reflection this year is that my awareness only takes me as far as the elements I have tried, tested and had feedback on so far.  

As the demands of the context I lead within changes, the array of different contexts I lead within and spectrum of leadership styles and approaches to different problems also increases. And to be truly aware of my impact in different settings requires me to take more time to reflect on the approach I’ve taken for each, and to keep seeking feedback from others that will help me to further refine my approaches.  As I become more deeply aware of my influence and impact in different settings, I also become more aware of the areas I’m not yet aware of.

In summary, awareness remains key, but developing it is never a done deal.

2.    Surely, I’ve done the hard bit now? 

Key reflection of the year number 2 hit me in the Autumn when I realised that for years I have been leading, developing and growing an organisation with the idea that at some point it would become a stable entity.  If any of you reading have ever set up a charity or business, or know those that have, you might recognise the phrase that ‘the first two years are the hardest.’   

But of course, the reality of leading and growing organisations is that with each step of growth there are greater levels of complexity.  The resolution of issues requires attention from multiple perspectives and the impact of small changes can span an organisation and its people and impact in unintended ways in different dimensions.  

The choices and manouvering room for organisations increase but so too does the uncertainty and risk associated with making such choices. Once you’ve invested your time and hard work in to developing a reputation based on the quality of what you do, do you take the risk to pivot into other areas or stick with what you know? And can you realistically stick with what you know in a world that is continuously changing and needs different things?

The evolving situation requires more time to step back and consider the bigger picture – less diving into fix problems. But this requires a discipline of leaders to hold their space to think, to sit with the uncomfortable and to seek the counsel of others and be prepared to accept they don’t know the answers.  

I have been enjoying working in this uncomfortable space of unknowing for quite a few years. But my realisation I will never lead the organisation to a specific point of stability has been like a deep weight taken off my shoulders.  A moment of acceptance that it is the journey that needs to be enjoyed and valued, rather than the destination.

3.    Developing good teams for now and the future 

This year, our organisational purpose and context has led to a need to grow several of our teams, and create new ones.  An earlier version of myself as a leader would have thought about the purpose of the team, the skills and experience we might want within the team, identified the gaps and gone on to look for talented individuals to fulfil them.  

But the 2023 version learnt two key lessons.  The first, is that thinking about what you need now is only half the equation.  In an organisation crafting a vision for the future, as leaders, we need to be thinking about the skills and experience we need to help us realise that future.  And be prepared to think in parallel about who we’re bringing in for both the present and the future.

The second learning point relates to a mindset for giving and receiving feedback – a fundamental part of developing good teams.  In particular, it is the re-framing of giving feedback which views ‘the person as the problem’ to seeing ‘the person as a means to better understanding the problem.’ 

It is always easy under trying circumstances to wonder why individuals have made certain choices.  But I have been trying to suspend my own judgements first and take a more curious approach in difficult moments to understand the perspective of colleagues first.  

Through doing so I’ve had far more productive conversations about resolving issues together. And discovered other underlying issues that may never have been fully surfaced and understood otherwise. 

 

4.    Creating the time to think about change

A common mantra of mine has long been ‘what’s the point of leadership if you’re not trying to make things better?  And…you’re not going to change very much without leadership.’  

As I’ve alluded to already.  This year, Staff College has been going through vast amounts of change to support its managed growth.  Often when I mention the word change, it brings up thoughts of resistance, anxiety, fear and disengagement.  But here it has been positive, collectively owned and well-embraced – even when tackling the difficult and unanswerable questions.

I have been reflecting on my role as a leader in setting the conditions to enable change to happen.  My conclusion has been the investment of my time in thinking about the need for change first.  As well as the context for the organisation, the prioritisation of which changes need to be handled first and the clear articulation of all of these.

Followed by the investment of time with the team to develop a shared understanding of the purpose for change.  To allow time to question assumptions that might have been made.  To understand the constraints and resources available before setting off on a path to rush in and fix things.

And, having reached a position of understanding about why we’re trying to do something, investing yet more time into creating the space for others to think about the issues and bring their ideas into the mix.  This has led to far richer problem solving and greater ownership and engagement with the change.

 In an organisation of our size, it is a lot quicker to work up and down the levels building engagement and support for an idea from the Board to those on the front-line.  But it still requires thought, effort and time to do so.  As well as making an active choice to spend time doing this in place of other things. 

We talk often about being a learning organisation, but my reflection this year is, you can’t be a learning organisation without also being a thinking organisation.

5.    The impact of influence

A core mantra of Staff College is the belief that leaders have more influence than they’re currently using – and an obligation to act.  So, my final end of year reflection is about where I use my influence as a leader and a challenge to myself about whether I too have more than I’m currently using.

This has been less about how I influence within my own organisation.  As the CEO, it is relatively easy to have a lot of influence within the organisation.  But about how I use my influence externally.  

A fascinating part of this job is the opportunity to work with a great number of senior leaders in different organisations across health and social care.  A key realisation this year has been that often I can have more impact not through the elements I have some level of control over.  But through bringing my curiosity, empathy and ability to hold a space for people to think within, along with a dose of supportive challenge.  Helping others to think about their issues more deeply, re-frame them, and feel motivated to go and do something differently about them.  

Softer, intangible and impossible to measure – influence is so often the key.  

And back to my earlier point about thinking.  It is easy to get pulled in to doing too much and stretching yourself too thinly.  I am excellent at it!  An ongoing challenge to myself is regularly checking in, asking am I doing the things that only I can do?  Trying to be purposeful about where I spend my time and questioning whether I’m making best use of my influence.

6.   And a final shameless plug for highlighting the importance of continuing to develop as leaders

Some golden threads run through my reflections of learning from leading over the last year.  The importance of continuing to develop our awareness as leaders.  The challenge of leading in complex systems and working with complex problems.  The need to develop teams for now and the future.  The need to create time to think about change.  And the impact we can have through our influence.  

It is perhaps no surprise then that these same golden threads run through the new Staff College Senior Leadership Development Programme.  Designed by established leaders from health, the military and business, who too have grappled with these challenges.  And now spend their time helping others to do so too.  

Interested in this blog?

The Staff College: Leadership in Healthcare Faculty Blogs are written as a free and open resource for anyone with an interest in leadership and leadership development. You can read the rest of the series here.