If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu – it’s time to work differently to truly collaborate. In terms of neighbourhood working to be at the table is important to represent ourselves, our patients and service users so that we can voice concerns, be part of decision making and influence locally. This will take a new confidence to get involved – to push for the meeting invitation, be fully present, be heard and be part of what develops. Read more about the power of working together and across organisational boundaries in this article.
Helen Ellis
If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu – it’s time to work differently to truly collaborate
Mark Carney’s recent speech at Davos serves to prompt further thought about collaborative working. He talked about the “strength of our value and value of our strength”. Neighbourhood health teams have demonstrable value and the potential power of working together across organisational boundaries is a strength. Leaders will need to inspire and motivate so that both strength and value are maximised and can achieve the outcomes as set out in the 10 Year Health Plan.
Carney goes on to say that it’s important to “share enough common ground to work together”. This applies to neighbourhood working – we don’t need to be totally aligned but look to where there’s some common purpose, the same values, a shared focus on particular priorities and that can be enough. Enough to start a meaningful, useful conversation and enough on which to build. Not global politics perhaps, but let’s get talking to the community and find where there can be mutual benefit, small steps to start with that can be enough.
“Nostalgia is not a strategy”. We can’t rely on how we’ve always done things, because the world is changing. Looking back to see what can be learnt has its place but clinging on to what may have worked (or not worked) previously, under a different structure, with different funding flows and different workforce pressures may prohibit ideas and stifle change
Finally, he says “if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu”. It may not be the global table, but it’s worth savouring the thought in terms of neighbourhood working and realising that we need to consider this is bigger. To be at the metaphorical ‘big table’ is important in order to represent patients and service users so that we can voice concerns, be part of decision making and influence locally. This will take a new confidence to get involved – to push for the meeting invitation, be fully present, be heard and be part of what develops. Dr Minal Bakhai, senior responsible officer for the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme (NNHIP), opened last year’s Neighbourhood health regional learning events with the words “this programme is built on a simple but profound ethos: ‘do with’, not ‘do to’.” To ‘do with’ needs the neighbourhood table to be open and welcoming. It will inevitably mean new faces, new relationships and there will be people who don’t understand each other’s job titles or remits. This is where influencing and communication skills need to be adaptive and persuasive. Leaving role power at the door and relying more on leading without authority may take a little thought but ultimately, it’s the energy you bring and the way you show up and sit at that table that will shape how the neighbourhood responds to your contribution. Give yourself and your colleagues permission to be human and this in turn will contribute further to the psychological safety required to work across organisational boundaries. Keith Ferazzi (author of Leading without authority) talks about the idea of fostering connection and trust. He looks at this both practically ie how we start and run meetings and behaviourally in how we relate to each other so as we build new neighbourhood relationships, let’s look at the format and the style of meetings and our communication generally and start as we mean to go on – doing it ‘with’ each other.
PCC is supporting leaders through a variety of leadership development courses. What makes us different is that we work with a coaching approach which means we encourage participants to think and talk and work things out themselves and together – to ‘do with, not to’. We ask challenging questions to provoke self-reflection with the aim of testing out ideas and importantly planning action. Participants leave our programmes with a plan for how they will apply the learning, fine-tune behaviours to make the desired changes and get things done.
Action learning sets are a popular way to get some of this thinking started and explore these new behaviours and crucially work out how to make immediate changes.
PCC’s leadership support is different because it’s designed to feel bespoke so that each participant can take away what they need in real time. We create a really safe space in which groups build trust, share and learn from one another.
Attending our sessions gives you the opportunity to share your own experience, professionally and personally from your role and career and to learn from others to further develop your confidence and your leadership. Please get in touch to find out more helen.ellis@pcc.nhs.uk.
Author Helen Ellis, head of development, PCC.
