This report provides a personal account of my leadership journey, explores how I have met my career leadership objectives, plus focuses on how I have led on an improvement project during the period of the scholarship.
I am indebted to the legacy which Florence Nightingale has left for us, to always aspire to and aim high for improving the world for the patients and the people we serve. She was of course an infamous ambassador for the essential role of nursing care, while totally understanding the importance of investing in public health to make any sustained efforts in improving health for all. A woman ahead of her time, who must have rocked the boat a few times believing in a vision and purpose that things could be much better than they were.
I would like to hugely thank the Florence Nightingale foundation, Liz Robb as the CEO and the Board of Trustees for continuing to live the legacy through nurses, midwives and other allied health professionals by providing these excellent opportunities in the 21st century to myself and colleagues. I would also like to thank The Burdett Trust for Nursing for the sponsorship of the scholarship. The opportunities are current and relevant for the changing times of healthcare today and tomorrow. I feel truly privileged. I would also like to thank my coach Pippa Gough, who was particularly important at the start of this journey.
I would particularly like to thank my former and current CEO, Bob Hudson and Tracey Cooper and Sir Mansel Aylward our Chair in Public Health Wales, for fully supporting and sponsoring my leadership scholarship. All three individuals believe passionately in developing people and demonstrate that in their individual leadership styles.
I would also like to thank other colleagues in Public Health Wales who have supported and encouraged my growth and development in particular Professor Peter Bradley who provided a really helpful role as a mentor and sounding board. (He tells me I provided that role for him also)!
Now to my fellow scholars who have been a great gang to get to know. I feel very proud of the achievements that the group has accomplished both individually and collectively. They say success breeds success and I think this cohort reflects that brilliantly. It is really important to have success to make things better for our patients and the public. The entire group is in a perfect position to make their own contribution towards that legacy and I am confident that they will. They are all, compassionate, enthusiastic and inspiring people.
There are three areas that the scholarship has made a visible difference to me in my leadership role.
PERSONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
The opportunities I have had during the time of the scholarship both formally and informally have been have exceeded my expectations. I believe that my moral compass is always there to keep me focused on doing the right thing, with the wellbeing of people upper most in my mind. The main contributors to creating and implementing a vision for the future have to be the public, patients and our staff. As leaders at all levels we need to remember, listening, learning and taking a step forward is simple to say but more difficult to do. I know that as a leader, I will never be a finished article as there will always be another perspective to learn about and understand. We have to test out new ideas, which might not be perfect, in fact probably won’t be. In testing new ways of doing things we are learning together and making progress. Understanding this as a credible leadership approach has been significant learning for me. I understand that there are moments when authorative leadership is necessary, however intuitively I knew and have now experienced the theory and the application which supports a more enriching and sustainable leadership approach most of the time, that of facilitative and collaborative leadership.
CAREER LEADERSHIP OBJECTIVES
My career leadership objective was set by myself and by the CNO for Wales. My objective was to join the executive team and be able to make a difference. The CNO wanted the Nurse Director post to become a full executive member of the Public Health Wales Board.
In the April 2015 Board meeting, the Public Health Wales Board ratified the Board position of Director of Quality, Nursing and Allied Health Professionals. For me this signals recognition that a Nursing voice at the Board of Public Health Wales is seen as a significant contribution.
I recognise that it is my job to keep working hard to ensure that this remains a legacy for the contribution that nurses can make to improving population health and to future nursing leaders in the role.
PATIENT CARE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT WORKED ON DURING SCHOLARSHIP
Service user experience
Since the commencement of my leadership in contributing to this area; I have led the implementation on a change of focus and direction in relation to the importance and necessary prominence of Service User Experience/engagement in developing and delivering on our strategic objectives and services. I can see the progress being made going from strength to strength in the organisation. The Service User panel which was established a year ago is going well as a method of sharing best practice and putting the focus on Service Users as more central to the business of the organization.The Welsh Audit Office has recently reviewed the organization and have provided encouraging feedback, observing improved focus on Service user experience. It had been my aim to get service users to present or share their experiences at the Board meetings. This has now started to happen with a recent example of a Service User from the deaf community presenting at our board with the support of her interpreters. This usefully raised the importance of access for a range of underrepresented groups who may experience difficulty in accessing our screening services or when wanting to raise a concern. We will be undertaking further work to assess the issue of access.