In 2015 I made possibly one of the most important decisions of my professional career, to apply for an Emerging Leaders Scholarship with the Florence Nightingale Foundation. Working as a general practice nurse, my experience was one of increasing pressure, complexity of healthcare needs, rising patient expectations and a ‘tick box’ target driven culture. I wanted to lead new ways of working across primary care, challenging the current ways to enable practices and patients to work differently together. A lack of nursing perspective input at strategic level meant there was limited opportunity to influence the CCG’s direction of nursing across primary and community systems. I became increasingly frustrated by the fact I was able to see opportunities to improve patient care on a wider footprint but I was not in a position to influence and enact the change needed. Being awarded the scholarship gave me the confidence to successfully apply for the position of Primary Care Clinical Advisor at Liverpool CCG. This senior nurse leadership role, endorsed to drive the strategic development of nursing across primary care, gave me the opportunity and authority to bring about the changes I could see as essential.
The report presents my personal learning and development journey, summarising the development of my leadership capability and strategic influencing skills. It shares the journey and insight gained while delivering an individual patient care improvement project, a platform that raised my profile as a nursing leader and strategic change agent. Scholarship reflections demonstrate how the development has helped maximise my professional impact, bringing about change in how I practice as a leader whilst also sharing a number of enablers and tools that have supported this development.
Learning & Development
Recognising that personal change was needed within to successfully change and influence across a wider footprint led me to a trajectory of bespoke learning and development opportunities. Undertaking an in depth assessment of my leadership capability helped me to realise that my enthusiasm, decisive and clear sighted approach is personal to me and that my impact on others may not always be as intended. I have developed a deeper understanding of this and an ability to be in tune with the preferences of others, a key building block that has seen the development of new relationships and partnership working to enact change. I have applied new skills and attributes gained through a 2 day RADA communication and personal impact programme allowing for greater personal effectiveness. Coaching has transformed my thinking as I realise my true potential and ability to lead. It has given me a growth mind-set that places me in wider strategic arenas for greater influence. Working with a highly experienced mentor brought support, challenge and access to wider strategic leader networks. I have gained greater political awareness which has seen a paradigm shift in my thinking. A visit to the House of Lords with Baroness Emerton brought to the forefront my professional responsibility as a nurse to bring about change in health and social policy. Acknowledging this has allowed me to build networks to grow my conviction to enact the change and influence needed.
A weeklong dive into the Institute of Healthcare’s mission of accelerating improvement and their work across the globe has broadened my perspective of healthcare. I now appreciate that learning from outside the NHS is as important as learning from within. The opportunity to learn improvement methods directly from IHI experts has allowed me to change the conversation locally so that data is used for learning rather than judgment. Forging new relationships at organisational level has helped raise the profile of nursing, bringing an influential voice to arenas previously lacking a nursing contribution. I have built new networks nationally and internationally, networks that bring thought diversity, innovation and expertise while offering rich new learning and sharing to drive continual improvement in patient care.
Spending 2 days with a Buurtzorg nursing team in Utrecht, Holland allowed me to see a different approach to the same challenges faced in the UK. Observing the positive impact Buurtzorg nurses have had on patient care through greater control has enabled me to think creatively and differently about addressing some of the most pressing problems currently being faced here. The insight gained from this experience is helping me to have new conversations in order to influence the health and social care system locally.
Patient Care Improvement Project
I have led a large scale change project, one that has seen an increase in the use of self care enabling technology across primary care. It has given me the opportunity to champion a new model of patient care delivery, one that is underpinned by technology, bringing opportunities for better health through increased prevention and supported self care. Learning from my study visit to the Institute of Healthcare Improvement meant improvement methodologies were positively applied to the project. Building strong relationships helped develop trusting partnerships and built the networks in which I operate. Developing personal leadership capability allowed me to take a new conversation to primary care so that workload pressures could be addressed and new ways of working, aligned to the Five Year Forward View adopted. I now fully appreciate the influence personal attributes and leadership capabilities have on any improvement project.
Reflections
The scholarship has taught me that the moments that truly challenge my sense of self are the ones that teach me the most about leading effectively. Growing my authentic leadership style means I gain feedback both at home and work to understand my impact as I proactively seek to be in tune with who I am and what I do. Being my authentic self has made me a richer, more balanced person and is allowing for greater impact both professionally and personally. Raising my profile as a leader has helped me forge new relationships with a wide range of stakeholders including Liverpool’s GP Provider Organisation, allowing me to positively contribute and shape the nursing workforce of the emerging multi-specialist community provider (MCP) model. Championing new models of nursing, I am able to influence across health, social and community systems enabling new networks of care. Exploiting the skills, experiences and relationships built, I am driving new ways of working in multi-professional teams, enabling networks which dissolve traditional boundaries so that patients can take much more control over their own care and treatment.
The scholarship has given me the opportunity to really think about my own leadership career and allowed exploration of both my personal and professional goals. It has given me clarity; my ambition is to work full time in a strategic role influencing nursing on a larger footprint whilst having a recognised national influence. The relationships and networks I have built throughout the programme will continue to grow and will be an asset as I start to carve out the nursing offer across the systems new model of care. As I take my authority as a leader the conviction to continue to work in my values system, promoting nursing and person centred care remains at the forefront of all I do.
Acknowledgments
Firstly I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank The Florence Nightingale Foundation and my sponsor The Burdett Trust for Nursing for awarding such a generous scholarship and for giving me this wonderful opportunity to grow as a leader.
I would also like to thank my mentor Hazel Tongue for her unselfish support, challenge and guidance that has helped widen my perspectives and challenged me to step out of my comfort zone.
Thank you to Liverpool CCG, especially my manager Cheryl Mould and Chief Nurse Jane.Lunt. Without their funding, patience and continued support this opportunity would not have been possible.
Special thanks to my fellow Emerging Leader Scholars. I would have been lost without their support, understanding and continuous encouragement.
And lastly, but certainly not least, thank you to my husband and 3 children for their continued patience, love and support when I have been away from home.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.