In this episode, we join Maria Aslam, Specimen Reception Manager, to talk about how her experience as a Biomedical Scientist has influenced the manager she has become today. Maria reflects upon what empowerment means to her, the impact of being present as a leader and the power of listening to your staff whilst maintaining a balance between your welfare as a manager and the service you provide for your patients.
3 Quotes to lead by...
1. Maintain your welfare
‘If you don’t maintain the welfare of yourself, the service itself will suffer. You’ve got your service in one hand, and then you’ve got your welfare in the other hand, and you’ve got to balance both. I need to look after myself in order to look after my service.’
Q. How do you balance your needs as a manager against the service you provide for your patients? Are you building time into your week for self-care and reflection?
2. Be there for your team
‘I always like to be there for my team as much as I can. So when I come into work, the first thing I’ll do is go to my section, and I greet my team and ask them how’s everything, and I do that throughout the whole day.’
Q. How regularly are you checking in with your team? Would your team describe you as being present as a manager?
3. Listening resolves everything
‘Listening resolves everything. You don’t have to give solutions all the time. When you listen to someone, you lighten their load. Listening to them helps them, it helps me, it helps my service, it helps the welfare of myself, and that is empowerment to me. As long as I know that I’m there to listen to my staff and they feel like they can say anything to me, I’ve achieved a good level as a manager.’
Q. Do your team feel listened to? Are you finding the right balance between talking and listening to your staff?
External Resources
6 Ways to Weave Self-Care into Your Workday
If You Aspire to Be a Great Leader, Be Present
6 Ways Effective Listening Can Make You A Better Leader
