In this episode, we spent some time with Karen Biles, Group Support Manager, Facilities, to talk about her skills in transforming teams and services that are not functioning effectively. Karen reflects on managing people and their behaviours, the importance of listening to and engaging your team and dealing with change, negativity and resistance to ensure that we can make things better for our service, staff and ultimately our patients.
3 Quotes to lead by...
1. ACTUALLY LISTEN
‘Listen to people, find out the other side of the story because there is always two sides to the story.’
Q. When was the last time you sat down with your team to find out what’s really going on for them?
2. MANAGE NEGATIVITY AND RESISTANCE
‘I met some resistance from managers that were in post. You have to overcome those boundaries, working with them to explain what my remit was. I wasn’t here to criticise and challenge. I was here to look into how we can make things better for the service, the staff and ultimately the patients because that’s what we’re here to do.’
Q. Have you ever encountered negativity or resistance from your team? How did you overcome these barriers?
3. REACH OUT, ENGAGE AND UNPICK
‘When looking at a service that isn’t functioning, we need to see why it’s not working. We unpicked everything. We looked at every step of the process to enable us to put it back together, so it worked for the team. The team were happier, the image they give off is happier, they’re more positive, and actually, the feedback we get from our customers is we’re giving them a better service.’
Q. Is your service running as effectively as it could? What changes could be made to make things better for your staff and your patients?
External Resources
Why listening to your team is so important and how you can be a better listening-leader
Three Tips For Managing Resistance To Change
9 Simple Ways To Improve Team Effectiveness
