Better leadership, better care:How strengthening leadership canhelp you drive quality
LCAS Forum Tri-Borough Event
Hammersmith, 117th July 2013
Debbie Sorkin
Chief Executive, The National Skills Academy for Social Care
What this presentation covers
Introduction: the role of the Skills Academy around leadership
Leadership; what we think it is, why we think it matters – especially now
What leaders can do to make social care excellent: practical steps
oUse The Leadership Qualities Framework
oRecruit and select
oFocus on development and continuous improvement
oMeasure something
oSupport your Registered Managers
oCome together in a new social care landscape
oRecognise and celebrate: stand up for social care
How everyone has a part to play: Leadership starts with all of us
Introduction: the role of the Skills Academy around leadership
•“The sector needs high-quality leadership at all levels...[it] is essential tothe delivery of all the proposals in this White Paper.”
Caring for our future: reforming care and support, July 2012
•“[Social Care] lacks confidence. As a result it is timid in its vision andambition for how adult social care services can be delivered.”
Social Care: A Review. Dame Denise Platt, 2007
“There is a unique culture within social care....Social care is oftenpositioned ‘in the shadows’. This is disempowering [and] has the effect ofreducing confidence and stifling innovation.”
Feedback from Skills Academy consultation on Leadership Strategyfor Adult Social Care, 2012
Traditions...
The role of the Skills Academy:leading on leadership in social care
Backed by DH and BIS
Covering adult social care but alsoworking with health and children’s services
Specific remit to improve leadership and
commissioning, and to support Registered
Managers
Employer-led: reaching providers, trainers,
local authorities and other commissioners
Membership body
leadership programmes for all levelsendorsement for high quality trainers
Leadership Starts with MeLeadership Qualities FrameworkLeadership Development Forum
Some of our Members
Cheshire Homecare Services Ltd
Leadership:what we think it is
Not just about authority at the top oforganisations
It’s a practical understanding – andawareness – about how you do whatyou do, and the impact on others
So it’s about behaviours, and takingresponsibility for them
And it’s everyone’s business – peopleworking at all levels in social care
“People do not experience our values,they experience our behaviours.”
Bill Mumford, CEO, MacIntyre
Leadership:why we think it matters, especially now
•Demandgrowing and becoming more complex
e.g. ageing population, ‘the oldest old’,
changes in people’s expectations
•Supply/Resourcesreducing in relation to time and money
e.g. local authority cuts, lower household
income, fewer resources for training
•Changesbewildering and far-reaching
e.g. in structures, customer base,
regulation and relationships
•Culturesome things aren’t changing enough
“Who Cares?”: 83% of respondents felt the caresector was negatively represented in the media
Demand: (Life) expectancy and expectations
Leadership:why we think it matters, especially now
•Demandgrowing and becoming more complex
e.g. ageing population, ‘the oldest old’,
changes in people’s expectations
•Supply/Resourcesreducing in relation to time and money
e.g. local authority cuts, lower household
income, fewer resources for training
•Changesbewildering and far-reaching
e.g. in structures, customer base,
regulation and relationships
•Culturesome things aren’t changing enough
“Who Cares?”: 83% of respondents felt the caresector was negatively represented in the media
Implications: good leadership can be a lifeline:the place of leadership is to help you deliver quality in difficult times
Unprecedented mix of circumstances: demand, supply, structural change, cultural
stasis – leading to:
oRevenue challenges and funding pressures for employers – and for some, issuesof managing growth/consolidation
oNeed to do more – and more complex - with less
oWorking with wider group of stakeholders – CCGs, public health, personal budgetholders, housing, planning
oNeed for adaptability/innovation - reconfiguring services, working with newclient groups, providing flexible care models
oNeed to re-inculcate the old virtues and values – dignity, compassion –emphasised especially post-Winterbourne and Mid-Staffs
What you can do to strengthen leadership:The Leadership Qualities Framework
Guide to what good leadership looks like
Describes what good leadership looks like
in different settings and situations
Defines good leadership for people at
different levels:
Front-line Staff
Front-line Leaders
Operational Leaders
Strategic Leaders
Basis in values and behaviours that followon from them
Grounded in everyday practice and writtenin plain English, so accessible to everyone
Applicable in integrated services
The Leadership Qualities Framework:how it works
Based on structure of NHSLeadership Framework
Groups behaviours into seven areas,called Dimensions
Five Dimensions relate to areas inwhich all social care professionalsneed to demonstrate leadership
Two apply specifically to senior staff
Each Dimension has four elements
The LQF takes each element andgives a short description of whatquality leadership looks like atdifferent levels
The Leadership Qualities Framework:how it can help you in driving quality
Essential tool for small, medium andlarge employers to measure andstrengthen leadership capacity
Also for micro-providers, user-ledorganisations, and service users whocommission services
For commissioners and regulators touse as a guide/quality indicator
Use for recruitment, performancemanagement, appraisal and CPD
Mapped to CQC Essential Standards
Online self-assessments forbenchmarking: 360° feedback:organisational assessment
What you can do to strengthen leadership:actively recruit and select for leadership behaviours and social carevalues
Examples: MacIntyre, AnchorValues-based toolkit for employers - go towww.nsasocialcare.co.uk
The MacIntyre Profile: Great Interactions
Starting point: “what makes a great careworker?”
Led to personality profile for people whoconsistently deliver high quality,personalised care, and framework forrecruitment
Now shapes overall workforce policy: allemployees responsible for standard oftheir own practice: line managersresponsible for team practice
What you can do to strengthen leadership:see leadership as for everyone, see it as a craft, and develop it
“...there are certain aspects that must bethere in any leader: intelligence andemotional intelligence are two aspects,but you can teach skills, you can givepeople opportunity to develop leadershipconfidence. “
“So while you do need some basic coreprinciples and values and intelligence, youcan teach leadership.”
Commodore Jake Moores, Head of RoyalNaval College, Dartmouth: Skills AcademySeminar Series for Senior Leaders.
What you can do to strengthen leadership:focus on behaviours and use coaching/reflective approaches
Example: Front-Line Leaders Programme
“I am now constantly assessing my ownpractice and have the means to bettermyself, which in turn creates a happier,smoother workplace, which mostimportantly improves the quality ofservice we offer.”
Leadership development for front-line orfirst-time leaders
Workplace-based: uses coaching and self-reflection, building self-awareness aroundimpact on others and using outcomes asbasis for action
What you can do to strengthen leadership:measure something
Use any of the seven Dimensionsand the behaviours described inthem
You don’t need to be an academicor have a research grant
Ask your Staff, Service Users andCarers/Relatives
What is interesting to you?
If you measure somethinginteresting, you’ll find somethinginteresting
Just start – be a ‘positive deviant’
What you can do to strengthen leadership:support your Registered Managers
New programme now available from
the Skills Academy, including:
national network
community of practice
funding for local networks
free training events
advice, guidance and support
HR, legal and experiencedRegistered Manager support
Online resources
What you can do to strengthen leadership:come together in a new social care landscape
Practice leadership - networks andforums of support, e.g. forRegistered Managers
Collaborative leadership - linkswith commissioners – health,social care, individual
Community leadership - links withand for community groups andmicro-employers: focus on assetsand social capital
What you can do to strengthen leadership:recognise and celebrate: stand up for social care
What you can do to strengthen leadership:Celebrate and influence: stand up for social care
Social care as key driver of local economies
Social care as growth sector
Social care as local employer
Social care as community hub/link
Social care as source of innovation
Social care as source of good newsstories for local media/MPs/Councils/Health and Wellbeing Boards
Social care staff as people to be celebrated
Everyone has a part to play:Leadership starts with all of us.
Because everyone can dosomething about changing whatthey do and how they do it.
So everyone can be a leader tosome degree.
Everyone can have a go, andeveryone can make a difference.
And everyone can be a force forchange.
The National Skills Academy for Social Carewww.nsasocialcare.co.ukdebbie.sorkin@nsasocialcare.co.uk