Share
If there’s one issue that will be the touchstone for success during 2010 it has to be trust.
When we look back to 2009 so many issues have had trust at their heart. Government, banks and economic management, the war that was Iraq and the war that is Afghanistan, and the future of public services funding are just a few disparate examples linked by the common theme of trust.
Little if any change can achieved successfully without trust being in place first. The trouble is it takes time to build up but only a poor decision or inappropriate remark to throw it all away. Remember Gerald Ratner?
For the NHS to successfully navigate the challenges of the next few years will require, first and foremost, trust. Trust that the new government (of whatever hue) fully understands the real implications of the recession for public services, trust in senior NHS management that they will be supported and defended politically and managerially when tough choices have to made, and that reciprocity of trust is maintained with clinical staff and the trades unions when the going gets tough.
Of course we trust people on the basis of what they do, not on the basis of what they say they’re going to do. Trust is one of the few solely action-based concepts in management. The ongoing debate about the control of bonuses for bank employees and the Mexican standoff that has occurred between banks and government is a good example here. Whilst the recent accusation from the President of the Girls’ School Association that schools are subjected to an ‘initiative a week without the sense of a coherent plan’ (reminiscent of the NHS a decade ago I think) will further test teacher and parent trust in government.
Yet for the NHS there is much to be positive about. The FT movement has considerably sharpened the quality of NHS management, WCC is driving up commissioning capability albeit more slowly, and the NHS overall has a more solid foundation of sustained delivery and service quality than at the time of the last recession. A good place for starting to build trust perhaps?
Have your say
You must sign in to make a comment.
From The Leadership Consultant
Neil Goodwin is a director of GoodwinHannah and visiting professor of leadership studies at Manchester Business School.
Tags
leadership,
failure,
relationships,
Boards,
political leadership,
non-executive directors,
coalition,
health policy,
Universities,
Cooperatives,
change,
foundation trusts,
health system development plans,
management research,
Idiosyncracy,
process,
communication,
management,
Economic downtrun,
Personality
Readers' comments (3)
Simon Dodds | 18-Jan-2010 7:22 am
Hurray for Neil - he has pointed out the elephant in the room. It seems odd that, in a system where the service we deliver to patients is based on trust, outside the clinical encounter there appears to be a fairly low level of it. Does this say something about the human condition? There is an excellent book on this subject called "The Speed of Trust" which I found inspiring - the primary messge I took from it was that building trust starts with the individual. If you don't "trust" yourself it is easy to develop a form of self-deception in which you justify your actions by blaming others. This latter idea comes from another illuminating book "Leadership - and Self-Deception" which I would also recommend. Thanks again Neil for getting the debate going!!
Unsuitable or offensive?
Derek Mowbray | 19-Jan-2010 4:31 pm
I agree completely. Trust and commitment lead to engagement, and engaged people give more of themselves to the activities of their profession and organisation, resulting in lower levels of psychological distress (the costs of which are massive, in particular the costs of presenteeism). All of this links to wellbeing and the impact of wellbeing on performance. The behaviours that build trust and commitment are set out in the draft Code of Conduct for Healthcare Management, out for consultation later this month, but available to see at www.ihm.org.uk
Unsuitable or offensive?
Anonymous | 23-Jan-2010 8:43 am
Trust is the key to successful leadership. But Trust is earned. It must be generated through honesty and time. It must come from truth which is not something the NHS is famous for. A good theoretical article straight out of a text book. Perhaps you could work on it's application to the real world?
Unsuitable or offensive?