David Nicholson says that leadership absolutely focused on the customer, the patient, on the community, makes a bigger difference than one that is focused on the bureaucracy and the centre.

 

Richard Branson also has advice:

 

  • change the world, even if in a small way
  • make a difference and help others
  • do no harm
  • always think what you can do to help.

 

Both of them have earned the right to offer advice to those who wonder where to focus their energies, as both can claim to be successful achievers.

 

But how can we tell if we are getting it right?  I was watching “Britain’s Got Talent” over the weekend. Each of those contestants believed passionately in what they contributed, in all their different ways. It was the public votes that decided who would go through to the next stage – whatever “the judges” thought!

 

And isn’t it very much the same for us?  The public, the patient, the community, will tell us if we are getting it right.  I was at a consultation event recently when service users told us in very clear terms what it felt like to be recipients of our services. It makes me even more determined to involve them at every stage of the process as we plan our training needs, not just for customer care, but in all our staff development – and to involve them wherever possible in delivery. 

 

It’s so obvious, isn’t it? 

 

And reading? “Trying Hard is Not Good Enough” by Mark Friedman – How to produce measurable improvements for customers and communities. Read this if you are interested in getting from talk to action quickly – simple, common sense, plain language! www.raguide.org