Leadership is another essential ingredient in implementing personalisation. Service user participation and leadership is a key factor in culture and service change. Good leaders can, for example, bring clarity, create the right culture, encourage enthusiasm, increase trust by being open, keep the momentum for change going, make connections, bring people together, explore opportunities and encourage innovation, creativity and leadership in others. They will also encourage learning from experience in a risk aware (rather than averse) culture and be active in developing a service user led culture. Good leadership and good leaders should be found everywhere - for example, people with mental health needs, carers, elected members, board members, senior managers and executive teams, local managers
and staff, professionals from all areas, clinicians, care co- ordinators, advocates, community and faith groups and individual citizens.
Working to put people first: the strategy for the adult social care workforce (DH, 2009). Identifies leadership as one of the key priorities in bringing about the changes needed to deliver Putting People First. ‘Leadership, effective management and commissioning skills are crucial to transforming adult social care. Leaders will need to work together across sectors (adults and children, social and health care, housing, leisure, transport) to drive change, supporting and involving local communities... User-led organisations and networks will grow and provide strong voices for people seeking support and using services to help change the way services are delivered'.
The Darzi Report on the future of the NHS also emphasises that ‘Making change actually happen takes leadership. It is central to our expectations of the healthcare profession tomorrow' (DH, 2008) and personal health budgets: First Steps (DH, 2009) is clear that ‘Strong leadership is crucial, including from the most senior levels of the lead PCT and its key partners. Only then will individuals be supported to make different and innovative choices that meet needs in the most appropriate way'.
I can have a leadership role and there is good leadership wherever it is needed.
Examples of things that help with this:
- Expert by experience consultants and advisers with leadership roles in organisations
- user led organisations and networks that provide strong voices
- Leaders in key roles acting as role models in their behaviour and attitudes and keeping in regular direct contact with people who use services, carers and staff
- Leadership programmes for all (e.g. people with mental health needs, carers, elected members, board members, senior managers and executive teams, local managers and staff, professionals from all areas, clinicians, care co-ordinators, advocates, community groups and individual citizens), delivered in a variety of accessible ways
- Leadership training for people who use services and carers to help them develop confidence as equal partners with policy makers, commissioners and providers
- Mentoring and peer support programmes to encourage and support people in their leadership roles and bring about change
- Equality and diversity leadership
- Publicly visible support for leadership capacity development from government, local politicians, and executive boards and teams in health and social care organisations in the public and independent sector
- Developing the leadership role of commissioners (for example, training, mentoring, learning networks, information about good practice etc)
- Recognition of the need to support smaller organisations to access leadership and management courses
- A vigorous partnership approach (see Partnership section )
- Clarity of vision for future development and direction (see Creative Commissioning)
- Celebration of excellence in examples of good leadership, by internal rewards and acknowledgement, and external accreditation schemes
- Further research to demonstrate the link between good leadership and high quality health and social care, and to develop good models
- Leadership from government on arts and health, to create an environment in which it is legitimate and considered to be good practice to invest in arts and health
SIGNPOSTS
Service users and carers as leaders
1. The NHS Confederation is an independent membership body for a range of NHS organisations and independent health care providers. The NHS Confederation Mental Health Network is for mental health and learning disability organisations and has a range of programmes and service groups. It has employed 2 Service User Consultants. www.nhsconfed.org/Networks/MentalHealth/AboutTheMentalHealthNetwork/Pages/AboutTheMHNetwork.aspx
2. Leadership and empowerment in mental health A programme for people who have used mental health services and wish to develop the skills and knowledge to lead change and make a contribution to service development Liverpool John Moores university. www.ljmu.ac.uk/ courses/cpd/75219.htm
3. Partners in Policymaking A leadership course for disabled adults, carers and parents of disabled children. www.partnersinpolicymaking.co.uk. North West ROLE Group: contact: paul.greenwood@northwest.nhs.uk. Citizen Leaders programmes in the regions contact: Tricia Nicoll tricia@tricianicoll.com
leadership development
4. SCIE Social Care Leadership Development Programme The Social Care Leadership Development Programme for senior leaders in children's and adults' social care in England, run in conjunction with Birmingham university, the Tavistock Centre and the kings Fund. The first programme has been completed and a new, expanded programme will start in 2008. www.scie.org.uk/workforce/ldp.asp
5. Leading Practice: A development programme for first line managers. www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide27/index.asp
6. RCN Clinical leadership programme. www.rcn.org.uk/development/practice/leadership
7. NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement. This site has information about programmes and projects for developing leadership skills and capacity in the NHS. www.institute.nhs.uk/building_capability/ general/leadership_home.html
8. A leadership development programme developed through an alliance of health and social care organisations in the NW. www.cflg.manchester.ac.uk/downloads/social_care_programme_brochure.pdf
Department of health commitment to leadership development
9. The Department of Health is:
- working with the NHS Leadership Academy to see where there can be an increasing focus on joint leadership initiatives between health and social care
- identifying ‘workforce champions'
- considering what needs to be done to develop future leaders and grow talent
See Chapter 3, Leadership in: Working to put people first: The strategy for the adult social care workforce in England, Department of Health, 2009. www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndguidance/dH_098481
research
10. SCIE knowledge Review 17. Developing Social Care: Service users driving culture change, SCIE, 2007
Report on research of current literature and practice around service user involvement, the extent to which service user involvement has brought improvements to social work and social care and where the change has become established practice. www.scie.org.uk/publications/knowledgereviews/kr17.pdf
11. Employer led leadership and management training in the social care sector: A report by the National Care Forum, 2009. www.nationalcareforum.org.uk/content/Ncf%20Social%20care%20Leadership%20and%20Management%20Report.pdf
