You may have seen the call from the RCVS for participants to pilot its new leadership and management course, and may have wondered if you should do it. If you’re not a “manager” are you really a leader? Would it benefit you?
I had many of the same thoughts as you when I saw the article, and also the fact it was based on the very successful NHS model with the Edward Jenner Leadership programme might have put more people off – if I’m not sure if I’m a leader or manager then if this course is extrapolated from the “people” field will I even find out? Some things we learn from our “people” counterparts are great and some are hard to put into practice, so how will this particular venture work?
You can read about the launch of the scheme here, and what caught my eye was that it asked you to listen to two episodes of an audio drama that would form the basis for weekly discussions. I’ve already outed myself as an Archers fan (pretty much a year ago as I write), so maybe any negative preconceptions I had could be overcome by a few fictional characters from the vet world?
Joining up
I listened, I gave feedback as asked, then waited…
It’s always hard when organisations ask for people to pilot new schemes – you always think they probably don’t need or want your viewpoint, but the whole point of asking for feedback is they DO need and want as wide a range of feedback as possible. You don’t need to agree, disagree or know lots about the subject area, as learning is part of the process.
For this scheme that boded well for me as, despite holding senior nurse positions and being involved on many levels in supporting staff – providing training, and dealing with the business needs of a veterinary practice – I’ve never wanted to be the “head nurse”.
I don’t know the reasons for this, but I have always believed every vet nurse is a “leader”. That said, why did I never feel like taking on the most obvious leading role in veterinary nursing if I felt I was already a “leader” as a vet nurse? The course advert brought this question back to me, and I hoped it might help me find the answer.
How did it work?
The course was structured over four weeks and each week we had two episodes of Glenvern – the audio drama – where we followed characters in their work and home life, and saw their problems and dilemmas. Questions and discussions followed online, and sometimes some further reading or videos to watch.
It was all manageable and everyone seemed to go at a pace that suited them, so although I was sometimes a week behind, people still posting and discussing that episode.
The first two weeks helped me see my feeling all vet nurses are leaders is compatible with my lack of desire to be a head nurse. Leadership and management, although having overlapping areas, can be two separate identities and you can be a leader without being a manager, and vice versa.
Answering questions I didn’t know I had
Weirdly, this took a load off my mind I didn’t realise was there – I hadn’t been making poor career choices by not going for head nurse roles, and I could see where my unintentional leadership had sometimes caused issues with those that were managers.
It has not been unusual for colleagues to seek out my views and advice on cases and situations and I know I have had to handle those situations carefully to ensure those that “manage” those areas did not feel undermined or left out.
I could also see where myself and a team have gravitated towards a “leader” not in a management role and how this has created issues. It’s not a bad thing to have natural leaders not in management positions, but we all need to understand the differences between leadership and management, and the impact of formal and informal positions of seniority.
I was right – we are all leaders
Perhaps the best thing about this course was it supported my belief all VNs are leaders; that we don’t have to be in a recognised role to be an effective leader in our teams.
There were a number of VNs doing the course, so I hope we will all spread the word about the positivity of the course content and that all vets and VNs can gain from it, whatever their position in the work place.
The course was also another timely reminder we have some wonderfully supportive communities within our industry, and the discussions and support shown during this pilot made me, yet again, very happy to be here with you all.
Next time you see an opportunity to pilot a new venture or feed back to our regulator, I would say “go for it” and see what you could learn.
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