In this band 6 career workshop, I was asked to explore how Insights might support midwives in considering what leadership and management means to them, with a focus on the move to a band 7 role.
We spent the day looking at the midwives as individuals, in the context of strengths and areas for development, and gave them the challenge of reconsidering their sometimes negative views of management roles. We also explored how they as individuals might behave in leadership and management roles, particularly in relation to recognising and valuing team diversity.
Feedback from the workshop was highly positive. Participants were able to identify clear learning points:
‘Gives good insight into different qualities and what people contribute to a team. Also gives coping strategies to resolve issues and develop yourself’.
‘Very informative into all the different aspects of personalities and how people work and interact with each other. Learning about myself’.
In terms of moving forward from the workshop, participants were clear that Insights – and particularly their personal profile – would be useful:
‘Try not to make assumptions on first encounters. Use the colours when I feel unhappy at individuals’.
‘I will look/read over my personal profile – I definitely am a mixed colour of dynamics of energy and interesting how I thought I perceived myself prior to the workshop’.
‘Will be looking very closely at our teams in labour ward – will be able to get the best out of people – understand our team better’.
If you think a band 6 career workshop might benefit your team, get in touch – after all, in order to support career development we need to explore what leadership and management roles mean to us as individuals and team members. That way, midwives are able to gain greater insight into how their own behavioural preferences can benefit them in such roles, and develop ideas about how they might deal with the challenges of life as a healthcare manager.