Don’t be a COCK! Be a CHICKEN!

I’ve not been blogging for a while…… because I’ve been writing my first book. Whoop!

“Your first BOOK?!” you say.

That’s right, people! – It’s called ‘Sick Society: Reimaging How we Live Well Together’ – it’ll be out in the Autumn and I’m pretty excited about it! I’ll let you know when you can pre-order, but they’ll be a book launch and everything…..not long now…..

In the mean time, I’ve been thinking quite a lot about leadership and culture. I’ve written on here before about how we create a culture of joy and what it takes to do so. I’ve also blogged about how to build a culture of kindness which is something I believe lies at the heart of all good health and social care (something that evidence supports hugely – including better outcomes in cancer).

Everyone knows a COCK when they see one. Am I right?! If I asked you to describe the behaviour of a cock, I imagine you’d come up with a list like this:

Strutting – Cocks have a particular kind of walk – you know the kind of walk I mean

Crowing – Cocks love to brag about their accomplishments but fail to honour their team

Puffing – Cocks puff their chest out to make themselves seem bigger than they are

Dominating – Cocks have an over developed sense of self-importance and dominate spaces rather than making room for others

Bullying – Cocks are often real bullies and don’t know how to apologise

But Cocks don’t actually make good leaders. They don’t develop the kind of cultures in which everyone can thrive. Rather, it is they who want to be noticed and fussed over. They like to be known to be in charge. They don’t listen well. They don’t include others. In the end, it is all about them – the top of the pyramid.

But chickens….chickens are where it’s at! Chickens are values-led leaders who create the kind of cultures in which everyone gets to become their best self. Chickens create an environment where everyone keeps learning. I think these are the core values of CHICKEN leaders:

C – Curiosity

H – Humility

I – Inclusivity

C – Compassion

K – Kindness

E – Empowerment

N – Nourishment

Each leadership value deserves its own post to unpack it a little more. But in the mean time, if you are leading, don’t be a cock. Be a CHICKEN.

Share This:

Share

Updated COVID19 Advice for UK Teachers, TAs and Childminders, 31st March 2020.

We live in unprecedented times and are walking over unfamiliar terrain. I posted a video last week to express gratitude and offer advice to teachers and TAs, based on the World Health Organisation’s situation report of March 6th 2020. The evidence in the WHO publication suggested that children become much less unwell than adults with COVID19 and are lower transmitters of the virus. Here is some text from the article: “Children are important drivers of influenza virus transmission in the community. For COVID-19 virus, initial data indicates that children are less affected than adults and that clinical attack rates in the 0-19 age group are low. Further preliminary data from household transmission studies in China suggest that children are infected from adults, rather than vice versa.“

 

Since that time, some fresh evidence from a small study in China has emerged in Science Daily and The Lancet to suggest that although children are at less risk from the virus overall, they may be important carriers of it (though it is stated that this is still poorly understood and needs more research). The Lancet article concludes: The most important finding to come from the present analysis is the clear evidence that children are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, but frequently do not have notable disease, raising the possibility that children could be facilitators of viral transmission. If children are important in viral transmission and amplification, social and public health policies (eg, avoiding interaction with elderly people) could be established to slow transmission and protect vulnerable populations. There is an urgent need to for further investigation of the role children have in the chain of transmission.

 

As a result of this, I’ve updated my video and also highly recommend reading the latest and incredibly helpful advice from Public Health England for schools and those caring for children and young people.

 

Share This:

Share

Goldfish and What They Teach Us!

Tweet Last week, I had the privilege of listening to Prof Sandro Galea, from Boston State University talking on the subject: “What do guns, obesity and opiates have in common?!” It was an amazing walk through the world of epidemiology – and the answer? Well – all three things are hugely important problems, they are [Continue Reading …]

Share

The Four Rings of Leadership in Healthcare

Tweet I went to London a couple of weeks ago for the IHI (Institute for Health Innovation) conference in London – Quality Forum 2017. The focus was on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, with some hugely surprising and refreshing perspectives from around the world. It was absolutely great and I learnt loads. I’ve tried to [Continue Reading …]

Share