#Doathon Report Leadership

1. Leadership
Fab Change Day
Doathon Report

2. “A leader is one who
knows the way,
goes the way, and
shows the way.”
John C. Maxwell
@helenbevan

3. Introduction
Hundreds of leaders from the health and care system
made pledges for Fab Change Day, 13th October 2016.
As a result, “leadership” was identified as one of the five
key themes at the Fab Change Day Do-athon.
A group of 26 people from across the health and care
system came together to identify actions that leaders
could take all year round, not just on one day to make a
difference in health and care.
“I pledge to get as many
execs and non-execs as
possible to visit the wards
during Fab Change Week and
dine with the patients; I will
also try to get this challenge
repeated at least monthly.”
“I will develop a local
leadership programme
that will bring clinicians,
managers and social
care colleagues
together”
“I pledge to continue
building links between
trainees and senior leaders
through increased
opportunities including
mentoring”

4. What is the issue?
The team started by thinking how they would design a
system of leadership that would deliberately fail. They
then compared that to the current situation and
identified lots of similarities between the route to failure
and what actually happens.
flickr / dexflu

5. Our approach
The group wanted to highlight and increase the visibility of
positive leadership traits. In the spirit of the Academy of
Fabulous Stuff and Fab Change Day, they created the term ‘Fab
leaders’, who create the conditions where everyone can do their
best; they set their team and organisations up for fab-ness.
There was a recognised need to end the mystique and fables of
leadership. Instead the team wanted to make leadership simple
to understand. To this end, they came up with 10 things that Fab
Leaders do.
flickr / joebehr

7. flickr / dvids
Introduce yourself to
everyone
I don’t assume that everyone knows
who I am just because of my status,
reputation or long standing.
See the Hello My Name is… campaign for more
ideas on this topic:
http://hellomynameis.org.uk/

8. flickr / lylevincent
Talk less,
listen more
I seek understanding before I seek to
be understood. That means REALLY
listening AND putting my phone
away.
A useful article on listening in leadership:
Listening is an overlooked leadership tool

9. I help others to develop as leaders,
letting them make mistakes and
supporting them to learn from it.
Some ideas shared on the Fab site:
Supporting staff innovation at Aintree Hospital
Nottingham Just Do-it
flickr / lesphotosdejerome
Encourage others to
step up and lead

10. I live the values of my organisation
or team in my words, actions and
deeds every day.
A great idea shared on the Fab site:
Lancashire CEO back to the floor
flickr / mcdermottd
Walk the talk –
always

11. I give time to others (team members,
patients and families, colleagues,
staff, partners). I regard the time I
invest in learning from others as at
least as valuable as writing reports
and answering emails
A useful article about being accessible:
Great leaders are accessible
flickr / pasa
Be accessible

12. I acknowledge other’s contribution,
say “thank you” a lot when thanks
are due, and publicise and celebrate
other people’s successes
Some ideas shared on the Fab site:
Encouraging people to say thank you
Wall of Fabulous Thank Yous
flickr / signote
Give others credit

13. I don’t have all the answers; other
people may have better ones. I seek
out feedback and encourage
diversity and dissenting views
because they often lead to better
results.
flickr / tristanloper
Welcome
challenge

14. I manage the balance between
exerting authority when others need
certainty and direction AND trusting
other people to deliver.
A great idea shared on the Fab site:
Speed Dating in Wirral
flickr / bayareabias
Work out when to intervene
and when to leave

15. I remain positive and engaged even
if I’m having a really bad day. I don’t
impose my bad mood on other
people.
Some ideas shared on the Fab site:
Speed Dating in Wirral
flickr / foilman
Be consistent

16. I reflect on my own behaviour and
performance, seek to improve it and
make time for my own learning.
A great idea shared on the Fab site:
Acorn badges presented as a welcome to new
nurses
flickr / ben_grey
Prioritise self learning
and improvement

17. Now:
take action
• Share with friends on social media: post
a link on Facebook or Twitter
• Share with colleagues: do a
presentation
• Be part of the conversation, use the
#doathon hashtag to keep the
conversation going.
• Contact us and let us know what you’ve
done on the Fab Change Day website.
Get more information and inspiration at
https://fabnhsstuff.net/
flickr / iain

18. Created by the Fab Academy with support from the Horizons Team
@whooseshoes