Osiris Training

A sailor on a nuclear sub goes berserk with a rifle, kills an officer and wounds two others before being subdued. It makes the national headlines but only for the day. Why? This was a nuclear submarine that means it has weapons to destroy whole cities and start a war that could end most of life on earth.

These subs go to sea for up to six months at a time. So those on board are presumable subject to rigorous psychological testing to determine their ability to live in such close quarters with others for lengthy periods without “creaking up”.

What went wrong? Why has this incident not caused more concern? How often does this type of thing happen but not lead to fatalities and therefore not get reported? Did it only get reported this time because the sub was docked and there were civilian dignitaries on board and involved?

One explanation given on the day by a civilian who was present was that the sub only has two toilets and as there were dignitaries on board one was out of bounds to the crew. It doesn’t sound much of a reason for shooting someone but then I have seen people in an open plan office fall out big time over whether a widow remain open to let some cool air in or closed because of the draft.

We hear a lot about the damage that stress can do to an individual’s health and performance. As mangers we are often accused of putting others under pressure and causing them stress. As managers who amongst us has not at some point had to deal with a personality conflict in their team? Difficult to resolve aren’t they? So as budget cuts begin to bit, as vacancies go unfilled, as staff are more frequently asked to provide last minute cover for absent colleagues two things strike me. First, that mangers number one skill, even more important than budget management, will be people management and secondly that in the current climate an apparently minor irritation like whose turn is it to wash up the coffee cups could quickly become a major confrontation.

Blair McPherson author of People management in a harsh financial climate and Equipping managers for an uncertain future both published by www.russellhouse.co.uk

As NHS providers increasingly have to compete for customers/patients they need to get better at marketing their services. Advertising is no longer about just providing information it is making people want what you are selling. You’re not selling shoes you’re selling beautiful feet.

Marketing is about identifying who is going to buy your services and making them believe only you can give them what they really want. Even if they don’t know they want it! You didn’t know you wanted 3D TV until you heard how much more “real” the pictures were.

Don’t underestimate the power of a pretty girl. Sex has sold everything from sofas to chocolate bars. What you need is a photogenic nurse for the promotional literature and may be a TV star from Casualty or Holby City to front the campaign. On second thoughts that may conjure up images of old style NHS hospitals when you’re selling a 5 star hotel experience. You’re giving them private rooms with on suit facilities, al a cart menus and a decent wine cellar. Of course in reality the last thing on their mind before the operation will be which wine to have with the chiefs special. The staff will be pushing fluids after the op but it won’t be alcohol! Having your own toilet is not a luxury these days but after the op you will have a catheter and be severely constipated so you won’t get much use out of it. Your own single room will at least provide you with a bit of peace and quite unlike those noise old fashioned wards. Or it would if it wasn’t for the fact that after the op you’re on 24 hour observation which means they have put you in the room opposite the nurse station and have wedged the door open. Now you hear all the conversations about what staff watched on TV last night, what they are having for tea to night, why they are not going to sort out the linen cupboard before their break and what they really think of that young girl from the agency. It’s a pity you’re going to be discharged before you can enjoy the              “superior experience”. Hey but this is not reality TV you’re not selling shoes you’re selling beautiful feet.

Blair McPherson author of Equipping managers for an uncertain future and People management in a harsh financial climate both published by www.russelllhouse.co.uk

Am I lying or just overselling?  Am I bigging it up?  Making more of it than is justified?  Am I making something routine and commonplace sound different and innovative?  How else do I explain the manager who previously worked for the organisation who claims never to have heard of it or the manager still working for the organisation who states they have never experienced executive coaching, never been part of a learning set, never been offered a mentor, never attended a management surgery and never heard of a management guru site?

The explanation is that the management/leadership development programme is being delivered in a large complex organisation.  It’s a characteristic of such organisations that they often have islands of excellence.  On more than one occasion I have heard colleagues from other organisations confess they their innovative work is more widely recognised outside their own organisation.  The explanation is the silo mentality that exists in many public sector organisations.  Such a culture reinforces the professional rather than the managerial perspective.  So managers responsible for libraries get together nationally and exchange good practice as do managers in housing or social services but they do not share much across departmental boundaries in their own organisations.

This situation is not going to change over night but the harsh financial climate is forcing a centralisation of services in the name of efficiency. This in turn makes it increasingly harder for departments to do their own thing. An example of this is management development. Gradually it is being accepted that a manager requires the same set of core competence whatever department they work. The core competence are around managing people, managing budgets, being able to analysis complex information, being able to see the bigger picture and being able to develop effective working relationships across service and traditional organisational boundaries. In addition managers are expected to show leadership that is to be able to inspire their staff, to take responsibility and at a senior level to influence and influence strategies and develop effective partnerships.

A corporate management development programme makes sense. But departments will still approach this differently depending on the size of their management group, their historic investment in management development and the extent to which they have a managerial as opposed to professional culture. All the ships in the convoy may be heading in the same direction but some will be further ahead than others. Those that see the value in investing more time and energy into management development or simply feel that they have to make up ground can use management learning set and mentoring to build on the corporate programme or supplement it.

Blair McPherson author of Equipping managers for an uncertain future and People management in a harsh financial climate both published by www.russellhouse.co.uk

Do you remember the travelling funfairs? The loud pop music, the flashing coloured lights and the fast rides. The young men operating the waltzers would shout, “the louder you scream the faster we go” and those young girls could scream.

The speed, excitement and apprehension came to mind when describing the Governments approach to reforming the NHS. Despite the lack of a mandate for radical change it is clear ministers are getting off on the excitement of making things happen, the more radical and the faster the better. Doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff, Trade Unions and even some Tory MP’s may be shouting slow down but the louder they scream the faster we go.

Until now when a pause is announced. “So we can listen”. What do you mean you couldn’t hear over the screams?  

Blair Mcpherson

The politicians may claim to be listening but what’s the betting at the end of the consultation there will be many who say they were not heard. By consultation a politician doesn’t mean we are seeking a consensus what they mean is we recognise that what we propose is unpopular in some quarters but we think that if people better understood our plans more would support them.

 Being politicians we recognise that it is not simply about making a good business case for these change there are interest groups to placate and a calculation about whether short term unpopularity will carry through to  the next election. Put another way politics is always a balance between pragmatism and idealism. 

So when a politician says “We have no plans to privatise this service”. This does not mean we are not thinking about it.

”There will be a full consultation process before any decisions are made” but the politicians and their political advisors know what they want to do.

 “Nothing has been agreed until it has been put before Parliament” but the cabinet have already calculated what they can get through.

 Some compromises may be made along the way, a few sops to the more vocal pressure groups, a more phased introduction or a toning down of some of the most radical changes in response to the more powerful interest groups but the plans that were consulted will be implemented.

Blair McPherson author of People Management in a harsh financial climate and Equipping Managers for an Uncertain Future both published by www.russellhouse.co.uk

It is probably not a big surprise to learn that work place conflict is on the increase. Redundancies, pay freezes, changes in working practises, fewer holidays, loss of bonuses and reduced pension entitlements, it would be surprising if these unwanted changes didn’t increased conflict in the work place. So no one will be surprised by the findings of a recent Charted Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) that grievances, disputes and the threat of industrial action have increased in the public sector over the last 12 months. But managers still need to get on and manage the business day to day despite all this going on around them. So how do you manage through a period of conflict? You might be able to get away with saying pay freezes and pension changes are outside your control but redundancies, management restructurings and changes in working practises will be seen as management decisions.

Is it possible to claim to value staff and cut their pay? Can you maintain a position off openness and honest when you are going to make people redundant? Can you afford to be sensitive and caring when you are going to cut services to vulnerable people?

Do managers in the current financial climate need to develop a thicker skin to do the unpleasant stuff and to let the anger and frustration wash over them and not take it personally.

Some managers find it very difficult to be the bad guy. To introduce a more “efficient” shift system which will involves staff working longer hours often under so much pressure they are unable to take the rest breaks they are entitled to, cutting staffing levels and refusing to fill vacant post to save money and then pressurising people to cover for colleagues at short notice.

 It is one thing to bring in changes that are unpopular with staff but offer a better service to customer/patient or reduce costs but it is another to makes changes that will effect care ,increase waiting times, leave people in pain longer, reduce help and support to stressed cares or leave vulnerable people more exposed.

This is the difference, conflict in the workplace due to unpopular changes in working practises and terms of employment are to be expected, managers must use their negotiating skills to bring about these changes. But conflict in the workplace due to the impact budget cuts are having on the quality of care to the sick and vulnerable that’s a different argument altogether.

Blair McPherson author of People management in a harsh financial climate and Equipping managers for an uncertain future both published by www.russellhouse.co.uk

As we increasingly adopt the American model of health care, welfare and education we also use American business expressions. So ambitious managers need to learn the management language and the rest of us need to understand what they are on about.

The USA is the land of the sports fan and Americans business and sport have one big thing in common they are both very competitive. So it is not surprising that American business language is full of sporting expressions. The three big sports in the USA are basket ball, base ball and (American) football .So some of the expressions may not be as familiar to a British /European audience.

My favourite at the moment is a slam dunk which is a basket ball expression for when a player gets a basket with an emphatic delivery. It means can’t miss, a sure thing in fact the opposite of a long shot. Stepping up to the plate is a baseball phrase used to mean taking responsibility and the ballpark figure is the estimated or rounded up number as in the attendance at a sporting event. The whole nine yards is an American football expression meaning to go the full distance.

Of course not all expression have a sporting origin some just creep into common usage or become popular because someone famous used it on TV. or in a film. Remember the God Father make him an offer he can’t refuse. Well hears another one that has American gangster overtones. What would it take to make this go away? This means how can we fix this between us, what do I have to give you to change your mind? This might sound like a bribe to a British/European ear but it is in fact a plea for a frank negotiation. A popular expression in the American business community is leverage as in what leverage have we meaning what pressure we can bring to bear.

 Wake up and smell the coffee was made popular on the American election campaign and means read the writing on the wall-it obvious if you think about it. Another favourite of America politicians was where is the meat? This was apparently taken from a TV advert for beef burgers and came to mean this is just froth where is the substance?

  Some of the old favourites are still in use. Its not rocket science is intended to emphasise that something is not difficult. Running an idea up the flagpole is about drawing an idea to everyone’s attention like waving a flag. You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs is another way of saying, you can’t get something done without upsetting someone and the end result is worth the short term pain. We are all on message or singing from the same song sheet when everyone is clear what is expected and we are all saying the same things to our staff and customers.

  A much used management expression at the moment is this is not an exercise in ticking the boxes. This is intended to convince staff that we are not just going through the motions but want to see real action. The expression comes from the fact that we have all become used to completing computerised tick box forms. If you want to negotiate a good deal or make a persuasive argument, you need to get everything in order, or get all your ducks in line. In the current harsh financial climate senior managers can be heard referring to the low hanging fruit meaning all the easy pickings for making savings have been taken. Finally senior managers can be heard trying to impress upon staff the dramatic nature of the budget situation and a sense of urgency by referring to standing on a burning platform.

If we sometimes find it hard to understand our American cousins they also have difficulty with our expressions after all if we make a cock-up they won’t understand and looking it up on Google won’t help.

Life would be a lot less confusing if we all just said what we mean or as the Americans would say it’s a no brainer.

Blair McPherson is author of People management in a harsh financial climate and Equipping managers for an uncertain future both published by www.russellhouse.co.uk

My wife is in hospital having her gall stones removed. The hospital is clean, the care is good, the food is excellent, so no story there. She did however comment on the long hours the staff routinely work. It appears that auxiliary staff do one week on, one week off. That nurses come on duty at 6am and go off duty at 8pm then the night staff come on duty. So instead of the traditional three shift system early ,late and night there are two shifts, the day sift and the night shift. The consultant was still on the ward when visiting ended at 8pm Saturday evening.

Then in the in my Sunday paper I read that research by ICM on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing found 95% of NHS nurses worked more than their contracted hours and 1 in 5 does so every shift. The findings also reported that 25% of nurses provided last minute cover for a colleague at least once a fortnight. Many nurses told the survey that they have to skip meals and rarely or never have time to take the rest breaks they are entitled to.

On my way out of the ward I saw on the staff notice board that management were focusing on absenteeism. I wondered if they might make a connection!

Blair McPherson author of People management in a harsh financial climate published by www.russellhouse.co.uk

Nurse Jackie is a caring nurse, a good mum and an unfaithful wife. She also has a serious drug habit. She is one of those long suffering very experienced nurses who ensure the young know nothing think they know everything young Doctors don’t make too many mistakes.

Holding down a stressful full time job, working anti social shifts and bringing up a family is very tiring. Sometimes she just needs a little something to pep her up. One of her daughters is showing worrying signs of irrational anxieties, the school have already had her in to express their concern. She is a bright and sociable child but her obsessive hand washing and inability to sleep at night for fear the house will burn down is starting to adversely affect her and everyone else in the family. So it hardly surprising that now and then Jackie needs something to help her cope.

The hospital pharmacist she is having an affair with will keep her supplied with the good stuff and she has the code for the computerised tamper proof drug dispenser. She also has the individual codes for every other member of staff on the ward. The added complication is that the pharmacist does know Jackie is married.

Above all else nurse Jackie has retained her compassion for her fellow human beings despite working in an environment where death and suffering are routine events and caring takes second place to budget considerations. It not surprising that sometimes she feels over whelmed and needs a little something to get her through the shift.

Jackie managers her drug habit like she managers her work life balance precariously.

I wonder how many nurse Jackies there are in the NHS?

(Nurse Jackie is the central character in a USA TV drama of the same name now showing on BBC2)

Blair McPherson is author of Equipping Managers for an Uncertain Future published by www.russellhouse.co.uk

A serious road traffic accident results in multiple injuries to a father and his young son. The ambulance service is quick on the scene and the pair are swiftly transferred to the nearest Accident and Emergency department where two theatre teams are on standby. The patients are delivered to adjacent theatres but just as they are about to start the surgeon says “I can’t operate on this boy he is my son”. What is the explanation?

Which group of staff do you think would struggle most to explain this teaser, a young group of newly qualified social workers, a cross section of admin staff, a group of trainee finance officers, a group of mature care staff or a group of middle managers?

You might be surprised to know that age, gender, professional background and seniority status doesn’t seem to be significant. In my experience all groups take longer than you would expect to work it out.

Have you worked it out yet? Well the answer is not that the boy was adopted or that the surgeon was his step farther. The clue is that this is an ice breaker exercise in an equality and diversity awareness training session. In your mind who do you see when surgeon is mentioned? If you still haven’t worked it out the answer is at the bottom of the page.

What’s the significance of the fact that age, gender and an individual’s role within the local authority didn’t seem to make a difference in terms of how quickly people were able to work out the explanation?  I suggest that this illustrates that behaviour at work may have changed but thinking may not. The point being that without being conscious of it people make assumptions based on out dated stereotypes even when they are convinced they don’t.

Blair McPherson is author of An Elephant in the Room an equality and diversity training manual published by www.russellhouse.co.uk

The answer is the surgeon is a woman