In this Newsletter
Sum Up Social Care View
- Disconnected
- Language Matters
- Future Proof your Care Business Program – 2nd cohort launch
- New Landing Page – Health Care Leadership Training
Events in September
Sum Up Social Care view
1. Disconnected
It’s 1982 and a 15 year old girl is walking down a long corridor in her school. The familiar smell and sounds of the high school fills the air. The feeling of optimism and excitement is all consuming as she heads for her long awaited careers talk. This is because she knows it has the capacity to enable her to embark on a pathway to reach her goals.
This girl had decided she wanted to be a window dresser for a department store. She loved how the displays in the windows had the capacity to tell a story through the seasons when she viewed them at Lewis department store in Manchester (long gone now).
She knocked on the door of the careers office and the woman bade her to enter. The talk began. It wasn’t positive. Having listened to the girl’s aspirations, the career adviser explained that it wasn’t really a good idea and she should become a secretary instead. At that moment the girl disconnected. Hopes, dreams, aspirations crushed in just a few words.. She disconnected with the education system because she felt they school didn’t believe in her and they’d written her off. It took her down a pathway that she didn’t connect with at all.
The girl became a secretary because she was limited in the beliefs that had been imposed by someone else. She really wasn’t a very good secretary and found it rather dull, as it didn’t tap into her creative mind.
Over the next 30 years or so, a varied career pathway was embarked upon, from IT co-ordinator to Business Consultant, achieving a Psychology Degree and even running her own business. There was always something missing though, she felt she hadn’t achieved what she really wanted to achieve.
She may not have become a window dresser but this girl, this woman, because of the “careers” talk, will never crush someone’s dreams. This woman will only ever encourage people to be the best that they can be and this is her “why”.
At the grand age of 56, she finally got her dream job as Director of Social Care for the Institute of Health and Social Care Management! When you are completely aligned to a company’s mission “to support and encourage the development of individuals”, it is pure joy.
It is a year on the 4th September since I joined the IHSCM and I/we want to support the development of you. You tell us what you want and need, and we will deliver. I passionately believe that we all have the potential to achieve our goals and aspirations. We all, also, have the potential to be a great leader, it may require a different way of thinking or doing, a little bit of self belief and encouraging words but that’s all.
Come and join us and reach for the stars. They are yours to take! xx
2. Language Matters
If you don’t follow Bryony Shannon then I would encourage you to do so. Last month she wrote a fabulous article on the importance of telling a different story about social care. The language used across media, government, institutions and more, paints a dire picture of what people think social care is.
Language such as “fix”, “crisis”, “vulnerable”, “Washing/Dressing/Toileting”, “care in old age”, all have negative connotations and don’t help solve the problem we all face. The majority of us will use social care at some point in our lives.
By creating a different story, we can change the way we think about social care. If we do that, then perhaps it will spark the change that’s needed in terms of mindset of the institutions that make the decisions on behalf of social care.
Extract from the article below.
“Maybe it’s the narrative of social care that is broken?
If we really want to achieve the ambitions of the Care Act, and indeed our own ambitions for better lives and brighter futures, we must tell a different story. Reframe social care as something for – and about – all of us. As the web of connections and relationships and resources and support in our communities that ensures we can all live the lives we choose to lead, in places that feel like home, with the people and things that we love, doing the things that matter most to us.
“Stories matter. They can trap us, but they can also inspire us. The stories we tell shape how we see ourselves, and how we see the world. When we see the world differently, we begin to behave differently, living into the new story… The new story becomes an invisible force which pulls us forward. Imagining the future makes it more possible.”
Jon Alexander [8]
“The vision of flourishing lives has been our joint North Star.”
Gord Tulloch and Sarah Schulman [9]
To read the full article click here.
3. Future Proof Your Care Business Program
Places are filling up fast for our second Future Proof your Care Business Program. The program runs for 6 months and consists of seven one-hour online sessions, with homework. The sessions are:
- Introduction to the course
- Leadership and culture
- Corporate governance
- Risk Management
- Financials
- Business Strategy
- Business Operations
More information, along with a link to register for the introductory session here.
4. New Landing Page - Health Care Leadership Training
We have a new page that outlines our leadership training within the Institute of Health and Social Care Management. We are constantly evolving our training and currently working on the launch of our Compassionate Leadership Program, which will be announced soon. To view this page click here
Events for September 2024
9th September 12 till 1pm – Click on the link to book High Performance Leadership Workshop
12th September 1.30 till 2.30pm – Click on the link to book Deputies Effective Leadership Training – Module 1 – Me, Myself & I
13th September 12 till 1pm – Click on the link to book PowerHour: Contributing to and creating research with the research funder NIHR
16th September 12 till 1pm – Click on the link to book PowerHour – Introduction to IHSCM’s exclusive ‘How to Create a Future-Proof Care Business’
19th September 12 till 1pm – Click on the link to book Women in Leadership Special Interest Group Meeting
19th September 1.30 till 2.30pm – Click on the link to book Deputies Effective Leadership Training – Module 2 – Developing Your Team
24th September 12 till 1pm – Click on the link to book High Performance Leadership Workshop – Module 1
25th September 1pm till 2.30pm – Click on the link to book IHSCM Dragon’s Den – New innovative technology solutions in health and social care meet our dragons
26th September 1.30 till 2.30pm – Click on the link to book Deputies Effective Leadership Training – Module 3 – Leadership Excellence
27th September 12 till 1pm – Click on the link to book IHSCM Social Care Innovators Special Interest Group Meeting – an opportunity for health and social care providers to come together and share best practice, new ideas and ways of working.
If you are not yet a member of IHSCM then you can find out how you can join here.
For any queries or comments regarding this newsletter, please contact Sue Jones, [email protected]
