Captains Blog Hi Team We are well into the preparation/madness prior to the Christmas holiday wind-down. I was inspired to write another blog from reading Dougs blog and his report on some of the good work done at the manager’s retreat at camp Iona (Herbert) last weekend. I have copied from Doug’s blog as he put it well and no point in re-inventing the wheel. Thanks Doug. He terekarāwhe a Ōtākou (Otago Telegraph) – 12 December 2014 The Waitaki District management team (DOM, TM’s, SM’s) gathered at Camp Iona (near Herbert) last weekend. The programme included a module of the continuing management education (CME) syllabus which everyone found very enlightening. The “leading for engagement” module covered; developing a manager’s mindset, active listening, building effective teams and engaging people. A common theme throughout the day was the difference between being a leader and a manager. I’ve seen a lot of theory around that over the years but I learned the most simple definition which makes it very clear; “You manage things, you lead people” (Rear Admiral Grace Hopper). We also learned about setting and communicating clear expectations for our people. Doing that is one of the biggest contributors to achieving a happy, high performing team. Mike took the opportunity to model this the next day by clearly defining his expectations of us as his managers, including that we needed to go back to our stations and territories to do the same. We also looked at managing behaviours as opposed to personalities, and not surprisingly, that also entails communicating clear expectations. As a really good example, the following link takes you to a speech by Lt General Morrison to all Australian Army members about acceptable behaviour. His speech is direct and very clear, leaving his staff in no doubt what his and the army’s expectations are: https://youtube/watch?v=QaqpoeVgr8U I hope you enjoyed the video clip. I found it inspiring as it challenged me to re-evaluate how to handle the less desirable behaviours that I see from time to time, and also how I personally model behaviours as a leader. I’ve attended a great many manager training courses in St John but the material that our learning and development team are covering now and the way they deliver it, is by far the best I’ve experienced. They also offer generic modules for non-managers. Early in the New Year, I’ll circulate some dates that the courses are being delivered in our patch. Back to me again, I did find General Morrison a little harsh – he was angry and his target audience is accustom to the direct firm approach. Not quite my style but I still feel the same on this topic so understand why he appears angry. The point of the lesson was giving a clear message. I feel this is something I can do better, I do tend to just let you all get on and do your job, guide and support you as required. However are you all really clear on what my expectations are? Have I transmitted this information clearly? Something to reflect on and please feel free to discuss next time we meet. I do want to be a good manager for you and I’m keen to learn from you all. On a personal note, since labour weekend I have been renovating our rental for my daughter to move into. This project has been quite consuming and I am glad it is coming to an end with me installing the kitchen this weekend. The project has not left me with the normal energy levels to fit in all the travel to call into your stations as frequently as I would like. However I feel I will be off to a fresh start in 2015. We have some challenges in 2015; CCE for the ePRF is the first one that springs to mind. We have some challenging logistics to train nearly 500 people in 10 weeks with 15 tablets covering the 8 hours of education. There is also a proposal for a territory re-alignment and I will share more information on that once it becomes official. Crewing levels have improved in 2014 but we need to keep working on getting 100% local ambulance availability to each community. The NZFS signed a new MOU and this will give us greater scope to work with our fire service colleagues to share resources, networks, and knowledge and continue to serve our communities. I’m also very keen to do more to celebrate our successes. I feel we have been doing this better during 2014, but I want to do this even better still in 2015. Please share the stories that made you smile as I’m keen to hear them. I know your area committee is also keen to hear them. We don’t need to know patient details or anything like that, just what made the job a nice one for you. Thank you all for the great work you are doing, I think Waitaki is, or really close to being the top performing district in New Zealand, and do you know why? I believe it is because you know what is to be done and you get on with it, you are there for our patients, you get organised, you do your bit for the roster, you are careful what you use, you do your training, you support each other, and most of all – you care! I’m looking forward to catching up by phone, skype, or in person; feel free to call for a chat anytime. Till next time, take care, have a good Christmas and happy New Year. Kind regards Ken Territory manager – North Otago.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 05:14:07 +0000