Leading for wellbeing- Fostering meaning, purpose and connection in teams

Within the NHS, burnout rates and colleague wellbeing are going in the wrong direction and are compounding increasing staff shortages. Add in increased workload, a cost-of-living crisis and dissatisfaction fuelling wider strikes, we are in truly challenging times. Many of us connect with the distress and exhaustion of our colleagues but, in reality, we cannot make enough changes as individuals to combat the many challenges to our wellbeing. How can we instead, connect and lead our teams with inclusion, kindness, compassion and wellbeing? If these principles become our core strengths, we are more likely to promote a working environment where we can all not just survive, but also thrive.

As leaders, we need to recognise that our behaviours have a far-reaching impact on our team’s professional fulfilment and wellbeing. Shanafelt et al (1) discuss this in their article on Wellness-Centred Leadership. They propose a model that has the principle ‘care about people always’ at its foundation, then adds in how important it is to cultivate relationships as individuals and teams.

Too often, we confuse behaviour with personality, as though somehow our ability to lead is fixed. We’re either a natural leader, or we’re not. But core leadership skills can be learned, developed and strengthened. Shanfelt and colleagues outline a set of wellness-centred leadership skills, looking at inclusion, keeping colleagues informed, using humble inquiry, and being motivated as leaders to develop and empower individuals and teams (1).

With this in mind, let’s help our colleagues reconnect with their sense of belonging, meaning and purpose and build more resilient teams that are better able to manage the challenges they face. Teams that are connected, compassionate towards one another and offer psychological safety have the space to be creative and share ideas. This is where change, innovation and improvement happen.

Join Anna, Simon and Amie on our Why Medics Matter podcast to hear about how we can put some of these ideas into practice in the context of difficult conversations.