Football, leadership and Nuclear Medicine

You may or may not know this about me, but I am a massive football fan. My youngest son and I are avid Liverpool supporters and we love nothing more than the excitement of looking forward to and watching the game. We also enjoy watching international football and in particular, watching our national team play. This can often be a less than gratifying experience, however, as was evidenced recently by the Euros. 

Whatever you think of Southgate (and I think he is great in many ways), he clearly inspired a lot of love and loyalty from the players. They definitely seem to have grown as a team over recent years and I think most people acknowledge that they are in a much better place as he steps down than when he took the job on. 

I don’t think anyone could argue the extent of the talent on the field – we have some world class players in our squad. So why wasn’t this enough to win us some silverware? Regardless of the final result, and the style of football played under Gareth Southgate (yes, it is a bit dull to watch), it is interesting to think about the lessons that can be learned and applied to everyday life.

For example, what makes a good leader and why is it important?  Leaders are needed to help teams achieve thing and the national team has achieved a lot, albeit not the ultimate prize. Applying this to Nuclear Medicine, without good leadership, we probably would still be able to run our departments, so long as we had good managers who helped us do what needs to be done to scan and treat our patients. But would we develop and grow? Would we improve our services to get better? Or would we still be doing things the way they were done 10 years ago? The difference between management and leadership is a subject often discussed and I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about it here, other than to say that, put simply, I think management is about making sure the things that need to be done get done. Leadership, however, is about vision, growth and inspiration which ultimately leads to greater levels of satisfaction, better performance and constantly improving services. 

I remember once doing a leadership course where we were shown a video of an experiment conducted some years ago (I think it was carried out in the 70s, or at least, that is what the brown suits people were wearing would suggest!)  In this, the performance and subsequent outputs of three teams was compared.  In a nutshell, the first team was told to work to their job description, the second team was sold the vision of what they were trying to achieve and in the third team it was all about making people happy at work. It was assumed at the time that the happier team would be the highest performing (yes, definitely the 70s!) However, this was very much not the case. Feeling happy and valued was not enough. In fact, the team who understood the vision of what needed to be achieved knew their role within it and felt part of making it happen outperformed the others by a significant margin. 

When it comes to successful teams there are many elements at play.  Certainly, considering the Southgate analogy, tactics and strategy are crucial ultimately.  You can have the best people in the world on your team, but if you are asking them to do things which aren’t their strength, if you don’t train them properly or if your approach to achieving the goal is flawed, then you will limit your achievements. 

While I think it’s true to say that being happy at work is a big factor within successful teams, I think it’s actually more about relationships. I remember hearing a discussion on the radio about the approach to team building in the military, where good teamwork and performance can literally be the difference between life and death. Teams in the military are like family to each other, and this does make a difference.  Basically, you can’t lead people you don’t care about and I 100% agree. 

This brings me to whether or not you can teach someone to be a good leader or is it just that some people are born with it. You can certainly learn about leadership styles and how to put the mechanics of good leadership in place, but I don’t think you can really maximise your potential as a leader unless you build relationships and really care about the people you are leading. You can try and fake this if you can, but most people can spot a fake a mile off and they can also tell if you’re being authentic. So yes, you can learn to be a leader, but to do this you have to learn to genuinely care about the people you are leading and you need to take time to build and communicate, or support (depending on your role) the vision of what you are trying to achieve as a team together. Inspiring people to believe in the vision, knowing their strengths and playing to them and helping people take ownership of what you are trying to achieve as a team is what makes the difference. 

Achievements should be shared, something you’ve all achieved together, not just you as the leader. I remember a friend of mine saying to me, tongue in cheek, that she tells her team that their job is to make her look good. It made me laugh, and I do sometimes say this jokingly to my deputy, but actually I think that, as a leader, it’s part of my job to make my team look good. Believe me, this makes you look good too. When you hear someone running other people down, think about what impression that gives you of the person talking. Then think about how people who talk positively about their teams or workmates make you feel. I think you’ll agree - no-one ever looks bad by building other people up. 

Make a start today and you don’t necessarily have to be the manager to be a leader. Anyone can be a leader and we need all of you. Whatever your role, you can inspire other people. You can help achieve the vision and make other people feel included and part of it.  

I’m sure you’ve all got a million things to do and may feel this isn’t something you have time for. I often look back on my NHS career and feel that we don’t seem to have as much time to be friendly anymore. I think this is a shame and to be honest, counterproductive, as a small investment in building relationships with the rest of your team really can reap rewards which are tangible. 

So, try to make some time today to start to get to know your teammates a bit better. Really talk to them and build relationships with each one – not just the outgoing ones, or the people you’re already friendly with, but the quieter people who don’t always speak up. Or maybe those you find a little more difficult to get on with. Maybe take time to really talk to those who can always be relied upon to make everyone laugh. Talk to them properly and really find out what’s below the surface – you may be surprised. 

Be part of building a happy AND successful workplace. Build your relationships but always remember to keep your eye on the prize! Until next time.

Ms Jilly Croasdale

BNMS President