Organisations need good leadership to set strategy, drive improvement, and bring the best out in their staff.
I am a member of a small team working with NHS Boards across England. We work directly with Boards and senior leaders, as well commissioning support to meet their development needs, and developing specialist areas. I have worked with senior leaders and teams in the NHS, Local Authorities and the Police, and am fascinated by how they work, and how they might work better.
In addition to our generic Board work, I am increasingly working with the leadership and improvement agencies for Local Government and the Police. The drive for public sector organisations and leaders to work closer together to improve services has significant implications for NHS Boards and leaders, particularly given sectors’ often different drivers, cultures and styles. The need to work across organisational boundaries to tackle really challenging problems – in a tough financial climate - will require much greater knowledge, breadth and trust than is sometimes the case.
I am working with the other agencies to develop several programmes to help Boards and their members: NHS Board members will soon be able to participate in intensive reviews of Local Authorities so they benefit from NHS leaders’ experience, and NHS participants understand better how Councils work; we are developing a programme where senior NHS, Local Authority and Police leaders undertake intensive development together; and we are piloting joint national agency work in certain communities.
So why are Boards important? What makes a Board an effective Board? Should NHS leaders work closer with other leaders?