Supporting the leadership development of Integrated Team Leaders; applying the essential building blocks to support and improve team performance

Abstract

Introduction: The publication of the ‘Five Year Forward View’ by NHS England in 2014 described how “the traditional divide between primary care, community services, and hospitals…is increasingly a barrier to the personalised and co-ordinated health services patients need”. The delivery of care based around the needs of people, their families and their carers, requires professionals across health and social care to work in an integrated way to utilise resources, skills, knowledge and experience to improve quality and service user experience. This requires leaders to be in tune with team culture, able to influence strategically and support teams’ members to do the same. They need to be comfortable working with difference, be inclusive and collaborative in their approach and be clear when they need to direct activity and when they need to empower. Description of Practice Change: AQuA has been supporting the integrated care and transformation agenda since 2012. Our work identified a need to support new and existing team leaders to reflect on their style, approach, knowledge and skills in leading integrated teams in the context of system leadership and integrated services. Based on our learning, we developed a six month leadership development programme ‘AQuA Leading Integrated Teams’, in partnership with Affina OD, to support team leaders of integrated teams. Aim & theory of change: The aim of the programme is to support team leaders to apply the essential building blocks to support and improve team performance as well as developing their leadership style and approach. The objectives of the programme are to: Improve leadership and team effectiveness to increase the likelihood of successful integration Use the Affina Team Journey (ATJ) to enable team leaders to support their teams Develop system leadership behaviours, so leaders can work across organisational boundaries and ‘Place Based’ structures and processes. The programme was designed around AQuA’s model for supporting system change (see attached file). Our programme blends system leadership skill development, organisational development methodologies, quality improvement and change management expertise with technical skills and knowledge. Targeted population & stakeholders: AQuA supports participants from our members to access the programme including stakeholders from across the system, including acute, community and mental health providers, commissioners, Local Authority (including Public Health and Adult Social Care). Timeline: The overall programme commenced delivery in October 2017 and we are currently delivering cohort three. Delivery of further cohorts will continue in 2019-2020. Highlights: The evaluation of the first cohorts of the programme has demonstrated tangible impacts for both the participants and their teams. A baseline System Leadership profile of 4 meta-competences (with 30 behavioural indicators) was drawn from the NHS National Leadership Academy. Participants self-assessed against the behavioural indicators pre and post programme. The scores post programme demonstrated a significant shift in individual leadership behaviour change. 80% of our participants have said the programme has helped to increase their confidence in their leadership role, working with teams and systems working and innovation.

Keywords

• integration
• system leadership
• behaviour change
• team