The Changing NHS

by Jeanne Hardacre - Guest Blogger

A couple of weeks ago, I happened to be sitting at a lunch table at an event with a very senior manager who works in a very large NHS organisation in a very large city in the UK. She manages a very large budget, has a very large number of staff and works very long hours. She told me of the very positive feedback she regularly got from her boss, the Chief Exec, about her achievements and potential.

I hadn’t met her before, but I could tell straight away that she had very big ambition. Soon, she confirmed it; she thought she could do a Chief Exec’s job in a few years’ time, maybe when she was about 40. She was looking at moving to a new Board-level job soon. Very good.

Then came the very small stumbling block in this person’s career plans. Her boss, the very complimentary afore-mentioned Chief Executive. When hearing of this manager’s intention to leave the trust, her very flattering feedback turned into very scornful criticism. Very personal attacks. Very belittling remarks. Frankly, very bitchy behaviour.

Not very becoming of an experienced NHS leader, huh?

But with her very large network of contacts, her very long CV, her very inflated ego, and her very serious threats to limit this person’s career if she dared to leave the organisation, she viewed herself as entitled to control this manager’s life choices.

How very dare she?  Well, she can, she did and she probably will do again. And nobody can stop her from treating her senior managers that way. Or can they?

There’s a fine line between a strong management style and bullying. Stress and work pressure can sometimes lead even the best managers to behave in unacceptable ways. Whilst the intention may to bring about positive results for the organisation, the impact on individuals can be erode confidence, shatter self belief, and lead to poor work performance – which isn’t good for them or the organisation.

If you’re aware of someone’s bullying style, you may feel that the only option is to stand by and wish things were different. However, doing nothing and accepting what is unacceptable condones the behaviour to other staff and effectively strengthens a culture of bullying within an organisation. This is known as ‘bystander apathy’ and can be considered the organisational equivalent of ‘watching a mugging on a daily basis.’

Whilst it may feel impossible to challenge senior managers in an organisation, there are ways of doing this constructively.

The Andrea Adams Trust, a charity which works to reduce the incidence of workplace bullying is a useful place to seek information about how to prevent or reduce bullying at work and this factsheet, in particular, is well worth a look.

Also, if you think you might be bullying people yourself, the Ban Bullying at Work campaign website offers a reflection questionnaire, specifically designed to help you challenge your preconceptions about bullying at work, and how your own behaviour might be perceived by your colleagues.

Go on, have a look. I dare you.

nhs

bullying

leadership