Ways to expand your Leadership skills
Training opportunities
Consider undertaking a formal leadership module to meet your needs via:
- Internal opportunities provided by your training/ organisational development team.
- Go to the e-Learning for Healthcare webpage – ‘Allied Health Professionals’ Careers’
- Complete e-learning course on supporting students on placement: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/supporting-ahp-students/
Development of self and others
Find a coach or a mentor within your organisation, or from the Midlands Leadership Academy https://midlands.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/our-offers/coaching-and-mentoring-2/
Arrange a career conversation with a mentor, supervisor, appraiser.
Establish peer supervision.
Discuss with your manager what leadership roles within your current team you could undertake e.g. supporting, inducting and mentoring of learners/ trainees/ apprentices/students on placement, supporting preceptees. Identify what additional understanding/ skills you would need to develop to do these things effectively.
Find out if there are any projects happening in your organisation that you could get involved in to develop project management skills and have your say in service improvements.
Reflective practice
Explore the NHS Leadership Academy’s framework to identify where your strengths and development needs are – discuss this with your line manager, clinical supervisor, coach or mentor
Consider undertaking a 360 feedback exercise – to gain feedback from those who work with you – peers, direct reports, your own leaders and your line manager – this will give you additional insight into the development that could benefit you
Undertake reflective practice independently and during supervision sessions. Find out more at What is reflection? | (hcpc-uk.org)
There are various models of reflective practice which can be easily found online such as Gibb’s and Driscoll’s, see Effective Practitioner (scot.nhs.uk)
Expanding roles and responsibilities
Find out what opportunities there are within your organisation to take on a champion/representative role eg Well being; infection control; Manual handling, patient experience.
Attend local, regional and national Support workforce events and respond to calls for case studies, poster presentations and presenters to share your experiences.
Make links with your AHP Faculty and get involved in supporting their projects and initiatives. Your line manager should be able to help you find out who your local AHP Faculty representative is. Follow this link to find out what an AHP faculty is https://youtu.be/Qsg-XcbZ8ME
Approach your AHP professional body to find out how you can get involved, regionally and/or nationally.