Over recent weeks I’ve been digging into the literature on change management, both as an academic and as an independent consultant. I always enjoy this topic, and when combined with my experience within healthcare leadership and management it’s a area I’m comfortable in sharing the themes and key concepts. Partly because these concepts and themes are consistent through the literature and research and the lessons learned.
All of the sources I’ve reviewed document the ‘readiness’ to change as a key initial factor to establish. Time and time again the concepts of trust, relationships, morale, leadership, communication, and culture jump off the page as important prerequisites to successful change. As I thought about this in some more depth I penned the following metaphor:
Morale is the thermometer of leadership, and culture is the thermostat of the organisation.
I don’t think much more needs to be said…
Dean is a Registered Mental Health Nurse, and Chartered Manager with health and social care experience since 2007. He has managed services and hospitals across the independent and NHS settings and as a nursing director of the Midlands and Wales.
Dean is an independent healthcare expert available at [email protected]; Senior lecturer in Nursing at NTU and BSc nursing course lead, a member of the East Midlands Clinical Senate, and a bank investigator for Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS FT.