Developing Leadership Skills for Health and Social Care Professionals by Phillips Annie

Author:Phillips, Annie [Phillips, Annie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CRC Press
Published: 2013-08-15T16:00:00+00:00

Interviewee: ‘The baby is keeping me awake night after night, and my memory seems to be going.’

Interviewer: ‘You feel exhausted and unable to cope as you used to.’

Listen, observe and reflect back the interviewee’s feelings, as you see them, and summarise for them. As an outsider, you are more able to do this. Note understated feelings particularly, and draw these to the interviewees’ attention:

Interviewee: ‘I wish that Max could help with the extra work, but he can’t help it, he’s got his own job to do.’

Interviewer: ‘It sounds like you are disappointed and angry with Max for not helping more.’

Problem solve: how could we solve this? What will your next step be? Summarise with a positive conclusion and agreement as to future action.

Follow up

Arrange for future interviews to check developments.

Carry out any action promised.

THE GRIEVANCE INTERVIEW

The objective of a grievance interview is to enable to person to air a complaint, to discover the causes of dissatisfaction and, where possible, remove them. Again, these skills can be applied if it is a patient/client complaining, as well as an employee.

Preparation

Find out as much about the grievance as possible – facts, attitudes, feelings.

Consult other people for advice.

Check the individual’s file for any previous, similar situations.

Confirm your limits of authority.

If appropriate, check organisational policy and be clear about the organisation’s grievance procedure.

Allow for time and privacy.

Check whether the individual is bringing a representative.

Skills

Be calm but positive.

Allow the grievant to ‘let off steam first’.

Check your mutual understanding of the exact situation and the facts.

Listen carefully.

Probe deeply.

Do not belittle the issue or dismiss it.

Finish with positive action for the future.

Ensure that you both understand what happens next.

Follow up

Investigate facts and possible causes of action.

Write notes.

Follow up interview.

Take any agreed action.

Dealing with the chronic complainer

For some people, nothing works, but a negative attitude prevails. If this is the case, rather than letting the employee have a contagious effect on the work group, be assertive and positively confront them.

Give them recognition for what they are doing well.

Reassure and encourage them if they feel outdated or overwhelmed with new challenges.

Accept their behaviour if it is not interfering with their performance.

The complainer may be a spokesperson for the group. Check to see whether the complaint or ill-feelings are more widely held, and follow up to correct.

THE APPRAISAL INTERVIEW

The personal development meeting, or appraisal, is primarily about the individual, their job and their development. When was the last time anyone asked you if you are happy in your job and gave you the space to tell them? Clearly, people achieve more when they are listened to, given adequate feedback on how they are performing, given clear, attainable goals and involvement in task setting. That said, the majority of managers and supervisors find it hard to appraise staff performance honestly and confidently. Many avoid giving constructive criticism and fewer still self-appraise. One of the ways to measure the happiness and healthiness of your organisation is to look at some of the key issues to staff satisfaction, and the staff’s feelings about their own managers.

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