I don’t know the statistics, but it seems like a lot of football teams score goals straight after the other team has scored or in the last minutes of the game.
The recent Bournemouth goal against Newcastle was a rather painful example.
It got me thinking about what it takes to stay focused and finish things off properly.
Is it systems and procedures, is it the right people in the right roles, or is it intuition about what the most important things to focus on are?
Medequip and the statutory partners we work with to help keep people living at home have any number of policies, standard operating procedures and quality assurance processes. We are also closely monitored on response times, delivery times, collection speeds, recycling rates and so on. All the measures that can be used to prove the job was completed.
But when I read messages on Blink, the internal social media site used across Medux UK, the thing that jumps out is how often people across the organisation are noticed, not for doing their job well, the way it’s supposed to be done, but for that little something extra.
The personal touch, the thing you can’t teach or write into a policy or SOP.
Taking the extra time to listen or to explain something to someone who is feeling like their world has been turned upside down.
Knowing when a smile or the sharing of a supportive word will make the difference.
Knowing when words are not enough, and it’s time to pull out all the stops to get something delivered, repaired or collected at speed.
Not because the contract says we should. But because we know as an organisation and as people that we must.
Back to football, what can I learn from the best teams? The ones that keep their focus until the game is over. That’s been on my mind, and the organisational agenda a lot recently.
As we all know, money is tight in Health and Social Care and likely to get tighter. This can bring commissioners, providers and people who use services closer together to look for ways forward, but it can equally result in barriers and defensive positions.
On top of that, the landscape for the NHS and Local Authorities is on the move, and people are having to manage the daily do’s, at the same time as cheerfully reorganising themselves for the umpteenth time.
It’s not so much that the goalposts have been moved. But it feels like we are playing on a differently sized and shaped pitch, with lines in new places and some changes to the rules.
Add to that the ever-increasing pace and impact of global geo-politics, and you have the ideal circumstances for the giving away of last-minute goals.
Talking as I do, to people who love football and people who love working in health and social care I have concluded that it is what’s called “game management” that’s key.
It’s having a team that can assess a situation on the ground and adapt as needed with everyone still being clear about what they must do, even if they are covering someone or working in an unfamiliar area. The best teams don’t need to wait for their managers to tell them what to do.
It’s about having the right mix of experienced and skilled people who can stay calm and communicate passionately and effectively. You might need one or two people on the look out for the sky falling in, but you need your best team members free to respond as they see fit.
It’s about everyone in the organisation knowing why we are here and believing in that right up till the end of the game. And even then, taking the pride in a job well done home with them. It’s about that great moment when organisational and personal values align and everything is in synch.
I’m not saying we get it right 100% of the time, but unlike my beloved Magpies, it feels to me like the Medequip team has a great mix of experience, is well drilled, understands why it’s here and is much less likely to give away a last-minute goal.
And I hope saying that is not an own goal!