Now more than ever, as the country braces itself for the second wave of the deadly coronavirus; leaders need to lead confidently, assertively, and empathetically. We believe at ProMedical that as a leader, your main goal will be to support and guide your team to be a productive and happy one. During crisis times like these, it can be challenging. With a national and global shift to remote working, altering communication and work patterns, leaders have a challenging task on their agenda to produce results, but not an impossible task.

Top tips for leading your team successfully

1. Set clear and achievable objectives and goals – Teams need to have a good transparent plan in place and a vision for the future aims and goals. This way, everyone knows what they are working towards and why.
2. Wellbeing matters –Ensuring, each member, is heard and feels valued is vital for good leadership. Leaders should recognise how people’s wellbeing impacts their work, their attitude, and their role in the team. Providing a listening ear, a weekly check-in, cuppa and chat in the office, or something like this will only take up a few moments but will create a culture that cares. A paper on supporting the psychological welfare of healthcare workers was produced by the British Psychological Society and is available at this link: https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/psychological-needs-healthcare-staff-result-coronavirus-pandemic
3. Effective communication – listen to understand; not merely to reply. Communication is a two-way process and a fundamental building block in any relationship. That is also true in the leader and team relationship. Actively listening, clearly communicating messages, giving, and taking constructive criticism, and mutual respect becomes the core ingredients for effective communication.
4. Team members are individual people- Good leadership begins with self-respect, and respect for others. Knowing what goals you have and realising the trajectory to achieve them is paramount. Recognising the members of the team as ‘individuals’ is a core component of respect. Every person involved in the business has their own style, opinion, beliefs and values. Yet, they must all collaborate to travel together towards the end goal within the team-this is not an easy task. So leaders can guide that journey by applauding individualism yet understanding the need for unity.
5. Build strength and resilience – Resilience allows us to cope with challenges; during the second wave of the pandemic, our resilience and strength will be tested. Knowing yourself and your limits and managing your stress as a leader is essential. Building strength isn’t about the crisis taking you down, but rather how well you can healthily manage that stress and knowing when you may need to take time out and ask for help. An overview of the steps that can be taken to foster team spirit and cohesion is provided by the King’s Fund, and available at the following link:
   https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/audio-video/stress-hospital-staff-covid-19
6. Encourage a culture of compassion, empathy, positivity,  and understanding for team members. It’s always a good idea to see things through another perspective. Everyone has a contribution, and while delegation is essential for effective leadership, delegation without respect and empathy is simply poor leadership practice. If leaders want their team to foster innovative ways of tackling a crisis, if they want strategic thought processes to guide practice, then the first steps are a positive approach, inclusive culture and compassionate attitude.

Conclusion

Leaders see a vision into the future and bring that vision to life. Adopting the six steps above can help support the team and the leaders to achieve success. And with the second wave of Covid-19 looming, we are ready to lead, to support and to guide our team, our healthcare professionals, and our clients.

If you want to join our happy team of professionals, contact us today and join us as we support the NHS in the fight against COVID-19.