In November 2021, the Fife Health and Social Care Partnership Psychology Staff Support Service developed a trauma-informed training and reflective workshop -“Compassionate, Connected and Effective Teams” - aimed at supporting managers across Fife to develop and sustain compassionate leadership practice.
The workshop was developed and implemented in partnership with the local Transforming Psychological Trauma Implementation Coordinator (TPTIC). TPTICs are based in each health board area and provide trauma expertise to organisations/champions in their local area to support training, coaching, implementation and collaborations with people with lived experience of trauma.
The challenge
Working in health and social care can be extremely demanding. Pressures on services and what can be highly emotional work can be challenging for staff, particularly given the high levels of trauma which may have been or continue to be experienced by those they are supporting. This can lead to staff experiencing stress, burnout and vicarious trauma which can be very distressing.
These pressures on staff across health and social care services have been increasingly recognised since the pandemic. Pressures on services and the sometimes traumatic context of the work for many staff and service users has placed significant demand on the workforce. Organisations across Scotland are also facing recruitment challenges and levels of absence due to sickness and/or stress. This heightened awareness of the support needs of staff has led to a recognition of the importance of compassionate, connected and trauma-informed workplaces. The Compassionate Connected and Effective Teams workshop was developed to support managers to understand the value of compassion in the workplace and consider how to achieve this in their own work areas.
Outline of project
The Compassionate, Connected and Effective Teams workshops consists of a 2.5 hour training/reflective session held via Microsoft Teams. To date, there have been twelve sessions with 158 attendees in total. The workshops are open to managers and organisational leaders across NHS Fife, Fife Health and Social Care Partnership, Fife Council and local third sector agencies.
The aim of the workshop is to help managers and leaders consider how compassionate and trauma-informed services and workplaces can play a key role in the remobilisation and long-term recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Fife. The sessions are interactive and encourage managers to draw on the challenges they currently face as leaders in the workplace. The stated aims of the workshop are to:
- Consider the value of compassionate workplaces;
- Explore what compassionate workplaces look and feel like
- Understand the intersections between trauma-informed and compassionate leadership
- Make space for leaders to think about their own needs as a compassionate leader
- Support leaders to identify hopes for their team and their intentions as a compassionate colleague and leader
The workshop highlights the importance of compassionate leaders having a strong understanding of the challenges that workers face, both at work and in life. It also emphasises the importance for leaders to recognise these needs and to help empower workers, and the workshop places particular emphasis on the understanding that workers need to feel:
- Connected to, valued and respected at work
- Competent in their job roles
- A sense of agency in the workplace
The workshops also take care to discuss and recognise that due to the high prevalence of trauma within the population, some of the needs of the workforce can relate to their own previous experiences of adversity and trauma. This section of the workshop highlights how a compassionate leader can play a role in helping to mitigate some of these stressors, through building safe and trusting relationships with staff.
The workshops include experiential exercises, small group discussions, self-reflection exercises and whole group discussions.
During the workshop, participants are asked to each name a challenge that their staff are facing. Rather than offering a solution, the workshop offers a space to consider what a wise action might look like as they seek to support staff to manage this challenge. By providing attendees the opportunity to apply this to a situation in their own work environment, the workshop has the potential to germinate ideas to support and strengthen a culture of compassion within their workplaces and teams. This can promote a clearer and renewed sense of the value of compassion and connection.
Results
The workshop has been well received with a mean rating of 4.5/5 from 59 responses. A particularly positive outcome is that there has been a wide variety of people who have engaged with the workshop. There has been an appetite for the workshops across all managerial levels, including senior management. As a result of the positive engagement, Fife hopes to expand this workshop and increase the range of compassion-based leadership resources.
In terms of key learning for participants we identified four core themes in the value of the workshop:
1. Space to reflect
This theme emphasised the pacing of the workshop and experiential exercises as providing space for attendees to experience compassion themselves, to consider their own leadership practice and how compassion can positively impact their colleagues.
2. Connecting with fellow leaders
This theme highlighted the value of breakout rooms and larger group discussions where leaders from across Fife shared their challenges and experiences, and where they were met with compassion when they shared these stories.
3. Recognising the importance of self-compassion
This theme highlighted participants’ focus on their own self compassion as a precursor to being a compassionate leader – walking the walk.
4. Practical skills for compassionate leadership
This theme highlights the value of the core models introduced in the session—Gilbert’s three systems model and Michael West’s ABC model of workers needs--and how these could be applied as part of a compassionate approach to leadership.
Learning
A key learning is that people came to the workshop with different aims and different learning styles. Feedback highlighted that some people sought a reflective space or connection while others were seeking practical support.
Feedback about changes centred on a desire for more practical examples or practical teaching of skills in compassionate leadership. This mapped on to what participants wanted as follow-up, with many suggesting a review at six months post session to see how they have put ideas into practice.
This has led to a new phase of planning to consider the potential benefit of focused coaching sessions for leaders to develop skills in compassionate leadership as well as seeking to ensure compassionate leadership is included within existing leadership development frameworks.
Resources
Dr Sharon Doherty – Consultant Clinical Psychologist, NHS Fife
Dr Patrick Doyle – Senior Principal Clinical Psychologist, NHS Fife