‘Toughness’ and ‘courage’ have been Bernie Cuthel’s watchwords on her path to the board − though she says it didn’t hurt having an androgynous name
As a female chief executive in the NHS, I am proud of the progress we have made in breaking the “glass ceiling”, which was such an issue 10-15 years ago.
I remember the Women’s Register in the 1990s: an initiative to give female NHS managers access to the development opportunities that would help them progress to board level. At the time, it was desperately needed.
During my career, I have received two key pieces of gender based advice. The first was about my name: “Stick to Bernie as people won’t know if you are male or female.” This was really about the preconceptions of others. The second piece of advice was that I should always think about creating an impact when walking into a room, because people see a petite blonde.
Being tough
As my career developed, there was always a focus on “being tough”. I feel this changing to “having courage”, being resilient and being an expert at building and sustaining relationships.
I now operate in a local health economy that has a higher percentage of female chief executives than male, so there are some great role models for staff to follow. The chair of our organisation is female too, and so there is a different dynamic at our trust than there might be at one with male leaders. We are both working mums, comfortable discussing real life, real world issues; unafraid to relate organisational issues to the reality of family life.
‘A session I ran with staff to understand how a new electronic expenses system worked showed how angry and upset they were about it – it really had an impact on me’
I have been personally fortunate enough to work for women role models during my career. I would like to think that my own style − being visible, spending time with staff at breakfast meetings and during back to the floor visits − is a reflection of this.
Time spent listening
Much of my time is dedicated to talking to staff, listening to what they are proud of, what inspires them, learning about the things that we could do better. This does keep my feet on the ground and helps me to understand the issues in the organisation, both the culture and the systems and processes that can get in the way of providing high quality care.
As well as listening, I also like to recognise success and personalise appreciation. Sending a card or a note to a member of staff to thank them for some of the things we can take for granted such as talking at conferences, forwarding complaints about individuals or services is a small thing that can make a real difference. So too can offering empathy to staff who have been involved in difficult situations or incidents. I never underestimate the personal touch.
Responding to anger
A compassionate response to a difficult situation goes a long way. For example, we recently introduced an electronic expenses system in the trust. We could have done it better. A session I ran with staff to understand how the system worked showed how angry and upset they were about it calculating the “shortest” route for travel rather than the quickest one. We had healthcare assistants, reliant on reimbursement of travel as a greater percentage of their salary, adversely affected by a system we had implemented.
It really had an impact on me. I agreed at the seminar that we would see if we could change the system. We could and we did. Accepting responsibility and responding to the emotion in the room felt like the right thing to do. Perhaps this is an example of the softer side of female leadership.
Bernie Cuthell is chief executive at Liverpool Community Health Trust
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