The SOM Leadership Academy will enhance leadership skills for occupational health (OH) practitioners. It aims to:
- Develop leadership and management skills among OH practitioners.
- Foster a pipeline of future leaders through leadership development opportunities.
- Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in leadership.
- Ensure the Academy is a sustainable, self-funding initiative within SOM.
The target audience is new OH practitioners, trainees, existing OH practitioners aiming to enhance leadership skills, aspirants for Chief Medical Officer positions and entrepreneurial-minded practitioners. Scroll down for leadership stories.
SOM’s leadership activities include:
- leadership webinars here (fully accessible list on members website)
- an annual leadership event, and leadership resources here.
Review leadership competencies for:
- AHPs at Leadership
- for nurses here, and
- doctors here.
Take a look at NHS leadership resources here and a Leadership Assessment tool here.
New to OH? Join the OH mentoring platform here.
Terms of reference of the Leadership Academy Executive Committee are here, and a Road map is here. Contact SOM if you wish to collaborate with the Academy or wish to support the Academy financially.
Interested to find out more? Email nick.pahl@som.org.uk and tell us about your leadership interests and how you'd like to contribute e.g. by suggesting a topic on which you would be willing to share insights.
Leadership Stories
Chris Terry
How did you get here?
I had no intention of getting into a leadership role. I even actively avoided it. But, after my wife and her sister set up an OH business, I had to join after a few years as it became too busy for them to manage alone. They needed another staff member, and I was able to do most of the tasks that were required. As we employed more people the role evolved naturally.
Can you share some unexpected twists and turns?
As the business grew, we received a more diverse set of requests from our customers. I started to learn about ergonomics and found that I not only enjoyed it as a subject but found that I was good at it. We now have a team dealing with ergonomics in the workplace.
How have you balanced your life outside of work alongside your career?
Initially it was very difficult to do this. There were long periods of time in the early days of business where I’m not really sure how we got through. Coupled with having a young family it was very difficult. My wife had no time off work when she had one of our daughters and was only able to take a few days when I took parental leave from my main job (OHA with a local council) when she had our son. It has remained difficult at times but has been getting easier year by year. We now have a larger team so that reduces stress. It is very easy to lose yourself, it takes discipline and a lot of self-awareness to staff balanced.
What routines or habits contribute to your personal and professional growth?
I enjoy lots of exercise and being outdoors. I have often been involved in adventurous sports (offshore rowing, open water swimming, mountaineering etc.). Practice decision making and remain relaxed when being out of your comfort zone. Engaging in voluntary discomfort is also a great way of making any day seem a little easier (Type 2 fun). Professionally – just do interesting work. Doing it just for the money is not enough to get the best results.
How do you manage balancing short term and long-term needs, goals, and priorities?
It helps to have a clear idea of what you need as opposed to what you want. Do not make emotional decisions and do not be at the mercy of your ego. My main role now is to provide good work/jobs/roles for others not for myself.
Amanda Hinkley, Head of Occupational Health, UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
How did you get here?
I commenced my Occupational Health (OH) Nurse career aged 22. During the last 34 years of my OH career (24 in management) I have been lucky to have many leadership training opportunities (many supported by the NHS) and on the job development opportunities. Following my MSc in Occupational Health I completed an Open University distance learning Certificate in management in healthcare services. This was a very useful course including regular opportunities to attend residential course lectures with many NHS managers of different professional backgrounds. The most helpful professional development in leadership has resulted from learning on the job through many difficult circumstances.
Can you share some unexpected twists and turns?
A personal challenge to me was being rushed into hospital end of 2012 and receiving a diagnosis of a brain tumour and remaining an inpatient to have surgery. A life changing event such as cancer as a single parent with children is challenging enough, I felt an overriding sense of commitment to support my team through the Safe Effective Quality Occupational Health Services (SEQOHS) accreditation process. I was lucky to have a great team who pulled together to continue the submission, whilst I was working at home on restricted duties providing leadership with my knowledge as a SEQOHS Assessor. A professional challenge was being asked by the NHS Trust Executive board to undertake a service review and reconfiguration of my own service and team in 2007. The remit included meeting a service improvement cost reduction target, considering outsourcing options and through stakeholder engagement drawing up a bronze, silver, gold and gold plus service specification checklist. The Board expected regular updates through the 4-month review and the final presentation at Board would decide in house or outsource the service and which service specification the budget could afford. It was hard and included having to calculate redundancies, considering TUPE and reporting a senior manager of acting with a declared interest and plan under the Whistleblowing policy. The team and I were successful in achieving the right outcome of keeping the in-house service with gold service model. A funny story was a week later the CEO contacted me asking to access the fast track inhouse Physiotherapy and I had to remind him he took that out the week before as this was in the Gold plus model.
How have you balanced your life outside of work alongside your career?
Working parents become very adept at juggling and ensuring that all home and work responsibilities are balanced whilst trying to maintain health and wellbeing. During my career there have been roles with long commute times that has led to me avoiding working in the evenings or weekends. The only time this has been difficult was as NHS Head of OH service role that required me to undertake on call hospital management in addition to my day job and I was a single parent. I have read the book “The 7 habits of highly effective people” by Steven Covey on a leadership course years ago. The seventh habit “sharpen the saw” focuses on self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. Self-renewal enhances our capability to manage change and personal growth. I try to keep a positive work life balance to maintain my personal health and wellbeing with an underlying health condition and enhance emotional resilience.
What routines or habits contribute to your personal and professional growth?
To provide evidence-based advice and leadership requires continuous improvement and development. I am always seeking opportunities to expand my knowledge through professional networking (specialist Facebook groups, LinkedIn, webinars, TED talks and learning from others). The opportunity to learn from many colleagues with different professional backgrounds and work experience can never be underestimated. In my current team we are very lucky to have a day weekly from a very experienced Consultant in Occupational Medicine and OH physio that has supported team multi professional clinical supervision sessions monthly. These provide the opportunity to reflect and then go away and consider research and new areas of knowledge. I am currently on a part time organisational loan to Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) this has provided me with opportunities to work with new colleagues (including DWP and NHS England) and increase my knowledge of national policy, healthcare and Government policy though the Joint Health and Work Unit.
How do you manage balancing short term and long-term needs, goals and priorities?
Throughout my career in OH management I have developed skills in prioritising and decision making. This has helped me currently where I am undertaking several roles in addition to my core role and DHSC loan, such as Associate Caldicott Guardian, Safeguarding Lead and Co-Chair of the UKHSA Working Through Cancer Network. On a weekly basis I look at my diary, decide what is essential and desirable, the pareto 80:20 principle and if there is another approach or change to demands /requirements. This time management approach helps me along with the principle of cutting the elephant into slices that helps problem solving and subsequently I feel more in control of my responsibilities. I am passionate about workforce health and wellbeing and undertake do undertake some commitments in my non-working time, these include being a Faculty of Occupational Nursing Board member and mentoring new nurses and Dr’s who are interested in a career in OH as part of the National School of OH and SOM OH mentoring scheme. I make sure on weeks when I have some extra commitments that I focus more on downtime to minimise feeling overloaded or stretched.