Oct 305 min read

16 Essential Questions to Support the Leadership and Management of your Primary Care Network

At THC, we provide resources for PCN leaders, and while I love my job, having supported over 200 networks in a variety of capacities, not every day is a picnic.

By now, I hope you have read my paper, Herding Tigers, where I open with the following ⬇️.

Primary care networks are sometimes made up of ferocious, brilliant, driven, and powerful beings who can’t be corralled. They must be carefully and strategically led.

So, if you’ve ever wondered why you feel like you're struggling, remember that you are often swimming against the tide and pushing a boulder up a hill… all whilst working within a complex and complicated system AND herding tigers.

Despite my experience and qualifications, I am not immune to the challenges of making decisions by committee, navigating a multitude of personalities, trying to build trust, and putting face time in when there are always 100 things to be done. So, I am always looking for support and advice from others.

While it's tempting to focus solely on the DES specifics, if we neglect to invest in our leadership skills, implementing the DES will be the least of our problems.

🎯 We need excellent communication skills with the ability to work flexibly with others.

🎯 We need a strategy

🎯We need to ensure we have the right people in the right roles

🎯 We need to be able to negotiate

And so on.....

So, the aim of this blog is to provide you with a framework of questions to aid the leadership and management of your PCN.

Let's jump in!

As already mentioned, I wrote an article titled "Herding Tigers", where I presented a "No-nonsense guide to successful primary care network leadership" which covered:

The role of the PCN Leader is complex, involving managing multiple organisations, facilitating collaboration, and navigating various challenges, including politics, limited resources, and diverse stakeholder interests.
Key Responsibilities which include financial management, operations, workforce development, quality improvement, and relationship management.
The challenging nature of managing ambiguity and the messiness of leading work across multiple organisations with varying cultures and expectations.
Key leadership traits which include adaptability, resilience, strategic thinking, and the ability to build consensus and empower others.
The importance of building Legitimacy through consistently demonstrating your competence, communication, and alignment of your actions with your values.
Understanding one's own motivations and adapting to different personality types and working cultures is crucial.
The importance of maintaining mental and physical well-being.

However, there are so many more layers to this, and inspired by Tony Blair's book "On Leadership: Lessons for the 21st Century"I have taken some of his key takeaways and created a framework of 16 questions to help inform our leadership and management

Tony Blair was the youngest prime minister since 1812 and the longest-serving Labour prime minister, and his 10-year tenure as prime minister was the second longest continuous period (after Margaret Thatcher’s) in more than 150 years.

Regardless of your political affiliation, Blair's insights, gained through personal experience and observation of world leaders, offer many lessons, and I believe we can benefit from reflecting on these key points and answering these questions.

1️⃣ Be the leader with a strategy

Question: Have you got a clear actionable strategy for your network and if you have, how do you consistently communicate this to the network's various stakeholders?

2️⃣ Make your management centre strong

Question: Do you have the right people in the right seats within your management team with a pathway to support their growth and development?

3️⃣ Be a change maker, not a placeholder

Question: How can you proactively drive meaningful change in your network rather than simply maintaining the status quo?

4️⃣ Sugar your long-term changes with quick wins

Question: What short-term, achievable goals can you implement to build momentum for larger, long-term changes?

5️⃣ The future of tech and your role within it

Question: How can you stay informed about and effectively integrate emerging technologies in healthcare?

6️⃣ The importance of consistency

Question: How can you ensure your actions and messages remain consistent over time? Where have you deviated from your messages, and why do you think this happened?

7️⃣ How to negotiate

Question: What negotiation skills do you need to develop or improve to be more effective in your role?

8️⃣ How to handle criticism

Question: What criticism have you recently received? How did you respond to criticism? What did you learn? Is there room for development?

9️⃣ Everyone thinks they are right

Question: How can you better understand and respect diverse viewpoints within your network?

1️⃣ 0️⃣ Create a constituency. Not a Clique

Question: How can you build a broad base of support without creating an exclusive inner circle?

1️⃣ 1️⃣ Avoid paranoia, even though they are out to get you

Question: How can you maintain a balanced perspective and avoid overreacting to challenges or opposition?

1️⃣ 2️⃣ Know that you are never as knowledgeable or smart as you think you are

Question: In what ways can you remain open to learning and acknowledge the limits of your own knowledge?

1️⃣ 3️⃣ Don't make enemies deliberately; you will make enough accidentally Question: How are you navigating conflicts and maintaining professional relationships, even in challenging situations?

1️⃣ 4️⃣ Make sure you prioritise: Try to do everything, and you will likely do nothing

Question: How do you effectively prioritise tasks and focus on the most important objectives? How do you manage your schedule to ensure you are balancing engagement with your management team, network members, administration, and strategic development?

1️⃣ 5️⃣ Democracy or not, it's all about delivery

Question: What is the network actually delivering, and what data do you have to back up these claims?

1️⃣ 6️⃣ Leaving with grace

Question: How can you plan for a smooth transition of leadership when the time comes for you to move on?

If you are anything like me, there will be room for improvement in this list, but there is no need to beat yourself up. Make a plan and take it one day at a time.

I hope you found this blog thought-provoking.

About the Author

I'm Tara; I am the founder of THC Primary Care, an award-winning healthcare consultancy specialising in Primary Care Network Management and the host of the Business of Healthcare Podcast.

I have over 20 years of project management and business development experience across the private and public sectors, and I have supported over 200 PCNs by providing interim management, training and consultancy.

I have managed teams across multiple sites and countries, have an MBA in Leadership and Management in Healthcare, have been published in the London Journal of Primary Care, and am the author of over 250 blogs.

I have 3 children. My eldest has Asthma, my middle child has a kidney condition called Nephrotic Syndrome, and my youngest daughter has Type 1 Diabetes, so outside of work, healthcare plays a huge role in my life.

THC Primary Care Network Members Club — PCN Members Club

Join the Primary Care Network Members Club Today

The Primary Care Network Members' Club is THC's exclusive club. Once a member, you will be granted 12 months or 6 months of access (depending on your subscription) to all our exclusive content, features, masterclasses, and other benefits. It’s designed to enhance your experience, provide you with additional value, and enhance the leadership and management of your primary care network.