In this week’s episode, Andy and Frances are in conversation with John Heritage, Chief Executive of The David Lewis Centre, and investigate his unique take on all things ‘leadership’.

Bringing a different lens to our conversations, having spent his entire career within the public sector, John has undertaken a mixed bag of roles and experiences, both within the NHS and charities.

John defines leadership by asking, “How do we all try to engage and motivate people towards a common cause?” He discusses how we encourage others to achieve this so that, as a team, we can all build momentum towards where we want to go. He also expresses the need to ensure that there is room for people to be able to speak out when they are uncomfortable with the direction of travel.

“People are at the centre of everything,” that John does - this forms his purpose. At the centre of his compass, and in whichever direction he travels, there are people who work in the organisation, the service users, or those in the wider community that are impacted. In all these situations therefore, his central purpose asks, “How can I make things better for and with people?”

John talks with such energy and enthusiasm about his current role and it being the best job that he has ever had. He also reflects that he is most proud of the time when, whilst in the NHS, he embedded a policy to include within the workforce 1% of people with direct personal experience of mental health issues. The policy encountered much challenging opposition at the time, but the results paid dividends in so many ways. Overall, it brought a different dimension, changing dynamics and making positive contributions to the care that his teams provided.

Describing himself as a reflector, John often wonders whether he was curious enough about the decisions he has made. Did he ensure that he took all views into consideration? He says ‘curiosity and reflection’ are skills that he has learnt along the way and brings into his everyday practice as a leader now.

When discussing what brings him alive in his role as a leader, John says, “I love it when a plan comes together,” quoting the ‘A Team’. He also speaks about the energy and enthusiasm that he has when spending time with service users and families - driving his belief about how we can make things better for everybody.

John’s top tips for leaders are:

1.  Be curious - seek to understand by making time with and for people

2.  Be selfish - be clear about what you need (get the support and experiences that you need to help you succeed)

3.  Be vulnerable - allow yourself not to know the answer and be comfortable in that vulnerability.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.