A guide to getting the job you want

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The Real DealA guide to getting the job you want

The Real Deal

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A guide to getting the job you want

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Foreword

The NHS in Wales is facing unprecedented change with the restructuring of health services. To support the NHS in Wales through these turbulent times, NLIAH has made available career management support for individuals in the form of Intensive Career Clinics, Thriving in Transition Workshops, Personal Impact Workshops, and individual coaching support. From January to May 2009, 156 people took advantage of our career management support. By the end of the year with our continuing support for executives and outreach support to local directors of workforce and OD we are likely to have touched the lives of hundreds of individuals.

In response to many individuals’ request for something practical that would support the Intensive Career Clinic experience and the DVD, we asked Hamish Davidson to produce this very practical, straightforward, and down-to-earth guide to successful interviews. The Real Deal is offered to individuals as a take away from the IntensiveCareer Clinics or as a stand alone book to be used when a new career opportunity comes along. The Real Deal accompanies the Career Management Handbook as part of NLIAH’s ongoing support portfolio and both documents are available in hard copy and e-format.

We hope you enjoy and benefit from Hamish’s wealth of experience and insights into what works for interview panels and candidates.

Christine BamfordDirector of Leadership and ODNLIAH

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About the author

Hamish Davidson is chairman and senior partner of Davidson & Partners. Former UK Partner for the executive resourcing practice of Pricewaterhouse-Coopers in the UK where he grew their public sector work from scratch, Hamish founded and led both the Veredus and then Rockpools recruitment brands. He is one of the UK’s better known headhunters,operating at the cusp of the private, public and not for profit sectors – focusing primarily on chair and chief executive roles. For many years, he has also committed time and effort to the broader talent and diversity agenda – be this through public speaking, writing, running courses for job seekers and also through mentoring and coaching of up and coming executives and ‘wannabe’ chief executives.

Hamish is currently focused on assembling a group of ‘kindred spirit’ businesses with shared common values. Separately, he is non-executive chairman of Entrepreneurs in Action (EiA) which focuses on teaching entrepreneurial skills to youth and young adults; MJI Business Solutions which is a Scottish based public affairs consultancy focused on helping private sector businesses wishing to work with the public sector; and Iris Consulting – a niche research based, performance improvement consultancy. In May of 2009, and for the second time, Hamish was invited to give oral evidence to the House ofCommons Public Administration Committee – this time on executive remuneration in the public sector. He remains the only headhunter ever invited to give evidence at this level.

Hamish has worked as an associate of the National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare (NLIAH) since 2004.

A word from the author

In the course of 2009, I had the privilege of being part of a team of consultants assembled by Christine Bamford of NLIAH to provide some coaching and interview support to many of the seniorexecutives in NHS Wales impacted by the mostrecent ‘re-configuration’. Along with ThelmaHolland (former chief executive of Southwest SHA), I formed part of a two-person team that met nearly 200 people, each of whom had to prepare anddeliver a presentation, answer questions on theirpresentation, and then be interviewed for a notional role that they either had, intended to or mightformally apply for within the new structures.

What made these sessions different were:• Both Thelma and I were from outside Wales, and with very few exceptions, had never met the participants before• At the end of each interview, and with no time out for comparing notes, Thelma and I switched to giving immediate feedback on their CV, presentation and interview• We did not flinch from telling it like it was; we said what we thought and we were totally honest• Each session (presentation, interview and feed back) was filmed and the participants received a DVD of the event around a week later.

The thoughts, views and advice in this publication therefore arise from a combination of:• My own experience and research of recruiting, counselling job-seekers, talent management and talking about leadership over many years• My experience of working closely with Thelma (a real and true professional) over many months during 2009, and sharing views on good and bad practice• My reflections with Christine Bamford, sponsor of this project, around the particular challenges faced by senior executives in NHS Wales.

At the end of the day, however, the views expressed and the advice given in this publication are down to me. Whilst I have striven to recognise any attributions to other authors, any mistakes or omissions are my fault, for which I apologise now.

This publication is dedicated to all of the participants who subjected themselves, voluntarily, to being “hamished”, as it has become known in certain quarters.

Hamish DavidsonAuthor

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SECTION 1: THE RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY 61.1 Structure of the UK recruitment industry 61.2 Headhunters 71.3 Executive selection consultancies 81.4 Agencies 8

SECTION 2: APPROACHING POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS DIRECTLY 9

SECTION 3: THE INTERIM & TEMPORARY MARKET 10

SECTION 4: INTERNAL PROMOTION 124.1 Overview 12 4.2 General advice 134.3 Challenges of being an internal candidate 134.4 Specific advice for internal candidates in any situation 13

SECTION 5: RESPONDING TO JOB ADVERTS 155.1 Overview 155.2 CVs 195.3 Presentations 225.4 Presentations & Interviews 28

SECTION 6: NETWORKING 456.1 Creating your own network from scratch 466.2 Effort required 466.3 Getting your network going 466.4 What makes for a ‘Good Networker’? 476.5 Importance of personal brand and reputation 49

SECTION 7: CRITICAL LEADERSHIP SKILLS DURING TIMES OF CHANGE & TRANSITION 517.1 Authentic leadership 517.2 Surviving in your world 557.3 Surviving at a time of crisis 567.4 Trust 577.5 Personal advice from Hamish 58

Contents

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Think of a pyramid:• At the top is search/headhunting: you get a phone call out of the blue asking if you might be interested in making a move• In the middle is selection: you see a role advertised by a recruiter and you respond to it• At the bottom is agency: you go and register the fact that you are looking to make a move.

Please note that the top two are consultancies, whilst the bottom are agencies. The difference is not one of semantics. Typically, consultancies only take on an assignment on an ‘exclusive’ basis – that is to say, only they are handling that particular recruitment. They will be remunerated usually on the basis of a proportion (typically one third) paid up front, one third onsubmission of shortlist and one third once anappointment has been made or, a fixed fee for the project will have been agreed.

The recruitment industry1

A brief detour to explain the structure of the recruitment industry.

Agencies, on the other hand, are less likely to handle recruitment assignments on an ‘exclusive’ basis, may well not advertise the role but rather rely on theirdatabase of candidates, and are unlikely to receive any remuneration/fee unless and until a candidate they have introduced is appointed to the role. With regard to NHS appointments at chief executive and director level, if recruiters are used, you are much more likely to find yourself dealing either withheadhunters or executive selection consultants rather than agencies.

That said, it is worth pointing out that public sector typically mixes the terms, and calls all recruiters‘agencies’ – hence much of the confusion.

1.1 Structure of the UK recruitment industry

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1.2 HeadhuntersWhat are they?Headhunters are individuals or consultancies whose prime method of operation is to entice candidates to apply for a specific role. Executive selection consultants do everything except ‘headhunting’, relying on the ads to draw in the candidates.

However, given the presumption of ‘open and fair competition’ within the public sector, almost all roles are advertised, even if they are headhunted as well; hence headhunters will advertise if they are asked to do so.

Who specifically are they?They include firms like: Dearden, Odgers, Rockpools,Veredus, and Korn/Ferry Whitehead Mann – but they also include smaller ‘one man band’ type consultantsas well.

What levels do they typically operate at?They mainly operate at chief executive and directorlevel, although they may also take on other third tier roles as well. They also undertake non-executiverecruitment for Foundation Trusts (one of the freedoms that Trusts have been given is that they are no longer obligated to use the Appointments Commission).

Why do employers use headhunters?A variety of reasons:• Tried already to recruit themselves and failed• Specifically want to headhunt and generate additional candidates• Specifically want to attract candidates from outside the NHS• Aware that the post will be tough to recruit to and needs help• Has a policy of always testing the market• Has no internal resource to handle senior appointments.

How do they work?May include any or all of the following:• Take a brief from the client• Prepare the specifications, advertisement and briefing pack• Place the ad and handle all responses and queries• Undertake specific research to identify potential candidates, and then headhunt and encourage such applicants • Review the response and prepare recommended long list• Undertake preliminary screening interviews of long list• Prepare recommended shortlist

• Undertake additional assessment (including psychometric)• Take up references (usually by phone)• Prepare overall reports on each candidate for Panel• Attend Panel as advisor• Provide feedback to all candidates at every stage of the process• Assist in offer negotiations.

Are they any good?Hard for me to say. Some are good, some are not so good. And some clients know how to get the best out of headhunters and some don’t. One thing is for sure, though: use of headhunters is on the rise.

Isn’t the whole thing anti-equal opportunities anyhow?Not at all. Such a perspective depends on a now discredited view of equal opportunities that falsely assumes one should treat all people the same. The truth is that all people are not the same. Some have more knowledge and access to knowledge andcontacts than others, for example, so the whole key to recruitment is about the basic standards ofbehaviour and actually treating people ‘differently’ in order to attempt to bring their knowledge up to a common level.

How does one get noticed by them?Basically, that is down to effective networking (see later in this publication). That said, given there are not actually all that many recruiters who operate in the public sector, it is possible to approach them directly.

So, can one approach headhunters directly? Isn’t that canvassing?Yes, of course you can approach headhuntersdirectly. It doesn’t mean to say that they will respond positively (if at all), but you can approach them. And it is not ‘canvassing’.

Reviewing the HSJ and national press will quickly give you a feel for the main headhunting firms. You might even be able to get a bit more knowledge about the consultants from the various websites(although not all headhunters share suchinformation).

You are then in a position to write and say that you are potentially interested in making a move and

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would welcome any initial approach if they arehandling an assignment where there might be a match. Whether you get a reply or not will vary. But if you have time to prepare these letters, then it might be worth a try.

1.3 Executive selectionconsultanciesIn what way are they different, if at all?The only real difference is that they typically do not undertake the researching of potential candidates, and headhunting to encourage applicants. Rather, they tend to rely just on the advertisement(s) and to a more limited extent, on their database ofcandidates from past assignments. Otherwise,there is no real difference to headhunters.

Do I need to approach them differently?Not really. Just be aware that their primary method of generating candidates is relying on the adverts, so it will be you that has to make the first move toindicate you might be interested in a role.

1.4 AgenciesIn what way are they different, if at all?As already noted, they will typically work on acontingent-only basis, i.e. they will only get paid if a candidate whom they put forward gets appointed. • There may be a number of agencies (rather than one) who have been given the brief, and asked by the client to come up with a range of candidates• The role may have been advertised by the client, who has then also approached one or more agencies• An agency may have chosen to place an advert for this role at their own cost (usually a small ad, or perhaps as part of a composite ad highlighting a range of roles)

The only real difference is that they typically do not undertake theresearching of potential candidates, and headhunting to encourageapplicants

• The agency will often (at least initially) not identify the client but will insist on you dealing with them directly rather than having any direct contact with the client.

Do I need to worry about them at all?Generally, for chief executive and director level posts – not normally.

How will I know I am dealing with an agency rather than a search/selection consultancy? Candidly, it is sometimes hard to tell. Generally, the more ‘amateur’ and less ‘professional’ it feels then the more likely you are dealing with an agency. But it is hard to tell.

So to answer the question – is there any pointapproaching any of these recruiters, ofwhatever type, at all?Yes. You don’t get if you don’t try. If you do happen to engage effectively with some consultants, and they do happen to be impressed with you, and they do happen to end up handling a role that is of interest to you, and they do happen to remember you ... then of course it might give you an edge. Trouble is – there are a great many ‘ifs’ there.

Personally, I think that although I would not give up on approaching recruiters directly, as a busy person with limited time to devote to my job-hunting; there are other activities that are probably more immediately worthwhile.

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Approaching potential employers directly2

Why might I want to do this?I am thinking here of where you are of the view that if a particular organisation or particular individual were to find themselves recruiting and you would very much like to work there or for that person. So the question is – is it appropriate to make a direct approach?

So is it really ok to do that?Of course it is. Get a grip. What is the worst that can happen? You get no response. They say they are not interested. You tried. Now move on.

Any special tips on how to do it?The key here is ensuring that organisations and individuals (especially those you would love to work for/with) are aware of the fact. And there is also the case that not all recruitment is done as a full scale exercise.Sometimes, employers have a fairly clear idea of whom they want, and just place a ‘little’ ad in some obscure media and finesse the person they want appointed into the job. Now I am not saying I approve ordisapprove of such action, I am merely reporting reality. This is how some recruitment is done, and if you can take advantage of such, then it is not for me to stop you.

Bottom line is ‘if you don’t ask you don’t get’ and maybe, just maybe, you are alerting an employer orindividual that you might be interested and available if ever they are recruiting which could save them a lot of time and money.

Isn’t that ‘canvassing’ – and therefore forbidden? No.

So, what do you have to lose?

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The temporary market is, pretty obviously, where you take on a temporary rather than permanent role with an employer, but you are still actively seeking afull-time role and make no secret about it.

The interim market is different. Interims also are filling temporary vacancies, but in general, are presenting themselves as a ‘career interim’ – that is to say, they have specifically decided to do this as a career and will not seek out a new permanent role. Interims tend to be self-employed, having formed their own company, but often (though by no means necessarily) find their roles through one of a number or more ofinterim agencies, who act as broker betweenemployers having temporary role requirements and those individuals seeking such positions.

Both interims and temporaries are oftenover-qualified for the role they are undertaking.

This is so that they can take on the interim ortemporary role with the minimum of learningcurve and support.

The interim and temporary market3So what is that again? Both are the same, yet supplied differently.

And who are the interim agencies?Again, they often advertise themselves in the various media and journals – so a few minutes research will quickly inform you who they are. Do bear in mind, though, that as with permanent recruiters, some specialise in public sector, some only in private sector and a few handle both. And why would I need to bother about these interim agenciesGenerally, you wouldn’t. However, should you decide that a career as an interim appeals to you, then this is something that will need further investigation and you might want to research some of the interimagencies websites for further information. Manyprovide all sorts of information on setting yourself up as a company, insurance, tax, etc.

But a warningDo not, above all, present yourself as a career interim to interim agencies or potential employers when in truth you are actually still seeking a permanent role. Nothing is more annoying to an employer to feel that they have resolved a 6-month resource gap with an interim, only to have that person resign one month in to take up a full-time job. This will not help your reputation, and if arranged via an interim agency may well cause that organisation never to deal with you again.

So what are you saying?If you are just interested in temporary roles to cover a period when you are hunting for permanent jobs, be honest about such. And indeed, it is a truism that there is no better way to network and find out about an organisation than undertaking a piece of work for them. A temporary job well done could well lead to an offer of a full-time role.

Interim agencies act asbroker betweenemployers havingtemporary role requirements and those individualsseeking such positions

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A job well done could well lead to an offer of a full-time role.

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Internal promotion4

Blindingly obvious, I guess, but nonetheless some advice is appropriate.

4.1 Overview

There are two routes here:- A ring-fenced interview for a post; could be restricted to just yourself or a range of other internal candidates; or only NHS Wales candidates- An open interview – it’s just that you happen to fall into the category of being an internal candidate for whom this would be a promotion.

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4.2 General adviceFor ring-fenced posts, never think of yourself as an internal candidateThat route too often leads to complacency or arrogance

BE COMPLACENT – NOT DOING ENOUGH PREPARATION AND NOT TAKING IT SERIOUSLY ENOUGH. BE ARROGANT, AND ASSUME YOU HAVE THE ROLE SEWN-UP. I MEAN, THE POST IS YOURS – ISN’T IT? WELL, I’VE MET WAY TOO MANY INTERNAL RING-FENCED CANDIDATES WHO THOUGHT THAT AND THEN DISCOVERED THAT THE COMPETITION WAS OPENED UP TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD. BE CAREFUL.

For internal candidates in open competitions

UNDERSELL YOURSELF AND ASSUME THAT THE EXTERNAL

WILL GET IT; IF YOU WANT THE JOB, THEN GO FOR IT.

ASSUME YOU ARE IN ‘POLE’ POSITION TO GET THE JOB; EXTERNAL CANDIDATES WILL LIKELY PUT MORE EFFORT INTO THE APPLICATION PROCESS THAN YOU; IF YOU WANT THE JOB, BEWARE COMPLACENCY OR ARROGANCE.

4.3 Challenges of being aninternal candidateQuite apart from the risks above, there are a range of other potential issues:

Your employer knows you – and moreimportantly, tends to ‘see’ you for what you areThat’s fine – and hopefully you have a solid reputation; the problem is that in going for a more senior role, you want them to see you not for what you are, but what you could be, given half a chance.

Ironically, knowing so much context of yourcurrent organisation can actually be adisadvantageIt’s bizarre, I know but the trouble is that knowing so much as you do, when answering questions, your tendency will be to delve into too much detail and miss the overview and strategy. The risk is that this merely serves to confirm their view of you as sunk in your current role and perspective on the world and thus likely to find it difficult to ‘raise your gameand vision’.

If we are talking radical change or even worse (in your case) transformation ...... then the first instinct and natural tendency of your employer will likely, I regret to say, be to see you as part of the past and part of the problem – rather than part of the future and part of the solution.Unfair, perhaps – but that is the likelihood. If any organisation has an agenda for change ...... then there is likely to be a natural predisposition towards ‘new blood’, most especially if there has been very little ‘new blood’ brought into the organisation over previous years.

4.4 Specific advice forinternal candidates in any situationIn my opinion, for all the reasons I have outlined above, being the internal candidate whether for a ‘ring-fenced’ role, but most especially for an‘open-competition’ role, is actually the mostinvidious situation to be in.

So what to do? Here is my suggested strategy:

Treat the process as if you are an externalcandidate and this is an open competitionThis is the surest way to get yourself ‘psyched up’ properly and firing on all cylinders; in attitude and demeanour, think of yourself as an external candidate applying for the job.

This means assuming a mindset that those reviewing your application and the Panel ‘don’t know you’Assume this is the case; take nothing for granted, flatter the Panel, assume nothing, and be the consummateprofessional.

Absolutely, without question or hesitation, go through every element of the application and assessment process as if you were an external candidateDo not under any circumstances, exclude or withdraw yourself from any part of the process – be it a tour, informal meetings or whatever. You are a candidate (external or internal does not matter) – go through the same process as everyone else.

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Be brave and boldYou are part of the structure and thus part of the past and the present; maybe that means you will be seen as part of the problem. If the agenda is for change, or even radical change, then it is totally down to you to persuade the Panel why (despite being part of the past and the current structure) if promoted, you will leap at the chance to be part of the future and are able to be such.

However, I have to break some difficult news to you. If the agenda seriously is for change and you are an internal candidate, then all the odds are against you – unless you dare to take the Panel on, dare yourself and challenge their perceptions of you. If you do this, the Panel will rightly give you a tough time (or at least, they ought to) but in my opinion, this is the only way to stand even a chance of landing the job.

And finally ...... take heed of all the following advice around applications, presentations and interviews.

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Responding to job adverts55.1 OverviewA big section this, with some different techniques and requirements, depending on which sector you are exploring. Without seeking to be totally comprehensive, here is a ‘feel’ for how the different sectors typically recruit at chief executive and director level;

NHS Wales re-structuring Most appointments are being handled internally and restricted to those impacted by the restructuring, whilst being administered by NLIAH.

NHS Wales generallyAppointments handled directly as a norm – with occasional use of recruiters and occasional use of external assessment.

NHS ScotlandAppointments usually handled directly as a norm. Very limited use of recruiters.

NHS EnglandRapid increase in use of recruiters. Local Government – WalesVery limited but gradually rising use of recruiters.

Local Government – ScotlandLimited but gradually rising use of recruiters.

Local Government – EnglandVery common use of recruiters.

Social Housing – Wales and rest of UKOccasional use of recruiters.

Senior Civil Service – WalesAppointments overseen by Civil ServiceCommissioners; limited use of recruiters.

Senior Civil Service – ScotlandAppointments overseen by Civil ServiceCommissioners; gradually rising use of recruiters. Senior Civil Service – N IrelandAppointments overseen by Civil ServiceCommissioners; very rare use of recruiters.

Senior Civil Service - England Appointments overseen by Civil ServiceCommissioners; common use of recruiters.

Quangos – executive roles – UK wideModerate use of recruiters.

Quangos – non executive roles – UK wideAppointments overseen by Commissioner for Public Appointments; common use of recruiters.

Not for Profit – UK wide – executive andnon-executive rolesOccasional use of recruiters.

Private sector – UK wide – executive and non executive rolesWide mix of recruiting themselves and usingrecruiters; no obligation to advertise, so a common use of headhunters.

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When I refer to the public sector from now onwards I am actually talking, for the most part, about both public and not-for-profit (NFP) sectors.

Hamish’s golden tips on how to prepare an exceptional public/ NFP application

Don’t be put off by poor advertisementsMany a time, you will read an advertisement for a role and think it is absolutely useless. Ok, now this is no reason not to apply. Badly written advertisements can often hide great jobs, so keep going.

Get or download the briefing packPretty obvious I know (but you’d be surprised).

Don’t be put off by poor briefing packsSo fine, the pack is badly put together. Again,however, it may well hide a great job – and since many of the people who might have applied now don’t because they are not impressed with the pack, the competition is now much reduced.

Do your initial due diligenceDo as much research as you now feel is appropriate, prior to ringing up for an informal discussion(where offered).

Always ring for an initial discussion,where offeredIt’s crazy not to do so.

But never just say ‘can you tell me moreabout the job’To do so is very boring and will often just irritate the person at the other end; rather, offer to do a trade; indicate that you have seen the advertisement, got and read the pack, and that if you tell the person a bit more about yourself, perhaps they can indicate whether there might be a fit, and perhaps they might be able to give any hints/tips and answer a few questions. This non-threatening approach is much more likely to have a positive outcome.

Do more due diligenceIn the light of the conversation (if you managed to have one), do further research or due diligence as you feel is appropriate.

Follow the response instructions ‘to the letter’Do exactly what they want you to do. Even if you think it is bureaucratic or idiotic – do what they have asked you to do. If it is at variance with the advice and tips that now follow, then just do as they have instructed.

Within the context of the overall responseinstructionsEnsure that in your covering letter, you make clear:• Why are you interested in the role? Explain your underlying motivation; they will be curious.• Why might you be available, and up for a move? They will be curious.• What are the key synergies between what they are looking for and what you have achieved to date?

• If, fairly or unfairly, reasonably or unreasonably, there are any obvious questions that they might wonder about with regard to your application, tackle them directly.• This is the document that should bring some passion and energy to your overall application; it should bring some colour and depth to an otherwise two-dimensional application.

Ensure that in your supporting statement, youAddress the appointment criteria:• Relentlessly, point by point• Provide evidence against and hit each point• Do not merge them or try to deal with points together where you feel there is a lot of overlap.• Assume it is all a massive tick in the box exercise and deal with each criteria point by point

5.1.1 Responding to adverts in the public and not for profit sectors

Do exactly what they want you to do. Even if you think it is bureaucratic or idiotic

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Hamish’s tips on putting together an application for the private sector

Application formThere probably won’t be one; very rare indeed at senior levels; application is usually through covering letter and CV.

Briefing pack/micrositeAgain, there probably won’t be one; it is just not the custom to produce such.

Identity of organisationOften not revealed in the advertisement - a ‘blind ad’; this may be because:• There is someone already in post who does not know they are being replaced• The client does not want to state salary and their identity in the same advertisement, and thus has opted to keep quiet about their identity• They are using a recruiter who has recommended not revealing who the employer is – possibly for fear of other recruiters writing directly to that client and offering up candidates themselves, or candidates writing directly to the client• The reputation/brand image of the client is such they feel it will put off candidates if it is revealed • Embarrassment in the face of competitors or customers that they have to fill that vacancy.

What if the advertisement tells you nothing at all?Well, this does happen; a lot of advertisements are poorly written and make it very hard to prepare a tailored application against; the most you can hope for is that there is a number and a person to ring.

So, it’s ok to ring up for more information?Certainly you should do this if:• You are invited to• There is a name and number to contact.

RING UP AND JUST SAY SOMETHING LIKE “CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE JOB, PLEASE”. RATHER, SAY THAT YOU HAVE SEEN THE ADVERTISEMENT, MIGHT BE INTERESTED AND IF YOU TELL THEM A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, COULD THEY MAYBE TELL YOU A BIT MORE AND MAYBE ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS I.E. DO A TRADE.

And if there is no named person or number?To be honest, you may well be stuck.

If you can, research more about the role and organisationEasier to do if you know who the organisation is, obviously. If you don’t, then it’s tough.

Take your latest CV or your nearest and most appropriate version of CV, and lock it in a drawer. Under nocircumstances should you refer to it.

Now, as best you can with whatever information you have, and unless specifically otherwise instructed, write a two-page covering letter. The custom in the private sector is for briefer and sharper CVs and covering letters. You will hear many people say your covering letter should only be one page – I think this is unrealistic. Two pages is perfectly acceptable and you certainly will not have an application binned just because the covering letter is two pages long. This letter needs to address:

• Why you are interested – they’ll be curious• Why you might make a move – they’ll be curious

5.1.2 Responding to advertisements in the private sector

And as for your CVYou now re-write your CV to fit and support all the points you have made in your covering letter andsupporting statement. Note that I am not saying ‘lie’. Rather I am saying you make the best of what you have got, re-ordering points where needed and expanding some and contracting others. The CV must nowsupport factually what you have claimed in the covering letter and supporting statement.

And as for the other documentsThe application form – if they insist on you filling one in, just do it. The monitoring form – fill it in.Referees – don’t sell yourself short; you don’t have to give only two referees; you can offer others as well.

Basically, put together a set of documents that convinces the Panel to see you – or dares them not to.

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• The key synergies, such as you can work them out between what they are looking for (based on the advertisement, possible conversation and any research) and what you have achieved in your career to date• And finally, imagine yourself on the receiving end of that application and say to yourself ‘fairly or unfairly, reasonably or unreasonably, might there be or could there be any possible anxieties about my application’ and if there might be, address them briefly and directly• If the role would involve relocation, indicate that this would be possible/acceptable• Unless otherwise stated that they want your salary details, there is no need to provide them• If they want reference details at this stage (a little unusual but possible), then provide them with the caveat that they are not to be approached without your permission (unless you really don’t care).

You now re-write your CV to fit with and support the covering letter. Note that this is the reverse of what

most people tend to do, who start with the CV and then ‘tweak’ their covering letter to compensate for what the CV should have said, or to change some points of emphasis. The latter approach explains why so many people don’t manage to get any further in their applications for private sector jobs. Adopt the approach I have outlined instead, and you will vastly increase the likelihood of being interviewed.

Bear in mind, however, that many senior roles in the private sector are not advertised at allIn fact, though it is hard to prove the statistics, I think you will find that the majority of senior roles are filled through candidates sourced through networking, with the next greatest number being generated via headhunters or researchers, or via a combination of recruiters headhunting and placing adverts, and the remainder filled through organisations advertising on their own.

It follows that if you are seriously thinking of making a move to the private sector, then networkinggenerally and networking with headhunters is what you have to do.

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5.2.1 Preparing your CV for the first time

5.2 CVs

• There is plenty of advice offered up elsewhere with regard to what makes for a good/poor CV. The overall advice with regard to the structure of a CV is based on years of experience of recruiting. The detailed advice offered here is based primarily (though not entirely) upon all the development centre interviews we carried out (nearly 200) and the things that struck us in the course of undertaking these sessions.

• Think about your CV as a floating amalgam that just happens to crystalise around particular opportunities. The truth is that no one CV is a correct CV – there are just different CVs for different purposes.

• When it comes to preparing specific CVs for specific jobs, write the covering letter and supporting statements first – and then re-write the CV. The facts in your CV for a specific job application need to back up and support the claims in your covering letter and supporting statements where you address the appointment criteria directly.

• Whatever different versions of CV you might come up with, the key is that it is your CV and nobody else’s. The advice below is given in good faith, but at the end of the day, you need to be happy with what you submit. It’s not my CV it’s yours. So if in doubt, just go with your instincts.

There are many ways to tackle this but the general rules are as follows:

Covering pageThere are many ways of preparing this but my view is:• Top 25%: personal details• Next 25%: professional/education summary, with most recent first• Next 50%: career history, summary, in three columns – date, position, organisation, with most recent first.

Now some of you will thus be wondering ‘what about the personal statement’ bit? Well, if you feel motivated to write such, do so now and keep itseparate for the time being.

Pages 2,3,4 etcYou title this, ‘Career History – Detail’ and you then work methodically back through the career. General advice at this stage is to ignore length completely; prepare your master CV which logs all theorganisations you have worked for and all the jobs you have done which includes all the achievements that you can think of, working to the following:• Dates, organisation, position (or whatever order best makes sense)• Description of organisation (don’t assume the

reader will know); nature of activity; staff; turnover; geographic spread• Reporting to; responsible for; main duties included• Achievements/where you made a difference/ added value. Final pageCouple of extras here:• Personal self-development activities This is a separate item from qualifications, and should include informal learning as well as formal (mentoring, coaching, visits, exchanges & shadowing).

• Personal interests My advice: please ignore any overly PC sensitive HR advice about never mentioning anything personal because it is not relevant. Whilst in theory true, and not mentioning personal interests will not prevent you being considered for a role, the reality, at this level of application is that chief executives are appointing ‘teams’ of people with whom they are going to be working very closely. Anything that helps give a more rounded picture of personality is an advantage. And quite frankly, it also helps to demonstrate that you are not a totally boring person (though maybe of course, you are).

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5.2.2 Different kinds of CVs for different purposes

OK – now you have your master CV which gives you all the basic raw material that you need. It is from this document that you now draw all the data toconstruct all the other variants of CVs that youwill need.

Calling card CVThis is the CV that is not prepared for a job application, but rather, is generic in nature and not aimed at aparticular organisation or role. This CV just gives a good overall feel for what you are about and have achieved.

If you wish to insert your ‘personal statement’ (you know – the bit in bold, in a box, that in a few paragraphs encapsulates ‘you’) – then this is theversion of CV in which to do so. Personally, I tend not to read such statements and I know very few recruiters who do – but maybe the employers will, so it’s your decision.

Career profileThis is more like a half or one page profile that you prepare for when you are speaking at a conference

or the like. It’s less a detailed CV and more a written narrative that quickly gives those attending a sense of your background and perhaps explains why you have been asked to speak.

Specific CVs targeting specific sectors orcategories of rolesThis is where you are:• Looking to make a job move• Have analysed what you might do and where you might do it• Have determined that there are ‘x’ categories of roles that you might apply for; and prepare slimmed down (4-6 pages, probably) versions of your master CV, specifically tailored towards each of those sectors.

The point is that if we go back to my proposition that your CV is just a floating amalgam that happens to crystalise around specific opportunities, then you can end up changing the order of priorities, expand some bits and contract other bits – all of whichsimply make a stronger and more relevant case for that particular role, whilst never lying.

And so this is where you take the version of your CV from the various segment versions above that is closest to the role you are applying for, and put that to one side. Indeed, preferably, you lock it away in a drawer and do not refer to it at all;• You follow the response instructions in the advert and obtain the briefing pack• You follow all the response instructions in the briefing pack• You do such additional research as you feel appropriate.

Unless specifically told to do otherwise:• You prepare a supporting statement that addresses:

Why you are interested in the role (it is vital, unless blindingly obvious, that you explain your motivation for interest). Why you might be available to make a move. The key synergies between what you have achieved in your career to date and where you

5.2.3 CVs and applying for a specific job

think there is a useful fit with the role and organisation, based on what you have read and researched. Address head on, assertively but not aggressively, any issues, be they fair or unfair, that you think might arise in the minds of those reviewing your application regarding why you might not be appropriate for the role. All the above has the effect of turning what might otherwise be a boring and tedious two dimensional application into a three dimensional person.• You now proceed, in a separate document, to address all the appointment criteria in the person specification and unless otherwise instructed Tackle each criteria in turn. Do not merge separate criteria, even if you think they duplicate each other; assume that there is a full ‘tick in the box’ exercise, Ensure you provide ‘evidence’ against each of the criteria and preferably two pieces of evidence just to be sure.

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5.2.4 Achievements

Important to ensure you address the following:What; how (engagement and process); and outcome (impact on patients). This is a useful model to bearin mind.

So what!Ask “so what?” – i.e. did it work and what impact did it have? Ensure you answer this challenge for any of the claims that you make; ensure impact or outcome is demonstrated.

ThemesWherever appropriate, address the following themes:• Working with clinicians• Working with partners• Local authority partnerships• Staff engagement processes• Public engagement processes• Management of chronic conditions• Out of hospital care – moving from acute• Savings demonstrated• Patient care improved• World class services.

• You now take the nearest sector version of your CV (or the one that you have earlier locked away in the drawer) – and re-write it to complement all the material that you have written and claimed in your supporting statement and document addressing the appointment criteria (but see also section on detailed content of CV below)• With regard to length of CV, to be honest, this is a bit of a red herring; if you are instructed to prepare a CV of a certain length, so be it. Otherwise, the key is presentation rather than length (although probably no longer than 4 pages is a good guide, and certainly try and avoid more than 6 pages)• You now proceed to complete the application form, if you are required to do so• You now proceed to complete the monitoring forms, if you are required to do so• You now proceed to provide details of your referees.

BUT – don’t sell yourself short; you are usually asked for two referees which is fine, but it may well be that when you look at the make up of the Panel or the board of the organisation for which you are applying to work, that you reckon there are some other folk known to the former who would be interesting referees also; therefore, don’t be hesitant about offering ‘in addition, you may wish to consult ......’ as well as the two primary referees. Be wary about providing two referees from the same organisation; employers prefer to see references from different organisations, if at all possible. Think also about providing an additional senior referee from outside the NHS.

So, in summary, you put together an application of such focus that it basically dares them not to see you. That is your goal when preparing specific jobapplications .

Length wise, again, no more than four pages overall is my advice.

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5.3.1 Preparation: practical bitsand pieces

5.3 Presentations

Is a presentation required?You might think this is obvious – but it is not.Presentations are commonly (but not always) used as way of kicking off the interview. Topics vary, timing varies and whether you are allowed to use aids ornot varies. CHECK AND DOUBLE-CHECK

MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. ALWAYS CHECK AND DOUBLE-CHECK

TopicObviously a key issue. If you are not clear or do not understand the topic then always ask for clarification - if that is what they want you to speak on, then that is what you prepare to speak on.

PREPARE FOR WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN

RE-INVENT THE EXAM QUESTION – EVER

Tools/aidsThinking is evolving on this one, and I know that it seems a bit odd to those of you who have ditched paper and gone ‘e’ in your working; the reality is that it is ok to bring in hard copy notes with you to a presentation but a laptop is frowned upon. However, unless specifically encouraged to do so, my advice is:

ASSUME YOU CAN USE YOUR LAPTOP DURING YOUR PRESENTATION.

I also know that it has been common in the past to use overheads or PowerPoint for your presentation. However, the trend in NHS and central government has lately been moving against this and increasingly, candidates are being asked to make just oral presentations with no aids at all, other than notes. If in doubt, ask for guidance on this one beforehand, but generally, the rule is:

ASSUME YOU WILL BE ABLE TO USE POWERPOINT OR ANY

OTHER AID IN MAKING YOUR PRESENTATION, AND EVEN IF THE

GUIDANCE IS THAT YOU CAN, BE READY FOR THE FACT THAT

THE PANEL MAY CHANGE THEIR MIND ON THE DAY – SO BE

READY TO DITCH THE AIDS IF NEEDS BE.

TimingVery simple rules to follow here: CHECK AND DOUBLE-CHECK THE TIME THAT YOU ARE ALLOWED PRACTICE, PRACTICE AND PRACTICE AGAIN – TO ENSURE YOU CAN KEEP TO TIME.

BANK ON BEING ABLE TO GO OVER TIME; ASSUME THAT YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO DO SO, AND PREPARE ON THAT BASIS.

Panel membersIt is perfectly reasonable for you to be informed as to who will be on the Panel. Indeed it is perfectly reasonable to expect to be given a brief biography on each Panel member, why they are there and their role – but don’t assume you will receive this. It isunreasonable for a request to know who is on the Panel to be turned down. However, if this happens, just bite your tongue and carry on. General rule, though, is: TRY AND FIND OUT WHO WILL BE ON THEIR PANEL AND THEN DO A BIT OF RESEARCH ON THEM.

5.3.2 Preparation: planning the presentationTopicWe have covered this already, I know, but it’s worth repeating. I have sat on too many Panels where the first words out of the candidate’s mouth were, “I know you asked me to talk about ‘x’, but what I thought you really meant was ‘y’”:

RE-INVENT THE TOPIC TITLE. DELIVER WHAT YOU HAVE

BEEN GIVEN.

Find a ‘theme’Whatever the topic, I think that the way to convert a presentation from ‘ok but boring’, to ‘wow’ is to have a theme: a central theme that kind of holds the whole presentation together and acts like a continuous spine to which you can constantly refer:

GIVE SOME THOUGHT AS TO WHAT ‘THEME’ WOULD WORK

FOR YOU TO MAKE THIS PRESENTATION REALLY STAND OUT

AND GIVE IT THE ‘WOW’ FACTOR

Give it some heartI think that too many presentations often come across as overly logical, clinical, and lacking humanity, depth, perspective and heart.If in doubt, ask for guidance

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Don’t make assumptions, always check anddouble-check

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TRY AND GIVE A THREE DIMENSIONAL RATHER THAN A TWO

DIMENSIONAL, ‘BLACK AND WHITE’ PRESENTATION; FIND

SOME HEART IF YOU CAN.

A personal visionI think you will be able to give your presentation some heart if you have also worked out in your head and can convey to the Panel some glimpses into your personal vision for what 2015 world class and locally relevant healthcare is all about, and how that backdrop links into the presentation that you aregiving. So, if you can ...

WORK OUT IN ‘YOUR’ HEAD WHAT YOUR AS OPPOSED TO ANY

ONE ELSE’S PERSONAL VISION FOR HEALTHCARE ACTUALLY IS.

Beginning, middle and an endAll stories and presentations have this structure.

REMEMBER TO PLAN YOUR PRESENTATION LOGICALLY.

ContextIt might well be that you choose your beginning as the context setting, and that is no bad thing. Too many candidates forget to remind the Panel of the context (environmental, cultural, financial etc.) against which they have addressed the topic.

REMEMBER THAT WITHOUT CONTEXT, YOUR PRESENTATION

AND ITS CONCLUSIONS CAN APPEAR CONFUSING AND

INCONSISTENT.

MiddleThis is the body or guts of your presentation

REMEMBER THAT IT NEEDS EITHER TO BE COMPREHENSIVE

IN ITS COVERAGE OF THE TOPIC, OR IF NOT, YOU NEED TO

EXPLAIN WHY.

ConclusionThis brings all your messages together, links back to your central theme and overall context, and if it does leave any loose ends, they should be done so deliberately with the intent of effectively inviting the questions that you would like to be asked fromthe Panel.

REMEMBER TO PULL IT ALL TOGETHER AND GIVE A CONCLUSION

THAT STACKS UP, HONESTLY, WITH WHAT YOU HAVE JUST BEEN

TALKING ABOUT; IF IT DOESN’T, BEING THE LAST THING THAT

YOU SPOKE ABOUT, IT WILL LIKELY BE THE FIRST THING YOU

GET CHALLENGED ON – SO IF YOU ARE LEAVING LOOSE ENDS,

MAKE THEM DELIBERATE.

Corporate themeSomewhere, in almost every presentation, it is important to get in the fact that you are by temperament acorporate player, and understand that your job,whatever it is, will have a cross-cutting corporateelement and responsibility that goes far beyondyour professional remit.

REMEMBER THAT CHIEF EXECUTIVES ARE ALWAYS LOOKING

FOR CORPORATE PLAYERS AND ARE INHERENTLY WARY OF

THOSE WHO IGNORE THIS ELEMENT OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES

AND WHO MIGHT BE ‘CUCKOOS IN THE NEST’ ONCE APPOINTED.

TimingSorry to be boring, but there are some narrow-minded Panel members who just obsess on ‘did they keep to time’ and ignore the content. I know that’s a daft ap-proach to life, but let’s not give them any excuse to deploy their prejudice or narrow approach to life:

USE UP CLOSE TO YOUR FULL ALLOTTED TIME – THIS IS YOUR

CHANCE TO ‘SELL’ YOURSELF.

GO HUGELY UNDER OR OVER YOUR ALLOCATED TIME,

PRACTICE UNTIL YOU GET IT RIGHT.

Learning your presentationIt really does help if you learn your presentation – to the extent that such notes as you have are just an ‘aide-memoire’ or more simply, to hand if you need them. However, let’s be clear. I am not making a case for ‘you must learn your presentation and use no notes’; to attempt this is a bit too much ‘hostage to fortune’ for my taste. But learning your presentation will give you more confidence and allow you to engage with more direct eye contact.

TRY AND LEARN YOUR PRESENTATION, AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

NotesTo the extent that you have notes, broadly speaking they should be: brief, smart, referred to occasionally and act as your safety net to get you back on track if you lose your train of thought.

DON’T COME IN WITH HANDWRITTEN NOTES ON SOME

SCRAPPY PIECES OF PAPER THAT LOOK AS THOUGH YOU JUST

KNOCKED SOMETHING UP IN THE CAR PARK.

Demonstrate you have an understanding of culture, behaviour and change

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Consider yourpersonal impact

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5.3.3 Planning the detailed content and avoiding bear traps

So you have your topic, you know your timing, you have sorted the ‘context’, you know you have to get the corporate element in there and you have an over-arching theme. Now what? Some additional points to bear in mind:

Planning the various elements of your detailed contentFor as much as I have suggested you need to have a theme and some heart, it is still best to have alogical approach to organising the variouscomponents of your presentation, and in this regard it as well to think: strategy; objectives; processes; desired outcomes; measures for success; how will we know; and examples.

PLAN THE CONTENT LOGICALLY AND SYSTEMATICALLY

Organisational structuresOne thing to avoid is giving the impression that you are obsessed with ‘corporate structures’, and that as long as you get the structure right, all the rest will fall into place. This simply isn’t true. The fact is that some corporate structures may indeed be more convenient than others, but in the end, it is behaviours and cultures that count.

GIVE THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU HAVE A MORE SOPHISTICATED

TAKE ON ORGANISATIONAL DYNAMICS AND CULTURES THAN

JUST WORRYING ABOUT STRUCTURES

Culture, values, behaviours It is important that if you do start talking in your presentation about the processes of organisational change (and most particularly, if you start talking of organisational transformation), you recognise that culture, values and behaviours are at the heart of any change process.

DEMONSTRATE THAT YOU HAVE MORE THAN A SUPERFICIAL

APPRECIATION OF THE DYNAMICS OF THE PROCESSES OF

ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE AND TRANSFORMATION

Conveying something controversial or different if you are not sure of the Panels’ reaction or stanceThis can be a problem, particularly if you think that your ideas might be a tad too radical for the comfort of some members of the Panel, and yet you still want

to be true to yourself and do not wish to dumb-down what you have to say. On balance, rather than say what you ‘would do’, you might wish to comment that you have “heard about organisations trying this approach, and if appointed, would be keen to discuss the merits and possibilities of similar strategies ...” which has the effect of at least raising the fact that you are aware of such without overly committing yourself, showing too much of your hand and therebypossibly alienating one or more Panel members.

Now I must stress – this is tricky stuff, and onlyoffered as a possible way out, the scenario having been posed by many candidates in the past. And here, I go back to one of the original principles when approaching this publication – it is your life and your career, and ultimately, whatever I or anyone else says, it is you who has to judge how you approach such matters – and make the call as you see fit given the context and circumstances. Still, having said all that:

REMEMBER THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO COMMIT YOURSELF 100% IMMEDIATELY ON RAISING CERTAIN TOPICS OR STRATEGIES IF YOU ARE ANXIOUS ABOUT HOW THE PANEL MIGHT REACT; YOU CAN TEST THE WATER A BIT, AND THEN SEE HOW THEY COME BACK AT YOU.

5.3.4 And away you go. It’s quite scary to watch some candidates score some immediate ‘own goals’ before they have said a word.

When you are taken into the roomWalk in, smile, say hello to those assembled, sit down, put your papers and pen/pencil on the table in front of you, check you have some water to hand, and then look up, smile again, nod to those assembled in a friendly manner and wait patiently for the chair to kick off. Above all ...

SMILE – NOT INANELY ALL THE TIME, BUT START WITH A SMILE

AND REMEMBER TO SMILE PERIODICALLY.

Building barriers on the tableThis is not the time to bring in all your luggage, coats, briefcase, folders and then start assembling a pile of files and folders on the table between you and the Panel as some kind of barrier. So ...

LEAVE ALL SUPERFLUOUS MATERIALS OUTSIDE THE

INTERVIEW ROOM.

IDEALLY, ONLY BRING IN YOUR PRESENTATION NOTES, A PEN/

PENCIL AND SOME PAPER TO WRITE ON – THAT’S ALL.

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Mobile phonesIts pretty obvious that you don’t want your mobile phone to go off whilst you are in the midst of your interview, but neither do you want to go in there and suddenly recall that you have not switched it off yet (or even worse, for those of you with two phones – them).

SWITCH PHONES OFF BEFORE YOU GO INTO THE INTERVIEW

ROOM.

Notepad and pen/pencilAlready stated above. It is ok to take notes, but all you need for that is a pen/pencil and some sheets of paper. Nothing more. Clicking pensWhat we have to avoid here is the nervous ‘twitch’ – which translates itself into clicking your pen, or constantly taking the top on and off, with an audible click. You won’t realise that you are doing it – but I guarantee that the Panel will.

DON’T TAKE PENS THAT CLICK INTO THE PANEL WITH YOU.

TAKE A PENCIL OR A PEN THAT DOES NOT CLICK.

Watches or cell phones that ‘beep’ on the hourI have asked a range of folk why they feel the need to use these settings on their watches or cell phones. I’ve still to hear a convincing answer. It is off-putting for the Panel, so general advice is ...

REMEMBER TO ALTER THE SETTINGS AND SHUT YOUR DEVICE UP - PLEASE.

Dress style - menAn awkward topic, I know, but it needs to be dealt with. If you are coming for an interview, the Panel will be looking at you and imagining you in the role for which you have applied and also imagining how you would ‘look’ if on TV or meeting the First Minister. Accordingly, coming to your interview dressed in a shabby suit, or presenting yourself as an ‘all grey man’, drab and boring in the sartorial stakes is probably not a great idea.

GET THE SUIT DRY-CLEANED AND PRESSED.

TRY AND THINK ABOUT COLOUR CO-ORDINATION AND...

CONTRAST; IF YOU HAVE A PALE COMPLEXION, THERE IS A RISK

THAT A DARK SUIT WILL MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE DRACULA

THINK ABOUT WEARING A ‘SMART’ PRESENTATION TYPE TIE;

MAKE A LITTLE BIT OF A STATEMENT AND LOOK AND FEEL LIKE

A SENIOR EXECUTIVE.

Pencils/pens in breast pocketAgain, this is all about ‘looking the part’. Do you see the First Minister with a pen or pencil popping out of their breast pocket? You are trying to impress the Panel – not make them tempted to not take youseriously, or worse, laugh at you.

REMEMBER THAT THE ONLY THING TO PUT IN YOUR BREAST POCKET, IF AT ALL, IS A HANDKERCHIEF, AND ONLY THEN

IF YOU CAN CARRY IT OFF.

SpectaclesIt is for each person to determine what style of spectacles suits them best. Main point here, however, is to those of you who seem to wear your spectacles slightly lower on the bridge of your nose than is usual – the net effect of which can be to cut off directpupil/eye contact with members of the Panel. The problem is that some members of the Panel just don’t like it – and some think it is a means ofavoiding eye contact.

TRY AND HAVE YOUR GLASSES FIXED SUCH THAT THEY DON’T SLIDE DOWN YOUR NOSE.

Dress style – womenInto the danger zone here – but what the heck. You need to hear it from somebody:

DON’T COME INTO THE INTERVIEW TRUSSED UP IN A SUIT

THAT IS CLEARLY THREE SIZES TOO SMALL FOR YOU. I KNOW

IT’S A FAVOURITE SUIT AND DOES LOOK SMART, BUT THE

IMPACT IS DESTROYED WHEN IT NO LONGER FITS.

REMEMBER THAT IF YOU HAVE A TENDENCY TO ‘FLUSH’ OR

‘COLOUR UP’ AROUND THE THROAT AND NECK WHEN NERVOUS,

UNCOMFORTABLE OR UNDER PRESSURE – THAT WEARING A LOW

CUT BLOUSE IS NOT A GOOD IDEA, AND THAT MAYBE A SCARF

OR THE LIKE IS A GOOD IDEA.

DON’T WEAR THE KIND OF JEWELLERY ON YOUR WRISTS AND

FINGERS THAT WILL FLASH CONSTANTLY AND CAUSE GLARE

IF CAUGHT IN SUNLIGHT. IF IT’S A SUNNY DAY AND YOU ARE

IN THE SUNLIGHT, THE CONSTANT FLASHING, ESPECIALLY IF

YOU ARE PRONE TO WAVE YOUR HANDS AND ARMS AROUND,

WILL HUGELY DISTRACT THE PANEL AND MEAN THAT THEY

TEND TO FOCUS ON FLASHING LIGHTS RATHER THAN THE

CONTENT OF WHAT YOU ARE SAYING.

REMEMBER THAT IF YOU ARE PRONE TO WEAR MANY BANGLES,

THAT HOWEVER BEAUTIFUL AND EXPENSIVE, THEY WILL TEND

TO JANGLE AND CLATTER AS YOU EXPRESS YOURSELF USING

YOUR HANDS AND ARMS – AND AGAIN WILL SIMPLY DISTRACT

THE PANEL FROM THE CONTENT OF WHAT YOU ARE SAYING.

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5.4.1 Attitude, state of mind, demeanour and delivery

5.4 Presentations and interviews

I am not going to pretend that doing presentations and making these kinds of presentations is not a big thing – it is. In fact, I reckon that you do in fact need to hype yourself up – just not too much.

IMAGINE THAT YOU ARE APPEARING ON TV OR MEETING

THE FIRST MINISTER: LOOK SMART, ENGAGING AND ALERT;

THINK SMART, ENGAGING AND ALERT; AND ABOVE ALL, BE

SMART, ENGAGING AND ALERT.

You are prompted to begin your presentation – do you stay seated, or stand?Well, you need to judge according to the expectations of the Panel (if any) and layout of the room. Generally speaking, however, if you are not using aids, you should, unless directed otherwise, stay in your seat. I know that there is a school of thought that says if you stand, it is easier to be ‘in control’ – and it probably is, but in all honesty, it looks odd if you are notusing aids.

STAY SEATED WHEN MAKING YOUR PRESENTATION IF USING

NO AIDS.

And if you do stand, then ...

DON’T OPT FOR A HALF WAY HOUSE AND STAND BUT THEN

SIT ON OR LEAN AGAINST THE TABLE. THIS IS FAR TOO CASUAL

AND A ‘NO-NO’ FOR A FORMAL MEETING.

Tone of voicePerhaps one could argue that this topic really belongs in the pre-preparation section, but I have put it here instead. A whole series of potential bear-traps:

DON’T COME ACROSS WITH A ‘TEFLON’ VOICE – I.E. THE SAME

MONOTONE DELIVERY THAT ONE JUST CAN’T KEEP ONE’S

ATTENTION UPON AND SWIFTLY LOSES YOUR AUDIENCE. THE

GREAT DANGER HERE IS THAT IF YOU SOUND BORING, THE

PANEL MAY THINK YOU ARE BORING AND CONSEQUENTLY

IGNORE THE QUALITY OF THE CONTENT.

DON’T USE A ‘PRESENTATION’ TYPE VOICE THAT IS DIFFERENT

FROM YOUR NORMAL SPEAKING VOICE. IT SOUNDS ODD

– MORE LIKE YOU ARE MAKING A SPEECH TO A LARGE AUDIENCE,

WHICH THIS IS NOT (AT LEAST, I HOPE IT’S NOT).

VARY THE PITCH OF DELIVERY, SO THAT THE PANEL GETS SOME

‘TEXTURE’ THROUGH THE PRESENTATION.

VARY THE PACE OF DELIVERY, SO THAT THE PANEL GETS SOME

VARIETY, RATHER THAN BEING LULLED INTO A DEEP SLEEP.

Body language: postureCertain candidates will come in, sit down – and end the interview barely having moved. Candidly, this is un-nerving and even scary.

Certain other candidates will come in and their enthusiasm and energy result in windmill arms and almost lunging across the table to make a point. This can be threatening, as well as un-nerving.

DON’T TURN INTO A WAXWORK

DON’T TURN INTO A WHIRLING DERVISH

VARY THE POSTURE, NATURALLY

Body language: handsI guess the main issue is – do we get to see your hands, or do you keep them hidden under the table (or tucked in, underneath yourself )?

Human beings use arms and particularly hands as part of communicating, so to hide your hands both is – and more importantly looks odd. I know that many candidates have had feedback that they should ‘control their hands’, but honestly, my experience is that most have taken this advice to an extreme. And at that extreme, the Panel is left wondering, ‘whatexactly are you doing with those hands’ –underneath the table?

GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO PUT YOUR ARMS ON THE

TABLE, AND TO USE YOUR HANDS TO EMPHASISE POINTS

(WITHIN REASON) .

Body language: facial expressionsFor people who work in the supposedly caringsector, some of the people we have interviewed from the NHS do come across as people with no soul, for whom a smile would crack their face. It really is important to come across NOT as a one dimensional and completely soulless individual. The odd smile or

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two, especially early on in the meeting really does help. Honestly – it does.

SHOW SOME VARIETY IN YOUR PERSONALITY AND SOME

CAPACITY FOR FACIAL MOBILITY AND EXPRESSIONS OTHER

THAN OF ‘CONVEYING NEWS OF A TERMINAL DISEASE’.

TO A PATIENT’ OR ‘FRIGHTENED RABBIT IN THE HEADLIGHTS’

TRY AND COME ACROSS AS NATURAL AND AS ENGAGING AS POSSIBLE.

EnergyOne of the biggest disasters at interview is to come across as: listless, with low energy, and looking and sounding as though not even a sudden explosion would wake you up. One of the real dangers ofcoming across in this manner is that Panels often mirror the energy level of the candidate, and that if you come across as soporific, then there is a realdanger that the Panel will gradually fall asleep too.

REMEMBER THAT WE NEED TO SEE SOME ENERGY. I MEAN,

DO YOU WANT THE JOB OR NOT? I AM NOT ARGUING HERE

FOR A FRENETIC PERFORMANCE, BUT YOU DO NEED TO

AT LEAST MAINTAIN THE INTEREST OF THE PANEL, AND

PREFERABLY KEEP THEM ENGAGED, AND PERSUADE THEM

THAT YOU TOO ARE ENGAGED. SO, DO REMEMBER TO ‘COME

ALIVE’ – AT LEAST A LITTLE

Pace of deliveryOk. A whole range of issues to address here, of which the key is ‘neither too fast, nor too slow’ please:

DON’T BE BORING. JUST AS TONE OF DELIVERY IS CRITICAL,

SO TOO IS SPEED. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE, IT IS CLEAR, WHO

HAVE ONE GEAR AND ONE GEAR ONLY, AND THAT IS FIRST

GEAR. THE GREAT DANGER IS THAT THIS TURNS INTO A

DRONING, STEADY PACED, RELENTLESS TIDE OF VERBIAGE

WHICH JUST DOES NOT CONNECT WITH THE PANEL. I KNOW

THAT YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL AND NOT ASSUME THAT ALL

THE PANEL ARE INTELLECTUAL GIANTS (A SOUND ASSUMPTION)

AND THAT YOU HAVE TO GO AT A PACE THAT THEY CAN KEEP UP

WITH – BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN ASSUMING THAT THEY ARE

ALL THICK AND THUS YOU HAVE TO USE SIMPLE, SHORT

WORDS DELIVERED SLOWLY.

JUST AS DANGEROUS IS THE RAPID-FIRE, MACHINE GUN

DELIVERY THAT PACKS WHAT FOR ANYONE ELSE WOULD BE A

25 MINUTE PRESENTATION INTO TEN ACTION-PACKED

MINUTES. HONESTLY, THE PANEL WILL BE UNLIKELY TO KEEP

UP, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT MOST HAVE STOPPED TAKING

ANY NOTES – AND THEY WILL HAVE SWITCHED OFF OR LOOK

EXHAUSTED BY THE EXPERIENCE.

Eye contactGeneral rule is that we like eye contact and we get nervous about people who tend not to engage in or maintain eye contact. However, there are a few nuances:

DON’T STARE FIXEDLY AT ONE OR MORE MEMBERS OF THE

PANEL; FIXED STARES AND CONSTANT EYE CONTACT CAN

COME ACROSS AS A BIT THREATENING (NOT TO SAY WEIRD

AND UN-NERVING), SO SOME BALANCE IS REQUIRED.

REMEMBER TO ENGAGE IN EYE CONTACT WITH ALL MEMBERS

OF THE PANEL FROM TIME TO TIME. DON’T LEAVE ANY

FEELING EXCLUDED.

MEN, REMEMBER TO ENGAGE IN EYE CONTACT, FROM TIME TO

TIME, WITH WOMEN MEMBERS OF THE PANEL, OR I

GUARANTEE THAT AFTERWARDS THEY WILL SAY SOMETHING

LIKE ‘I THINK HE’S GOT A PROBLEM WITH WOMEN’!

DON’T WHEN ANSWERING QUESTIONS, TEND TO GAZE OFF

INTO THE MIDDLE DISTANCE, OR AT A POINT SIX INCHES

ABOVE THE TABLE BUT TWO FEET SHORT OF THE PANEL

MEMBERS. THEY WILL NOTICE – AND WORRY ABOUT THAT

LACK OF EYE CONTACT.

DON’T JUST LOOK AT YOUR NOTES ALL THE TIME. WE HAVE

COVERED THIS EARLIER – LEARN YOUR PRESENTATION AND

PROMPTS SO YOU ONLY HAVE TO REFER TO NOTES

OCCASIONALLY, RATHER THAN ALL THE TIME, WHICH WILL

BREAK THAT EYE CONTACT WITH THE PANEL TOO MUCH

I know this has been mentioned briefly earlier, but we need to do so again. And I guess that many of you will think this is ridiculous – but for a variety of reasons. For some of you, smiling is a real effort – and thus feels artificial, if you do it at all. Some of you smile Mona Lisa-like (just the faintest glimmer) – with the risk that it can come across as insincere or smarmy. Some of you are ‘cheery chappies’ and smilenon-stop.

The general rule is that smiling tends generally to relax you, and it is an aspect of your personality that the Panel needs to see – just occasionally (notconstantly), throughout the interview.

REMEMBER THAT HOWEVER STRESSFUL YOU MAY FIND THE

INTERVIEW, SMILING OCCASIONALLY IS VITAL – AND IT WILL

HELP RELAX YOU.

DON’T SMILE INANELY THROUGHOUT THE INTERVIEW, ELSE

THE PANEL MAY THINK YOU ARE SOME KIND OF WARPED

PERSONALITY.

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Sort out the balance between under-selling and over-sellingLook – this is no time to be shy. You are at the interview to get a job. It is a competitive situation. You want the job. You need to sell yourself a bit. But that is the key – sell without appearing to sell overtly.

AS NOTED EARLIER, PRE-PLAN THE POINTS YOU WANT TO GET ACROSS AND ENSURE YOU DO – CAREFULLY, INTELLIGENTLY AND

NOT CRASSLY.

NEVER OVERSELL AND COME ACROSS AS TOO SMART FOR YOUR OWN GOOD AND AS A KNOW-IT-ALL.

ABOVE ALL, DON’T WASTE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO IMPRESS WITH THE RANGE OF YOUR AWARENESS, PERSPECTIVE AND KNOWLEDGE;

DON’T ‘UNDERSELL’ .

Openness and transparencyBeing blunt, the bottom line here is that you should come across as ‘open and transparent’, rather than ‘hard to read and sneaky’ .

Making claims about your style in your CV and supporting statement that don’t stack up at interview.My last point is to highlight the danger of making claims in your CV and supporting statement that might play ‘hostage to fortune’ at interview. For example, asserting that you are ‘an inspirational and natural born leader’, when you come across in person as quite the reverse is unlikely to help your case. The same point applies with regards to ‘hyperbole’, which may cause members of the Panel to be negatively pre-disposed against you before they have even met you.

THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT THE WORDS THAT YOU USE TO DESCRIBE YOUR CHARACTER AND STYLE, AND WHILST AVOIDING THE

MISTAKE OF UNDER-SELLING YOURSELF, TAKE CARE TO AVOID INAPPROPRIATE HYPERBOLE .

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5.4.2 Answering questions generally

Clearly, much of the advice given above applies. However, there are some other points to make and these points are not as straightforward as they may seem. You are going to have to make fine judgments about the Panel, about how you are coming across and what balance to strike with regard to thefollowing issues. Generally, though:

Avoid any hint of patronising members ofthe Panel‘Well, as I said in my presentation’ = ‘You clearly weren’t listening’.‘Well, as I tried to say in my presentation’ = ‘You are clearly too thick to understand what I said’.

You get the drift? I know you might think that your responses are fairly innocuous, but they may not be taken as such. Be careful.

Answer the questionThis is a major failing in Panels, who too often gain the impression that you are clearly a closet politician, and prefer not to answer the question:

ASK YOURSELF IN YOUR HEAD, ALL THE TIME, AM I ANSWERING THE QUESTION?

Beware playing for timeIt is entirely possible that Panel members are thick, but it is dangerous to assume so. They might well decide that your wandering all around the topic is just playing for time whilst you think of an answer. You can carry this off for a very brief period, but not for long.

JargonYou might be entirely comfortable with all the jargon that you use in your everyday work, but not all Panel members may be so comfortable. GET THE BALANCE RIGHT, BETWEEN OVER-EXPLAINING JARGON AND THUS MAKING THE PANEL FEEL PATRONISED ON THE BASIS THAT YOU ARE ASSUMING THEY WON’T UNDERSTAND ...AND NOT EXPLAINING SOME JARGON SUCH

THAT SOME MEMBERS OF THE PANEL END UP FEELING EXCLUDED.

Intensity versus laid backYes, you need to come across as focused, alert and on the ball. However, you don’t want to come across as so intense that it’s scary. TRY TO COME ACROSS AS NATURALLY AS POSSIBLE, AND NEITHER OVERLY INTENSE NOR OVERLY LAID BACK.

Cynicism and sarcasmI have always believed that sarcasm is a form of wit best used most sparingly. I have also come toappreciate that cynicism is a trait that tends to go down badly with most people. The general rule is‘avoid both’.

Long winded versus succinctOk, so in an ideal world, we would prefer to avoid both extremes here. Come across as overly long-winded, and you will:• Use up the time that the Panel had allocated for other questions• Irritate the Panel• Talk yourself out of the job.

Come across as overly succinct, and you will:• Undersell yourself• Irritate the Panel• Talk yourself out of the job.

TRY AND STRIKE A BALANCE HALF WAY BETWEEN THE TWO.

Cut to the chaseUp to a point, I totally understand your need todemonstrate in your answers that you can see all sides of an issue, and are not prone to leap tojudgments on complex issues. However, eventually, if you do not express an opinion with regard to where you stand personally, again, you may end up irritating the Panel and risk coming across as indecisive andunable to commit.

BE READY TO CUT TO THE CHASE, PARTICULARLY IF THE PANEL

LOOK LIKE THEY ARE GETTING RESTLESS – AND SAY WHAT YOU

THINK OR WHAT YOU WOULD DO.

Hold your nerveInterviews are a pressure situation – and it may well be that some Panel members may ‘up the ante’ and adopt a tougher line of questioning deliberately to put you under pressure and see how you perform. This may extend to playing the devil’s advocate and putting forward propositions that they don’t actually agree with, just to see if you cave in or have thecourage to stand your ground. The general advice is...

DON’T GET INTO AN ARGUMENT: DEBATE , YES; ARGUMENT, NO.

DON’T SHOW YOUR IRRITATION.

STAY CALM AND RESOLUTE UNDER PRESSURE .

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5.4.3 Answering questions: detailed content

CorporateMassively important. You need to convince that you are a corporate player, that you get the fact that there will be a corporate element to your role, and that you will be part of a corporate team, regardless of the level of job you are applying for.

DON’T RUN THE RISK OF COMING ACROSS AS A LONE PLAYER

AND POTENTIAL CUCKOO IN THE NEST.

Moving and shifting a whole organisation’sculture: on a large scaleTime and again, candidates seem to hit a brick wall when it comes to cultural change, getting it owned and embedded, and shifting attitudes and behaviours. Accepted, it is very complex, but without some real sense of what to do and how to do it you riskcoming a real cropper here.

MotivationYou do need to have sorted this out in your headbefore the interview in order that your response to any question around motivation for interest in the role for which you are being interviewed sounds plausible, sensible and natural.

DON’T BE TEMPTED TO SAY THAT THE MAIN MOTIVATION IS

THAT IT IS A BOARD OR SENIOR ROLE POSITION, OR SOME

THING TO DO WITH ‘STATUS’; PROGRESSION IS FINE;

ADVANCEMENT IS FINE; LARGER ROLE AND STRETCHING YOUR

SELF AND IT BEING A NATURAL DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUR

CAREER IS FINE; BUT A ‘STATUS’ BASED ANSWER IS PROBABLY

NOT SO FINE.

Lack of links to patient benefit: too much focus on organisation and workforceFor whatever the reason, there seems to be a great tendency to talk about things from a staff/workforce or organisational/structural viewpoint – rather than a patient viewpoint. I am not suggesting that the former is wrong or without value, but the plain facts are that the NHS exists first and foremost for the benefits of its patient and users, not for the benefits of its staff.

REMEMBER THAT A PATIENT-CENTRIC APPROACH IS

ESSENTIAL IN ALL YOUR ANSWERS; STAFF AND WORKFORCE

ARE THEN JUST ONE (THOUGH A KEY ONE) OF YOUR RESOURCES

TO UTILISE, DEPLOY AND ORGANISE IN THE MOST OPTIMUM

MANNER. BUT PATIENTS/USERS SHOULD COME

FIRST WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING YOUR ANSWERS.

Lack of knowledge of outside Wales: outside NHS; international; private sector Being candid, it feels like most people’s perceptions, radar and knowledge would appear to stop with NHS Wales and the Welsh border.

Beautiful country though it is, this tendency results in ‘in-speak’, ‘in-thinking’, and ‘complacency’. If you are going to impress, you need to know what is happening outside the NHS, outside the public sector and outside of Wales.

If you get caught or make a mistake in aquestion and you realise it ...... then just admit the fact. It happens sometimes. It’s not ideal and it is not a great thing to happen.However, in real life, you would admit the fact, change your mind, explain why and take actionaccordingly. So do the same in the interview.

DON’T DIG YOURSELF DEEPER INTO A HOLE YOU HAVE MADE

FOR YOURSELF; YOU WILL GAIN GREATER RESPECT FOR HAVING

HAD THE SENSE AND COURAGE TO ADMIT YOU HAVE CHANGED

YOUR MIND OR WERE WRONG, EXPLAIN WHY, AND MOVE ON.

‘What’ and ‘how’The most common errors made, consistently, are a failure to explain ‘what’ you will do, and ‘how’ you’ll do it – and on being so challenged, still being unable to give convincing answers. You must pre-plan your answers on every topic to back them up withpersuasive arguments on ‘what’ and ‘how’.

PRE-PLAN/STRUCTURE YOUR ANSWERS TO EXPLAIN AND

CONVINCE: WHAT, HOW, OUTCOME AND EXAMPLES.

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5.4.4 Technical interview: answering questions generally

Two pieces of general advice when it comes to answering all questions of a technical nature:• Many candidates tend either to head for the stratosphere and give strategic, conceptual answers with not a hint of anything practical• Many other candidates tend to dive down into detail, where they are most comfortable, reluctant to expose themselves in the rarefied air of concepts and strategy• And far too many candidates fail utterly to tell the Panel what they would do, and more crucially, how they would do it.

GIVE THE HIGH LEVEL, STRATEGIC ANSWER – AND THEN FOLLOW UP WITH TWO, ON THE GROUND, PRACTICAL EXAMPLES TO BACK IT

UP, PREFERABLY FROM DIFFERENT PHASES OF YOUR CAREER. THIS WILL GIVE COMFORT THAT YOU ARE NOT A ‘ONE TRICK PONY’.

DON’T OBSESS ABOUT TELLING THE PANEL BOTH WHAT YOU WOULD DO, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY HOW YOU WOULD DO IT.

5.4.5 Answering questions: where NHS Wales is headed

As a general rule, there is little point in going for these leadership roles unless you believe in the general and overall direction that healthcare is going in Wales. That is not to say that you have to agree with everything, but if you cannot demonstrate that you agree with the general direction of travel (even if you are open about some of the impediments in getting there), then you might well find yourself in difficulties at the Panel.

Admission to hospital being seen as a the last resortIt is clear that the direction of travel involves a shift from secondary to primary and community care, andadmission to hospital has to be seen in future as being both an expensive and non-sustainable last resort, and needs to be as brief a stay as possible.

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5.4.6 Answering questions: culture and organisational change

Methodology for whole organisational and cultural changeResponse to include: change is a combination of pressure from top-down, bottom-up and outside-in; the need to open up the organisation to influence from outside; staff must never again talk in patronising tones about what patients think and want, without bringing evidence, and preferably stories and better still patient stories and even better real patients; need to truly harness patient/user power; need to liberate talent, creativity and innovation; use of workshops, away-days, and series of conferences covering the whole organisation; mixing staff grades and mixing staff from different departments; modellingbehaviours.

Most common mistakes: overly simplistic methodology for achieving whole organisational change and cultural change; being clearly out of one’s depth; assuming soft issues like change, culture and behaviour arereally soft and thus unimportant, when in fact they are the hardest things to change and ultimatelydetermine success or failure.

Mission, vision, values, culture, behavioursResponse to include: the fact that you have some – both of your own, but also some thoughts and observations on those of the organisation you are seeking to join (and even some that you think might be better for that organisation, if that is what you think); understanding the importance of having brief statements that are memorable, aspirational, and attainable – rather than the reverse, or twee; aware of the optimum processes by which such statements can be constructed; aware that it is the behaviours underpinning and making a reality of those values that will determine the prevailing culture of the organisation; how to get the workforce to buy into these statements.

Most common mistakes: failure to have any views; cynicism; not knowing how to derive thesestatements such that they are bought into by the workforce; adopts a far too top-down approach, rather than equally bottom-up.

TransformationResponses to include: some awareness of whatdistinguishes incremental change from transformation;

appreciation that we are here talking about radical service re-design; about transforming the patient experience; and this means talking about culture and behaviours and attitudes as well – and changing it all together at the same time; how one transforms services – which is what delivering more with 20% less actually implies; demonstrably convincing that in explaining why ‘more of the same will not do’.

Most common mistakes: talking the talk, but being utterly unable to walk it at interview; lack ofappreciation of scale of change required and how to go about it; talking incremental change anddescribing it as transformation.

Recruitment: role and importanceResponse to include: it’s the people you hire who will deliver; you will not deliver on your own; recruitment is too important an issue to be delegated andforgotten about.

Most common mistakes: assuming recruitment is someone else’s job, and delegating all involvement; obsessing about skills and forgetting that the key is values and behaviours.

Innovation and creativity: role and importanceResponse to include: this is the key to transformation; need to unlock innovation and creativity in theorganisation; need to break down barriers stopping such within the organisation; needs to be encouraged, rewarded, modelled and teased out; HR needs to become an enabler and not shackle innovation; ‘how’ one will encourage innovation.

Most common mistakes: being scared of un-shackling the organisation and letting loose a blizzard of ideas; a desire to ‘keep firm control’.

Patient/user powerResponse to include: it’s not a bad thing – rather, it is a good thing; this results in pressure for change from outside in; decisions should never be made without having engaged patients/users and their voice and opinions; patients/users have a right to have an

mistakes: failure to haveany views; cynicism...

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opinion and a right to be heard, and that voice can and should be used as a pressure for change and confronting inappropriate behaviours. Most common mistakes: not appreciating the power of ‘patient power’ as a force for change that can be deployed; not mentioning patients at all; mentioning workforce and never patients.

Workforce and staffResponse to include: importance of involving with all parts of the workforce; how to harness it; how to counter any embedded cynicism; how, practically, to communicate with 12,000 or 16,000 staff across largegeographic areas.

Most common mistakes: under-estimating it as a source of ideas and force for change to be deployed; talking only of workforce and not patients as well.

PartnershipsResponse to include: recognition that services in future can really only be delivered through effective partnerships; what makes for effective partnerships.

Most common mistakes: not thinking widely enough about whom one might engage in partnerships; not really having thought this whole issue through.

Management/organisation structuresResponse to include: recognition that some structures are more convenient than others, but actually one can deliver through any structure – so it’s not really the first major priority.

Most common mistakes: obsessing about structures at the expense of services, culture and behaviours.

Working with local authorities (LA)Response to include: recognition of their democratic mandate; understanding their agendas; make allies where possible; offer to walk the wards (political wards) with elected politicians (just the same as many new local authority officers do); offering toattend ward meetings.

Most common mistakes: believing that one cannot engage with local politicians.

How will you know the culture is heading in the right direction?Response to include: satisfaction, cultural and reputation

audits/surveys and the critical importance of evidence rather than anecdote; the need to constantly survey patients/users, partners and staff; 7200 and not 3600 feedback (i.e. external feedback from partners as well as internal perspectives); countering cynicism ofsurveys by releasing all results, however awful and never suppressing them, responding to results – and acting on all findings and publishing follow-ups;acknowledging that the best sales-focusedorganisations in the private sector survey relentlessly.

Most common mistakes: not believing that this is important, or being prejudiced against because of past bad practice.

‘Quick wins’Response to include: evidence that you have thought through what some of these might be; that you have engaged in some serious thought and lateral thinking.

Most common mistakes: failure to appreciate the power and significance of the ‘honeymoon’ period; not appreciating the need to build credibility swiftly and making the mistake of thinking that job title = credibility.

FacilitationResponses to include: committed to the power of proper facilitation; appreciating the value of skilled external facilitation; the need to grow and transfer skills into the organisation over time; the critical value of external facilitation for the board.

Most common mistakes: assumption that all change and all meetings can be internally facilitated, or just manage themselves; underestimating impact ofexternal input and ‘political’ benefits of externalsraising sensitive issues.

Big ‘P’ politicsResponses to include: demonstrating awareness of big ‘Politics’ and how to interface with it, but at the same time not stop it doing your job.

Most common mistakes: sounding in answers as though one is trapped by it or using it as an excuse for doing nothing.

Little ‘p’ politicsResponses to include: demonstrating awareness of the small ‘politics’ that can impact on doing your job;

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your tactics for overcoming such obstacles.Most common mistakes: sounding and giving the impression in answers as though this is the part of the job one enjoys the most.

LeadershipResponses to include: qualities that make for an effective leader; blend of soft and hard leadership skills; courage (and explaining such); blend of time for talking and time for action; leadership throughout the organisation; how leadership is shared through-out the organisation; how leadership skills are grown and encouraged; different levels and complexity of leadership – board, senior management, corporate team, top 100, organisation, externally, partners.

Most common mistakes: overly simplistic answers; not convincing as a leader; not convincing at being able to carry an organisation; not looking andsounding like a leader.

World class/best in class/best practice: what is it; how are you going to achieve it?Responses to include: clearly already aware of what ‘world class’ in your professional area of remit actually means; aware of the Welsh Assembly Government’s commitment to achieve ‘world class standards’ for NHS Wales by 2015; aware of examples of such outside of NHS, outside of Wales and outside of UK; sounds convincing in response to a challenge posed by a chief executive as to what world class benchmarks for your area or remit are and where the best examples can be found globally; practical when it comes toanswering questions around what would be required to raise standards to existing world class levels, and also what would be necessary to keep raising the bar.

DEMONSTRATE SOME VISIBLE THIRST, INTEREST IN AND

HUNGER FOR WHAT ‘WORLD CLASS’ AND ‘CUTTING EDGE’

ACTUALLY IS AND MEANS; THIRST TO KNOW WHAT IS BEST IN

CLASS AND A THIRST TO FIND OUT.

Most common mistakes: talks world class but has clearly done zero research; doesn’t talk world class or best in class at all; clearly restricts personal universe to NHS Wales and the Welsh border; constantlydefaults to the “I can bring experts in to tell me what best in class is” way of thinking.

Financial challenge; doing and achieving more with less; ideas about “how”Responses to include: redesign services across patient care pathways with more self care (expert patient); more partnerships with local authorities(e.g. waste management or transport)/social care/police/probation; more care at home /near to home; more third sector; reviewing what we do; 80% cost in workforce – must redesign workforce; bettermanagement of medicines; know what best is,where and visit - learn.

QualityResponses to include: often as much about theattitude and behaviour of staff, than processesand checks.

Governance: how you see integrated governance being set up and delivered.Responses to include: basics must include clarity of role and rules of engagement for all staff; overlap between clinical governance, clinical audit, audit, risk management, financial control; system must integrate

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somehow – if there are separate committees, mustensure joint business progresses appropriately; through clarity of frameworks and plan; may bebetter to have one process; good monitoring,implementation and management of performance.

Service improvement: what major challenges; what has your organisation done well; what didn’t work and why; what learning?Responses to include: chronic conditions management; whole pathway redesign, starting with patient selfmanagement; scope for Lean Thinking’principles; primary/secondary care interface; mental health; best practice in UK – visit; best practice non-NHS – visit; expert support needed; know what you don’t know; what areas have hospitals not tackled.

Local health board and local authority interface: how can you ensure localism and consistency?Responses to include: standards should be across all organisation but means of delivery should beappropriate to local situation; local needs should drive; top-down planning and structure (stakeholder board, local service boards, health social care & wellbeing strategies, children and young peoples strategy); bottom-up joint working across health, social care and voluntary sector teams; also police, community development etc.; pooled budgets; working with elected members; development of joint vision, values, behaviours; recognising and respecting difference.

Follow up could be about “what makes a goodpartnership” – clear roles, common values, agreed behaviours, common goals, clear processes,leadership, feedback etc.

Managing human assets: how will this bedifferent in future?Responses to include: integrated planning, service first, financial and workforce aligned; must do as it is 80% of cost; better data; clear metrics; re-profiling workforce from current high skill mix; generic roles; pooled budgets; co-location of workforce; based on teams and focused on patient; changing/extending roles; top-down and bottom-up; plan workforce in partnerships.

What changes do you aspire to in primary care and how will you go about it?Responses to include: advocate of expert patients; more multi-professional team working; practices working across geographical areas to share out of

hospital care; care pathway planning; use flexibilities in contract e.g. enhanced services; links andrelationships with local community hospital; more local diagnostic procedures; GPSI’s; GPs with both population and individual patient focus.

Achieve through: joint planning; shared delivery; common goals; area plans; care pathway plans;involve grass roots staff in teams looking foropportunities to improve care; diagonal slice teams; patient feedback – stories, vignettes.

Public involvement: how?Responses to include: local needs assessment; elected member discussions; walking the patch; public surgeries; focus groups; use LA public/citizen forums; IT methods; meetings; public and patients involved in planning teams; links with councils; published material; visits to see best practice.

Clinical leadership: what is it and how willyou address?Responses to include: all clinicians; top 200;responsibility and accountability; support team (HR, finance, planning) out-posted and locally accountable; involve in all processes; expose to patients and public views; expose to partners views; creative jointproblem solving; outside expertise and support; skills training; ongoing team development; action learning; expose to best; challenge thinking through visits, academic process etc; clear roles; performance management process.

Out of hospital care and chronic conditions managementResponses to include: recognition that out of hospital care is the major direction of travel for NHS Wales;resourcing implications; quality implications; staff skill implications; also with an ageing population,implications of dramatic increase in need for chronic disease management.

standards should be across all of the organisation but means of delivery should be appropriate to the local situation...

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5.4.7 Answering questions: other questions and be convincing

Careful about some phrases which may leave the Panel with concerns‘I wish I’d done it differently’ – so why didn’t you?‘I’m not sure I aspire to be a chief executive’ - so you don’t think you are up to the job?

What’s going to be different in the organisation if we appoint you?Responses to include: self-awareness of your dominant style and persona; self-awareness of some of theissues that the organisation/area of remit of this role has, and impact that you would swiftly make – at board level, with your immediate reports, amongst your wider ‘empire’, amongst partners, amongst patients/users.

Most common mistake: struggling to answer; i.e. not much impact or difference; claiming an impact that is discordant with the impression given so far at interview.

5.4.8 The decision: common reasons why it sometimes goes wrong

To know you is to love you, but there may not be enough time in the interviewYou must find a way to let the Panel get underneath the mask and work out what makes you tick; if you hide the persona and do not release the selfimposed controls, then you risk the Panel never really getting a sense of the real you. The Panel cannot help you out on this one – it is all down to you.

The danger of coming across as the ‘inspiredappointment’ and why so few get appointed.I’m sorry to tell you, but there are a number ofproblems with Panel appointments processes;• A tendency to appoint to the lowest common denominator• A tendency to be conservative and not take perceived ‘risks’• A tendency to appoint with head rather than heart.

It is inevitable. The larger the Panel the less likely it is that Panels will either take risks or make what we call ‘the inspired choice’. There are too many situations where I have met candidates and think they are just excellent – but knowing my client, there is just no way they will appoint them.

If you reckon you fall into the category of being the ‘inspired, but not logical’ appointment, I don’t have an easy solution for you here – other than to say that your greatest chance of finding a job is to either apply for the roles that nobody in their right mind would do because they are so challenging, or to find kindred spirits who will ‘get’ you, and seek toengineer yourself a role working for/with them.

Rescuing defeat from the jaws of victoryActually, I am more commonly known for aiming this accusation more at Panels for failing to have the courage to appoint a fantastic candidate and playing safe instead. However, the accusation can apply to candidates as well –who just overplay their hand, and come across as over-confident and cocky or assume it’s in the bag and therefore don’t make the effort at interview. Unpredictable – that’s what interviews, candidates and Panels are. Unpredictable.

The larger the panel the less likely it is that panels will either take risks or make what we call ‘the inspired choice’

Giving the impression of being overly ‘status conscious’ with too big an egoIt happens; the Panel may well take the view that you can do the job but just don’t like you or feel that your ego and overt ‘self-importance’ are going to get in the way of you doing the job; or you are just going to be a ‘cuckoo in the nest’. Be careful.

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Committed to continued personalself-developmentSomehow, it helps if you have managed to provide evidence (CV and/or interview) that you are totally and visibly committed to on-going personal self-development, and you will stand out all the more if such learning goes beyond the NHS, Wales, the public sector – and even the UK.

You have clearly sought examples of bestpractice in customer-focused organisationsoutside of your immediate area of comfortDemonstrating and harnessing some non-UK examples will impress; knowledge of how newly merged £1 billion turnover organisations in the private sector survive and thrive and such lessons as are transferablecannot help but impress.

Demonstrable personal, on-going evidence of recent commitment to specific personalself-development activitiesExamples might include: shadowing; learning sets; mentoring; coaching; secondments; 7200 (includes external perceptions) and not just 3600 (up, down and sideways) feedback.

Committed to raising your personal profile in ‘giving back’ and thought leadershipActivities might include: writing articles; publicspeaking; coaching and mentoring others; maintaining a blog or vlog (video diary); attending conferences; andactive networking.

Passion and enthusiasmContentious perhaps, but honestly, passion and real enthusiasm are so rare at interviews that it is a joy to see it; I am not talking about going overboard, and giving the Panel the impression you are a drama queen or king – but passion and enthusiasm are rare and much sought after attributes; don’t be afraid of exhibiting them.

A real ‘feel’ for the so-called ‘softer’ issues like behaviours and cultureAchieving real and sustained change means having a strong feeling and understanding of people, behaviours and organisation dynamics. If you can convince in this area, you will be doing very well, especially if you can incorporate a personal vision and strong set of

5.4.9 The decision: useful impressions to leave behind

sustainable beliefs that underpins your approach to your job. Again, it is a joy to find a candidate who appears to have been thoughtful enough to work out or find a personal vision and strong set of beliefs that underpin their whole approach to the world of work and interacting with people. Sometimes this comes from faith, beliefs and sometimes it is non-faith. But it is impressive and reassuring when one finds a candidate who seems to have a kind of anchor and rock which acts as their moral and ethical base, and sustains them.

Sound instinctsOne could argue that this is an essential requirement, and personally, I would not put up too strong a fight on the matter. Still, the point I want to get across is that exhibiting sound instincts throughout one’sanswers in an interview is much more than being a safe candidate – it gives reassurance that you view each individual situation with honest opinions and recommendations.

Your reputation; what do you personally stand for; what is your defined personal brand?This is surely going to help impress the Panel; a capacity to leave a strong impression around what you stand for, what you are about and that you are resolute about such. This is the added extra over a capacity to simply communicate your beliefs and values to others (not that this is actually that simple) – it is about raising the bar, and being able to raise other people’s game.

‘So where is all this headed?’I sometimes ask a question of candidates – ‘what are you going to be when you grow up; where is your career headed?’ Now, there is no right answer here and neither is it a trick question. But it does help to have some kind of perspective on your life-plan that sounds half-way sensible and logical.

Achieving real and sustainable change means having a strong understanding of people,behaviour and organisationdynamics

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5.4.10 The decision: overall impression you must leave behind

Glimpses into the full panoply of styles that you utilise in the course of a year doing your job.You must convince the Panel that you are not a‘one-trick pony’ with only one style of operating in your locker; in the course of the interview, you need to give glimpses into all the various styles and personas that you utilise in the course of a year doing the job – so we need to see: serious, thoughtful, funny,decisive, focused, expansive, etc – the lot.

CorporateIf you don’t come across, in the end, as a corporate player and recognising that you have a corporate role and corporate responsibility to the organisation and your colleagues, whatever your job, then you are always at risk of not being appointed. I am nottalking here about compromising principles - I am talking here about also being corporate.

I am not talking here about compromising principles, I am talking here aboutbeing corporate.

Coming across as more than the typical ‘whatever you are’Whilst wrong, prejudice exists and stereotypes are cast. It is essential that you are self-aware enough to know what the negative stereotype in your discipline is like – and that you do not come across as such, or at least, challenge such. Finance directors, public health directors, nurse directors, HR directors, etc – you all have stereotypes, and you all need to be careful that you, personally, are not assumed to be and come across as such – unless of course, you are.

It’s clear that you have thought yourself intothe jobJoy, again. You have a plan; you know what you would do; you sound like you are already operating at that level and in your head and psyche, you are. It is a pure joy to meet a candidate like this.

You know what you would do differently this time aroundWe all make mistakes – the point is, did you learn from them? Again, joy to find the candidate who has not only made mistakes and learned from them, but uses some of these experiences in answeringquestions – not all the time, but has enoughself-confidence not to be afraid to share such. It is a sign of great maturity and we like that.

You clearly know how to operate on a larger scalePublic sector tends to be obsessed with many things, but in this respect, two issues stand out – how many people have you managed (what was the size of your empire) and what is the largest budget you have been responsible for? And there is a prejudice. You know it – I know it – we all know it. That prejudice starts with the assumption that you cannot make a big leap in either area of responsibility – numbers of people and size of budget. Even if you have not operated at this scale (budget/staff numbers), you must demonstrate that you know how you would adapt your style to deal with that larger scale. If you cannot do this, then it is highly unlikely that you will be appointed. You need to address this and be able to be convincing of this.

Aware of the implications of WAG beingcommitted to achieving world class standards by 2015.At the risk of the blindingly obvious, you need to be both aware of this commitment, and even if you happen to be dubious about how feasible it is as an objective, demonstrate some kind of comprehension as to what world class standards actually are – and the steps that would be needed to attain them.

Understand the difference between incremental change and transformational changeThe only way to achieve world class standards by 2015 will be through transformational change, so if all you can talk about are changes that are incremental in nature, you are not making a strong case for being appointed.

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5.4.10 The decision: overall impression you must leave behind Sense of urgencyComplacency will kill your interview; the truth is that the situation that NHS Wales finds itself in is challenging to say the very least, and there is an urgent need to drive through transformation; if you cannot communicate that you understand this fact and are ready to play your part, then you are potentially in trouble.

ExcitementI think this is different from passion and enthusiasm, as previously discussed. This is more about seeing the scale of challenge as an opportunity, and being genuinely excited about the opportunity to play a significant part in transforming services for thebenefit of patients and users. If you cannotcommunicate this as a genuine emotion, again, I think you could be in trouble. I am not suggestingartificially pretending – rather, being honest about the fact that you feel genuinely motivated andexcited about the contribution that you personally can make.

The talent to convey energy, passion andbeliefs to othersOf course, none of the above pages of advice are going to win you a leadership role unless you can convince, at interview, that you are capable ofconverting cynicism into enthusiasm, andcommunicating and spreading your own energy, passion and beliefs amongst those who work for and with you and those with whom you will have to deal as staff or partners. You need to convince the Panel that you really can do this.

And lastly, even if you don’t get appointed, you’ve made a mark as someone to watch out for.This is vital; every interview is an opportunity to impress and make an impact; ideally, you get the job; worst case, you have made a great impression, and the Panel identifies you as someone to berecommended and to watch out for in the future.

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5.4.11 Various types of interviews you may encounter

I have dwelt at length above on the ‘Panel presentation and interview’ because that is the kind of interview that you are most likely to encounter. However, there are many other kinds of interviews, in different settings and contexts, and whilst not seeking to be exhaustive, it would seem prudent to touch briefly on some of them.

Counselling interviewsTypically, this is where you have approached either a recruiter or a senior colleague or contact, explaining that you want to make a job move and asking for a brief meeting to explain your objectives and seeking some constructive critique and advice.

Screening interviewsTypically, this is where you have been requested to attend a meeting with a recruiter or senior colleague or contact. No specific agenda is set, but by the way that the conversation goes, it feels like this is an informal interview where they are kind of ‘sizing you up’ and deciding whether you might be a potential candidate for a role or not. Trouble is, the meeting may end with you none the wiser.

Initial interviews with HROn occasions, HR uses preliminary screeninginterviews. This means you may be interviewed by someone who is very skilled and knowledgeable, or by someone less skilled – you just don’t know. My advice is to treat the meeting very seriously, bepolite, under no circumstances be offensive orimpolite – and just focus on getting through this particular gatekeeper – for that is what they are, and if you are an idiot and behave like an idiot, then they can close that gate!

Preliminary interviews with a headhunter or recruiterAgain, headhunters or recruiters are sometimes used to do preliminary long-list interviews, especially for the more senior roles. And just as with HR (or anyone for that matter), you may be interviewed by someone who is very skilled and knowledgeable, or by someone who is less skilled – you just don’t know. Again, my advice is to treat the meeting very seriously, bepolite, under no circumstances be offensive orimpolite – and just focus on getting through thisparticular gatekeeper – for just like HR, that is what

they are, and if you are an idiot and behave like an idiot, then they too can close that gate!

One to one, in depth interviewsIn the public sector, these are more likely to beundertaken as preliminary interviews above, and could last anything up to two hours, though one to one and a half hours is more common.

In the private sector, such interviews are verycommon indeed – and could occur numerous times. They may follow a set structured format – or may have no pre-set format of any kind.

Structured interviewsThese tend to be the kind of interviews undertaken by either HR or trained interviewers – be this in the public or private sectors. They will likely follow a set routine or structure, which may well (though not necessarily) be explained to you at the outset.

Free form interviewsMore typical in the private than public sector (the latter tending to be more process driven and formulaic), this is your ‘anything goes’ and ‘anything could happen in the next half hour’ type of interview. No topic or subject matter will be considered off-limits. This type of interview is more commonly undertaken bysomeone who has had little or no interview training and even if they have had, is likely not to believe in such anyhow and is more of a ‘gut-instinct’ person.

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5.4.11 Various types of interviews you may encounter

Technical interviewsThis is much more common in the public (and most especially in the health) sector where a co-interviewer is selected (either as part of the preliminary interview process, or as part of the final Panel) to specifically focus on technical knowledge to do with the specific discipline and challenges that the role beinginterviewed for will encompass. Such specificallocation of the role of a ‘technical assessor’ is much rarer in the private sector, especially at the more senior levels.

Assessment centresThis tends to be part of the pre-Panel assessment process, and at senior levels less of a ‘screening out’ process and more of a ‘providing more information’ process. Less common at senior levels in the private sector, although where they are used, will tend to be extremely intense. Used with a view to:• Providing more information on which to make a decision• Confirm/dispel issues that may arise at the Panel• Bring more rigour to the process• Recognising that all academic studies suggest that interviews alone tend not to provide high levels of prediction of future performance and that it is a combination of assessment tools which provide higher reliability.

Without seeking to be exhaustive, techniques used may include any or all of the following:Group discussionsAll candidates assembled together to discuss an agreed topic between themselves whilst they are observed and ‘assessed’; almost never used at senior levels in the private sector.Role playsCandidates individually asked to take part in a role play through which they are observed and assessed.Psychometric testsMay cover personality exercises (for which there are no right or wrong answers, just personal preferences) or ability tests (typically numerical, verbal and spatial [shapes] reasoning), which are timed and which do have right and wrong answers. At senior levels, more commonly used in public than private sector.GraphologyThis involves analysis of handwriting; very rare for this ever to be used in the public sector; occasionally used in the private sector (if so, tends to be more infinancial services and more commonly used in France and Switzerland).Mock media interviewIncreasing in popularity of use, especially for roles involving heavy external focus and pressure; actors tend to be used and the event filmed and DVD plus independent analysis/assessment provided toemployer; used in both public and private sectors.Mock board meetingI have never seen this used in the private sector, but have seen it used on occasion in the public sector, especially in local government. The Panel convenes itself in role as a mock board meeting and eachcandidate takes part in turn; a chance to see some ‘real time’ behaviours from candidates.

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Pre-Panel eventsSome of these techniques are used for one or more purposes, including:• Sharing information with candidates• Allowing candidates more access to a wider spectrum of information• Sell the role and the organisation to candidates• Simply being more open, honest and transparent• Seeing if there is a ‘chemistry’ fit• A chance to get to know candidates better, than just a one hour formal interview allows• A chance to see how much information candidates have picked up and how insightful they are about the real issues as a result• Deliberately to expose candidates to more of the internal and external stakeholders and therefore achieve more ‘buy-in’, even if final decision taking is reserved for the Panel.

Examples include:Organised toursNot so common in the private sector and if done at all, organised on an individual basis. In the publicsector, typically organised as a group tour for all shortlisted candidates; very common in localgovernment.Meeting potential immediate colleagues, orimmediate potential reportsIn private sector, will typically be done on a one to one basis over a period of time. In the public sector, if done, more commonly done as a group meet for all shortlisted candidates. Potentialcolleagues may/may not be asked to report back to the Panel informally.

Meeting next tier of managers/other staffRarely done in the private sector. Sometimes done in public sector (again, tends to be localgovernment) as part of a day when all shortlisted candidates have a coffee/tea session with up to 50 managers. Meeting external stakeholdersRarely done in the private sector. Sometimes done in the public sector (again, tends to be localgovernment) as part of a day when all shortlisted candidates have an early evening drinks session with external stakeholders/partners – usually prior to a dinner with the appointments Panel (candidates andPanel members). Trial by sherry or sausage rollsVariation of the above, where the Panel gets the chance to meet shortlisted candidates informally and exchange information. Virtually never used in the private sector as a group exercise (due to focus on candidate confidentiality) but might be used on a one to one basis. In the public sector, very common for chief executive and senior level management appointments in local government.Dinner with appointments PanelIn the private sector, common enough for breakfasts, lunches and dinners with final listed candidates, but only ever with single candidates and never with groups of candidates (issues of preservingconfidentiality, again). In the public sector, verycommon again in local government the night before the formal Panel.

Presentations at the start of an interviewCovered in detail in previous sections

Panel interviewsCovered in detail in previous sections

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Networking6What is networkingIn the context of job-hunting, networking is all about visibility and profile. If I do not know about you, or if nobody tells me about you, why should I be aware of you or approach you about a job? If other people do not know about you and for positive reasons, then why should theyrecommend you?

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6.1 Creating your own network from scratch

Create six lists of names, 100 names on each:List A: people you know really well, who will easily return your calls, including friends and family.

List B: people in your current or most recent organisation, as well as those from other organisations with whom you interact regularly.List C: people you know and they know you, but if you are honest with yourself, you have not actually spoken to them for many months or years.List D: people who have tried to network with you, but you have never networked back (think of all those business cards collected in the back of the drawer or in your briefcase or handbag).List E: people you do not know, but would surely love to know.

List F: whoever occupies that role in that organisation would be an ace contact; it’s just that you do not know who it is, so you will have to research and get a name, and then slot them into whichever List A-E is relevant.

Your mission, over time, is to manoeuvre everyone up to list ‘A’ category.

6.2 Effort required

6.3 Getting your network goingFind different ways of staying in touch - one time make it a phone call; next time a letter; next time an email; next time a copy of an article; and next time a postcard. Vary your approach.

• Phone calls are not a substitute for every other form of communication. Letters, faxes, emails – these are all extra, if you choose to send them• Phone calls should be made first thing in the morning and get them out of the way• I repeat once again - after three rings with no reply, don’t put the handset down in relief. Stick with it till somebody answers or you hit voicemail.

Different effort is needed dependent on your situation:• When gainfully employed and just keeping the network ticking over – 2 calls a day are for you• When looking to make a move within 6-12 months, then 5 calls a day are for you• When looking to make a move as soon as possible, then 10 calls a day are for you• If you do not make your quota today, you make it up tomorrow; if you do not make it up by the end of the week, then you punish yourself. You are not allowed to go out, or give yourself the reward you had promised yourself when you started the week. This is not a game – this is your career!• Oh, and when I say ‘calls’, I mean calls. Emails, faxes and letters are extra. These are phone calls. And a call does not just mean calling, it rings three times, there is no answer and you gratefully put the phone down. Oh no, you hang on there until somebody answers it, kicks into voicemail mode, or 40 rings later, clearly, nobody is going to answer.

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6.4 What makes for a good networker?Help other people. Don’t get a PhD (a ‘put him/her down’) syndrome. Think about what you can do for other people, before working out what they can do for you.

Align yourselves with people who have standards and ethics you believe in. Find people with whom youcan resonate.

Find 2-3 mentors. Be a mentor to others, by all means, but find your own too. You’re never too old (or too young) to take advice.

Build bridges. Don’t just build contacts and lists. Look to try and meet people at least half-way.

Use your network. Any decision is better made after consultation and debate. So use the network.

Prepare for a marathon, and not a sprint. Get your building blocks sorted out first. Don’t assume this will all be done in a week or two. It may take months.

Errors and setbacks are a way of life. It is how we learn. The lessons from our errors and setbacks are what makes the difference in the long-term. Learn to network better.

Believe that you can do it. Yes, networking is tough, but you will never succeed unless you believe, so don’t let anyone else tell you that you can’t.

The most unlikely people may be the most helpful. So make friends with secretaries, PAs and support staff. All that time spent being pleasant and courteous to the support staff, recognising voices and remembering names will reap dividends.

Never assume somebody is unimportant. You never know who is married to whom, related to whom, having a relationship with whom, friends of whom... you just never know. It pays to be courteous toeveryone.

Be humble. Ask other people for their advice and opinion. They will be flattered, and more likely to give you more information than they intended and save you a lot of work.

There are many attributes to the good networker, but here are a few to be going on with:

Look good, feel good, and sound good. A lot of life is about attitude and state of mind. Look miserable, feel rotten, and sound sour – then you probably are. The latter qualities, attitudes or behaviours do not make for good networkers.

Always prepare – who, why, what and how.Who are you trying to network with? Why specifically are you trying to network with them? What specific outcome/s are you seeking? How might you, if at all possible, do something for them?

Prepare to handle rejection. Remember, not everyone is going to love you. So, don’t make it your problem. Leave it as their problem.

Keep your promises, commitments and hit yourdeadlines. If you say you’ll check up on a bit ofinformation for somebody, do it. Treat other people as you would wish to be treated.

Maintain/obtain a sense of humour. Don’t be boring, or the type where a smile would crack your face. If you haven’t got a sense of humour, then get one – fast.

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What goes around, comes around. Life is aboutbalance. What you get out of it depends a lot on what you put into it. In a cynical world, don’t you be. It will pay off... eventually.

Look ahead to future developments. Try and create the space to reflect on where things are going and how they are likely to develop. Think about the new skills, competencies and contacts that both you and your organisation are going to need.

Do not be too picky, too early. People may try tonetwork with you where there is no immediate match of needs. However, we live in a rapidlychanging world where change is the only constant.

Be personable. Wander around the buildingincessantly, play the phones like a master, give other people credit for things that you’ve had a hidden hand in, work ceaselessly on relationships and be open minded and positive.

Don’t let the world pass you by. What are you doing to increase your intellectual capital and stave off the competition? Don’t complain if your boss decides to trade you in for a younger model if the last time you let a new idea in was when you left school.

Prioritise your efforts. Keep a list, mental or otherwise, of people you know or suspect can and will help you – and cultivate them. Be ruthless about this. Always keep your contact details up to date in order tocultivate and develop your network.

Let this be the last time that you have to create orre-create your network. Cherish it, sustain it, nourish it, and above all, stay in touch with it. Get into the habit of networking for life.

BUT ... above and beyond everything else ...Stop thinking about what your network can do for you. Rather, start thinking about what you can do for your network. Seek to assemble moral debts that people owe you. After all, why should I put myself out for you? Either because I like you or I feelindebted to you and want to do you a favour. Why might I want to do you a favour? Because I like youor because I feel I owe you.

Don’t expect people to walk over the bridge to you – you walk over to them, and then do them a favour. Find a way, somehow, to create within your contacts a sense of moral debt, such that they would be only too pleased to do something for you. Now we are getting into really sophisticated networking.

And one other thought. If the economic recession, the banking crisis and parliamentary scandals of 2009 have taught us anything, it is the fact that reputation, respect – and above all trust are hard won andeasily lost.

The best and most enduring networks are those built upon friendship, mutual respect, honesty, longevity, and above all trust. Too many networks, in my view, are built on shifting sands of convenience andtemporary circumstance. The networks that endure tend to be those that are tested through adversity and stand the test of time. So I return to an earlier theme of, what can you do for other people, rather than what can they do for you. And stay in touch through the good times and as a result, you will find it easier to maintain your networks through thebad times.

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6.5 Importance of personal brand and reputation

I suppose that this section follows on naturally from that on networking. In 2009, when trust seems a rare commodity, it is hardly a contentious point to suggest that what you stand for, what people say and think about you, your personal brand, reputation andprofile are all key to both sustaining and advancing your career. It follows that as far as possible, you need to guard, protect, invest in, manage and influence your brand and reputation as much as you can. But why should this particularly be the case now?

Remember that these days, you’re nakedI guess you’ll think this a curious phrase to use – but it is here and now. What is the single biggest change in recent years? It’s all to do with transparency and the information age. And this is far more than the obligation to disclose basic financial and otherinformation. It’s more than the Freedom of Information Act. Rather, it is about people, institutions, stakeholders, employees and in your case, citizens, patients, users, colleagues and those with whom you wish to do business or win support. This allows you and them to gain and have immediate and unprecedented access to all sorts of information about corporate behaviours, operations, performance, inspections, audits, minutes, past track record, past work, press reports, rumour, gossip, personal life, blogs, etc.

Armed with new tools to find information about matters that affect their interests - voters, staff,colleagues, employers, partners, patients, users and media now have a capacity to scrutinise organisations and individuals, as never before, and to share thatinformation with others, and organise collectiveresponses. Organisations and individuals are becoming naked and those who lead them the same. It’s good news for those of you, like me, who obsess about ethics, but it does mean that you have no choice but to re-think corporate and personal values andbehaviours for the better, be that how we interface with our patients and users of services or how we conduct ourselves or how much we drink or how we look. As Don Tapscott and David Ticoll suggest in

their book, The Naked Corporation:“...if you’re going to be naked, you’d better look ‘buff’.”

The critical importance of your personalreputation and trustIt is totally clear to me that it is through the actions or inactions of others that you succeed or fail as a leader, and I have stressed that point earlier in this publication. Those who work for you need to believe in you. They need to trust you. And in a world ofinstant communication and easy access to information (and gossip), everyone in your organisation actually does work for you, is potentially interested in you, knows what is being said of and about you, but also has thepotential to be influenced by you.

Your personal reputation and what your personal ‘brand’ stands for is everything. Like it or not,perception counts more than reality. Perception is the brand experienced by an individual. Reputation is the sum of collective perceptions. Reputations are socially constructed and may or may not be based in reality. They can be earned, built, won, lost, destroyed, damaged and unwittingly or deliberately andmaliciously undermined. The world is not always a nice place. But then you know that. My challenge is therefore: what are you personally doing to build, develop, enhance and protect your personalreputation, through:• Your personal thought leadership• Your articles• Your speeches at conferences• Your bringing other people on• Your investing in others• Your shadowing of others• Your forming your own ‘learning sets’• Your efforts to get outside of your own personal comfort zone• Your networking• Being an authentic colleague and leader.

Your personal reputation and what your personal “brand” stands for - is everything

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And is there anyone reading this who has not actually “Googled” themselves? It can be scary – especially when, like me, you find that Hamish Davidson is in fact a 20 something blue grass singer from Australia!

Your personal capacity to influence within your organisation and communities is critically determined by your capacity to connect positively and effectively with your patients, users and citizens in particular, but also otherstakeholders, including staff. Your personal reputation is inextricably linked to that of the team, section,committee, department, directorate, or organisation that you lead, and no one person is safe from challenge in this regard – just ask Lord Browne (late of BP). Just think of Haringey. Just think of Maidstone.

Reputation and trust are hard won – and too easily lost.

As Tina Turner once declared, playing the character ‘Aunty’ in the film, Mad Max: Beyond Thunder Dome:

“One day, cock of the walk. Next day, a feather duster”.

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Critical leadership skills duringtimes of change and transition

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7.1 Authentic leadership

One of my favourite reads of the last ten years has been a book called Authentic Leadership by Bill George. Business Week and the Economist had raved about it, and it had a foreword written by a well-knownacademic, Warren Bennis. The book opens with these words:

“We need authentic leaders, people of the highest integrity, committed to building enduring organisations. We need leaders who have a deep sense of purpose and are true to their core values. We need leaders with the courage to build their [organisations] to meet the needs of all their stakeholders, and who recognise the importance of their service to society.” One phrase in particular in Bill’s book has lodged in my mind ever since.

“Leadership is authenticity, not style.”

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1) Understanding your purpose: To find your purpose, you must first understand yourself, your passions, and your underlying motivations. Then you must seek an environment that offers a fit between the organisation’s purpose and your own, for if you lack purpose anddirection in leading, why would anyone want tofollow you?

2) Practising solid values: The values of the authentic leader are shaped by personal beliefs and a lifetime of experience. These values define their holder’s moral compass. While the development of fundamental values is crucial, integrity is the one value that is required in every authentic leader. If you don’t exercise complete integrity in your interactions, no one can trust you. If they cannot trust you, why should they ever follow you?

3) Leading with heart: Bill notes that organisations have moved from maximising the physical output of their workers to engaging the minds of their employees. To excel in the 21st century, great organisations must go one step further by engaging the hearts of their employees through a sense of purpose. If employees believe that their work has a deeper purpose, their results will vastly exceed those who use only their minds and bodies.

4) Establishing enduring relationships: Too many leaders, says Bill, believe their job is to create the strategy, organisation structure, and organisational processes – and then just delegate the work to be done. Such a detached style of leadership will not be successful in future. Today’s employees demand more personal relationships with their leaders before they will give themselves fully to their jobs. They insist on having access to their leaders, knowing that it is in the openness and the depth of the relationship with the leader that trust and commitment are built.

5) Demonstrating self-discipline: Authentic leaders, says Bill, must have the self-discipline to do everything they can to demonstrate their values through theiractions, and when they fall short, have the courage to admit their mistakes. You cannot fail to have noticed that in the US, there was a new president elected in 2008. One passage in

Bill George identifies five distinct dimensions of authentic leadership:

Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope, gripped me completely when I first read it and reinforces the importance of authenticity in leadership:

“The gap between what we deem appropriate behaviour in everyday life and what it takes to win a campaign is just one of the ways in which apolitician’s values are tested. In few other professions are you required, each and every day, to weigh so many competing claims – between different sets of constituents, between the interests of yourconstituency and the interests of your nation, between party loyalty and your own sense of independence, between the value of service and obligations to your family. There is a constant danger, in the cacophony of voices, that a politician loses his moral bearings and finds himself entirely steered by the winds of public opinion.”

He continues ...

“Perhaps this explains why we long for that most elusive quality in our leaders – the quality of authenticity, of being who you say you are, ofpossessing a truthfulness that goes beyond words.”

So how does authentic leadership transpose onto effectively-led organisations?Some direction can be taken from Joseph Badaracco Jr and Richard R Ellsworth in their book, Leadership and the quest for integrity – another of my favourite reads.

It’s a brilliant book – and I am going to quote from one section in particular that talks about how the characteristics of the ideal organisation tend to cluster into five groups, and I think it’s an interesting exercise for you to reflect and think how yourorganisation benchmarks against these criteria:

a) “The first is an overriding concern that theorganisation be a meritocracy of high-calibre talent. Recruiting, developing, promoting and retaining

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people with first-rate interpersonal skills and intellectual ability is an absolute prerequisite for outstanding results. These are the well-springs of an organisation’screativity and ability to innovate.

Without talent, I don’t care what you do, it is hopeless. You have to have a system that identifies, attracts, and develops talent. All of the people I’ve known who have built organisations are absolute fanatics on finding talent. But the problem goes beyond technical competence. It is the attitude, the desire to excel, and the fit with our culture – where people can go as far as their talents will take them without regard tosector, age, race, sex, faith, disability or whatever.”

Some personal observations:• Any success in hiring talent causes its own problem with regard to upward pressure on senior management to live the values, to be consistent in application of those values, and to provide ‘space’ for talent to move on up – and not be forced to tread water or be kept-down by glass or any other kind of artificial ceilings. So if you’ve not articulated and agreed those values – there’s ample room forambiguity.

• Any lack of consistency in application of aperformance management culture is perverse and must ultimately lead to severe fractures within anorganisation – and is something that will come back to haunt you and that you will rue. Further, those at the top of the organisation, individually and collectively, should and must be exemplars to others of the behaviours that you wish modelled and encouraged throughout the organisation. Fail to do so, and you risk being charged with gross hypocrisy – andsummary judgement of ‘guilty as charged’.

• How much staff turnover or ‘churn’ have you got? Too much, too little – or just about right?

• And how well do you, in fact do as regardsmeasures of diversity (by all its definitions – not just race and gender) within the organisation. It’s clear to me that this is an all too-often hidden door to tapping into enormous and un-harnessed talent. And I don’t mean this in a ‘politically correct’ way – but genuinely, in an ‘its crazy and illogical not to’ way.

b) “The second characteristic of the ideal organisation is that people have a deeply shared sense of the

organisation’s goals and purpose. This means a clearunderstanding of the organisation’s economic goals, the strategic logic underlying them, and individual roles in contributing to these goals. It also means that the corporate purpose stimulates commitment and effort. There is a clear advantage here in seeking to create a spirit of family and community.

A sense of community not only increases cohesiveness and the likelihood people will share a vision, but also fosters an environment that accepts the challenge of high standards in pursuit of that vision.”

So - do you think you have a clear vision of where your organisation is going? Do your colleagues? More importantly, do your staff? Is it a shared vision and one to which all are signed up? Do you know? Are you sure?

c) “The third characteristic is open and candidcommunication, even to the point of heated, emotional debate. Employees are expected to communicate in this way with their peers and subordinates as well as with their bosses. Open communication is recognised as a two-way street. It helps to ensure that information flows to where it is needed – up, down, and across the organisation.

Candid information means people have to understand that they will not be punished for conveying bad news or for failing in a well-reasoned, risk-takingeffort. Quite the contrary – reprimands are reserved for those who fail to be candid.”

d) “The fourth is an environment in whichsubordinates have substantial autonomy. Through having a sense of ownership - commitment andeffort expended by subordinates is increased. The closer to a customer a decision is made, the faster and better it is likely to be. And bureaucratic tendencies, thedecisions steps, organisational layers and number of people involved in each decision can all be minimized.”

e) “Finally, the fifth is that high ethical standards pervade the organisation – with the most commonly mentioned values being honesty, fairness, mutual respect and trust, and compassion and sensitivity in the exercise of power.”

You definitely need to worry about fractures that may be allowed to grow within the organisation

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around the issue of lack of consistency inimplementation of performance management –because this undermines any claim for personal and organisational integrity.

And for two reasons, ethical standards stand at the centre of these characteristics:1) “Ethical standards are the prerequisites forachieving the other four characteristics”.

2) These ethical standards are personal. They reflect the attitudes, judgments, experiences and values of men and women responsible for leading organisations. Ethical standards are the crucial link between leaders’ aims for their organisations, on the one hand, and their own personal beliefs and actions, on the other. And integrity is fundamentally a matter of coherence and consistency among organisational aims,personal values and beliefs, and individual behaviour.

Finding your voiceIt’s an interesting question as to whether you have to be extrovert and charismatic to achieve all of what I have just described.

Actually, of course, leaders come in all shapes, sizes, guises ... and styles. Jim Collins, in his book, Good to Great, describes his surprise at finding that the leaders of great companies were routinely described as ‘quiet’, ‘reserved’, ‘self-effacing’ and ‘modest’. Quite a contrast to leaders in lesser companies whom he described

as having a ‘very I-centric style’. Gifted bosses are preoccupied with their work rather than their public image.

“It’s not that [the leaders of great companies] have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incrediblyambitious and very aware of the importance ofreputation – but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.”

In the course of my career, I have also put forward candidates to whom I personally would not give house room to clients I utterly cannot stand; safe in the knowledge that they will be very happy with each other. My personal likes or dislikes are, ofcourse, irrelevant - I have a professional job to do and I have got on and done it. More importantly though, I have also met many leaders who could not possibly be described as charismatic by any sort of rhetorical stretch, but they nevertheless managed to inspire an enviable trust and loyalty in their co-workers. Actually, the same applies to many politicians I have met. And through their abilities to get people on their side, they were able to effect necessary changes in the culture of their organisations and make real their guiding visions.

Some people call this leading through ‘voice’, and the underlying issue in leading from voice, getting people on your side and having them stay there is trust.

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7.2 Surviving in your worldWith all this in mind, if I, as a headhunter, had to come up with a list of competencies and skills needed to survive and thrive in your world, it would include:

1) Canny operators – combined with heavy doses of realism, honesty and integrity.

2) People need to have financial literacy – forwithout it you are finished.

3) People who can truly identify and empathise with those on the receiving end of services.

4) People, who will be resolute, stay the course and not be distracted by vested interests and inevitable periodic crises/deaths. Mistakes happen, and crises make and break leaders. Nerve, courage, media savvy, compassion, and steely resolve - all of these are needed and more. And all you can do is plan as best you can since you can never be sure and certain that you can prevent a crisis.

5) People who can provide visible leadership and integrity, who staff can believe in and above all trust. People who have the spirit and persona to carryothers with them, and to change mindsets.

6) Communication and sophisticated leadership skills are going to be at a premium, set against a context where cynicism and wariness is rife. That’s a tough one.

7) People who can find and retain quality staff with the skills, intellect, professionalism and resilience to lead and deliver the challenges of providing health care to an increasingly long-lived community.

8) People with the capacity to inspire confidence and build pride.

9) People who are able to work with ambiguity and multiple stakeholders

10) People who are able to facilitate and create the right conditions, culture, context and environment within which all the above are possible and achievable. And what are my clients saying that they want? To quote the Spice Girls, what they ‘really, really want?’Well, quite a lot of the above, actually. I could of

course produce a long list of the various skills and competencies that appear to me to be the common elements of the person specifications that, having taken the briefs, we typically generate these days, but I think that’s going to be just plain boring.

So instead, I will tell you the three things thatreally stand out, that clients plead for but find hard to articulate as a specific competency or skill:

People who get things doneJust that! People who are actually able to translate a strategy or a vision into something tangible. People who make things happen. People who do what they are asked to do. People who actually do what they say they are going to do. People upon whom one can rely, and that when they say ‘I’ll do it’, they actually do go off and ‘do it’, rather than just talk about it.

People who have delivered People who can provide real and tangible evidence that they have delivered, and can do so again.

Pace and passionYou do not specifically have to work in the public or not for profit sectors to believe in what you do. You can do that in the private sector too. [As an aside, just because you happen to work in the public sector does not make you a morally superior human being]. But pace and passion are really rare attributes. Again, they are hard to define and articulate in a person specification – it’s more the kind of thing that ‘you know it when you see it and feel it’. Personally, I think passion is an attribute that is much under-rated, and I particularly feel that those managers lacking passion tend to be somewhat un-nerved when they meet candidates who exhibit passion, and more often than not tend not to hire such people. Well more fool them.

And where I have canvassed the workforce, they have tended to add a fourth requirement:

TrustPeople who know what they are doing and will get on and do it– but more importantly, in whom the workforce can believe and trust.

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7.3 Surviving at a time of crisis

Geoff Colvin, in his book The Upside of the Downturn talks about what true leadership under unimaginable stress looks like. And I think this is worth mentioning because for as much as you may feel that life isstressful right now, the position of the UK’s public finances means that from 2011, your life is going to get one heck of a lot tougher still. Crisis? You ain’t seen anything yet.

Geoff identifies four actions or behaviours that are required of what he calls ‘true leaders’:

Be seen early and often‘People want to be led; when people are worried, they want to know that someone is working to solve their problems; successful leaders in a crisis first make emphatically clear that they are present and on the job; this may not be easy because there are a million things to do – but it must be done’.

Act fast‘It’s amazing how people who would be at oneanother’s throats in good times will accept that in a crisis, decisions have to be made; leaders in a crisis must not lose their rare opportunity to act; the

difficulty is that just when decisions are most easily accepted, they’re hardest to make; all decisions are made with incomplete information, and that’sespecially true in the heat of a crisis; at the same time, the stakes are much higher than usual; every instinct tells you to decide more slowly than usual, yet its vital to decide more quickly’.

Show fearlessness‘We want our leaders to show us they’re not afraid; that means facing bad news head on without cringing; the effective leader announces trouble in unvarnished terms – for people can smell evasion a mile away – and then explains confidently how it will be defeated; note that the advice here is ‘show fearlessness’, not be ‘fearless; any leader who isn’t worried and anxious in this recession has no sense at all – but what counts is what you show’.

Tell stories that put crises in context‘Research has shown that how people are affected by stress depends heavily on the way they see and perceive it; those who see stressful events as bad, abnormal and inescapable tend to suffer from them much more seriously than do people who see the those same events as things that happen and part of the natural course of life; a critical challenge forleaders is to help everyone in the organisation respond more like members of the second group rather than the first group’.

We want our leaders to show us they’re

not afraid; that means facing bad

news head onwithout cringing

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7.4 Trust

Warren Bennis, whom I mentioned earlier, suggests there are four ingredients leaders have that generate and sustain trust:• Constancy: Whatever surprises leaders themselves may face, they don’t create any for the group. Leaders are all of a piece; they stay the course.• Congruity: Leaders walk their talk. In true leaders, there is no gap between the theories they espouse and the life they practice• Reliability: Leaders are there when it counts; they are ready to support their co-workers in the moments that matter• Integrity: Leaders honour their commitments and promises.

When these four factors are in place, he suggests, people will be on your side.

The inference is that leading from voice is a necessary condition for ‘movement’ leadership, or any situation in which the leader is dealing with volunteers. But actually, when you think about it, the same ability to inspire and persuade through empathy and trust can and should be present in all organisations.

In his book, Leadership is an Art, Max De Pree, chief executive of Herman Miller, argues that that’s the best way to treat everyone:

“The best people working for organisations are like volunteers. Since they could probably find good jobs in any number of groups, they choose to worksomewhere for reasons less tangible than salary orposition. Volunteers do not need contracts, they need covenants ....Covenantal relationships induce freedom not paralysis. A covenantal relationship rests on shared commitments to ideas, to issues, to values, to goals, and to management process.Covenantal relationships fill deep needs and theyenable work to have meaning and to be fulfilling”.

It is a challenging thought. Do you have a ‘covenantal’ type relationship with your staff? Well, do you? Other organisations are probably able and willing to pay more in remuneration for your best people than you can or are able to. For most organisations in the public and not for profit sector, it’s well nigh impossible to compete in this area. So the only way you can hang on to folk is if it is not just a question of money butother, softer issues, like values; like being a place where people want to work, where people trust and believe and feel inspired. A place where there is sufficient glue and pull, to overcome the tugs from elsewhere.

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7.5 Personal advice from Hamish

Finally, some personal thoughts from me;

Don’t lose the personal hunger to learn and get onThe day you stop being interested in learning, stop asking others how you are doing, or feel you have nothing more to learn – is the day you should quit. If you look and sound jaded and past your sell-by date, you had better recognise that it’s entirely possible that you are.

Show some enthusiasmYour staff are not stupid. If you panic, they will pick it up. If you are chaotic and lack confidence, they will sense it. You have to try your hardest to set a positive and enthusiastic example.

Don’t turn cynicalThis is the ‘cup is half full, versus half empty’ syndrome. In my experience, employees, colleagues, partners and potential new hires are hugely turned off by cynical leaders – and tend not to stay or join. Ingoing for interviews, employers dislike candidates who bad-mouth or disparage their current employers. Cynicism is an insidious poison that can undermine an organisation and end up destroying you. Be careful.

Always keep to the moral high groundA previous mentor of mine by the name of Charles Wood taught me one of the most powerful lessons of my professional life. ‘Always stick to the moral high ground’.

So, for example, if people choose to leave your organisation, treat them well. Celebrate with them, for their career advancement. Show the rest of the organisation how much you appreciate what they did whilst they were working for you. How you say ‘goodbye’ is just as important as how you say ‘hello’. People will talk of you and about you and yourorganisation when they leave. Don’t let thosecomments be bitter, on either side. Let them bepositive and flattering, that way more people will want to come and join you. Have a ‘big’ heart.

Take a grip of your own career, your life and your personal self-developmentBelieve in yourself. The toughest test is to gaze into a mirror and ask yourself, ‘do I believe in me?’ Because if you don’t believe in you, why should anyone else? Shift from ‘I could’ to ‘I can’. And never, ever let anyone else tell you that you can’t – be this a recruiter,colleague, manager, partner or whoever. Do not risk becoming sad and embittered.

Invest in yourself, even if your organisation has (or if you think it has) ceased toDo not wait to be ‘done unto’. You are your own greatest asset. Invest in yourself (don’t wait for others to do so, including your employer) and keep investing.

And remember, as Dennis Roberts, another mentor of mine, quite rightly keeps reminding me:

‘...only the mediocre are always at their best!’

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This edition published 2009

Under licence to Hamish Davidson, Davidson and Partners to the National Leadership andInnovation Agency for Healthcare (NLIAH) for hard copy and electronic media for staff in NHS Wales.

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or

licence permitting restricted copying in the United Kingdom issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

Publication may not be sold, lent, hired out or otherwise dealt with in the course of trade or supplied in any form of binding or cover other than the one in which it is published without prior written permission of the publisher.

No responsibility for loss occasioned to any material in this publication can be accepted by the editor,authors or publisher.

The views in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare, or the Welsh Assembly Government

In the main the views expressed in the guide are those of Hamish Davidson. Hamish Davidson and Partners have made every effort to acknowledge authors and any associated copyright holders. If any source has been overlooked

NLIAH and Hamish Davidson and Partners would be pleased to address this oversight in any future editionof the Guide.

Published by: National Leadership and Innovation Agency for Healthcare

Innovation House, Bridgend Road, Llanharan CF72 9RP, WalesTelephone: (+44) 1443 233 333

www.nliah.wales.nhs.uk

Design, production and printing by Caboo Design: www.caboodesign.com

ISBN: 978-1-905456-21-5

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National Leadership and Innovation Agency for HealthcareInnovation House, Bridgend Road, Llanharan CF72 9RP Call us on 01443 233333 Fax us on 01443 233334

The Real Deal has been written primarily from the perspective of Hamish Davidson but also draws on the experiences of many individuals in the public, not for profit and private sectors as well as prominent leaders on the issue of leadership and talent management.The Real Deal supports a whole range of NLIAH Thriving in Transition career management products including the public and non profitsector ‘Open Doors’ programme. As indicated in the opening section the author would like to acknowledge the contribution of everyone who has been involved in the NLIAH Thriving in Transition portfolio and in particular the Intensive Career Clinics. Of special note are - Co-Interviewer Thelma Holland, the NLIAH Team: Christine Bamford, Moira Morgan, Siôn Charles, Bethan Johnson, Ian Govier, Dorene Barnes and Francesca Carpanini. External providers Viv Walton of Deardens Search and Select, Angus Fisher of RFLC Associates, Ed Green of Building Collaborative Futures, Alan Carpenter, Keith Johnson, Mariella Dexter and Stuart Gray.