Bucket-loads of love, togetherness and Christmas cheer

An important Christmas meeting on 'elf and wellbeing!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

The bitter and bruising election campaign is finally over and whatever you feel about the outcome, we can get on with real life. Let’s hope we can rise to the challenges ahead as a nation with hope and unity. 

So, as we head towards Christmas, let’s try to rejoice the universal themes of love and togetherness that can be celebrated at this time of year; irrespective of religious faith or lack of it. Not just this Christmas, but also during Eid, Hanukkah and other religious festivals. 

It is fantastic to hear that we currently have 109 different nationalities working for our organisation (around half the countries in the world!). I’m therefore very aware that not only do we have people from a wide range of different faiths and cultures here, but that many might not be with loved ones over this holiday period.

Traditions have a habit of breaking free from their roots however and hopefully there is something for everyone, whether it’s the joy of helping others, or team celebrations, or simply making the most of good telly, lounging around, and eating our body weight in food!

We know the Christmas season can sometimes be fraught with tension and emotion, and never more so when there has just been such a divisive election; and there's plenty of criticism that consumerism, focus on materialism and advertising have taken over. But there is still something wonderful about the widespread sentiment of goodwill associated with this season. 

I’ve been blown away by your focus on kindness. The number of teams who are collecting goods for local food banks, donations for countless charities and gifts for the Cash for Kids appeal is truly wonderful.

You have shown the spirit of togetherness, hospitality and generosity in bucket loads. 

A lot can happen in a year.

It was exactly 12 months ago that our board made the decision to radically change as an organisation and transfer community services. It’s been a year of momentous change and you have been tremendous in how you have supported, managed and responded to this. Thank you.

There’s more change to come next year and I’m very conscious of the risks of ‘change battle fatigue’ and the fear factor this uncertainty creates. Evidence shows that the more we understand and are part of the process of change, the more positively we respond to it. So, we need to listen to you, support you, explain ‘why’, but most importantly keep you involved in bringing our vision and ambitions to life.

Engagement is key and so it was great to attend the latest Go Engage celebration event this week. 

We had colleagues from Prospect Place in Rochdale, Be Well Tameside, our Health and Wellbeing College, and from the pharmacy, organisational development and clinical system change teams. All of them said that they were experiencing change of some description, whether it was a change in leadership or the focus of the team. One of the attendees reflected this by saying  “everything changed this year”. 

Most of the teams talked about coping with change and the importance of strong engagement. They highlighted the difference that small things can make in terms of people feeling valued; from being recognised for accomplishments to having the opportunity to express their feelings freely.

It was brilliant listening to them and the progress they are making in improving engagement within their teams. There were lots of great examples; the clinical change team, for instance, have turned the corridor to their department into an information and forum zone which everyone can contribute to.

A final thought in my last blog for 2019. Never forget the amazing work you’re doing to add real value to our little bit of the world, as you should feel so proud to be part of the Yuletide hope for peace on earth and goodwill to all.

Thank you again for all that you are and all that you do. 

I hope you have a lovely break, and my immense gratitude goes to those who are working over the holiday period.

Merry Christmas. 

Claire