Illawarra-Shoalhaven Local Health District – Site Visit No. 1

At our first site visit we were privileged to meet awesome authentic leaders, living their values, from Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District.  And there was plenty to talk about given their rich tapestry of experiences and learnings from COVID, which were openly shared with the Leadership Illawarra Program participants.
 
On 2nd March 2021 we met the Executive team of Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, including Chief Executive - Margot Mains, Executive Director Nursing & Midwifery & Clinical Governance - Deborah Cameron, Executive Director Strategic Improvement Programs - Gerrard Golding, Executive Director Clinical Operations - Margaret Martin and Director People, Safety & Culture – Raychel Davis.
 
Each of the individual leaders inspired us in different ways, sharing their insights, experiences and learnings.  The hard-working Chief Executive, Margot Mains, had significant international crisis management experience which placed her on a strong footing when COVID hit.  Her decisiveness, communication strengths and leadership enabled the ISLHD team to be supported, plan and manage the logistics and people challenges effectively.  “Having one message from one source of truth every day was critical to managing during the crisis.”
 
There were so many take-out messages, too many to mention, but a few are captured here:

• “As leaders, you can never over-communicate
• Out of your worst experiences can come some of your best learnings
• Reflect every day – what did I learn today, how could I have done that better
• Delete ‘it’s not our responsibility’ – collaborate and build on engagement
• Be decisive – back yourself.”    

 
Put simply, the LIP attendees were in awe of the ISLHD Executive team.  Their open, authentic leadership and individual selves shone through in the site visit, and one attendee said – “great insights from leaders in their field …. already a highlight from the LIP Program”!