Celebrations
November in the northern hemisphere is often dark and cold, and marks the start of winter in the Celtic Calendar. Yet, even as winter closes in, there is much to celebrate. In Ireland, November begins with the festival of Samhain, better known internationally as Halloween. In November in India, the festival of lights, known as Diwali, celebrates the triumph of good over evil. For me, this month, I celebrate community with you. I am grateful to belong to several vibrant communities, including the International Coaching Federation (ICF Ireland), ICF Global Communities Of Practice and the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) as well as Trinity College Dublin (TCD) alumni.
 At the beginning of November, my son Adam and I took the train to Dublin to attend the TCD Open Day for Leaving Cert students. As we arrived early, we visited the Trinity Alumni Office. Both the staff were recent graduates and Adam got a lovely opportunity to get insider information about different courses, societies and college life. I thoroughly enjoyed attending lectures with him delivered by faculty of a diverse range of academic disciplines, including business, philosophy, political science, mathematics, computer science, linguistics, economics and psychology. While the venues felt like a trip down memory lane, I was fascinated to hear faculty from diverse disciplines share their scholarship interests. Whatever field Adam chooses to study, it will make for interesting future conversations!
 On 11th November, ICF Ireland Chapter hosted its 20th anniversary celebrations. This was a special celebration on many fronts. It was the first in-person gathering of ICF Ireland coaches for a celebration since COVID. The venue in Trinity, the food, the speakers and the company gave the entire event a great lift. As a scholar of Trinity College, I have many fond memories in the Trinity dining hall, so it was a wonderful opportunity to create new memories with people who have been an important part of my journey since my student days, such as my husband, coaching colleagues, pharmacist clients, partners and friends. The keynote speaker, David Clutterbuck, offered a thought-provoking session on the evolution of professional maturity, highlighting the continual development of competencies such as self-awareness, reflective practices, emotional connectedness and increasingly eclectic and systemic thinking and being. As a professional and leader, having peer groups that have each other's back, believe in you, inspire, encourage and help each other to continue to evolve is critical to deepening your professional and leadership capacity. ICF Ireland is one such peer group for me.
Who are your peers in each domain of your life? To what degree are your peers empowering your growth? To what degree are you empowering your peers' growth? Are there any changes you wish to make?
 On 16th November, I was fortunate to participate in a pioneering initiative of ICF's Coaching Super-vision Community of Practice, as one of 30 credentialed coaching super-visors who hosted an experience of group coaching super-vision for community of practice members. The Gold Standard in Coaching | ICF - Communities of Practice (coachingfederation.org)
Coaching Super-Vision is a form of professional reflective practice about client cases, designed to boost your capacity for self-observation during a session, and often involves pre-flection (before a session) and re-flection (after a session). Attendees had the opportunity to experience group coaching super-vision by participating in breakout rooms of 4-5 coaches, facilitated by a credentialed volunteer coach super-visor. Group super-vision is a powerful approach to expanding perspectives through peer learning, with the learning space facilitated by a trained professional. If you are curious to learn more about coaching super-vision or reflective practice sessions with Rachel, CLICK HERE.
On 21st October, the Irish Pharmacy Union celebrated its 50th anniversary with its first face-to-face conference since COVID. Myself and Jonathon Morrissey MPSI shared our presentation on 'The Value of Having a Positive Pharmacy Practice,' with tangible actions for improvements in community pharmacy practice.
IPU members can CLICK HERE to listen to the recording of all of the presentations. You can CLICK HERE to read my learnings from each of the speakers and my reflections on the future of community pharmacy practice.
If you would like to receive the IPU delegate resources created to support pharmacists to implement the learnings, CLICK HERE.
4Front’s 6Ps of Positive Practice focus on Mastering Six Inter-Connecting Factors – Purpose, Personal, Professional, People, Products & Services and Prosperity.
This Month's Focus: The Crucial Role of People Leadership in Mitigating Workplace Stress
Introduction: In today's fast-paced healthcare environments, stress in the workplace is a common challenge. Often, the root cause of this stress can be traced back to the dynamics between individuals within a team or organisation. In this article, we'll delve into how poor people leadership can be a significant driver of workplace stress, how effective people leadership can prevent stress, and how excellent people leadership can cultivate thriving, high-performing teams.
The Impact of Poor People Leadership: Poor people leadership is akin to pouring fuel on the fire of workplace stress. When leaders fail to provide clear direction, fail to listen to their team members, or create an environment where contributions go unnoticed, the consequences are stark. The latest Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report indicates that employee stress is at an all-time high and that escaping a bad boss, desire to improve wellbeing and seeking opportunities to grow and develop were top reasons why over half of employees are actively or passively seeking another job. This finding underscores the profound impact of poor people leadership on employee satisfaction and engagement.
Good People Leadership: A Stress Preventer: Effective people leadership plays a pivotal role in preventing workplace stress. Leaders who actively engage with their teams, foster an environment of open communication, and ensure that every team member feels heard, valued, included, and respected create a buffer against stress. This type of leadership enhances job satisfaction and overall well-being, ultimately reducing stress-related absenteeism and increasing staff retention.
The Power of Excellent People Leadership: Excellent people leadership is not just about managing people; it's about creating thriving, high-performing teams. Leaders who exhibit excellence in people leadership inspire their teams, promote collaboration, and provide the support and recognition needed to excel. When people leadership is excellent, organisations see a marked improvement in employee engagement, resulting in higher profitability. Indeed research published in a HBR article ‘The Value of High Quality Leadership’ showed that companies with high-quality leadership are 13 times more likely to outperform their competition of a variety of key performance indicators.
Healthcare Leadership Coaching for Transformation: The truth is most healthcare managers and leaders are clinicians, with little or no leadership training. Transitioning from poor to excellent people leadership is no easy feat. It requires a shift in mindset, skillset, and approach. This is where healthcare leadership coaching comes into play. The combination of Positive Intelligence Mental Fitness Coaching, Red Team Strategic Coaching with ICF Credentialed Coaching Mastery provides healthcare leaders with a comprehensive toolkit for achieving excellence in people leadership. It addresses both the internal and external aspects of leadership, enabling leaders to not only manage themselves effectively but also guide their teams toward success in the complex healthcare landscape. This integrated approach fosters resilience, adaptability, critical thinking, and strong team dynamics—all essential elements of excellent healthcare people leadership.
The Call to Action: Now, it's your turn to assess your people leadership journey. Take the first step by completing "4Front’s 6Ps of Professional Excellence Self-Assessment for Healthcare Managers and Leaders." This self-assessment tool is your compass for evaluating your current mindset, skills, and abilities in people leadership.
By taking this assessment, you qualify for a complimentary 121 Next STEPS call with Rachel Dungan, 'The Pharmacist Coach.' Rachel, with her extensive experience in healthcare leadership coaching, ICF Master Certified Coach Credential and advanced certifications in Positive Intelligence Coaching and Red Team Coaching, is uniquely positioned to guide you on your journey from poor or good to excellent people leadership.
During this call, you'll have the opportunity to review your results, explore coaching options, and craft a personalised plan to enhance your people leadership skills. Don't miss this chance to transform your leadership style, reduce workplace stress, and create thriving, high-performing teams that excel in patient care and healthcare leadership. Your team, your patients, and your organisation will thank you for it.
MY CPD CYCLES
Core Competency Frameworks, Ethical Practice Codes and Continual Professional Development (CPD) are core components of every professional's practice, including pharmacy and coaching. They articulate the evolving skills, knowledge, behaviours and professional standards expected of professionals and the profession, promote life-long learning, ensure public trust and safety, and provide a framework through which professionals can acquire new knowledge, refine skills and stay abreast of advancements in their field. As a pharmacist and coach, I am a member of several professional bodies, each with their own CPD requirements. Although professionals are having learning experiences daily through their professional practice, many find it challenging to pause, reflect and record their CPD and get stuck before they have even started.
Given my special interest in pharmacy, coaching, wellbeing and leadership, my CPD Cycles reflect my unique practice. I challenge myself to document my learnings through the lens of 4Front's 6Ps of Positive Practice and to evaluate the impact of my practice through the lens of the relevant ethical and core competency frameworks.
I have based the structure of my CPD Cycles on the Pharmacist CPD Reflective Practice Cycle. I hope reading one of my CPD Cycles each month will give YOU inspiration to record your learning and growth. So whether you are a pharmacist, other healthcare professional, coach, mentor, supervisor or leader, CLICK HERE to read this month's CPD Cycle. In keeping with this month's theme of PEOPLE leadership, this CPD Cycle reflects my learnings as a team coach.
If you are a pharmacist registered in Ireland, preparing for IIOP ePortfolio Review and you want to 'Just Get It Done,' I invite you check-out my CPD Mentoring Package, where we work together on zoom to capture your CPD in a way that both meets the IIOP review criteria, and adds value to your unique professional practice.
If you are a pharmacist called for IIOP Practice Review, or a coach preparing for ICF ACC, PCC or MCC Performance Evaluation Assessments, I offer one-to-one mentor coaching to support your preparation. CLICK HERE to schedule a call to discuss your specific requirements.
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