Kindness and connection is key part of addressing NHS workforce crisis

Old friends are the easiest of audiences but talking about Kaleidoscope’s approach was harder than I expected. For them, an organisation that prioritises transparency and collaboration appeared risky. The idea of making kindness the central focus was appealing but hard to accept. There were a lot of ‘what abouts..?”

The key problem seemed to be one of trust – people will behave badly so how do you control that? The phrase that eventually landed helpfully was “it’s a big experiment in doing everything better and with more kindness”.

I have come to Kaleidoscope because I believe in the central mission, to create a world that is kinder, more connected and joyful. I have been lucky to spend a career around very good and impressive people (charity staff, health professionals, carers, managers, civil servants and many others). So much of the work has been about helping people find their way through situations and relationships that lack kindness and connection. I have seen over and again the limiting effect such an environment has on the collective capacity to do good work.

Now, in these very challenging times, it feels even more important. People are leaving the NHS in droves. Pragmatically, we need to give people reasons not to go. In my coaching and leadership development work, in the last year or so, it has become common for new clients to start with some version of “I can’t do this any more”.

People are leaving the NHS in droves. Pragmatically, we need to give people reasons not to go.

People almost always remain passionate about their work and usually have professional identities and purpose that are central to their sense of themselves. They often report feelings of loneliness and disconnection that leave them feeling powerless to respond to the demands around them.

By creating the conditions where people can be kinder to themselves and others and connect better (creating shared purpose and intention) I have seen people get more effective at what they want to do and find their enthusiasm again. In the face of the workforce crisis in the health and care sector, that is no small thing.

Arriving into a place that intentionally strives to be different, I am struck that Kaleidoscope can deliver transformation at a level I haven’t seen before. By working with whole organisations and systems, using kindness, connection and joy as the rallying call, there is potential to enable big changes.

I am impressed by the rigour and detailed knowledge that sits behind everything we offer to clients. Kaleidoscope’s support with organisation development, strategy, research or events brings both depth of expertise and evidence of effectiveness. There is a commitment to the highest quality work that is clearly visible in all our colleagues and the detailed theoretical underpinnings of our approach. That is the stuff we have to be good at to do our job.

Despite the picture sometimes painted in the media, there are remarkably able people all over the health and care system and civil service doing very good quality work. Somehow, we have a view that unless they are suffering they are not working hard enough. Kaleidoscope rejects that.

Our radical commitment to creating the conditions where people can build connection, kindness and find something more joyful means we turn up differently. And we create spaces where people can be different, more in line with their purpose and values and through that we help them change the systems they are in. That is special.

There are remarkably able people all over the health and care system and civil service doing very good quality work. Somehow, we have a view that unless they are suffering they are not working hard enough.

I am still in very early days (on a daily see-saw between a sense of confidence in my experience and clumsy, flow-less learning). One of my tests for whether this is the place I hope it will be, is asking is Kaleidoscope the kind of place where people are connected and where there is joy in the work? So far, the stories I’ve heard from clients and colleagues and the general vibe of the place give me a strong sense that it is.

So, the next time our friends are here I am looking forward to being able to regale them with all the examples of how we work in practice and how it has made the difference to the clients we work with. I expect it will be a lot easier.