What are you tolerating in your Primary Care Network?

As your primary care network continues to develop or limp along, asking yourself the question “what are we tolerating?" will either reveal some potentially uncomfortable truths or powerful insights to help you move forward.

Everyone will have a personal take on this question, but I invite you to answer this question collectively in your next PCN meeting with all members of your leadership team present.

What allowances are you making which is preventing your network from; fully supporting the needs of your population, engaging with your stakeholders and meeting your contractual obligations?

• What relationships are strained because you are not willing to invest in this area to help get things back on track?

• Are your meetings unproductive?

• Does your network lack focus?

• Are you yet to define your shared purpose?

• Is your network failing to utilise systems and technology to aid your productivity?

• What clunky work arounds are you now used to because you do not want to invest in fixing the root problem?

• As a leadership team, have you agreed principles for communication and governance?

• Is there lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities?

Change takes effort, managing relationships can be tricky and with so much you are required to do, it’s understandable that you may fall into tolerating certain situations. We all do, and it’s a question I often ask myself. However, the danger of continuing to passively tolerate activity in your network will ultimately need to people withdrawing, conflict, low morale and poor performance.

Call to action:

Whether you see yourself as a network leader, an entrepreneur or intrapreneurs (an intrapreneur is an employee who is tasked with developing an innovative idea or project within a company). It is within your collective gift to facilitate change, not only for your network but internally as a team too.

1. Collectively agree to have the conversation with everyone present.

2. Come with a positive mindset.

3. Prepare for this conversation and offer solutions versus bringing a problem for other people to sort out.

4. Listen in order to understand versus to respond. There is often a valid reason for why we do the things we do.

5. Commit to action and hold each other accountable.

Tara provides project and network management to Primary Care Networks and has worked with 11 Training Hubs and 19 Primary Care Networks to date.

Tara has an MBA in Healthcare Leadership and Management, is published in the London Journal of Primary Care, is the author of over 230 blogs also hosts The Business of Healthcare Podcast.

• Don't Let Passive Agreement Hamper your Progress

• 3 Questions to Ask When Hiring Your Primary Care Network Manager

• The Role of the Network Lead – The Reality

• How to track transformation without getting lost in the bureaucracy

• How to Overcome Objections in your Primary Care Network