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8  Continued from previous page A CUSTOMISED, VIRTUAL FLASH CARD FOR MANAGERS RESILIENT LEADERS DO NOT  Try to be a s/hero at the expense of team members  Monopolise access to critical information  “Hog” any acclaim due to the team  Advance themselves based on sacrifices made by the entire team  Use threat of sanctions to gain team compliance  Become a source of work-related stress or conflict for the team  Stay frozen in time with their ideas  Pander to politicians  Act as though no one else has answers or ideas — micromanage  Act in a fickle or irresolute manner  Become “bulls in china shops”  Regard team members as subservient, subordinate “human resources”  Slot people into roles they do not fit and leave them there  Judge their staff as human beings under the guise of performance assessments  Use humour that insults or hurts team members  Hide their own mistakes by blaming other team members  Use sharp and insensitive criticism as “a tool of staff development”  Confuse authority and influence  Assume that their own knowledge and skills are interchangeable assets in every situation especially in crises  Create an “emotional gulf” with other team members  Physically isolate themselves from team members  Play favourites and create camps or cliques  Work with a permanently closed office door  Allow themselves to “burn out”  Neglect family or other personal relationships  Obstruct developmental opportunities for team members because they critical to current team success  Develop the habit of closed door gossip about their team with members of the team CONCLUDING THOUGHT Leadership's main function is to produce movement and constructive or adaptive change such as establishing direction through visioning, aligning people, motivating, and inspiring them; while defending the team and piloting them through crises. Resilience requires commitment and sustained actions at the level of individuals and organisations. It cannot be approached as a “flavour of the month” or intellectual fad. REFLECT ON THIS SCENARIO Written by Frankie Michael You are the PS in the Ministry of Health. There is a District Clinic that can be cut off if an unreliable bridge collapses during torrential rain; it has happened in the past. The three nurses working there all live outside the district. It is Thursday afternoon, there is a strong probability that a Hurricane Warning will be declared over the weekend. FOCUS QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU REFLECT 1. What instructions do you think the Director of Health Services should give to that clinic; considering the unfolding situation? 2. When should the instructions be given? 3. What would be the three major agenda items for your senior staff meeting on Friday morning? 4. What advice would you give to the Minister of Health who is also the Parliamentary Representative for the Constituency the clinic is in? 5. Who should inform the public and what should that person say?

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