Image of Carol Mckenna As you might expect, in the light of my impending retirement, I’ve done a fair bit of thinking about the future. However, I’ve also spent a lot of time looking back, mainly wondering where the last 33 years have gone. On the one hand, it seems like a lifetime since I started my NHS career in a Regional Health Authority based in offices next to Paddington Station. On the other, time has flown, and I can barely believe it’s just over 25 years since I first came to Huddersfield and began my quarter of a century shift in Kirklees.

So why stay in the one place for so long? Firstly, the job kept changing and I like variety. I’ve been through more re-organisations than I care to remember, but each one presented an opportunity and a chance to get my teeth into something new. When one door closes and all that.

However, the main reason is – you’ve guessed it – the people. I’m going to assume that everyone who works in the public sector is motivated by a wish to make life better for their fellow citizens.  That said, it doesn’t automatically follow that every team will be a happy place to be. Getting yourself into the right team, or teams, really matters.

Over the years, I’ve been a member of many such teams. I’ve spent over 20 years in Board level roles and been an accountable officer (in different forms) since 2013. These roles can be lonely places.  You are acutely aware that others are looking to you for answers and most of us will feel a strong sense of responsibility for the team we lead. The hardest times in my career have been when I can see people having difficulties that I have felt powerless to change.

The best times have revolved around being with people in the senior management teams I’ve been part of. Whether we were a PCT (primary care trust), a CCG (clinical commissioning group) or a health and care partnership, it is the regular contact with those teams that has meant the most to me. Of course, we get lots of work done but it’s the informal stuff that builds me up. You know the sort of thing I mean – a short session of ranting and getting things off your chest, usually followed by really laughing about stuff that no one else would ever understand. During the COVID-19 lockdown I recall saying that what I missed the most was hearing the sound of laughter.

As well as being in teams in Kirklees, I’m also a member of the West Yorkshire Executive Management Team. I’ve heard this described as playing for both club and country and I like that way of thinking about it. The West Yorkshire team has particularly helped me make the transition from the role of CCG chief officer three years ago and I’ve really enjoyed getting involved in work programmes beyond my own geographical area (special shout out to the People Team here).

So where else might you find this type of support? Well, I thought I’d take this opportunity to promote the ICB’s staff networks which are:

  • Disability and Long Term Conditions Network
  • Women’s Network
  • LGBTQ+ Network
  • Race Equality Network
  • Carer’s Network
  • Staff Engagement Group

Each network is supported by an executive sponsor and I’ve had the privilege of being sponsor for the Disability and Long Term Conditions Network. I want to take this opportunity to thank them all for being so welcoming, and for trusting me with their stories and experiences. I’ve also learned a huge amount from working with the group, not least in relation to the needs of neurodiverse colleagues. If you haven’t seen it already, I’d strongly advise you to have a look at the West Yorkshire Partnership’s Neurodiversity Toolkit.

Another special thank you for the Women’s Network who invited me to speak to them last November. They patiently indulged me as I shared my experiences and reflections as a female leader over the years and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them. Writing this in the month of International Women’s Day has taken me back to the importance of this network and the work they do. 

So, back to where I started this. I’ll remember the teams, the individuals, the laughter, the support, the hard work and the sense of achievement that we have when we work through something together and get there in the end.

Finally, to everyone who has asked me if I am okay in the days following a particularly difficult meeting or stressful time, thank you so much. It has meant more than you will have realised.