Many of our team members in Primary Care are feeling battered and bruised by the tone and content of what’s coming out from on high, and everything going on in the media. As a leader you may feel frustrated and angry yourself, and you may be wondering just what you can do to help everyone keep on going through these really tricky times.

There are three key questions which will help you and your team to take stock of what you can do about the situation, work out what you should be prioritising and reduce some of the stress and anger about what’s going on.

What can I control?

The first question is all about what is in your power to change, and what’s not.

In any of life’s challenges, there are things which we worry about which we simply can’t do anything about (for example, rising COVID rates, government policy, the national shortage of GPs). Dwelling on these things is a waste of precious time and effort as there is literally NOTHING that you can do to change them.

A far more productive way to spend your time and mental energy is to ask yourself ‘what is in my control right now?’. A simple way of doing this is to do the ‘Zone of Power’ exercise.

Get a sheet of A4 paper, draw a circle – this is your zone of power. Outside the circle list all those things you are not in control of, and inside the circle list all the things which you ARE in control of, and the options and choices which you have. You may not like all of these options and choices and you may feel frustrated about the consequences of some of these choices, but you will feel more powerful and productive by focussing on what you CAN do rather than what you can’t.

The key to this exercise is learning to ACCEPT the things you can’t change and find the COURAGE to change the things you can (this will also help you with the WISDOM to know the difference – sound familiar?!).

Use this question with your team members whenever any of you feel stuck, to work out what your next actions could be.

Where is your focus?

The second question helps teams get super clear about what your priorities should be right now.

Many teams in primary care are feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. There are too many things to do and not enough time or staff to do them. But do you know exactly what these things are? Have you had a conversation about what you should be prioritising as a team, as a practice, as a PCN?

So often, we see team members with different priorities going in different directions which causes confusion and overwhelm as no one really knows which is the most important priority, and what they can drop for now. Without this conversation, the stuff that’s urgent will always crowd out the stuff that’s really important but perhaps not urgent – yet, such as team development, sorting out workflows, delegation and staff training.

Getting clear on what three things you will be focussing on as a team in the next week, month and year will help reduce overwhelm, create some mental headspace, and make sure you’re all laser focussed on the same things.

What story are you telling?

As patient demand and expectation seem to grow every week and negative stories in the media threaten to kill our morale stone dead, it’s helpful to ask yourself ‘What is the story in my head’ about the things that are bothering you.

When patients are rude and demanding, do we tell ourselves that’s because they are completely unreasonable, that they all hate us and that we’re doing a terrible job? Or do we recognise the truth – that patients may be frightened and worried about themselves (after all, we are going through an incredibly traumatic time as a planet), they may be frustrated that they can’t get exactly what they want instantly (in a world of Amazon Prime and Netflix).

Do we tell ourselves that we are failing and not good enough? Or that Primary Care is doing an AMAZING job in the face of huge challenges, and that we are doing our absolute best through difficult times?

Are we telling ourselves that it’s us vs “them”. Or that we are all actually on the same side, wanting a properly funded, safe and efficient primary care service in which staff AND patients are thriving?

Are we telling ourselves that we ‘have’ to do it all, can’t take any time out or that saying ‘no’ makes us a bad person? Or are we recognising the truth that it’s only by putting our own oxygen mask on first, recognising our limits, and taking time to rest and recharge that we will do our best work?

The stories we tell ourselves create feelings which lead to actions. The negative stories we tell can only lead to stress, disillusionment and often keep us stuck and frustrated. By re-framing what we choose to believe (but not denying the reality of the difficulties) we can start to change our feelings and actions and reduce the stress and levels of burnout we experience.

These are simple questions, but they are not easy. They require a degree of self-examination and recognition of some difficult truths BUT if you start to ask them with an open mind, kindness and a large helping of self-compassion they may just help you and your team make better decisions, take control of your workload, and start to enjoy what you do again.

Our Resilient Team Academy online membership for leaders in health and social care provides conversations canvasses, coaching demos, video training modules, bite size team building videos and deep dive live webinars to help leaders and managers have these important conversations and support their teams care for resilience, wellbeing and productivity. Doors to the RTA are open right now and we have discounted packages for Ockham Healthcare subscribers, and packages for PCNs and other organisations. Find out more here or get in contact with Ben (ben@ockham.healthcare).

You may also be interested in watching a recording of a recent webinar that Ben and I did, ‘How to support your team through the new ways of working in primary care, without burning out yourself.’ You can find it here.