My first-month reflection at South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust

So here I am a month into my new role, and what a journey it has been so far. I had promised myself that I would start a blog not only for the purpose to publish but to self develop and most importantly critically reflect. The process of reflection helps us to make sense of our day-to-day experiences, it can help us to move forward, to come to decisions, to create a course of action, to challenge ourselves to switch off from autopilot and our own habitual ways of doing and thinking.

What have I learned so far? It has been a struggle at times to understand the organisational structure. My background is predominantly project managing in Acute settings, so taking on the role of Primary Care and Out of Hospital projects was a step out of my comfort zone. It has challenged me at times but equally, I have managed to reach out to my wider network for support and advice. I have spent the first few weeks setting up various MS Teams meetings with senior managers (and their PA’s) and stakeholders, this has given me the confidence to reach out for an initial ‘meet and greet’ and get to know each other. This I must say has been very positive for me in gathering crucial information and a ‘heads-up’ in terms of project activities and how I can successfully use the resources that I have to make an impact and first impression. I think walking into a new organisation where no one knows you and using the correct approach and lessons learned from previous roles puts me in a good stance to make that positive start.

There have been times of confusion as to where do I start first? My line manager has been instrumental in my progress so far. I understand that I am not going to know everything and that it will take me at least a good few months to understand the structure and culture. I aim to continue my collaboration with my network if am going to be successful and to understand my role, and that its ok to ask for help and guidance.

To conclude I have summarised a few points and questions to aid in my self-reflection, I will answer these in my next blog:

• What is the value of reflection to me personally and professionally?

• What impact could reflection have on my growth and development?

• What would it look like if I incorporated a disciplined reflection more centrally and deliberately in my everyday learning experiences? And most importantly, what steps can I take to integrate 5–10 minutes of reflection into my week?

Below I have taken a screenshot of my 90-day critical success strategies that I have created in PowerPoint, this is based on the book that I have read: The First 90 days by Michael Watkins, I would recommend this to anyone who is taking up a new role within a new organisation and the best ways one can promote themselves to their advantage.

I endeavour to publish on a regular basis and use my 90-day plan to learn, reflect and grow, learning from mistakes is a life long journey. It takes dedication and hard work to reach the peak of stability and growth.