Creating a positive plan after a negative result

It can feel disheartening to have worked so hard to make positive changes for the children and families you support, but still get the dreaded Requires Improvement or Inadequate Ofsted result. So, how do you keep staff motivated whilst working on the improvement journey?

I’ve been there and led my service from a Requires Improvement to a strong Good at the next inspection. A few tips from my own experience of leading through this difficult period.

Take time to feel the feelings.

People need to feel what they need to feel. You’ll have staff experiencing a range of emotions from sadness to anger to resentment to worry to frustration to apathy. People will respond to the news differently and you can’t just brush past how it impacts on them. Feel the feelings and then you can move on.

Be inclusive.

You need to be inclusive in all senses of the word. Include staff and families when you’re creating your improvement plan, don’t just consult on it when it’s all done. All of the different perspectives will not only make for a more motivated workforce but will give you a better more holistic path for your improvement journey.

Co-create your future.

If people feel like they’re a part of it, they’ll be more motivated for it to succeed. If people feel like it’s just done to them, they’re unlikely to buy into it and you’ll spend more energy trying to drag them along behind you. People work towards a future they have created, so let your staff create the positive future they want to be a part of.

Be clear and unwavering in your passion, commitment and vision.

This can feel like the hardest part. You’ve felt the feelings after the dreaded result, you’ve included people in putting together the improvement plan, you’ve worked alongside your staff to create the vision for the future, but now comes the hard work. And this is when it can feel like it’s going too slow, people can get impatient, or some may leave at this point and for others this feels disheartening.

What people need to see is your unwavering passion, commitment and vision. They need to see that no matter what, you know that the service will achieve the vision. They need to see your confidence and your commitment to walk alongside them. They need to feel your passion so that it can ignite their own again. You need them to see that you’ve got this and they will also feel like they’ve got this.

Learn and grow together.

An improvement journey is anything but easy. There are bumps along the way. There are things you didn’t account for. There are discoveries that you didn’t expect. During your improvement journey, you’re also creating a culture whereby you sit alongside your service and learn and grow together. It’s vital that you show them that it’s ok to get things wrong, it’s ok to not know, but together, you can learn and together you can make things better. Leading with this humility and growth mindset goes a long way.

Celebrate every success.

It’s easy on an improvement journey to just focus on what you haven’t done or what you need to do, but it’s important to celebrate what you’ve achieved. Celebrate the individual successes and show your staff that you notice them and that you care. Celebrate every single win, however big or small.

Check-in and adapt.

Ask for feedback. Ask your families, ask your staff, ask your stakeholders. Be open to getting it wrong and having them say things don’t feel any better. But learn from that and ask for their support in getting it right. The plan isn’t written in stone….if it needs changing in order to deliver the best service possible and create a culture where staff flourish, then change the plan.

Care for yourself so you can care for others.

Self care is key! An improvement journey can feel like an ultra marathon, so pacing yourself and taking breaks to replenish yourself is not a luxury, it’s an absolute necessity.

If you’re interested in support on your improvement journey,
book a free consultation here.