Overview
This topic will be shortly convened by Christine Williamson from Tearfund. The interim text, below was compiled by Dr Ted Lankester.
Community health programmes need skilful management of personnel, supplies and finances.
The director and other senior staff must learn how to lead in a fair and consultative way, making sure that their style of leadership encourages and involves the team and community. Systems need to be set up both for planning new or larger-scale activities as well as managing the day-to-day programme. Leaders must learn how to write job descriptions, induct new team members, carry out appraisals, resolve conflicts, delegate and keep a sense of balance in the team.
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Excerpt from setting up community Health programmes by Ted Lankester
Ways of encouraging healthy teams:
1. Sharing objectives. Team and community members will perform best if they share in drawing up aims and setting targets.
2. Commending people for good achievements.
3. Delegating responsibility, with training to support it.
4. Ensuring salaries are paid on time and that increases and promotion are given when due.
5. Arranging in-service training and regular opportunities for personal and professional development.
6. Handling problems directly and fairly, by finding the root cause of the trouble and trying to solve it.
7. Affirming team members, especially those for whom you have a line management responsibility. This includes such simple things as remembering birthdays and being imaginative during times of crisis and bereavement.
For example: the father of a Congolese team member working in Kenya died during a busy project phase. The manager, knowing that this man was the oldest son and would have many family duties to perform gave him 10 days compassionate leave, even though the staff member had no contractual right to have this much time off work. As a result he was able to arrange the funeral and give support to his family. He returned, both able to work effectively, and satisfied he had carried out his family duties
Way to discourage a team:
1. Poor administration. Leaders who regularly forget, delay, overwork staff or plan inefficiently annoy and discourage their teams.
2. Lack of personal and professional respect for others.
3. A domineering attitude.
4. Giving too much or too little work.
5. Giving work that is regularly much too easy or much too hard.
6. Cancelling leave or holidays unless there is an important reason.
7. An unwillingness to delegate, or doing so without also giving authority or explaining new management arrangements to the wider team.
8. Lack of training and development opportunities.
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