When Time Is Tight, But So Is Capacity - Is Peer Support Key to Unlocking both?

Many clinicians, innovative thinkers, and deeply capable humans never set out in healthcare to lead. We loved the clinical work. We followed a curiosity. We built something because it seemed no one else would. We figured things out on our own because we had it. Hyper-independence grew our leadership capacity. And suddenly — without planning for it — we became  a person others rely on to guide the way. The one who is supposed to have all these magical answers without having any more information than the rest of the team.

This is accidental leadership. And it often comes with feeling overly responsible and chronically under supported.

Our clinical skills still matter, but now we’re also navigating people, emotions, systems, and decisions that no one trained us for and are at times too big for any one human. We've landed in roles and spaces that combine a lot of our passions and we can no longer be defined by a single job title. 

It’s no wonder our brains sometimes feel stuck, capped, locked or like a tangled ball of yarn — too many threads, too many colours, too many knots? For many accidental leaders, we've become high-functioning, our capacity is huge. But while some knots are simple, others are infuriating. Some take hours to even loosened. Could Peer Support be the bystander that yanks the right thread and unravels the mess in minutes?

Don't get me wrong, like I said we’re more than capable of working it out on our own. But just because we can doesn’t mean we should have to. And it shouldn’t steal our precious time or add to the mounting emotional labour. Afterall, humaning is hard. No algorithm could possibly understand the complexity of our experiences in healthcare - our services, our patients, our values or our humanness.

I'd long been told of this mysterious power of Peer Support and Mentoring — someone who lives in the same emotional and professional terrain. Someone who “gets it” from the get go. Problem is I've often felt most akin to people outside my original profession. My definition of peer because I've traversed different professions lays in who I observe embodying their values. 

In a world where time feels like it’s evaporating, carving out 30 minutes can feel impossible. But what if in those 30 minutes you found Peers that feel like peers who could save us hours of pulling at a difficult knot. Sometimes being really seen is enough. This is why we are starting Lunch-time 'Welfare' check-ins. Just 30mins to gather and connect with like-minded peers. It pokes a tiny hole in a very full bucket — but maybe that’s enough to breathe again. We’d love for you to join us this Thursday 28th May at 12pm - jump down to the wellbeing check-in, fill in this form and receive the invite link.

PS: there's no cost involved so there's little excuse not to pop by and say hello!