What healthcare can’t learn from Leicester’s football success #WILTW

This is the 103rd #WILTW

In England this week the football league’s rank outsiders (starting odds 5000-1) were crowned champions after their closest opponents failed to gain the points needed to be able to catch them  in the title race.

According to the BBC Leicester City winning the Premier League trophy was at one point less likely than Elvis turning up alive. To overuse a term, it has been a fairytale journey, especially when you consider their manager has technically been sacked from his last 5 jobs 

Obviously with this background you might want to consider if there is something to learn.

or perhaps not then.

There is a great temptation to start analysing the circumstances of these amazing events. They certainly make great stories and have an inherent appeal that there’s something you can learn to apply in your own life, team or organisation.

BBC Screenshot
Story via BBC Sport http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36189778 and picture insert via Getty Images

How do this apply to healthcare though? What can specialised exercise regimes and cryotherapy (both used by Leicester) do to help staff treat patients more quickly and effectively? And while the principal of  marginal gains has clear face validity e.g.  if ALL healthcare staff washed their hands appropriately would they get ill less often thereby improving productivity; this isn’t a new or even special thing.

Sometimes I suspect things just click. The right team members with a similar purpose provided with consistent leadership and a sprinkling of luck are always likely to overcome most obstacles. Clearly team spirit is vital over the course of a season and Leicester seem to have this by the bucket load. But I’d argue healthcare doesn’t have much to learn from Leicester Football Club because a lot of things they do – so do we. Perhaps not consistently or coherently (we are not out to win titles) but fostering team spirit is something we are good at. We achieve great things sometimes from very little and are generally a very humble and good natured lot.

I don’t think we’ll ever know why Leicester dominated the 2015/16 season but I think we understand what getting stuck in, supporting your colleagues and treating each other like equals can get you.

What have you learnt this week? #WILTW

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