The Business of Healthcare Podcast with Tara Humphrey #25: The Messiness of Management with Audrey Songhurst
Audrey Songhurst is an established manager and leader, most recently working as the Head of Operations at Kent Innovation and Enterprise at the University of Kent. Audrey has served as owner, manager, and consultant with her consulting firm, Audrey Songhurst Consulting, and worked at Canterbury Christ Church University for eighteen years, with over a decade as director of the Research and Enterprise Development Centre. Audrey earned a Doctorate of Education and a Master of Arts from Canterbury Christ Church University and is also an alumna of the University of Kent.
Audrey joins me today to discuss leadership philosophies that can help you build high-performance teams as well as insight into her managerial approach. She highlights why you should view your team members as individual human beings, not just resources, and the importance of ensuring that every employee fits into the team dynamic as a whole. Audrey offers advice to line managers and business leaders who want to work with their organizations more effectively, and shares why professionalism, integrity, and genuinely caring about your team are such essential components of management.
“A manager is only as good as their team.” - Audrey Songhurst
This week on The Business of Healthcare:
- Insight into Audrey’s professional background and her journey to where she is today
- Audrey’s team management strategy and how she balances formal and informal approaches and processes
- Audrey’s belief in the value of education and people
- The importance of creating space between the manager and the managed
- What people tend to expect from their managers and why you should be open and accessible to your team
- What each team member needs to know in order to thrive in their role
- Why team members need to know the “why” behind their role
- The fundamental importance of caring about your team members
- Why ups and downs occur in a team dynamic and how to move towards more upswings
- The importance of understanding your specific team dynamic and genuinely listening to your team
- The importance of wording things effectively as a manager
- Insights about vetting new line managers to determine whether they are the right fit
- How imposter syndrome can rear its head when you move into a line manager role and advice for new line managers
- The overlap of mentorship and management and the importance of being empathetic
- How to balance the various personalities within your team while focusing on results
- Why some team members may want to stay in their role and not move into a higher-level managerial position
- What Audrey looks for when she is recruiting, and some of the frustrations she has faced
- Advice for business leaders and managers who want to build high-performing teams
- The importance of honesty, professionalism, integrity, and empathy
- Shifting your mindset when it comes to letting people go
- Why having effective policies and procedures in place is crucial
- How to reframe your perception of “difficult” individuals on your team
Resources Mentioned
Connect with Audrey Songhurst:
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