Leadership learning guru Jacqui Perkins is hosting the next two DCM Institute Masterclasses.
The world-renowned expert is hosting the Selling Solutions Masterclass ‘Closing with Confidence’ on Tuesday, 9 August.
This Masterclass will change the way participants think about ‘closing’. Contrary to what managers might think, it’s not about ‘selling’, it’s about empowering your client to make an informed decision. A decision that best meets their stated, and unstated, needs.
Jacqui will also cover how to convert undecided leads, using tension building questions to fast-track their decision-making process.
Jacqui will discuss the concept of ‘closing’ as simply being the final step – in a series of small steps – with a potential resident.
Please look out for the pre-work videos that will add value to your experience of the masterclass!
Jacqui Perkins’ Selling Solutions Masterclass Closing with Confidence Tuesday 9 August WA | 1:00pm SA | 1:30pm QLD, NSW, ACT, TAS & VIC | 2:00pm
Seven days later – Tuesday, 16 August – Jacqui will present Masterclass No. 7 of the Intentional Leadership series, addressing the topic of ‘Developing Resilience as a Leader’.
This Masterclass will discuss the concept of resilience not simply being a trait —but a skill to be developed. She will be looking at tried and tested techniques that participants can keep in mind to help build resilience.
Once again, look out for the pre-work videos that will add value to your experience of the masterclass.
Jacqui Perkins’ Intentional Leadership Masterclass Developing Resilience as a Leader Tuesday 16 August WA | 1:00pm SA | 1:30pm QLD, NSW, ACT, TAS & VIC | 2:00pm
This was a question last week when we spent a day in each of Adelaide and Perth meeting with our DCM Institute colleagues for their quarterly Professional Development Days.
Bullying is an infrequent but increasing phenomena, especially with the new Baby Boomer residents, so we have assembled some materials from the Knowledge Centre for a refresher below.
Bullying
Every village manager will face this issue at some stage – bullying between residents or bullying of the village manager!
It can be cancerous in a village and needs to be addressed quickly and responsibly.
(Before you start addressing bullying, it is wise to understand that there will be something personal that is driving the behaviour of the bully unrelated to the village. Most people are not mean and vindictive).
Signs of bullying
Intimidation
Humiliation
Being treated inconsistently from others
Every decision you make is being questioned
Socially alienated
Verbal or written abuse (inappropriate use of tone or language or assertion)
Feeling of anxiety, isolation from/towards another person or groups of people
Unreasonable obstacles
Constant criticism
Understand the motivations/triggers
Loss of control
Feeling under-valued
Powerless
Insecure / Inadequate
Jealous
Threatened
Lack of appreciation
Not being heard
Looking for reward or attention
Health trigger
Habitual bully
Has trouble regulating emotion
Do your groundwork early
Build honest relationships with residents to prepare for a time when you will need to have harder discussions with some residents
Implement Village Values that clearly outline how all stakeholders within the village will act, be treated and treat others
Implement a clear Communication Strategy/Policy that outlines expectations & boundaries for how, when and what the village communication standards are between residents and management and between residents to resident
It is recommended that both of these documents can have important components implemented within the Resident Rules/By-laws, and be discussed during Resident Induction
Ensure that all staff are educated in these expectations and boundaries and refer or enforce them, as needed
Ensure that these are regularly referred to and upheld (They can be re-enforced at meetings, in Newsletters, and other written communications).
Practice consultative management when dealing with sensitive or controversial village matters “A type of management in which stakeholders are encouraged to contribute ideas towards identifying and setting desired outcomes, problem solving, and other decisions that may directly affect them.”
Take a stand – lead the change
Be the leader, be brave – after all you are the leader of this community and your intention is that all members of the community are treated with respect!
When dealing with a bully it is important to be empathetic towards the bully as well; after all in most situations there is something that has triggered this behaviour
Gather evidence of specific examples of bullying, such as reports from residents. (Be careful if using hear say; acknowledge the information may not be totally accurate)
Invite the bully to a meeting to discuss
In some instances, depending of the severity of the situation it may be good to have another person with both parties
Prepare for the meeting – ensure you have a sensible agenda and desired outcome in mind
Be honest, transparent, express that your role is to be the facilitator of an issue that is of concern to other residents/staff etc…
Be prepared to apologise if in some way you have contributed to the concern
Be prepared to have an open mind; be non-judgemental
Outline your observations, complaints/concerns and desired outcome clearly – again make sure you have specific examples
Make sure you check in with the other person to understand are there factors that are influencing their behaviour
Acknowledge and provide opportunity for them to openly discuss this matter
Discuss and describe alternate behaviour, communication expectations
At this point it is OK to ask for time to consider the situation further and commit to meeting again
Agree some mutual outcomes expected and commit to follow up the conversation
Document the conversation & diarise to follow up with them
Keep the conversations confidential
Don’t just address the issue once, follow it up, keep the discussion alive
Ensure actions or activities within the village are not allowing the bully to gain continual or maintain power, look to decrease the power of the bully by consulting with others, if appropriate
Bring in the professionals – mediators, Office of Ageing, Consumer Business Services or as a last resort, seek assistance from your experienced Retirement Village Lawyer
We hope this triggers a few thoughts for you. Next week we are in Melbourne and Brisbane, then Sydney a week later – if you are a DCMI participant make sure you have registered for more instruction on Dispute Resolution.
DCM Institute participants are reminded to register for your PD days, commencing over the next two weeks.
We have engaged the best professional development speakers on how to work smarter, not harder, and looking after yourself in the process.
Our extremely popular legal sessions will be staged, focussing on dispute management – the sessions went overtime in Adelaide and Perth at the audience request.
And dispute resolution practices: how to achieve a move on position for all.
The Village Professional had a chat to Stephen Lind, the Village Manager of BaptistCare Yarra Rossa, its new $55 million facility in Red Hill, ACT. The first residents arrived two months ago in April.
Steven is a participant of the DCM Institute Professional Development Program.
Q: Stephen, tell me how did you find yourself as a Village Manager?
A:“I’m new to Canberra, having relocated from Sydney last year. The move prompted the opportunity for new adventures and a new career path.
“When I first saw the role advertised I was attracted to the strong community aspect, as I enjoy my days being filled with interactions and connections with people. “
“I’ve held previous management roles in other industries, which have provided me with ample knowledge and experience to deal with the varied aspects of the role. So far so good!”
Q: Is this your first Village Manager’s role?
A: “Yes, I’m new to BaptistCare and new to the retirement village industry. I see this is an exciting adventure for me that allows me to connect with community and people.”
Q: Where did you work previously?
A: “Most recently, I was working in operations management for garden maintenance companies in Sydney. I worked my way up to these roles after training as a horticulturist and spending a number of years on the tools. Prior to this, I worked in management roles in the self-storage industry.”
“BaptistCare Yarra Rossa has incredible landscaped gardens and walking tracks through the retirement community, as well as views of the Red Hill Nature Reserve, so I’m fortunate to be still surrounded by great gardens even in this role.
Q: What inspires you about the role?
A: “This role is about the variety of tasks and the opportunity to work with a range of people with different skill sets and life experiences.”
“Everybody in the team has taken a different path to get to their current positions, and I learn something new from them as we work together to build a community for the residents to enjoy and thrive in.”
“Talking with the residents provides the same – everyone has a journey they are on, and I’m privileged to be leading a retirement community where I can benefit from hearing their collective stories and wisdom.”
Q: What tips would you give to others thinking of such a position in the future?
A: “Be prepared to be both busy and surprised. You will see people at their best, and sometimes, having a difficult day.”
“The role is varied in ways that you won’t expect, but for me that is one of the highlights. You need to be prepared to learn.”
“Coming from outside the industry, while it is a steep learning curve in terms of regulation and compliance, I feel incredibly supported by BaptistCare’s leadership to succeed in this area.”
We are going to dive deep into Dispute Resolution during this month’s PD Days, but here is one interesting component.
When a dispute occurs in your village – or anywhere else, including perhaps your family home – it’s interesting to take a step back to understand what is unfolding before your eyes.
Here are five potential outcomes. As simple as it seems, by identifying which one you want at the start makes that target easier to achieve:
1. Someone wins, someone loses
This is the competitive outcome.
2. Both parties win
This is the win/win outcome
3. Someone gives, someone takes
This is the compromise outcome.
4. One or both parties run away
This is the flight response outcome.
5. You take on extra demands
This is the accommodation response.
You can see how each of these could occur if you don’t clearly identify which one you want for your purposes. And for many Village managers, to keep the peace, No. 5 where you take on extra workloads is the outcome.
But this rarely solves the core problem creating the dispute.
The key lesson is to decide which outcome you are seeking from the outset so that all energy – and language – is directed to that goal.
We all understand that having a positive team culture can transform the quality of our daily work life, plus transform what we achieve individually and as a team.
Having an effective retirement village team is doubly important because each member is interacting with residents every day but often alone (think maintenance and office reception).
But what is team culture?
Team culture is a combination of:
Values,
Beliefs, and
behavioural norms
that team members share.
It can be seen in the way leaders and followers behave when representing the company.
A good team culture has several identifiers, such as:
It includes great leaders
It develops a great and satisfying place to work
It produces more engaged work colleagues
It reduces interpersonal conflicts
It reduces turnover
Telling questions: how to build a good team culture
Begin by understanding the existing culture. Use the following checklist of questions to assess it:
What are the corporate values?
What is the level of employee awareness of corporate values?
What are the values reflected in worker behaviour?
What are the values reflected in managerial behaviours?
Are employees supportiveness?
Do workers respect each other?
Are there shared beliefs in achieving business goals?
Does management act to communicate, maintain, or improve team culture?
Are there operational processes that support healthy staff behaviours?
Are there managerial activities that negatively influence staff behaviours?
What are the company policies and protocols that guide staff behaviour?
Activities for promoting a strong company culture
1. Stakeholder feedback
Request the feedback of employees, clients, and other external stakeholders regarding staff values, beliefs, and norms of behaviour.
2. Culture of the management
The culture of the company leaders is likely to have a bigger influence on team culture than any other factor. In a good team culture, the senior managers are its main advocates.
3. Reward workers who reflect the team culture
To promote a strong team culture, it’s important to show your employees that you value their contributions to it.
4. Hire people who suit the team culture
It’s important to hire employees who can support your team culture instead of sabotage it.
Most important of all, a positive team culture develops a great and satisfying place to work. And that must be good.
At our May PD Day around the country, we asked our legal partners in each state to walk us through the laws and regulations around the exiting a resident from retirement village.
It was universally recognised as a regrettable objective, and one not attempted lightly.
It was explained that there does exist pathways through tribunals and outside experts say in the realm of dementia, but at the end of the day in every state it was acknowledged that there is no failsafe way to achieve the exit.
Firstly, the many months to years it takes to go through a tribunal makes this a rarely attempted route. With behaviour that is dangerous or negative to the overall ability of residents to lead a quiet and unsettled existence, there is little that can be implemented to expedite a departure.
In other words, it is a task of negotiation, mediation and persistence with the resident or their family to achieve the exit.
This is far from satisfactory for village residents, their families and the operator staff. But this is the fact that remains.
If you read our sister newsletter The SOURCE each Tuesday you would be aware that new retirement village and similar community developments are coming thick and fast!
In fact the elder statesman of the retirement village sector, Jim Hazel, says we are entering a 10 year golden period where demand will be increasing each year. This is largely due to Covid spurring people to reconsider their safety, security and independence living alone in a family home.
To give you an idea of the exciting developments, we just pulled out the announcements of the last week:
Living Choice Flagstaff Hill (pictured above), which is 16km from Adelaide’s CBD, is South Australia’s first fully integrated golf course/retirement community.
Seven properties already have been bought off the plan with construction well underway on Stages 1 and 2, comprising 42 villas and 17 apartments.
Retirement Your Way is expected to open its second retirement village, Oasis Peakhurst, 21km south of Sydney’s CBD, in October/November.
65% of the 41 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments have been sold off the plan.
Palm Lake Group Managing Director Scott Elliott calls what will be known at The Springs by Palm Lake Resort as “arguably, the most iconic over-50s community Australia has ever seen.”
The first of 321 homes, with either water frontage or direct golf course access, at Palm Lake Resort Pelican Waters, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast will be opened early next year, weather permitting.
VMCH (Villa Maria Catholic Homes) is “writing a bold new narrative” for a 1.6ha village in Kew, Melbourne. “Everything from the precinct’s design through to the way we take it to market and the facilities and services we’ll deliver to residents will push the envelope for retirement living in Australia,” said VMCH CEO Sonya Smart.
The latest acquisition by Ryman Healthcare, which has more than $2 billion of retirement villages under development in Victoria, is its biggest project in Australia – a 2.56ha former industrial site in Coburg North.
We expect that approximately 2500 new village homes will be built this year, representing approximately 250 villages or five new villages every week. The value? $1.7 billion.
It is vital that all communities – including village communities – are well prepared to deal with the immediate impact and subsequent consequences of these events.
However, there are 2 areas of emergency planning that often get over looked:
1. Emergency services information, and
2. Post Incident procedure.
Emergency Services Information
It is vital that when an emergency services crew arrive at the village they have access to important information such as:
Where to access the stop valves to turn off the water?
Where to access the electrical box to turn off the power?
What residents have PEEP’s (Personal emergency evacuation plans) and will need assistance to leave their homes?
Can they get access to a master key to access all areas?
This can be done in a variety of ways, including signage and chief wardens, however one of the best strategies we have implemented is clear signage pointing to an Emergency Manifest Box (the red box) that houses updated information for residents, emergency plans, PEEPS, master keys, key personnel phone contact details, site maps with utility shut off locations etc…
Another important strategy is to host the local emergency services and utilities crews at the village for a review once a year so that they are familiar with any changes that may have occurred to the infrastructure or accessibility.
Post Incident Procedures
Another area that often gets overlooked when undertaking emergency planning is the post incident procedures.
What happens if there is no power restoration for a longer period of time – even weeks?
What happens if there is no access to the village for days or weeks?
What happens if there is no internet access for a longer period?
What happens if residents are likely to be dislodged from their homes for a long period?
What communication methods will be used if residents are not all housed in one location?
And many other considerations that might need to be considered.
It might even be that there is a need to identify at what point do your emergency evacuation procedures finish and your Business Continuity procedures kick in.
Nevertheless, these are vital activities that require some thought and consideration in preparation for possible longer term impacts of emergency events.
Older Australians are clearly responding positively to the undeniable andunique appeal that senior living communities are able to offer, such as independence, connection and community, as well as convenience, flexibility, security, enhanced safety and a delayed entry into the aged care system of an average of five years!
It is quite an offering, especially when considering the incredible physical settings being constructed.
Unfortunately, the reality doesn’t always live up to expectations for some residents, which can lead to conflict, either between management and residents or between residents.
How you manage your interactions in the face of a conflict can make all the difference to the length and severity of the dispute, and to the ultimate outcome.
In recent times, the DCM Institute team has been fielding many queries in relation to dealing with disputes within villages so I reached out to my great colleagues at Seniors Living Mediation for some sage advice.
Senior Living Mediation works with operators experiencing disputes, some of which have been long standing, and help the parties to find workable solutions. As a result, they have seen a myriad of dispute situations first hand.
While the circumstances are all individual, the Senior Living Mediation team suggest there are two ingredients that remain constant.
Two constant ingredients in disputes
No.1: nobody wants a dispute. We do not move into a village expecting or wanting a dispute – it arises because someone’s expectations do not align with the reality of the situation.
And, the dispute only escalates where the communication is missing.
No 2: disputes that are left unresolved can become toxic. This affects the culture of the entire community.
As a Village Professional, if you find yourself dealing with a conflict between two residents, the team at Seniors Living Mediation has shared some great practical tips.
First, encourage the residents to liaise together in the first instance, prior to escalating to the Village Manager.
Then if as the Village Manager you find yourself in the position to assist in addressing the conflict, as a quasi-mediator, ensure you:
1. Choose a private location and avoid meeting in either one of the resident’s homes;
2. Set some ground rules:
seek agreement from the parties that all discussions regarding the matter are to remain confidential and not be spoken about outside of the meeting;
allow each party time (say 10 minutes) to speak on the issue without interruption and the other party will be afforded time to respond;
3. Remain impartial and neutral;
4. Find any common ground (if there is no common ground apparent, then the common goal to resolve the issue can be used and evidenced by the fact that they both are attending the meeting);
5. Ask the parties to come up with some ideas as to how they see they can resolve their issues;
6. Which of the resolutions are the parties willing to try to resolve the matter;
7. Record the agreement reached in writing and have both parties sign acknowledging the outcomes and agreements made.
As we are all aware, disputes if left unresolved have the potential to cause serious damage to you and your community.
In my personal experience, it is best to seek assistance early if you are dealing with a conflict situation that is not easily resolved. Reach out sooner rather than later to the team at Senior Living Mediation before it escalates.
