Description
In this engaging talk, Sue Deakin, a consultant orthopedic surgeon and recent grandmother, shares her insights on leadership and personal growth gained over her extensive 20-year career at West Suffolk Hospital. She expresses her joy at being in a cozy room with an interactive audience, indicating her preference for connection and communication. Sue highlights her current leadership roles, emphasizing her involvement in human factors and ergonomics, as well as her experience as a trustee for the Clinical Human Factors Group.
Reflecting on her leadership journey, Sue candidly addresses the challenges she faced, including a whistleblowing incident that led to her resignation from a divisional director role. She discusses the importance of learning from mistakes, emphasizing the need for self-reflection and the importance of creating a positive workplace culture. Throughout her speech, she articulates the need to listen more and speak less, especially considering her extroverted nature.
In a light-hearted yet serious tone, Sue relates personal anecdotes about balancing her professional life with family responsibilities, particularly as a mother who returned to work shortly after having children. She underscores the significance of interpersonal relationships within teams and the necessity of system resilience over mere personal resilience in navigating leadership. Ultimately, her message is one of empowerment and the belief that fostering a supportive environment is crucial for enabling individuals to perform their best.