Style is?... People with style IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Nigel Hartley, CEO Earl Mountbatten Hospice, trained as a concert pianist, winning a number of scholarships and awards whilst carving out a short-lived, but successful career in his early twenties. However, after trapping his left hand in a car door a professional music career was not to be
By Tracy Curtis Picture Christian Warren
Having undertaken a degree in music and psychology, Nigel was able to train as a counsellor and music therapist and he soon began working with those facing the end of their lives, a career which has lasted over three decades.
‘I still love playing the piano at home’, says Nigel. ‘It remains an important part of my life... I realise that being a musician also plays a large part in how I manage both people and organisations. For example, music flows and it has inherent systems and structures. Improvising musicians are able to take risks and then resolve them quickly as they have the materials and confidence to keep going. I find this creative and instantaneous way of risk assessing situations enables me to work differently to most leaders in healthcare, who are normally terrified of making mistakes. I find this different way of viewing things invigorating.’
Nigel began working at London Lighthouse, the UK’s first organisation supporting people living with HIV and AIDS, over thirty years ago following the terrifying death of a friend. He still remembers arriving at work, with people protesting with banners outside the building. ‘There was a lot of hate coming from ignorance and people didn’t want this disease in their back yard,’ he says. ‘It was terrifying for everyone, those people living with the illness, but also for those who didn’t understand what was happening. For some reason, I have always been able to understand issues from different perspectives and I have always tried to use this as a strength… it is always unbearable to key into people’s vulnerability and to witness people suffer, but the worst thing we can do is to stand back and be ignorant. As human beings, we are called to share what we have with others, to reach out and comfort and to give a damn absolutely about those who need our kindness and our humanity, however hard this is.’
Having worked in a number of hospices during the intervening years, Nigel is clear that we need to ensure that what is delivered in hospices and other similar organisations into the future is what people both want and need. ‘What we do has to be of the highest quality, and more importantly as cost effective as possible. Mountbatten belongs to the people of the Isle of Wight and we are currently the custodians; after all, our Island community pays for the majority of what we offer, either because they have experienced directly the care and support that we offer, or they understand that they will need our services in the future. We will all die and we will all be bereaved and because of this the organisation sits in the heart of our Island community. Mountbatten must be there for every person who will live out their life on the Isle of Wight.’
Nigel describes his work as a calling, being drawn to a cause that is bigger than himself. ‘Every member of the staff and volunteer team that I work with wants to make a difference and I find that extremely motivating. When I die, I want to know that what I did was what I was meant to do, I want to have made the difference that I was meant to make, and I don’t want to have any regrets.’
Style changes as you grow older. I would mostly wear shorts and a hoody if I could and have never felt totally comfortable in a tie. ‘Style’ is also about how we behave and how we are with other people; paying attention to what’s going on for them.
What does Island living mean to you? Since moving here, I have just felt relaxed, as if it’s meant to be. I love our home and community in St Lawrence; I’m accepted unconditionally - allowed to be myself. My work shapes my daily experiences: what Mountbatten stands for sits at the heart of this Island community.
Icons or Inspirations?
The pioneers of hospice and end- of-life care. I knew the founder of the Modern Hospice Movement, Dame Cicely Saunders, and worked alongside other pioneers. Everyone I work with is a daily inspiration, giving me good energy enabling me to love both work and life.
Blunders and what you learned? There’s no such thing as a ‘mistake’. We’re all human; vulnerable and fallible. I’ve learned to treat every blunder as an opportunity, however hard that is. Keep optimistic and keep looking for the silver lining!
Top tips? Never be ashamed of who you are. I have recently realised how influential my normal working- class background has been to what my life has become. The values of kindness and acceptance from my childhood are more important to me today than they’ve ever been. Don’t judge people - try to understand their point of view, even if it’s different to your own.
Facing the future? I try to avoid politics and religion. Nevertheless, we’re in a time of critical change. We cannot allow all the achievements made in terms of tolerance, openness and acceptance to be lost. I will not sit back and let that happen.
January and February 2020
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