‘The strongest workplace cultures build both trust and accountability, allowing employees to take risks while knowing they will be supported.’ (Coyle, 2018). Eleventh Hour Group is committed to providing excellence through trust, accountability and a healthy workplace culture. With a new leadership structure, a clear vision and a strategy centred around quality care, we continue to thrive in a tough market. Whilst the Senior Leadership Team have innovated and refined the strategy, it is the operational aspects that also have a huge impact on our collective successes. Our constellation leadership approach delivers impact when and where it is needed – in real time, in the immediacy. One way of implementing this approach is through the development of a Middle Leadership Team responsible for driving the new culture from vision into practice. A move that has seen team successes increase by over 40%. One such member is Aaliyah McGuire, Eleventh Hour Group’s Complex Care Team Manager.
Introducing Aaliyah, Complex Care Manager
‘Culture isn’t what you say—it’s what you do every day. The best cultures are built through consistent actions, not slogans.’ (Catmull, 2014)Aaliyah’s reputation precedes her. She is innovative, on top of industry trends and cares deeply about the community she serves. Within Eleventh Hour Group, Aaliyah is the Complex Care Manager. Her passion, care, innovation and consistent delivery are just some of the qualities that make her a reputable leader within the industry. If you step into our building, it is likely you would hear about Aaliyah before even meeting her. Operations Director, Graham Lipman described ‘Aaliyah [as] someone who cares deeply about her work, and the people she supports. It is what sets her apart from those who do what they do, versus those who love what they do.’
Aaliyah is a strong leader, who raises the bar for herself and her team at every opportunity. Finding opportunities among the day-day challenges faced within the Complex Care Sector. At times, Aaliyah’s role requires a late-night phone-call in the early hours to support some of the most vulnerable people in the community to access the care they need. And she does all of this with an infectiously positive approach and the desire to exceed all expectations.
Aaliyah’s commitment to continuous improvement is enhanced by her integral commitment to psychological safety and her desire for the team around her to flourish. Aaliyah recognises opportunities for growth when she sees them and works tirelessly to deliver impact. At Eleventh Hour Group, we champion the commitment to serve our community. Our clients, our candidates and crucially, those in their care. With Leaders like Aaliyah, we know that your community is in great hands.
Leadership and Strategy
Eleventh Hour Group’s Complex Care Manager Aaliyah with Business Development Executive Dan
To ensure consistent delivery and high-quality care placements for local authorities, Aaliyah prioritises working within a shared-accountability model. Whilst she recognises most organisations run on a split-package approach, Aaliyah knows the value and significance of having a seamless approach. There is a shared-accountability for all care packages and no one person is solely responsible for any package – it is a collaborative effort. This mitigates the risk of slippage to ensure the best possible outcomes for the most important people she serves – the vulnerable children, young people and adults. For example, should a team member be away on leave, or unforeseen events such as an illness, the risk of a vulnerable person not receiving the care they need is avoided.
To measure the success of her team’s work, Aaliyah derives KPIs around personal and professional growth, industry knowledge, and KSBs (Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours) that enhance the capacity to serve with impact in a high-stakes, high-risk environment. It is evident that Aaliyah values the psychological safety of her team, and always with accountability at the heart of the growth journey. Aaliyah recognises, ‘[P]sychological safety is not about being nice; it’s about giving candid feedback, openly admitting mistakes, and learning from each other.’ (Edmondson, 2018). With regular Lessons-Learned exercises and a balance between mentorship and the Coaching Model, Aaliyah reinforces her leadership style first and foremost through the ethos that she leads by example. ‘A team with high psychological safety is one where people feel they can speak up without fear of punishment or humiliation,’ (Edmondson, 2019). This is evident and integral to the culture of Eleventh Hour Group.
For Aaliyah, one of the greatest challenges is balancing efficiency with the personalised care required in complex cases. Often it is a judgement call. However, Aaliyah does all she can to forecast arising issues that could have serious consequences ahead of time. ‘In a world of transient competitive advantage, the ability to spot inflection points before they disrupt your business is critical for long-term success’, (McGrath, 2013). Aaliyah is careful to explore the ever-evolving landscape of the industry, working hard to spot inflection points, highlighting risks and mitigating potential threats. She listens actively, learning from others and adapting approaches to suit her own leadership style.
It is evident that Aaliyah’s capacity to horizon scan, spot inflection points and mitigate risks whilst adopting a person-centred approach are all strengths of hers, whilst also being assets to the team here at Eleventh Hour Group. ‘A culture of belonging is created when individuals feel seen, heard, and valued for who they truly are.’ (Brown, 2018) Aaliyah masterfully embodies this ethos, building up from within.
Operational Excellence and Process Improvement
Aaliyah has worked hard to implement strategies that streamline the placement process and ensure fast, effective matches. After expanding her team to include a specialist consulting team, Aaliyah has also enhanced the training offer for candidates, and added additional requirements of the candidates placed. Her team also places a heavy focus on previous experience, placing candidates into roles that complement their areas of expertise. The goal is to place for success and seamless provision. As part of the person-centric approach, Aaliyah recognises the value of having regular contact with the families of the vulnerable people Eleventh Hour Group’s Complex Care Team Serve. She recognises they know their family the most. Having their input in model the centres of the vulnerable children and adults.
Quality is imperative to EHG and Aaliyah speaks highly of the quality of the team she cultivates, their passion for continuous improvement and self-reflection. She lives and breathes the Eleventh Hour Group’s drive for continuous improvement, and quality care. With Aaliyah speaking highly of her team, so too do they speak highly of her. Vinnie Vanezi, Business Manager explains; ‘[D]riven, hardworking, and reliable are just three adjectives I’d use to describe Aaliyah. Aaliyah is well-informed and those around her learn a lot from her. Her passion is evident and though she is deeply committed and tenacious, she cares deeply about people’s wellbeing and is also a lot of fun to work with. ’ For the Leadership Team at Eleventh Hour Group, they are deeply invested in this collaborative, team-centred approach which seamlessly works across functions.
Within her role in EHG, Aaliyah consults industry leading medical specialists who work alongside her daily and fosters a culture of continuous improvement cohesive to the ethos of the wider Eleventh Hour Team. Together with the organisational restructure (which you can read more of here, Aaliyah uses risk mitigation models and gaps analyses to ensure her team hire for excellence. Her personal mantra has two centralised pillars: ‘Is it safe? Is it possible?’ With a limitless approach to innovation that is centred around fostering the best quality of care for the children, young people and adults within her care, Aaliyah works tirelessly to make it happen.
Compliance is key. To ensure a seamless delivery, Aaliyah adopts a proactive approach to leading her team. Alongside the risk mitigation process, by identifying inflection points, her multi-faceted approach that also includes:
Attention to detail in Care Plans updated and shared in real-time, centring the children, young people and adults and their safety at the heart of the plan.
Transparent approaches with service users, and crucially the families who will also have the tacit data needed to have a comprehensive understanding of the children, young people and adults.
Fostering open, transparent and honest relationships built with ethical processes that support everyone involved to provide the best level of care. Whether the service providers, local authorities, duty social workers or EDTs, the information sharing is vital.
At the heart of everything, the children, young people and adults who rely on this service to thrive, with a combined vision of them living independently.
To ensure compliance with regulatory bodies and best practice, Aaliyah’s team ensures hires have a minimum of two-years previous experience. Adhering to industry guidelines, ensuring quality, Eleventh Hour Group has also commissioned a Specialist Clinical Consultation team. The Consulting team provide in-house training to all of their staff – both internally and candidate-side – and cover a range of essential topics including Diabetes Training, Care Log Standards, De-Escalation and a range of bespoke offers to meet the individualistic needs of the vulnerable people in their care. It is Aaliyah’s intention to be Ofsted registered within the upcoming quarter, and she has leveraged her team to be in the best-possible place.
Aaliyah’s use of data is evident in her continuous improvement model, but one thing is clear; Aaliyah sees the person behind the data. Through collection of information and data, Aaliyah captures a whole-person profile using quantitative, qualitative and tacit data. Building the profile of the young person involves a team-around approach working directly with the people they serve, and their families – it is a united approach that aims to secure the best possible outcomes for a life lived independently. Whether completing risk assessments, or updating the Complex Care Logs, the best approach, is a collaborative one.
Industry Influence and Innovation
Aaliyah is well-versed in trend spotting. She keenly identifies the trends shaping the future of community-based complex care, and ensures her team at Eleventh Hour Group prepares for them.
For Aaliyah, it is her intent to offer Ofsted regulated care. Aaliyah does not simply aim for a placement. Her vision is to actively achieve long-term placement for vulnerable people and offer them a safe space they themselves refer to as ‘home’. ‘Every person deserves to have somewhere safe, both physically and psychologically. Our influence is crucial to ensure the safe sanctuary and the possibility of those we’re serving being as independent as possible, so that eventually they do not need us. We aim to do this as quickly, and safely as possible and strive for excellence at every point of service delivery. We want people to grow with us’. Community-based support is vital to encourage independence and the early intervention work is crucial to realise this goal. Whether for short breaks and respite care, or a safe sanctuary, Aaliyah lives and breathes the mantra of giving everyone the best chance at opportunities to integrate, and ultimately, a life lived independently.
Aaliyah builds and maintain strong relationships with local authorities through a clear set of integral values:
Transparency and Trustworthiness
Aaliyah means what she says, and says what she means. She is authentic, relatable and honest in her approach. She has a high work ethic, which is shared across the teams, and is a beacon of transparency and integrity.
Accountability and Reflection
Through the coaching model, lessons learned, exercises and continuous improvement, Aaliyah fosters a culture of innovation. Aaliyah recognises the value in team-wide contributions and values the insights, fostering a culture of psychological safety, and promoting opportunities for growth.
Communication and Community Cohesion
Eleventh Hour Group’s Complex Care Team
Aaliyah lets her Local Authority clients, and the related teams know that ‘we are representing your brand. It is our aim to ensure we are always delivering high-quality service. And through building strong connections and communicating quickly and efficiently, Aaliyah’s Local Authority contacts know they are in great hands with her team. Aaliyah recognises she stands not just for the Eleventh Hour Brand, but all of their clients and industry partners and it is the community cohesion that best places teams to support the vulnerable children, young people and adults in her care.
Aaliyah is a great example of the commitment here at Eleventh Hour Group. Her people-first approach and detail-oriented practice mean that she leads with both heart and logical reasoning. We are proud to work alongside Aaliyah as she continues to deliver and takes her team from strength to strength.
Citations and References
Daniel Coyle, The Culture Code (2018)
Ed Catmull, Creativity, Inc. (2014)
Brené Brown, Dare to Lead (2018)
Rita McGrath, The End of Competitive Advantage (2013)
Amy Edmondson, The Fearless Organisation (2019)
