I recently returned from a trip to Vietnam, where someone explained that, in the post-unification era, being a “tall poppy” was viewed negatively. Standing out or striving to be better than others could be seen as dangerous. That got me thinking, how often do we, in the UK, truly celebrate the ‘tall poppies’ in our own health and care system?
We like to think we do. But I’m not so sure we do. We should – but all too often, we don’t.
Despite being a nation with a strong scientific reputation, I regularly speak with intelligent, educated, and dedicated professionals in healthcare who hesitate to bring their innovations forward. There’s a quiet reluctance to raise one’s head above the parapet. Why? Because in a highly scrutinised system, where resources are stretched and failure feels amplified, people worry about their professional reputation. A new service model or digital tool might work brilliantly – but if it doesn’t, they fear the consequences of criticism far more than the potential benefit of success.
For many, professional reputation becomes a risk factor. A system-level innovation or new technology could backfire, and in a cautious environment, perceived failure may feel more damaging than inaction. Also, the regulatory and bureaucratic hurdles are, at best daunting, at worst insurmountable. Even worse, success is not always rewarded. As Winston Churchill said, “Criticism is easy; achievement is difficult.”
Often, we need to try and fail, to learn from the whole process, improve our innovation, our strategy, or take a completely new approach. It is amazing how many successful individuals have a history of what some would class as failures, but I would class it as false starts. For every success there needs to be an element of luck – finding the right stakeholder with the right problem, at the right time for example. But luck comes to those who work hardest to find it. As Gary Player once said, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
Perseverance matters, but so too does being given the space and encouragement to try – something all public sector services often struggle to achieve. So if you are part of a system where someone else is striving for change, take a breath, listen, and give them that space.
I’ve lost count of the number of brilliant, creative minds I’ve worked with who downplay their own success. They worry about how things will be received, or whether they’ll be labelled as boastful. But I see them as brave, resilient and (at times) heroic, daring to be different. As a clinician you can impact one patient at a time, as an innovator you have the potential to impact across populations through implementing at scale.
So, to those with bold ideas: be the tall poppy. Stand up, speak out, and share your innovation – you never know how many lives you could change for the better.
