Sally Harris becomes the new Chair of Princess Alice Hospice
Sally’s predecessor, Professor Sean Hilton, was thanked at the recent Annual General Meeting for his 12 years of dedicated service as a trustee and, more recently, as Chair of Princess Alice Hospice.
Sally’s career background
After completing a degree at Southampton University, Sally started her career in retail finance (‘I thought that was perfect, combining clothes with numbers’) and worked for the Arcadia Group for 13 years, where she became Finance Director for brands within the organisation. In 2012, she moved to Marks & Spencer and says, ‘I went from a family run organisation to a very corporate one. Everyone’s got an opinion on M&S, everyone feels they own it, which I think is amazing and a great opportunity to be part of.’
It’s all about people
Sally has enjoyed how her work has always been about relationships with people: ‘I love working with people and thinking about what’s going on for them, what really makes them tick. Leading with curiosity and empathy. Through this you can figure out how to influence, to inform, to make decisions and how to develop. It’s always been the people side that I’ve loved.’
When Sally’s daughter was born two months prematurely, she knew she didn’t want to return to her role at M&S: ‘I wanted to do something different in terms of my priorities around my values, what’s important to me and where I want to be spending my time. I had a son while I was at university, so all through Arcadia I was a single parent doing my accountancy exams and juggling. I know the world’s moved on and hybrid working would’ve been better, but I just wanted a different balance and a real opportunity to give back and do something good for the community.’
This pivotal time resulted in Sally re-training to become an executive coach: ‘I’m really fascinated by people and by what motivates them, what’s going on beneath their behaviour. It’s all about helping people reach their potential and that’s what I really love.’
Trustee roles
Alongside her paid work, Sally started as a trustee and co-chair for the Fertility Network, which she was drawn to after experiencing her own fertility issues. She then moved to become a trustee for RNID and has been part of their transformational strategy that’s seen them move from providing care homes to focusing on social change. Sally herself has moderate to severe hearing loss, which you can read more about later on. Finally, she brings her passion for fashion to a trustee role at the Fashion Retail Academy.
Sally’s motivation for becoming involved with hospice care is personal:
‘Ever since my Dad died at Hospice in the Weald sixteen years ago, I’ve always thought I’d love to do something, just get involved and be part of it. In the past I’ve always kept half an eye on what’s going on.’
Of her new role as Chair, Sally says:
‘Community’s really important to me, my values really match those at Princess Alice and it is a privilege to continue the fantastic work done by Sean and play my part in the incredible work done here.’
Perception of hospice
Sally is aware of the perception of hospices. When she told friends about becoming Chair, some responded by saying, ‘Oh no, they’re really sad places.’ But she has good memories of her dad’s experience and is interested in opening the conversation, too: ‘We’re all going to die. How can we make it more normal to talk about it and less scary? I’d love my daughter to come here and to understand, to change the conversation on death and make it better understood, more accessible and less scary.’
Hobbies and interests
Outside of work, Sally enjoys skiing, walking and reading: ‘I absolutely love reading, just easy stuff that’s quick to get engaged with. I’m not very good with team sports or things that involve a ball, but I do running and weights and that kind of thing.’ Sally describes herself as ‘quite introverted,’ but enjoys spending time with her close friendship groups. She also loves to have fun, often embarrassing her grown-up son and remembers the time she and a friend dressed up as 118, 118 at his school Sports Day!
Hearing loss
Sally is open about her hearing loss and how she navigates her life with it: ‘It’s borderline between moderate and severe, I can’t cope without my hearing aids.’ She was diagnosed in her late twenties and the hearing loss was possibly caused by measles and subsequent ear infections at 18 years old. The causes of hearing loss are often unknown, and it’s something that worsens progressively over time. Sally makes the most of recent technological advances, which she would have benefitted from when she was working in corporate life. In a regular Board meeting she attended, she recalls being ‘the least important person at the edge of this big room. I remember moments when I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can do my job anymore,’ because I just couldn’t follow the conversation. I didn’t feel I had right to speak up and ask for what I needed in order to be able to hear better. I would be different now, I would advocate for myself more. I think the world’s changed quite a lot in the last 6 years, and I think I’d be listened to if I advocated for myself – ‘I need to sit more centrally in this room’ – whereas I didn’t then. Technology nowadays is incredible and really helpful. I’ve got a microphone I bring to meetings and I use captions.
‘I think RNID’s really helped with connecting me with what’s out there, meeting like-minded people.’ Sally has set up a ‘Hear Me Out’ support group with younger people in similar positions: ‘We meet on Zoom monthly and we share WhatsApps and we talk about our common challenges. It’s often the way, if you meet people who are in similar situations this whole world opens up. Knowing you’re not alone is often the thing that makes the difference. You often don’t need anything more than that.’
Sally hopes her lived experience of hearing loss will allow her to bring a useful perspective to discussions around the importance of person-centred care at the Hospice.
What does Sally hope to bring to her role as Chair?
Chief Executive, Nigel Seymour and new Chair, Sally Harris.
She’s really enjoyed her induction and been impressed with the commitment and genuineness of everybody she’s met; she’s enjoying the close working relationships she’s already established with Nigel and the wider SLT, and is looking forward to building on those:
‘I really believe in the power of listening. For me, the role of a great Chair is someone who creates the right environment for a team to be high performing. A good Chair has all the practical things in place for the Board. Ensuring they’re organised, have all the information; the things you definitely need. All of that is a given, but not to be taken for granted. The difference between good and great is being able to create that environment, and, for me, it’s about an open, honest, safe space where people can show vulnerability and the need for support. We don’t know everything, and we can all learn from each other.’
Nigel Seymour, Chief Executive, said: ‘I’m extremely grateful to Sean for his service and for ensuring there has been a smooth transition for Sally, who has been immersing herself in all things Princess Alice over the summer. Sally joins us at an exciting time and I look forward to seeing how her professional experience and personal qualities become embedded within the organisation. We have challenges to face and an ever-changing healthcare system to work within, but we know this next stage brings many opportunities. We are an organisation full of brilliant people who are dedicated to reaching more people in underserved communities and reducing the level of unmet need in our care area.’’
