Summary of workstream activity to date

Regional Infrastructure for local delivery

Using the principles of subsidiarity and co-production, we created Regional Steering Groups, each chaired by a local Chief Executive to gain the active support of local employers to the development of emerging leaders.  The Steering Groups expressly asked that we promote a ‘federal approach’ to this activity, enabling and supporting local adoption, local activity and therefore ensuring it is meaningful locally. Driving regional Emerging Leader activity in this way has ensured that we have gained traction, ownership and patient impact within organisations.

Emerging Leader Networks

 Regional Emerging Leader networks enable national strategy development to be disseminated locally to assist in the delivery of the QIPP agenda whilst providing a platform in which over 2500 people have been brought together to share best practice, ideas and gain a clearer understanding of the national picture.

The size and platform in which each of these regions operates is bespoke to regional need. They are growing in size and have a mix of Emerging Leaders from different professions and diverse backgrounds.

Evaluation of these networks and events have indicated that they are not just impacting on individuals but are also enabling our emerging leaders to take away skills and tools to support the QIPP agenda in the interest of making improvement to the quality of service and patient care
Regions have actively encouraged participation from a diverse group of emerging leaders. This is clearly reflected in the composition of Emerging Leader Networks. Evidence indicates that the proportional diversity of some regions’ networks is far greater than the communities they serve.
Feedback from regions indicate that networks are helping

- Sharing ideas
- Being exposed to senior colleague and diverse speakers
- Self development
- Sharing of best practice to take back and use within their own roles / organisations
- Thinking differently, being confident to challenge others and applying skills
- Supporting others in moving forwards, feeding the bigger picture to colleagues, encouraging change where needed to improve service

Coaching for Acceleration

The Emerging Leaders workstream has invested in developing executive coaching skills for Chief Executives, Medical Directors and Executive Directors from clinical and diverse backgrounds. Regions have increased coaching capacity to support Emerging Leaders by training 80 senior Executive Coaches in the last 12 months. Each newly trained coach is committed to coaching at least 2 Emerging leaders from a diverse background.

We have taken an inclusive approach to building coaching capability and capacity. We have gathered and understand the demographics of our Executive Coach pool. Coaching activity has been targeted at under represented groups; in particular BME, women and clinicians.

The overarching objectives of strategic coaching are to support local organisations in leadership development and to obtain the improvements in quality, innovation, productivity and prevention that are needed to continually drive improvements in health services.

Coaching programmes aim to build mental and emotional resilience of leaders by supporting different learning styles and a broad range of skills, experience and capability, making senior roles more accessible to staff who can show their potential. 

Additional key aims and outcomes of Emerging Leaders coaching:

• Focus coaching on areas facing new challenges that require new mind sets, e.g. the transformation of services, improving clinical pathways
• Use coaching as in integral feature of work with partner organisations on collaborative agendas
• Develop a coaching culture which in turn can assist in the systematic identification of talent and succession planning so that the NHS workforce is representative of the population it serves
• Integrate coaching with performance appraisal, performance management, learning and development and broader business strategies
• Identify cross –cutting themes across departments and use coaching to spread pockets of expertise
• Connect individual; learning with team development through team coaching

We have built a cadre of over 90 Executive Coaches. These coaches are now committed to coaching at least 2 Emerging Leader coachees from diverse backgrounds. It should be noted that the impact of coaching activity is both progressive and cumulative and further qualitative evidence of its impact will emerge in due course. Impact of coaching activities is being assessed via a longitudinal evaluation that will evaluate impact from both the perspective of the coach training and the impact of the coaching they provide to their coachees.

Bursaries

Quality, productivity and Innovation has been encouraged and cultivated through the provision of bursaries and a diverse range of regionally specific support activities.
Regions allocated Bursary funds to be used to support multi – disciplinary groups of Emerging Leaders to work on quality, improvement productivity, prevention and local vision activity.
Regions allocated their bursary funds in different ways and reflect local needs, priorities and focus, but throughout ensured inclusivity through structured and monitored application processes.

Regions allocated funds to successful applicants either on an individual basis or to teams and some supported regional innovation funds lead by Emerging Leaders.

Below are examples of key themes identified from the regions:

Quality
• providing care/services at home
• improved use of patient held records
• skills development in mental health
• positive psychological interventions

Innovation
• new communication systems
• testing new to technology which keep patients at home

Prevention
• reducing emergency admissions to accident and emergency department
• carer support network for dementia
• improved information
• early interventions

Productivity
• reducing length of stay
• service/pathway through design

Inclusion

To ensure we have create a diverse and inclusive cadre of emerging leaders we have woven Inclusion throughout the Emerging Leader work stream as a “golden thread” of best practice.

Emerging leader activity has enabled all Emerging Leaders to have exposure to, and be engaged with, senior leaders from diverse backgrounds. In addition, we have charged Emerging Leader Regional Steering Groups with the specific focus of ensuring an inclusive approach is taken.

Regions have actively encouraged participation from a diverse group of emerging leaders. This is clearly reflected in the composition of Emerging Leader Networks. Evidence indicates that the proportional diversity of some regions’ networks is far greater than the communities they serve.

We have taken an inclusive approach to building coaching capability and capacity. We have gathered and understand the demographics of our Executive Coach pool. Coaching activity has been targeted at underrepresented groups; in particular BME, women and clinicians.

We routinely monitor emerging leaders activity within all regions to ensure it demonstrates inclusivity.