Building a clinical leadership community to drive improvement: a multi-case educational study to inform 21st century clinical commissioning, professional capability and patient care

Abstract

The new NHS requires transformational leadership; people with the knowledge and motivation to make effective change combined with an understanding of the system they work in. The aim of the Practice Leaders' Programme (PLP) is to generate the conditions needed to focus the energy and collaborative creativity required for innovation to enhance leadership skills across the health economy improving patient care. The PLP engaged 60 local leaders from central England in a new approach enabling them to influence others. It has informed educational policy and practice and helped change professional behaviours. Each participant implemented improvements in care and participated in six action learning sets (ALS) and up to six coaching sessions. Evidence of progress, learning and impact was identified in project reports, reflective diaries and evaluations. The ALS brought together key individuals from clinical and management disciplines across a diverse organisation to redesign a system by developing a shared vision for improving the quality of patient care. The links forged, the projects initiated, and the skills cultivated through the PLP produced ongoing benefits and outcomes beyond the course itself. Coaching sessions helped participants focus their efforts to achieve maximum impact and to become resilient in managing service change effectively. The programme has evolved over four years, building on recommendations from external evaluation which identified statistically significant increases in leadership competences. Further enhancement of this programme secured an International Health Improvement Award. Three key findings of positive impact have emerged; personal growth, service improvement, and legacy and sustainability.

Leadership development, wicked problems and action learning: provocations to a debate

“…They demonstrated a strong personal development orientation with less attention paid to the world outside. Where participants addressed a work challenge this was likely to be one which could be managed within constrained time and resources available to the individual, rather than being a more complex enquiry whose investigation and tackling required wider collaboration with other parties (Lynch & Verner, 2013;Doyle, 2014;Radcliff, 2017). There was also the possibility of an over-emphasis on action at the expense of learning (Willis, 2011).…”

Impressions of action and critical action learning: exploring the leadership development of senior doctors in an English healthcare organization

“…AL has long been associated with the UK's NHS in the studies of Revans () and has been adapted and applied variously by management academics (Kozubska & Mackenzie, ) and developers to further support the resolution of real problems, and in other organizational research (Lynch & Verner, ; Phillips & Byrne, ). Additionally the work of Coghlan and Brannick () and Pedler () are well‐known examples of how the AL approach has been adapted and disseminated.…”

Preparing for leadership in General Practice: a qualitative exploration of how GP trainees learn about leadership

“…In the UK, medical students and doctors in training have positively evaluated the impact of leadership development interventions such as taught programme days, online discussions, regular facilitated discussions, and practice-based projects [10][11][12][13][14][15]. In Canada and New Zealand, professional standards for medical students and specialty trainees now include leadership learning outcomes [16,17], and in the UK the RCGP has integrated leadership training into its curriculum in order to ensure the early development of clinical leadership skills among newly qualified General Practitioners (GPs, or family doctors) [18].…”