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Using Support and Challenge to Transform Workforce Culture

Summary: Developing leadership skills and driving positive culture, by utilising individual and 360 surveys, bespoke leadership workshop, and support and challenge groups to, enabling participants to support their teams, accelerate service improvement and shape the future of their organisation. 

The Challenge

The NHS Manchester Foundation Trust (MFT) is one of the largest acute Trusts in the UK with over 20,000 staff. We were approached by the Head of Nursing who asked for support with driving positive culture change within the organisation by focusing on developing the leadership skills of the management and senior management team within the Trust.

The objectives identified by the client were to:

  • Support individual development to enable participants to deliver an effective and efficient service to patients;
  • Develop participant’s leadership skills to support their teams and
  • Increase self-awareness and awareness of the role.

The Approach

As Occupational and Business Psychologists, (abiding by the Code of Ethics of the British Psychological Society) we adopt an appreciative approach and  help clients to build on their strengths as well as develop new areas of skill and expertise. We apply a positive psychological approach, and our interventions are grounded in practicality, pragmatism and common sense.

We collaborated with the MFT Continuous Professional Development team in the Workforce and Education Directorate to co-create a 6-day Leadership Development Programme which gave participants the unique opportunity to come together to develop their leadership skills. This enabled them to support their teams, in accelerating service improvement and transformation thus shaping the future of their organisation.

The programme included the following elements:

  1. Individual professional development diagnostic – Impact conducted psychometric assessment to individual delegates and/or 360-degree survey. This was followed by individual feedback session with a Business Psychologist/Consultant. The aim of the assessment was to support participants to gain awareness of their preferred leadership and management styles and the effect those have on their effectiveness at work. The 360-degree feedback offered valuable feedback on their effectiveness at work from their colleagues and manager.
  2. Taught element workshops – The MFT CPD facilitated masterclass-style sessions with Subject Experts from across the Trust and Greater Manchester. Impact designed and delivered a bespoke Leadership Day workshop aimed at supporting leaders to recognise and find ways to overcome shared challenges experienced by leaders, and to accelerate their leadership and management practice.
  3. Support & Challenge Groups – Facilitated by Impact, these included a half-day Introduction to Support & Challenge Groups workshop, followed by Support & Challenge Group sessions where participants met monthly in small groups. The focus of those sessions was for participants to explore issues that they were facing in a safe space and to find solutions using group coaching methods.
  4. Quality/Service Improvement Project – Delegates were asked to work individually or in groups to design a quality/service improvement project and present it to their cohort and line managers at the end of the programme.

The programme was rolled out to the following Management groups:

  1. Lead Nurses, Service Lead and Lead AHP – 1 cohort
  2. Matrons – 2 cohorts
  3. Ward Managers and Senior Clinicians – 5 cohorts
  4. Support & Challenge Facilitators – 1 cohort – This fourth group included Lead Nurses and Service Leads. They along with completing all other elements of the programme, were trained to become Support & Challenge Group facilitators and were asked to facilitate the Group sessions for the Ward Manager/Service lead cohorts. This was done to ensure that Senior Leadership staff within the Trust not only experienced the benefits of taking part in Support & Challenge Groups but were trained and confident in facilitating them even after the programme was completed, thus increasing sustainability.

The Outcome

The successful delivery of the programme highlighted the effective and proactive collaboration and communication between Impact and the MFT Continuous Professional Development team which resulted in a flexible and compassionate approach to delivery, encompassing the values of the NHS.

Delegates shared positive feedback about the taught elements of the programme and the psychometric feedback sessions, which provided excellent ground for reflection and professional development.

The Support & Challenge Groups were extremely beneficial to delegates, not only due to the learning experience they provided but also because of the opportunity to connect to and build strong relations and support networks. This was very important due to the timing of the programme  delivery – delegates were dealing with extreme service pressures because of  the pandemic. The quote by one of the delegates below highlights their experience:

“I have found these Support & Challenge Groups incredibly beneficial – initially I was very apprehensive about them, and what I’ would gain from them. In fact, what I have found is an utterly fabulous group of people, who I know I can reach out to now the group has ended. I quickly found I was not afraid to share problems and issues, as the majority of people have either been in the same situation or are going through the same problems – it was reassuring to know I was not on my own. The advice offered enabled me to address these issues and develop in myself and increase my confidence. Thank you so very much for everything over these last few months – I have really enjoyed it.” (Matron, MFT)

Impact has since continued the successful collaboration with the MFT CPD and has been commissioned to deliver the programme to further cohorts.