Coaching for Improvement 

Coaching for Improvement 

About the Programme: 

This programme has been designed for colleagues working in roles and projects which involve Quality Improvement (QI), with a focus upon developing participants’ leadership effectiveness for QI through the application of a coaching approach. 

This will enable the development and application of core skills around supporting the engagement of staff, increasing the impact and long term success of change initiatives. 

This programme is a modular series of 3 full day sessions.  You will need to be available to attend the whole day for all sessions. 

All the sessions will be very interactive, discursive and participative – they are not lectures!  So, please be prepared to have your camera on for all sessions and able to speak and contribute freely in a private space when you join the session. 

What will be covered: 

• The opportunity to work with colleagues from across organisations to share learning 
• The opportunity to gain key skills around the application of coaching approaches to support staff engagement within change initiatives 

• Increased awareness and understanding of the impact of group dynamics within change processes 
• Increased understanding of the challenges within establishing and maintaining change  
• Increased awareness of their personal response and impact (use of self as an agent of change) 

Dates and times 

There are three modules in this programme, participants must attend all three to complete: 

Module 1 – 10th November 2022 09:30 – 16:30 

Module 2 – 7th December 2022 09:30 – 16:30 

Module 3 – 5th January 2023 09:30 – 16:30 

All sessions are delivered via Zoom 

Who is this session for: 

The NHS Leadership Academy provides leadership development for people of all backgrounds and experiences across health and care. 

This programme is aimed at health and care staff from all professional backgrounds within health and care. 

This includes staff involved in supporting change initiatives (such as service redesign or organisational change) as a key part of your role, but not working necessarily specifically in a QI or transformation role.  

There is no expectation that participants will be qualified coaches, but they should have experience of managing change in the workplace.  

Please be aware that attendance at this programme will not provide coaching or project management accreditation or qualification but will equip you with skills and abilities to lead change using a coaching and enabling approach. 

Other information:

If you are unable to attend any of the sessions above please register via our Expression of Interest page, this will help us to understand the demand for our programmes and plan accordingly. You will also be notified when we release new dates for this workshop.

If your circumstances change and you can no longer attend, please email [email protected]

The session will be delivered virtually via zoom

About the facilitator 

Heather Wicks 

MA Mgmt of Innovation and Change, BSc(hons)Health Science, PGDip Evidence Based Medicine, FAETC, DBO 

Heather Wicks is a founding Director of Connect Oxford, a consultancy specialising in enabling change with individuals, teams and organisations through coaching, leadership development and organisational development. 

Heather’s belief is that everyone has the potential to define, design and achieve their own success and her passion is working with others using a dynamic, curious and action-orientated style to empower and equip them to do this.  Her approach is firmly grounded in an appreciation and recognition of strengths and what we already have as a foundation for growth, rather than seeking out and identifying ‘deficiency’ and ‘weakness’. 

Her career is rooted in the NHS and she has worked in, or with the NHS, for over 30 years in a wide variety of ways ranging from an allied health professional (clinical eye specialist) to a Director of Strategy and Commissioning and she has gained a rounded and diverse experience of many aspects of providing and commissioning of health and care services. 

Currently, Heather works often with the NHS, care, local government and wider public sector and is a member of the NHS Leadership Faculty focusing on the design and delivery of experiential leadership development programmes as well as providing executive coaching to many leaders across the NHS, local government and not for profit sectors.   

Heather has designed and delivered a range of bespoke leadership development initiatives for NHS staff from new line managers to Board development in primary, acute, community and mental health organisations as well as commissioning bodies.  She has been on the NHS Leadership Academy Faculty Teams for the Rosalind Franklin, Mary Seacole and GMTS programmes in recent years. 

She is an experienced coach and OD practitioner who is accredited in the MBTI and Clarity 4D personality type indicators as well as the NHS 360 Leadership Model and other psychometric tests. 

Her Oxford Masters degree is in the Management of Change and Innovation.