A new programme designed to better support mid-level leaders is set to be added to the NHS Leadership Academy’s existing offer.
NHS Leadership Academy managing director and Health Education England national director of Leadership Development Stephen Hart told Healthcare Leader that his organisation recognised that ‘the mid-level of leadership is a crucial part in the NHS that really needs some dedicated support’.
He said: ‘We will be launching [the new programme] in September this year and it will be nationally designed and locally delivered to really support mid-level leaders in every part of the NHS. It will give them the knowledge and skills they need to be exceptional in their roles.’
Who is the programme for?
Mr Hart said the academy is working in partnership with ‘stakeholders across the NHS’ to develop the programme, which will be designed for NHS employees between bands 8A and 8C.
The NHS Leadership Academy defines mid-level leaders as those who:
- lead people who manage others
- play an active role in a network that requires them to embody leadership around an issue or a service
- temporarily lead a team of professionals
- manage complex programmes and projects, substantial budgets, politically sensitive and significantly impactful work
Why is the programme needed?
The academy already offers an academic leadership development programme for mid-level leaders – the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson programme.
Over 1,300 participants have successfully graduated from the programme since it was first introduced in 2013.
However, two pieces of research commissioned by NHS Leadership Academy found that there is a greater appetite for a non-academic, less time-intensive leadership development programme.
The NHS Leadership Academy said they will consider the research and come up with a solution that fits the needs of mid-level leaders.
It said they will be able to access a new low-cost, non-academic programme that will allow mid-level leaders to complete the majority of their learning online. Mid-level leaders will also have the opportunity to work together on an ‘improvement project’, which would be a team-based effort.
More information about the programme will be announced later this year.
