The work in progress with NHS North West Leadership Academy
What if mentoring does not just contribute to individual change, but also to the large scale change we are looking to see?
The context
The NHS North West Leadership Academy offer a mentor development series in order to develop leadership capability across the North West. In 2025 they commissioned a redesign of the mentor development series not only for the North West but for flexible delivery across the North East and Yorkshire, South West and London.
The opportunity
To design the mentor development series as a catalyst for the cultural change we are looking to see – not only considering health and care systems but also how they intersect with the major challenges of our time.
The work
Leading the design and delivery of mentor development across four regions in England. The work included:
- expanding the scale of impact beyond the individual to large scale system change
- designing ‘development from the inside out’ underpinned by leverage point theory and learning from Lead Positive
- creating conditions for belonging, discomfort and participation
- reframing concepts of ‘skill’ and ‘practical’ – making visible the inner skills in mentoring
- positioning care as an essential first step in creating the capacity needed for change
- growing equity centred practice to mentor for more equitable systems change
- introduce complex adaptive system principles and aligned thinking
- introduce power as a critical concept within the mentoring relationship and change
- shift mentoring practice to align with care, equity and complexity adaptive systems
- develop new mentoring ‘skills’ from the point of this new awareness
- adapt the series to sit with the cultural conditions of each region
The progress (so far)
- delivered in 4 regions across England (100+ participants)
- 100% recommended NHS NWLA based on this delivery
- 98% rated recommended the Mentor Development
- 100% rated facilitator knowledge at Excellent/Good (96/4)
- 100% rated content design at Excellent/Good (90/10)
- 100% rated relevance at Excellent/Good (78/22)
- feedback repeatedly referenced “knowledge”, “experience” and ability to connect theory to practice as well as ability to make complex concepts accessible
- Impact reported in:
- increased confidence to mentor
- deeper awareness of power and systems
- changed listening and relational practice
- greater self-awareness
- intention to apply learning immediately in workplace settings
- movement in mentoring from “advice giving” toward reflective, equity-aware practice
- series developed into a ‘co-lab’ approach to scale sustainably across regions
- series developed into new offers to support system coaching and gamechanging conversations.
One lesson for leadership
Leadership development creates more sustainable change when it shifts how people see, think, feel, relate and make meaning.
“I can honestly say this has been one of the best training programmes, I would highly recommend, from content to Amy’s presentation, really good.”