interviews

‘Leadership isn’t based on a single trajectory’

Professor Wendy Reid, Health Education England’s director of education and quality, talks to NHE about the challenges and opportunities in developing future NHS leaders. David Stevenson reports.

To transform and develop its leadership, the NHS needs to hear different voices and recognise it isn’t based on a single trajectory, according to Health Education England’s (HEE) director of education and quality. 

Professor Wendy Reid, speaking to NHE after a ‘Transforming Leadership’ panel discussion at the NICE Conference in Liverpool, said: “When you are looking at leaders, you need to be able to see something of yourself there. Having role models is really important.” 

She added that the panel discussion, where she was joined by Vijaya Nath, director of leadership development at The King’s Fund, and Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive at NICE (pictured below), was “refreshing” because three women were on stage talking about leadership. 

Visible leaders 

But discussing her own career development, Prof Reid noted that she didn’t work under any female consultants. 

“I was really lucky though to then experience one or two women as leaders, which does give you the opportunity to think about yourself in the context of what you can do, rather than what you are told you ought to be,” she said. 

“I do think that being visible as somebody in a senior position is important whatever your gender is. But the fact is that most of our leaders are of a certain shade of white, grey and male. 

“And, actually, the majority of staff working in the NHS are women. We also have a massively ethnically diverse population working for us, and I think they deserve to see themselves reflected in senior positions.” 

Prof Reid said that all of the arm’s length bodies are taking this very seriously, adding that in education “we have some fantastic women leaders, with around half our postgraduate deans being women”. 

“In education we have shown the way, but I don’t think that has been translated across the leadership spectrum,” she added. 

Different shaped careers 

Looking at leadership development from just a gender perspective, Prof Reid said it is important to recognise that women have different shaped careers to their male colleagues – “because many do want to have babies”. 

“I always make a slightly cheesy joke that as an official I recognise that pregnancy is nine months long, and it is surely not beyond the wit of the clever people in the organisation called the NHS to actually manage around that, and allow women to fulfil their potential at work,” she said. 

The NHS is getting better at this, according to Prof Reid, but there is still a long way to go in recognising that people want to have time in their careers when they are “intensively active” to times when they don’t, and they have a “work-life balance challenge”. 

Delivering change 

A multi-layered approach to leadership, rather than a single report setting out the direction of travel for everyone, is what HEE would like to see. 

“The reality of the health service is that it is this glorious mix of talent,” said Prof Reid. “If we can make sure there are layers within that which can support leadership training – that seems to be the most sustainable long-term approach.

“I think as leaders we need to hear different voices and recognise that leadership isn’t a single trajectory. There isn’t a single way of doing it. It is quite easy to open up a leadership scheme, take people into it, and they become leaders. 

“I’m really interested in the working underneath that. For instance, how people – from the moment they start working for the NHS, or training for an NHS role – start to develop skills that might make them into a leader.” 

Taking this ‘iceberg approach’, according to Prof Reid, allows organisations to make sure people have the right leadership values. “And then we make sure access to the support you need to become a leader is there at all stages.” 

She added that there are many different sorts of leadership courses, and would like to see some effort focused on helping people to find which course is right for them. 

“I was really lucky. I went on a leadership course that actually chimed with me in almost every way, and it was hugely influential,” said Prof Reid. She talked of a “real opportunity” for HEE to flag the range of courses available to staff to find the right path for them. “But I think it is a much more personalised conversation, so right down at the level of doctors with their programme directors and senior doctors managing a group of trainees.” 

NHS Leadership Academy 

Earlier this year, it was announced that HEE was to take over the responsibility for the NHS Leadership Academy from NHS England after a government-commissioned report by Lord Rose – a former CEO of M&S – called for major changes in the support supplied to managers, training and performance management. 

Talking to NHE about this, Prof Reid said: “We are enthusiastic about embracing the Leadership Academy, who have done such great work. 

“Despite all the pressures, I am genuinely optimistic about how we can help staff get the NHS into a better position. I do think it is the workforce that will deliver everything that is necessary for patients. It is not the system or the buildings; it is the people.” 

HEE will take responsibility for the Academy from April 2016. It will provide a chance to assess the opportunities to “develop, change and do things differently”. 

Tackling complacency 

Discussing the panel discussion at NICE, Prof Reid cited one passionate audience member who talked about how “complacent” people are about leadership – as if it was just something additional. 

“I thought that was a really good word,” she said. “We should not be complacent. Just because there is a lot of intellectual and academic activity and learning out there, we shouldn’t be complacent about how hard it is for some people to get into leadership roles when they wanted to or have the skills developed. 

“I took that away. We have to constantly look at and think how this [leadership and development] would relate to different people of varying levels, grades and parts of the country. That was a really good message on the necessary humility to deliver at the top-class end of these things.”

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