“Fantastic event, would come again and again.”
We are incredibly grateful you joined us for the Festival of Leadership 2025. Your energy, ideas, and presence helped shape an unforgettable experience. We hope the sessions sparked new inspiration and offered meaningful takeaways to fuel your leadership journey ahead.
To help you maintain the momentum of this year’s festival, we have gathered a collection of resources to assist you and your organisation on your leadership journey.
Shaping the future of the North West leadership community
A captivating panel made up of dynamic voices from across the region explored how leadership is evolving and how we can shape it to be more purposeful, inclusive and future-ready. We’ll be sharing more on the conversation in our upcoming edition of Leader. You can sign up for our newsletter here to get notified when it’s out.
“An inspiring and thought provoking day.”
Keynote – Compassionate Leadership and Culture
This year’s keynote came from a man whose mission is as simple as it is transformative – to spread kindness. With the research backing him up, Tim Keogh believes that when we lead with compassion, people become more engaged, more creative, and more productive. Kindness isn’t just a feel-good notion; it’s a strategic force for building thriving, resilient organisations.
Click the button below to download the slides from this session.
DownloadWorkshop – Organisational Design: From Vision to Implementation
Organisational design has become a hot topic, and with booming interest comes the need for myth busting. It’s not about structure charts; it starts with a bold, shared vision, moves into diagnosing the current state, and co-designs future delivery models that reflect your organisation’s values. When done well, it unlocks performance, empowers teams, and delivers better outcomes.
Click the button below to download the slides from this session.
DownloadWorkshop – Systems Thinking and the Inner Game of Leadership
The NHS isn’t a machine to be fixed; it’s a living, breathing system navigating a world that’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). To lead effectively in this challenging landscape, systems thinking isn’t just helpful – it’s essential. This makes systems thinking a crucial foundation for shaping the future of leadership within the NHS and the broader system.
Click the button below to download the slides from this session.
DownloadOther System Leadership Resources
System Leadership Framework
Our system leadership behaviours self-assessment tool has been designed to support leaders at all levels in systems. It will provide space for self-reflection, highlight your strengths, and support your leadership development.
More info
Foundations in Systems Leadership Programme
This is a five-week online learning programme open to all colleagues. It is suitable for those who have a desire to improve the way they collaborate across organisational, professional and hierarchical boundaries to design and deliver better health outcomes.
More infoHighlights from the Marketplace
NHS North West Leadership Academy
North West Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Assembly
NHS North West Anti-racism Framework
Developed by the North West BAME Assembly and NHS England North West, this document provides a framework for all NHS organisations across the North West to work towards becoming actively anti-racist organisations. It includes practical steps and suggested actions to support existing change activity for organisations to include in their equality action plans and to build long-term inclusion strategies.
Click here for more infoPeople Experience & Retention Team
North West Talent Team – NHS England
Contact the team at [email protected] to explore…
- Talent Management
- Talent Pools and Pipelines
- Succession Planning
- Board Level Development and Assurance
- Mobilising Regional Talent
- Messenger Review
Management and Leadership Framework
You can get involved and see the latest updates on the new NHS management and leadership framework by joining the NHS Futures collaboration site here.
How was your day?
“The festival was truly inspirational. The quality of discussion and panel members in the Q&A provided a rich conversation about what good leadership looks like and how it will change. The workshop and session on Kindness were real food for thought. I’m leaving with a lot to reflect on – which is the best outcome from the day!”
We hope you enjoyed the Festival of Leadership! To help us improve future events, we’d love to hear your feedback. Whether it’s about what worked well or what could be better, your input is invaluable to us. Please take a moment to share your thoughts in our short survey – it is much appreciated!
Click to complete our surveyKeeping In Touch
If you’d like to keep in touch with the NHS North West Leadership Academy, you can sign up for our monthly newsletter or follow us on social media. If you want to read about the latest leadership stories from across the region, check out our recent edition of Leader!