Our C.A.R.E. Leadership Way

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust (SFT) and Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (TGICFT) are working in partnership, sharing leadership, aligning priorities and planning together, while each trust keeps its own identity. The collaboration has a shared identity, the South East Sector Health Care Partnership.

The collaboration has created opportunities to shape how our joint working develops. A key stage of this journey was the co-design of shared values across both organisations, which now underpin the values-based leadership approach at the trusts: the C.A.R.E. Leadership Way. This work represents a shift towards embedding shared values-led leadership at all levels of both organisations.

Background

“Thoughtful work had been done to identify shared values across both trusts. From that, a clear message emerged about where we want to focus our leadership. There was a strong sense that this isn’t about working for just any NHS organisation it’s about leadership at Tameside and Glossop and Stockport. And crucially, what does that really mean? Where do we want our leaders to be focusing their attention?”

Kate Rowland, Head of Talent, Leadership and Organisational Development Consultancy

What is the C.A.R.E. Leadership Way?

The “C.A.R.E. Leadership Way” is an overarching leadership approach that guides leaders across both trusts. It is built around a shared leadership commitment:

“We lead with compassionate accountability, creating an environment of respect and inclusion, to deliver excellence in our services and meet our vision as a trust.”

The approach is underpinned by 3 principles:  

• Coaching: Embedding a coaching mindset and principles to empower staff and encourage an open and transparent culture.
• Inclusion: Championing inclusive practices and proactively bringing missing voices into decision-making.
• Emotional Intelligence: Recognising and managing emotions and responding empathetically to others.

The approach was developed in line with the national NHS Leadership and Management Framework:

“When we were first developing the leadership approach, back in April 2025, we were working with the very early iterations of the national Leadership and Management Framework. We wanted to make sure we were taking that into account. Since then, there have been some refinements, for example, more recently we’ve emphasised elements like curiosity, which weren’t expressed in quite the same way in the initial version. We are clear that the approach needs to evolve with what we need as a healthcare partnership, and in line with national guidance.

We also had conversations with Suzanne from the NHS North West Leadership Academy to bring in a broader North West and beyond perspective. In addition, we spoke with other local trusts to cross-reference our thinking.

Internally, we tested our approach widely. We took it, in different forms, to a range of leadership forums and meetings.”

Kate Rowland, Head of Talent, Leadership and Organisational Development Consultancy

The C.A.R.E. Leadership Way recognises the professional diversity and range of leadership and management roles and development needs across the staff population. Leaders and managers identify their priority development needs, based on 3 key strands of excellence:

• People Management Excellence: Focused on the day-to-day ‘moments that matter’ with colleagues, equipping leaders to manage individuals and teams effectively.
• Operational Management Excellence: Focused on developing the capabilities needed to manage operations with confidence, sound governance and accountability.
• Leadership Excellence: Focused on creating accountable, compassionate, and visionary leadership that enables innovation, collaboration, influencing, and relationships building.

Leadership Excellence

The “Leadership Excellence” strand of the C.A.R.E Leadership Way contains a range of interventions connecting the trusts’ internal development offer and regional and national opportunities:

This blended model creates a continuous learning environment and supports leadership development at scale.

Joint board development

To support the South East Sector Health Care Partnership, a new joint board brings leaders from both trusts together. They make decisions collaboratively, ensure clear governance and oversee the improvements the collaboration will deliver. The NHS North West Leadership Academy is providing support for this integrated board, including supporting the commissioning of Sharon Amesu, a leadership consultant and multi-award-winning professional speaker, to help design and deliver a bespoke joint board development journey.  

This development journey has begun with a strong focus on engagement, working alongside joint board members to understand their current context, strengths, aspirations, and opportunities for development.

The next stage will be to explore the characteristics and behaviours of high-performing boards, using these insights to co-create a tailored programme that builds on the strengths and foundations of both organisations and develops the board to think, lead and take responsibility at the scale and complexity now required.

Leading with Impact Programme

One element of the Leadership Excellence strand is the “Leading with Impact Programme“, for senior and mid-level managers across the partnership.

This cohort programme includes 5 day-long modules, facilitated psychometric feedback, facilitated 360 feedback through the national HLM 360 feedback tool and opportunities for coaching, either internally or externally.

There is real emphasis on the value of peer learning:

“We recognise that cohort-based programmes create a unique opportunity for peer support, which is something we’re really trying to build. It’s about enabling people to support one another, to learn from each other and lean on that network.

We’re actively championing this approach. At the moment, it’s been fairly informal, but we’re starting to put more structure around it. For example, we’ve set up an alumni group on MS Teams for Leading with Impact. This gives people a simple way to reach out, ask for support, and stay connected.

More broadly, it’s about creating a safe space where people can have open conversations and realise there are others at the same level facing similar challenges, and experiences.”

Vicky Wardle, Talent, Leadership and OD coordinator

Another key feature of the Leading with Impact Programme is an end-of-programme presentation designed to encourage leaders and managers to embed the learning across many different pockets of the organisation.

“We ask participants to apply their learning and share it through a storytelling element as part of a celebration event. This has proved to be really powerful. It helps bring the cohort closer together, as people are talking more openly about their people management skills.”

James Smithyes, Talent and Leadership Development Manager

The Leading with Impact Programme is already delivering results for both the organisation and participants:

Developing future global majority heritage leadership: Elevate with C.A.R.E. Programme

In January 2025, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust launched applications for the Elevate with C.A.R.E. Programme to address representation and progression gaps in leadership within both organisations.

19 colleagues in bands 5-6 from a global majority heritage background were successful in securing a place on the programme, a blended plan of learning designed to build confidence, visibility, and readiness for career development, focused around real, lived experiences and providing peer learning opportunities. The programme focuses on:

• Empowered, inclusive leadership: Recognising and harnessing lived experience and voice.
• Collaborative leadership and peer learning: Building strong cross‑trust networks through cohort learning, including learning circles.
• Career progression and visibility: Shaping development plans and strengthening participants’ profiles across both trusts.
• Leading with our values in mind: All programme activities and coaching is aligned to the C.A.R.E. Leadership Way.

The programme design is a blended learning model, which will enable the trusts to evaluate which learning elements have had the most significant impact, to enable evidence-based recommendations for development interventions that can be scaled and embedded across both organisations.

Impact of the programme

Participant outcomes

Early outcomes by June 2026 include a promotion, a secondment, enrolment onto a Level 7 apprenticeship, and three participants undertaking Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) training. Alongside formal development and career progression, participants are also demonstrating strong organisational citizenship through engagement in wider staff and ambassadorial roles. This includes leadership and contribution through positions such as organisational health and wellbeing champion and cancer ambassador, and one participant has now applied to be co-chair of the RISE Network (the internal race network).

Organisational outcomes

At the programme halfway point, there is already some good organisational learning. Participants have highlighted:

The value of coaching and mentoring to support career development: Internal coaching and mentoring resource hubs has been developed, including resources and guidance for coachees and mentees, and this is being promoted across the organisation. This includes a designated Coaching and Mentoring Hub on the North West Leadership Academy platform, where our staff can access both internal and external coaches and mentors.

The lowest confidence area from the start-of-programme confidence and development check-in was system navigation: Suzy Arnfield, the programme co-ordinator, has curated resources to address skills and key questions about recruitment and preparing for interviews. It is often practical barriers, such as what is needed for personal statements and where to access information about sponsorship and visas, that hold some of our participants back. Suzy has collated this into audio and written guides for internal staff.

The value of line manager engagement in career development: Line managers were involved from the start of the programme, where they endorsed applications and agreed to release the time for participants. Their involvement in welcome sessions about the programme made all the difference, this gave participants the confidence to talk about setting stretch tasks and transfer of learning into practice. These insights have contributed to the sharpened focus on career and development conversations in the appraisal process, with coaching prompts, updated training, and short video refreshers for managers to help them to create an environment of ongoing learning.

Peer networks, including learning circles: A consistent theme for participants has been the benefit of peer learning, both to recognise common experiences and to co-create solutions. The organisation is exploring ways to expand this further, through learning networks and broader support around creating peer learning circles.

Meet the Elevate with C.A.R.E. participants

Christabel Fole-Nwosu

Organisation: Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Job title: Staff nurse
 
My ambition:
I am committed to continuously developing my communication and leadership skills, and I actively contribute to projects that enhance patient care and service improvement within the department. I aspire to grow into an approachable and influential leader, someone who listens, advocates for both patients and staff, and plays an active role in shaping high-quality, sustainable care through ongoing professional development.
 
My skills:
I am passionate about delivering holistic, person-centred care and championing compassionate, inclusive leadership that creates a supportive and psychologically safe culture for teams to thrive. My strengths lie in effective communication, collaborative working, and driving clinical improvement, and I draw on my experience in emergency care to deliver responsive, inclusive care while supporting colleagues to perform at their best under pressure.

Anesu Beshen Rosebud Mwashita

Organisation: Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Job title: Staff rurse 

My ambition:
My career aspiration is to progress into a Band 6 deputy sister/charge nurse position. In this role, I aim to lead shifts with assurance, formally mentor and develop junior staff, initiate and champion quality improvement projects, and apply my advanced clinical knowledge to directly enhance patient outcomes and overall team performance.
 
My skills:
I am a highly motivated and experienced Band 5 registered nurse with over 12 years of dedicated service, currently based on Ward E3 (DMOP). My practice is fundamentally driven by a deep commitment to patient safety, the professional development of my colleagues, and the consistent delivery of compassionate, person-centred care. My core clinical strengths are in effectively prioritising complex workloads, providing proactive support to team members, and ensuring seamless care coordination throughout my shifts. I am adept at managing dynamic ward environments while maintaining high standards of safety and patient dignity. I am actively developing my leadership capabilities, with a focused emphasis on confident clinical decision-making and the appropriate escalation of care, and I place great importance on cultivating a supportive, positive, and collaborative team atmosphere where every member feels valued and empowered.

Leading for collaboration

The C.A.R.E. Leadership Way is a core stage of the journey of two NHS organisations coming together to build a shared culture, grounded in common values and a collective commitment from their leadership community. Beginning with alignment around what matters most, leaders across both trusts have worked to shape a consistent way of behaving and leading, while respecting the identity of both organisations.

Through this ongoing journey, a connected leadership community is emerging, one that actively lives and reinforces a shared culture. It is this foundation that enables the two organisations to deliver truly collaborative, consistent and meaningful care for their patients and service users.

For more information about the C.A.R.E. Leadership Way, contact: [email protected]