Written by: The TCM Group

NHS England: fostering a coaching culture with TCM training

29 Jul 2024

Share article:

Tags:

Earlier this year, NHS England embarked on a Coaching Skills for People Professionals course, delivered by the TCM Group. This course supports people professionals’ capability to adopt and role model a coaching approach across their organisation to support people development, solve key problems and challenges and increase innovation for both individuals and teams.

This initiative perfectly aligns with NHS England’s mission in leading the NHS to deliver top-tier services for all. NHSE continually work to ensure that the healthcare workforce has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours to support the delivery of excellent healthcare and health improvement to patients and the public.

As such, coaching and training is high on their agenda, recognising coaching as a powerful form of workplace development that focuses on learning from previous experiences to improve how things are done currently.  Coaching further builds on:

  • Enhancing levels of self and team awareness
  • Building confidence, resilience and motivation
  • Developing objectives and plans on how to achieve them
  • Improving mental health
  • Facilitating psychological safety and open discussion
  • Setting up a legacy of coaching and supportive network

It’s particularly useful for enhancing clinical skills, leadership abilities in high stakes scenarios, and dealing with specific workplace and healthcare challenges.

 

Our delegates’ experience

The feedback from the coaching training showed that the NHS England cohort gleaned numerous benefits from completing the course, from learning specific coaching models to having a safe space for open conversations and active listening.

Other delegates said, “[I enjoyed] meeting like-minded people from across the country and networking gave great tools to be able to carry that practice into daily conversations.” and they have “built confidence in coaching people, but knowing it will take time and practice.” Their highlight was “meeting others and sharing experiences from different trusts.”

Our sentiment meter results evidenced high scores of 7.9 for those who felt confident in their ability to coach others to help them grow and become more self-sufficient, and an 8.8 score for those who felt ready to make the commitment to develop their coaching skills and practice to enable workplace transformation.

case-study-nhs-sentiment

With every course that we’ve delivered, we make sure to gather feedback to build on the insights and experience for future delegates. We have developed a comprehensive system for evaluating and developing our training programmes, inspired by the 4-level Kirkpatrick Learning Evaluation Model. This model uses verbal and written feedback from the delegates throughout the course to ascertain their reaction, learning, behaviour, and results.

 

Our trainer’s findings

This course was led by Emma Schofield, a skilled trainer and leader with over 20 years’ experience in HR and Organisational Development across the public and private sector. Over 10 years of this experience has been within the NHS, across acute, mental health and the ambulance services.

Schofield broke down some of her observations and successful outcomes from the course:

Getting responses and solutions

People in the NHS are wanting quick responses and solutions to problems, and don’t always take the time to look within or consider possible solutions and options for themselves. Business partners tell Schofield that by coaching managers who are stressed and overwhelmed, this has brought the individuals a sense of calm and empowerment, in as a little as a 10 minute conversation. That 10 minutes alone can already have a ripple effect.

Building trust

Using small coaching style conversations has helped participants to build more trusting relationships and build greater understanding and rapport. Ultimately, it gets people to open up about how they are feeling and open up on complex issues. People have left the conversation feeling heard and valued (which is something many are not feeling in the NHS at the moment). This is vital if we are to retain staff and maintain engagement.

Championing active listening

Most delegates commented that they now listen more deeply, using their course experience to foster psychological safety and explore conversations more thoroughly.

Business partners report that they now pause before offering advice, opting instead for open questions that help managers think through issues. This approach builds confidence and encourages self-sufficiency.

Rather than sharing their own stories to relate, the participants focus on actively listening. They respond with nonverbal cues, open body language, and thoughtful follow-up questions. Practicing these skills has enhanced their understanding, compassion, and empathy.

 

More about the TCM Group’s courses

The TCM Group has a reputation of providing world-class training courses and programmes for numerous leading organisations, over a span of over 20 years.

All our work supports the development of a culture where issues are resolved quickly, mistakes learnt from and risks to patient care associated with unresolved conflict are greatly minimised. Since our formation, we have worked with over 300 NHS trusts and health and social care organisations, cementing our position as the UK’s leading provider of conflict management, employee relations, leadership, and management development programmes to the NHS, health and social care.

If you have any questions regarding coaching training and services. Get in touch with our dedicated Coaching Coordinator, Lily Driver-Thurston.

Together let’s foster a culture of integrity, collaboration and innovation in healthcare.

 

You may also like to read

12 Nov 2024
How to Disagree Well: Transforming Workplace Conflict into Opportunity
In last week's masterclass, How to Disagree Well, our CEO David Liddle revealed a stark truth about workplace conflict: we're doing it all wrong. In a session that drew unprecedented attendance, David challenged our traditional approaches to workplace disagreements and offered a compelling alternative that promises to transform how organisations handle conflict.
11 Nov 2024
The Hidden Cost of Family Disputes: Why Second-Generation Businesses Often Fail
Family businesses have long been the backbone of economies around the world. But internal disputes can cause severe disruption and even collapse of the business - here's how to tackle it.
24 Oct 2024
King’s School Canterbury: Elevating HR Leadership with Coaching Skills
We share how one of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the world tapped into the power of people professionals' coaching with our training course.
17 Oct 2024
Webinar Recap: Exploring the Magic of Mediation
Are you creating chasms or building bridges? Our recent Mediation Eye-Opener Webinar dived into how mediation can be your informal yet powerful tool for conflict resolution, helping teams not just survive but truly thrive.
engage-coaching-coach-tcm-professional
11 Oct 2024
Webinar Recap: Engage Coaching Eye-Opener
Our webinar recap highlights how coaching is a transformative force for businesses and employees alike. Delve into our unique strategies and models, and the profound impact coaching can have on workplace culture, resilience, and productivity.
27 Sep 2024
How The University of Manchester Tapped into the Power of Facilitated Conversations
Facilitated conversations build a culture of openness, trust, and collaboration — key ingredients for any successful educational institution. Discover more in this case study.