IN REVIEW: Helping an NHS Trust board lead with courage and clarity

Introduction

This NHS Trust is one of the UK’s largest, overseeing care across more than 100 locations and 4,000+ staff. With a new improvement strategy underway, the leadership knew that lasting change wouldn’t come from systems alone, it would need to start with culture. And culture starts at the top.

Polaris Consultants was invited to contribute to the Trust’s board development programme, with a specific focus: equipping senior leaders to have more courageous, constructive conversations in the moments that matter most.

Challenge

In high-stakes environments like the NHS, courageous conversations can easily be avoided, especially at board level. The challenge wasn’t about knowing what to say, but how to say it in a way that built trust, shifted behaviour and created clarity across complex systems.

The Trust wanted to move from avoidance to action: to build a shared language, a clear set of expectations and the confidence to lean into the hard stuff.

Solution

Adrian Barker and Chris Gamble ✨ worked closely with the People Director, we co-designed and delivered an immersive workshop for c15 senior board members. The session was designed to be practical, safe and stretching.

We helped the group:

• Define what courageous conversations meant in their context

• Explore why these conversations matter in healthcare leadership

• Identify the conditions that help (or hinder) open dialogue

• Learn a practical, repeatable framework for navigating difficult discussions

• Practise those skills with one another in a safe, supported environment

By giving the group space to reflect, test and practise, we created a shared experience that shifted both mindset and capability.

Impact

The result was a clear sense of shared standards, greater confidence and stronger trust across the team. The session created momentum and gave the board a new narrative: courageous conversations aren’t a risk: they’re just part of how we lead around here.

Client testimonial

Want to learn more? Drop us a line at: 📩 reach@polarisconsultants.co.uk