Wickland Westcott

Tees PCT - Raising the Bar on Leadership

Primary Care Trusts are measured against 'World Class Commissioning' competencies designed to improve standards of care and achieve better value, health and well-being for all. Having recognised that reaching world class status would require managers who can lead change and drive reform, four PCTs on Teesside engaged Wickland Westcott to launch a development programme as part of their talent management strategy. Wickland Westcott created a bespoke process to provide a baseline assessment for assistant directors and senior managers against 10 Leadership and Management Attributes.

Over a period of 4 months, Wickland Westcott's Talent Management Consultants met 75 individuals on a 1:1 basis and took them through a mix of specifically designed exercises and psychometric questionnaires, including a test of managerial judgement. Within four weeks, they returned to receive feedback and an individual development report. During this second meeting, our consultants helped participants begin to plan actions that would address their development needs, in readiness for development planning meetings with their line managers.

As well as providing confidential feedback to individuals, Wickland Westcott provided a strategic review of the data collected, summarising key themes in the leadership strengths and challenges. This has enabled the PCTs to focus attention on the specific issues that will have maximum impact on the organisation as a whole. At an individual level, the participants now know what is required of them and they have begun a journey of individual change that has the potential for significant impact on how healthcare services are commissioned for the future.