Foundations in System Leadership: Collaborating for Health and Care
Build the core skills and behaviours to implement systems leadership and use systems thinking to improve health and care.
5,539 enrolled on this course
Duration
5 weeksWeekly study
3 hours100% online
How it works
Foundations in System Leadership: Collaborating for Health and Care
Learn how systems thinking can help you lead effectively
There’s a growing realisation that many global problems are interconnected. For the health and care landscape, there’s a need to reduce the focus on episodic treatment for acute illness and notice the wider determinants of health, delivering more joined-up support for all.
On this five-week course from the NHS Leadership Academy, you’ll explore systems leadership, learn why it’s important in health and care, and develop new capabilities to implement it. You will also recognise where you may already be operating as a systems leader while developing new approaches.
Explore the foundations of a systems approach
Systems thinking is one way of understanding the world of work. Thinking about organisations as living systems means we can observe how to lead effectively based on how systems behave.
You’ll delve into different types of complex systems and look at their characteristics; building a view of how systems work and what aspects you can take away for your own thinking and leadership.
Discover a systems perspective on health and care
On this course, you’ll explore the current health and care context from both a theoretical and practical point of view to reflect on what systems leadership has to offer.
You’ll consider health inequalities and focus on integration and prevention as methods of improving population health and well-being. You’ll also look at other leadership styles to see how they enable and disable systems working.
Develop the skills to make systems leadership a reality
Having clarified what systems leadership is and why it’s important, you’ll analyse the capabilities that are key to leading effectively. Using case studies to illustrate best practice, you’ll build your core skills to help you explore, reflect, relate, and connect through systems leadership.
Syllabus
Week 1
Onboarding
Welcome
Welcome to the course! Find out how to make the most of this learning oportunity with journaling, experiments, your peers, and an 'accountability partner'.
Focus on you
Explore where you are starting from, where you are going, and what that journey may be like...
What is a system?
How do we begin to define ‘a system’?
Week 2
What is a system?
Systems thinking, Systems leadership
Systems thinking is one way of understanding the world of work and organisation. A lens if you like. This activity explores that lens.
Exploring the characteristics of complex systems ...continued
In week 1, we began to explore our definition of 'system'. This week we continue to examine other characteristics of systems, and different types of system, which might help us understand other ways to lead.
Why systems thinking isn’t the answer
Systems thinking is one way of understanding organisations and how people behave in them. It isn’t the only way, nor necessarily even the best way...
Week 3
Why does it matter?
A systems approach to global issues
Why does systems thinking and systems leadership matter? Let's begin with a global perspective.
A systems perspective on health and care
The health and care system we’ve created faces many inter-connected wicked problems. Let's consider the issues.
A new health and care paradigm
There’s a growing consensus that we don’t just need incremental change – we need to think differently.
The future health and care landscape
In this activity, we’ll discuss the legislative framework and some related structures, including integrated care systems, place-based partnerships and provider collaboratives.
Week 4
How do we do it? (Part 1)
Making systems leadership a reality
We’re moving on now from the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ to the ‘how’. Our focus is moving to systems leadership in practice. What does it take to do this well? What are you already doing that you can build on?
Operating reflexively
Reflexivity is '...being able to examine their own feelings, reactions and motives and how those influence what they do or think in a situation'
Using story telling
System Leadership, by its very nature, exists in environments that are complex. Communication is key. How can story telling help us communicate in complexity?
Approaching strategy
.
Setting the cultural condition
.
In summary
.
Week 5
How do we do it? (Part 2) & offboarding
Networking across boundaries
.
Engaging diverse perspectives
.
Strategic influencing
.
Offboarding
.
Analysing the impact
.
Sustaining the learning
.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Practice critical reflexivity in relation to their own circumstances and position in multiple systems
- Demonstrate an understanding of what a system is and what 'systems thinking' means
- Develop a systems leadership approach and understand when it can be used
- Investigate how systems leadership could help tackle some of the challenges in delivering health and care
- Develop clarity on how to collaborate across your system to develop a preventative approach to improving the health and care of people in diverse localities
- Explore what is going on in the wider environment that makes systems leadership a useful approach for delivering modern healthcare
- Develop a practical understanding of who you are as a leader and how some of your personal styles and behaviours will help or hinder you in working across systems
- Increase your own capability for leading effectively across systems by deepening your understanding and developing a range of practical skills and techniques
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for anyone working in care and health with a desire to improve the way they collaborate across sectoral, organisational, hierarchical, and professional boundaries. Primarily aimed at those working in health and care, it will be ideal for you if:
- You’re already working across systems either formally or informally and you’d like to increase your impact
- You’re intellectually convinced that systems leadership is the way forward and you want to increase your ability to actually do it
- You’ve heard the terms ‘systems leadership’ or ‘systems thinking’ and you want to understand more about what they mean and how you can use them in your context
- You’re not familiar with the concept of systems leadership but you’re passionate about improving health and wellbeing outcomes for your local population and you’re curious about any new approaches that will help you
- You’re increasingly frustrated with how fragmentation, duplication and reactive service
Who will you learn with?
My current role as Head of Leadership Programmes at the NHS Leadership Academy is responsible for delivering a wide variety of leadership programmes and support for the 1.5m staff that make up the NHS
Simon works with leaders across sectors on an organisational, team and individual level. He is interested in making hard things simpler, and helping people turn theory into reality.
Liz is an energetic and skilled leadership & organisational development practitioner. She is passionate about development as a means of empowering teams and individuals to improve patient care.
Judy delivers system leadership programmes and has a strong track record in helping leaders work collaboratively across boundaries. She is currently facilitating several ICS development interventions.
Who developed the course?
NHS Leadership Academy
Our purpose is to help people discover and fulfil their leadership potential to deliver outstanding health and care.
Ways to learn | Buy this course | Subscribe & save | Limited access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choose the best way to learn for you! | $134/one-off payment | $349.99 for one year Automatically renews | Free |
| Fulfill your current learning need | Develop skills to further your career | Sample the course materials | |
| Access to this course | tick | tick | Access expires 30 May 2024 |
| Access to 1,000+ courses | cross | tick | cross |
| Learn at your own pace | tick | tick | cross |
| Discuss your learning in comments | tick | tick | tick |
| Certificate when you're eligible | Printed and digital | Digital only | cross |
Cancel for free anytime |
Ways to learn
Choose the best way to learn for you!
Subscribe & save
$349.99 for one year
Automatically renews
Develop skills to further your career
- Access to this course
- Access to 1,000+ courses
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Digital certificate when you're eligible
Cancel for free anytime
Buy this course
$134/one-off payment
Fulfill your current learning need
- Access to this course
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Limited access
Free
Sample the course materials
- Access expires 30 May 2024
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades) | |||
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)
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