The Good Leader Academy

Passionate about creating strong & authentic leaders who are confident & compassionate.

The Good Leader Academy offers courses & coaching to develop professional leadership knowledge & the skills to successfully navigate toxic work cultures. The Good Leader Academy is built on a foundation of & belief in the benefits of authentic, compassionate & highly developed leadership. The professional development courses are designed to equip all leaders (new & established) from any industry w

ith the knowledge, skills & tools to be effective, compassionate & mindful in their roles. The programmes cover a wide range of topics essential for effective leadership in any industry.

14/08/2026

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

Wiedman (2023, BMJ Leader) documents this directly...role conflict in new clinical leaders is a recognised, studied phenomenon, not a personal failing. It is not an imagination, the disorientation of moving from "I know exactly what to do" to "I'm not sure what this role even is yet" is totally valid and real!

Ibarra's research on professional identity transitions (2015) adds the part most leadership content skips: 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯. Reflection alone doesn't change behaviour but practising the new behaviour does.

That's the whole logic behind how and why I built the STRATUM model. Not another framework to read and nod at. A way to notice, in the moment, which layer — operational, relational, strategic — a situation is actually calling for, and practise the shift that is needed.

If you're newly stepping into NHS leadership and it feels harder than it "should," here's the honest reframe: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁!

I wrote a free guide that walks through the STRATUM layers properly — link's in the comments if it's useful.

11/08/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗡𝗛𝗦 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀.

Not a course. Not a webinar. A practical guide that does three things:

✅ Names why the transition from clinician to leader feels disorienting (it's structural, not personal — Wiedman, 2023)
✅ Introduces the STRATUM model — the three layers every NHS leadership situation calls for: operational, relational, strategic
✅ Gives you the Layer Diagnostic — a simple set of questions to work out which layer you need before you respond, not after

If you're in your first 18 months of a Band 7 or 8 role and everything currently feels like it needs your personal attention, this was built for exactly that moment.

🔗 It's free. It takes about ten minutes to read. Link's in the comments.

10/08/2026

⁉️"𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲" 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗡𝗛𝗦 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲.

The 2025 NHS Staff Survey results showed that nearly a third of staff describe themselves as burnt out, with work-related stress having risen again year on year. The instinct across the system is always the same: more resilience training, more wellbeing webinars, more "self-care."

I do think that instinct could be misdiagnosing the problem.

Resilience training assumes the person is the thing that needs fixing. Sit with that for a second .. we are telling capable, highly trained clinicians that the answer to an impossible transition is to toughen up.

But the survey data doesn't point to a resilience gap. It points to a structural one: staff are burning out doing the operational, firefighting work of leadership, with no framework for when to step back into a relational or strategic response instead. You can't resilience your way out of never having been shown how to lead differently.

I'd rather give a new leader one practical tool for recognising which kind of response a situation actually needs, than one more session on managing their stress response to a problem nobody's helped them solve.

That's the entire premise behind the guide I wrote for new NHS leaders. Not "be more resilient." A framework for knowing what a situation is actually asking of you so you're not white-knuckling through every single day.

Genuinely curious where people land on this... is resilience training helping you, or masking the actual problem?

🔗 The link to the guide is in the comments.

26/07/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 "𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿" 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀.

Question... ? A rota gap lands on your desk. Do you cover it yourself, coach someone else to own it, or step back and ask why it keeps happening?

Most new clinical leaders default to the same answer every time: cover it yourself. It's the fastest response and the one your clinical training rewarded for years.

However, research on clinical-to-leadership identity transitions backs this up... clinicians moving into leadership consistently default to the operational response, even when a relational or strategic one would serve the team better. The clinical identity was "claimed" long before the leadership one was (Irving, Neves & Dambha-Miller, 2023).

The fix isn't abandoning your operational instinct. It's building the 𝘱𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 to ask yourself: what does this specific situation actually need from me right now?

That question and a simple 3-question diagnostic for answering it under pressure is what I'm teaching live in the STRATUM Masterclass on Tuesday 29th July, 7pm, for free.

If you want the full diagnostic, the registration link 🔗 is in the comments.

24/07/2026

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 .... 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻."

Here's something I wish someone had told me on day one as a new Band 7 Physiotherapy Team Leader.
➡️ The disorientation you feel when you step into a leadership role isn't a sign you're not cut out for it. It's the normal, well-documented experience of a transition of your professional identity.

Herminia Ibarra's (2015) research on leadership identity is clear on this: new leaders don't reflect their way into the role first and then act differently. It happens the other way round. You act differently first, in small, deliberate ways, and then, your identity catches up.
That's why "𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵" is such unhelpful advice.

Confidence is the output of new behaviour, not the input.

This is the exact starting point for the STRATUM Masterclass I'm running live on 29th July 2026.
✅45 minutes
✅Free
✅ Built entirely around practical shifts you can make this week, not theory to sit with.

Registration link below if you'd like to join. I'd love to see you there.
the-good-leader-academy-jyg8s2.subscribepage.io

12/07/2026

𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗥 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 ➡️ 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.

Edmondson's 1999 research found something that still surprises people today: high-performing teams didn't make fewer mistakes. They reported more of them, because the environment made it safe to speak up before errors compounded.

Kotagal et al. (2025, PLOS One) one of the most recent systematic reviews on this links psychological safety directly to better patient outcomes, including less adverse events. This is robust clinical evidence and not management theory.

But here's what I find genuinely interesting. Your clinical training gave you the three behaviours that build psychological safety:
✅ Asking questions rather than assuming.
✅ Naming uncertainty without losing authority.
✅ Making it safe for others to flag concern.
You do these things with patients automatically. The question is whether you bring them to your team and their culture.

There's one test I always use with the leaders I work with.
I ask, what happens in your team when someone raises a mistake?
Your response in that moment, not your policies ..... your response is either building psychological safety or eroding it. There's no neutral.

This week: try to notice your next response to someone raising a problem or concern. Focused on how your response landed and less on what you said.
Think about this few things:
Did your team feel genuinely safe to raise the concern or do people manage up rather than flag early?

Understanding this concept is one of the things we will work through in the STRATUM Masterclass — 29th July 2026 , free, 45 minutes.

🔗 Link in comments to sign up

06/07/2026

Here's what I've noticed after looking at hundreds of Clinical Strengths Assessment results.

Almost every NHS Band 7 and 8 leader in their first 18 months has a genuine strength profile, real capabilities, directly transferable from clinical practice into leadership. However, almost all of them are using those strengths in the wrong way. Not because they don't know better. Because nobody has shown them the map.

✅ I've been building something to fix that.

A live, free session. Just 45 minutes of your time. You can bring your assessment results and use them in real time, on real challenges/scenarios to build the map that tells you exactly where your strengths deliver most and where your 'shadow side' is quietly sabotaging you.

Save the date: Wednesday 29th July 2026 @ 7pm.

If this is something you need — comment below or follow so you don't miss it when I open the registration.

02/07/2026

👀 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴!

Since I started sharing the STRATUM model, the Survival Guide, and the Clinical Strengths Assessment the question I've received most from Band 7s, Band 8s, people a few weeks into their first leadership role as well as those who've been in it for many years and still feel stuck is a version of the same thing:

"𝘐 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧?"

The truth:
👉 The PDF can't answer that question.
👉 The assessment can't fully answer it either.

💡 So I've built something that can.

A free live masterclass:
✅ 45 minutes.
✅ NHS-specific.
✅ Built around doing, not watching.

𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚 - 𝙒𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝟮𝟵𝙩𝙝 𝙅𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 @ 𝟳𝙥𝙢

If you want to be the first to know when registration opens: drop a 🙋 in the comments and I'll make sure you hear about it before anyone else.

19/06/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗵𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗡𝗛𝗦 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱.... 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁!

It's that you're still trying to be the person who solves everything, for everyone, all of the time.

When clinicians step into Band 7 and 8 roles, most make the same mistake thinking leadership means taking on more.

So they:
➡️ Try tofanswer every question
➡️ Try to Fix every problem
➡️ Attend every meeting
➡️ Carry every concern
➡️ Become the safety net for everyone around them

At first, this feels the responsible thing to do, but then, it becomes exhausting. Leadership isn't about becoming the most capable person in the room, it's about creating the conditions for other people to succeed without needing you every five minutes.

Feel uncomfortable with that thought? You're not alone.

Many NHS leaders spend months trapped in "doing mode" because that's where they've always been successful, but the behaviours that made you an excellent clinician won't automatically make you an effective leader.

The transition starts when you stop asking:

❌ "How do I solve this?"

And start asking:

✅ "How do I help others solve this?"

That one shift can change everything.... really, it can!

If you're new to NHS leadership, I've created a free guide called:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗡𝗛𝗦 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲

Inside, I share 3 leadership switches that will help clinicians move from firefighting to leading and an insight into my leadership model that can help you become the NHS leader you are meant to be.

Follow the link below and I'll send it across straight away.
pxboug.subscribepage.io

♻️️If this resonates, repost it. There are a lot of exhausted NHS leaders out there who need to hear this.

12/06/2026

❓❗𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗡𝗛𝗦 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲.
That the leaders above them, the ones who seem calm, confident, and in control are simply better at the job than them.......They're not.

Here's the thing that nobody tells you when you step into your first Band 7 or 8 role: The feeling of overwhelm that most new leaders experience isn't because the role is too big its because you're trying to lead a three-layer role from one layer only.
Ibarra's research on professional identity transitions (2015) makes a finding that stops most new leaders cold when they hear it: 𝘐𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰.

Most leadership development gets this backwards. It asks you to understand the theory first, then apply it.

STRATUM leadership starts with the question that actually matters:
What would it look like to lead this situation from one layer up?

Not permanently. Not dramatically. Just — for this conversation, this decision, this moment. That single shift from doing to asking, from reacting to influencing, from today to systems is where confident leadership begins.

It doesn't require more time.
It doesn't require a new personality.
It requires a framework and the practice to use it.

I'm building a live masterclass in July to teach exactly this. It's free to attend. If this is landing with you there are two places to start right now, both completely free:

📘 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗡𝗛𝗦 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 — the three practical switches you can make this week
pxboug.subscribepage.io

📊 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 — which layer your clinical strengths already sit in
the-good-leader-academy-zr6w6f.subscribepage.io

Which one calls to you most? 👇

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