What’s inside?
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Foreword Frances Dodd
WORDS from our chair RACISM AND INEQUALITY WITHIN OUR WORKSPACE
Words from our Chair: Racism and inequality within our workplace Silas Nicholls Inclusive leadership in the NHS: From personal experience to professional practice Lorna Krisson Building anti‑racist leadership in the NHS: a North West perspective NHS North West Race Equity Assembly
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Leadership Live – Anti-racist leadership
Launch of the North West Coaching Collaborative
Frances Dodd, Head of the North West Leadership Academy Foreword,
5 ways leaders and managers can be better allies to neurodivergent
colleagues Sue Osborne
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Your Future Your Way
Building trust and changing cultures: Lessons from reverse mentoring in Wigan Andrew Burridge The standards we walk past are the standards we set: Active bystander Majid Hussain and Abid Dar
With one of the most diverse workforces of any institution in the world, the NHS should be a beacon of inclusion and fairness. Silas Nicholls, Chief Executive, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Professor of Leadership and Healthcare Management, Institute of Medicine, University of Greater Manchester
In this edition of Leader, we turn our attention to one of the most pressing and persistent challenges facing the NHS: racism and inequality within our workforce. With one of the most diverse workforces of any institution in the world, the NHS should be a beacon of inclusion and fairness. And yet, the evidence is clear that many colleagues continue to experience discrimination, whether from patients, peers or within systems. This is not acceptable. It is not compatible with NHS values, nor with the kind of organisations we aspire to be. Addressing this requires more than awareness: it demands intentional, active anti-racist leadership. It requires us, as leaders, to confront uncomfortable truths, to listen deeply to lived experiences, and to take sustained, meaningful action. Becoming an anti-racist organisation is not an optional ambition; it is a fundamental responsibility. Only by doing this can we restore dignity, trust and full participation for all members of our workforce and, in doing so, unlock the productivity and innovation that diversity brings.
Many NHS North West organisations, including my own trust and the NHS NWLA, have committed to implementing the NHS North West Race Equity Assembly Anti- racist Framework. Eighteen NHS trusts have achieved Bronze recognition and while this is a positive step towards tackling racism in the region, the road to success is long and will require resilience, integrity and sustained commitment from leaders in the face of growing public apathy towards this issue. I hope the articles in this issue offer insight, challenge and practical perspectives to support this work. I encourage you to engage with them openly and reflect on what more we can each do within our own organisations and spheres of influence. The challenges are real, but so is our collective capability to overcome them. By working together across organisations, systems and communities, we will continue to improve lives and build healthier, and fairer communities for the future.
This edition of Leader brings together powerful perspectives from across the North West, reminding us that inclusive leadership is not simply an aspiration, but a core responsibility for us all, as leaders. There are personal reflections on what it means to lead inclusively, to system-wide initiatives such as the Anti-Racist Framework, reverse mentoring, and the Active Bystander approach. Above all, the consistent message is that change only happens when intention is matched with action. We also see the impact of investing in people, through coaching, leadership development programmes and by creating environments where neurodiversity is understood and valued. These examples demonstrate that when individuals feel seen and heard, they thrive, build stronger teams and ultimately, improve the outcomes for the people and communities we serve.
In July 2026, the NHS North West Leadership Academy (NWLA) is proud to be hosting a regional conference, Driving Race Equity - Strategies for anti-racist health and care systems. This conference will enable leaders to strengthen their oversight, as well as build collective responsibility for anti-racist reform. It is a collaboration with the NHS NW Race Equity Assembly, NHS England North West, North West Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership and the North West Anti-Racism Public Health Collaborative. We look forward to welcoming leaders, partners, and community voices to take part in honest dialogue, challenge, and collective commitment. Above all, this edition invites each of us to reflect on how we lead. The standards we walk past are the standards we set, so together, we must act with courage, be bold and drive real tangible change on fairness and inclusion across the North West.
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NHS North West Festival of Leadership
For a plain text version of this edition please scan the code or follow the link below: nw.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk/ leader-summer-2026
CONTACT US If you have any comments on Leader, or just want to get in touch with a member of the team, you can email us at
nwla.leadership@nhs.net and follow us on LinkedIn.
nw.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk | Leader
Leader | nw.leadershipacademy.nhs.uk
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