Wednesday 21 May 2025 | 09:30-12:30

Format: Half-day workshop

Stream: Leading

Content filters: Co-presented with patients, service users or carers

Session chairs:

Jamie Smyth Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust; England 

Angela Misra Aspiring Leaders in Healthcare Network; England 

PART ONE: “Channel your inner stoic” – seven actionable improvement leadership tips from ancient philosophy relevant for today’s leaders

Leading can be lonely and hard, especially during these turbulent times. Techniques to connect with others, deepen our personal resolve, and develop our ability to persevere are of substantial value, whether we are small or large-scale improvement leaders. Ancient leaders faced different, but profound challenges, and many used stoicism to maintain their focus and courage.

In this session, a diverse group of improvement leaders will share brief insights from their practical and personal experience of using stoic philosophy to approach improvement challenges. They focus on the challenges and benefits of confronting our “shadow” sides – those things about our leadership practice we often deny or ignore.

The workshop provides time for delegates to engage in structured reflective discussions around the principles that speak most strongly to their current situation. Attendees at previous forums have highlighted the benefits of the personal actionable insights generated including benefits of engaging in structured reflective practice

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Explain the 7 tenets of stoicism with examples of how they have been used to lead more effectively, achieving better results in our volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world.


• Identify the tenet/s that most resonate/s with their own leadership challenges and describe what actions they are going to take to develop their leadership practice to better incorporate the key tenet/s.

Self-reflection is central to stoic philosophy, and the workshop will also share tips on methods for self-reflection including reflection questions against each tenet which delegates can then use to guide reflection discussions within their own work.

Akudo Okereafor North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust; England

Birgit Hartoft Lived Experience Partner; Denmark

Naheen Ali Lived Experience Partner; England

Ruth Glassborow Public Health Scotland; Scotland

Wendy Korthuis-Smith Virginia Mason Institute; USA

James Mountford Galileo Global Education; France

PART TWO: Curiosity improved the leader: five simple rules for curious leaders

Often leaders aspire to act with curiosity and are met with barriers and challenges. The Health Improvement Alliance Europe leadership workgroup has drafted, tested, and refined a set of simple rules that serve as guiding principles for leaders. We’ll share our experiences, stories, and outcomes during this session. We’ll also explore the interaction between co-production and curiosity and articulate a vision for effective leadership at all levels of an organisation.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Describe the behaviours leaders can practice demonstrating genuine curiosity.


• Explore the interaction between co-production with people with lived experience and leading with curiosity.


• Analyse the lessons learned during the early testing of the 5 simple rules for curious leaders and identify where the five simple rules fit within their own behaviours and/or those of leadership development

Angela Zambeaux Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI); England

Benna Waites Improvement Cymru; Wales

Scott Ballard-Ridley NHS England; England