Developing inclusive leadership: Insights from our work with the NHS leadership academy

With a workforce of 1.5 million, the National Health Service (NHS) is the fifth largest organisation in the world. Despite its commitment to provide “a comprehensive service, available to all irrespective of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, belief, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity or marital or civil partnership status” there remain significant inequalities both for the populations that it serves as well as those it employs. These inequalities have been starkly illuminated throughout the Covid pandemic and reflect deeply entrenched patterns of discrimination and exclusion within the NHS and wider society. In this keynote address Professors Richard Bolden and Carol Jarvis will reflect on insights from a series of applied research projects with the NHS Leadership Academy over the past four years to illustrate the complexities of leadership and inclusion and potential mechanisms for mobilising long-term sustainable change on this agenda.