Culture and Leadership Subgroup

Add to favourites
As one of four implementation subgroups, the Culture and Leadership Subgroup is driving forward actions that strengthen leadership, staff engagement and collaborative working across nursing and midwifery. The group is helping to create positive workplace cultures where staff feel supported, valued and empowered to contribute to decision-making and improvement.

Have a question or feedback?

If you have any questions about the information provided, or feedback on this website, please contact the Nursing and Midwifery Policy Team at the Scottish Government NMTenquiries@gov.scot.

Leading Change, Strengthening Culture
Image of a midwifery professional smiling

The Culture and Leadership Subgroup is focused on strengthening organisational culture and professional leadership across nursing and midwifery in Scotland. 


Outcome 7: Employers will respond to feedback from staff and manage difficult situations that staff encounter during the course of their work through formal and informal mechanisms.


Outcome 8: Employers have structures in place that support shared decision making and encourage staff to participate in collaborative approaches to local and national decision making.


Outcome 9: Employers will ensure that staff are encouraged by supportive leaders who have undertaken training and understand the qualities required for the role.


To support these outcomes, the subgroup is strengthening leadership, staff engagement and workplace culture across nursing and midwifery. By promoting supportive leadership, encouraging shared decision-making and ensuring staff voices are heard, the subgroup is helping to create positive and inclusive working environments.
Culture and Leadership Recommended Actions

Discover the NMT Recommended Actions being progressed by the Culture and Leadership Subgroup, and the initiatives underway to strengthen  leadership, staff engagement and workplace culture across nursing and midwifery.


Number

Recommended Actions - Culture and Leadership Subgroup

22

Building on existing good practice and evidence and through collaborative design, the Scottish Government, partners and stakeholders will develop a culture assessment tool for all teams to use in a psychologically safe way, across all health and care settings.         

23

Employers will test and refine the culture assessment tool with nursing and midwifery teams.

24

Employers will implement the tool across multi-disciplinary teams to develop a consistent approach to improve organisational culture at a local level.

25

The Scottish Government, partners and stakeholders will develop a pathway to enable teams to:
      1)     access appropriate support for the assessment process and
      2)     Access support to implement required improvements.

26

Employers will ensure that nurses and midwives are fully supported and have appropriate opportunities to reflect and analyse traumatic and difficult situations they have experienced through responsive and well publicised local support channels.

27

The Scottish Government will explore a consistent approach to capturing information to allow for a better understanding of why nurses and midwives choose to leave their professions.

28

The Scottish Government, partners and stakeholders will ensure nurses and midwives can access sustainable and progressive opportunities to influence policy, practice, national and local strategy to achieve change.

29

The Scottish Government, partners and stakeholders will enable practicing nurses and midwives to participate in leadership teams across health and care settings to allow direct input to strategy, decision making and planning.

30

Employers, the Scottish Government, and leadership will support staff to act with autonomy, within their scope of practice, maximising their knowledge, skills and competence to influence and participate in local and national decision making on all issues that impact on their effectiveness.

31

Organisations and employers will commit to sustaining compassionate leadership, which evidence shows must be a critical component of every nurse and midwife’s role.

32

The Scottish Government, partners and stakeholders will support employers to establish sustainable leadership learning and development pathways and support NMW leadership development from the beginning of career across all healthcare settings.

33

Employers will promote development of leadership capacity and capability, and a talent management and succession planning approach covering all roles.

34

NES and employers will ensure a safe and supportive environment is in place in all health and care settings which empowers all nurses and midwives to develop and demonstrate compassionate leadership skills. Establish and implement robust processes to ensure staff can access and develop their leadership skills that build on existing policy and guidance.

35

An employer commitment for nursing and midwifery staff to have protected  time for a model of supervision which meets the individual’s needs. 
This should include (but is not limited to)
• restorative supervision, 
• peer support, and
• reflective practice. 
The model should incorporate provision for this to be in a safe space and at a time that is right for them; particularly following traumatic events.  

Explore the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce Website