Stepping off the treadmill: a study of coaching on the RCN Clinical Leadership Programme

This phenomenological study is set in the context of leadership development in the National Health Service (NHS). The aim of the study was to provide an in-depth understanding of the Royal College of Nursing Clinical Leadership Development Programme (RCN CLP) participants’ experience of the coaching component of the programme. In-depth interviews were undertaken with eight clinical leaders who had recently completed the RCN CLP. The overarching theme emerging from the data suggested that coaching was seen as an opportunity for ‘stepping off the treadmill’. This main theme is underpinned by a further eighteen theme clusters, organised into 6 categories: out and in the comfort zone; mirror mirror; unconditional positive regard; creative conversations; ripple effect; and I’m OK, you’re OK. In this paper, the implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations for further research identified.