Discover how Public Health Wales partnered with Talogy to develop self-awareness, build trust, and strengthen collaboration within the leadership team.
- Industry: Healthcare and public health.
- Headquarters: Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Employees: 1,900
- Solution: Systemic team coaching, individual psychometric assessments, and coaching
Public Health Wales is one of the 11 organisations that make up NHS Wales. As the national public health agency for Wales, it works to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities for the people of Wales.
Headquartered in Cardiff, the organisation employed 1,900 people at the time of the project. Its Health Protection and Screening Services (HPSS) Leadership is its largest leadership and had grown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The challenge
When the work with Talogy began in early 2022, the HPSS Leadership Team was newly formed. It faced an ambitious change agenda while recovering from the impact of the pandemic on its services and people.
The team identified a need for leadership team coaching to support its leader development, create space to reflect after the pandemic, and align around its strategy. Leaders wanted to strengthen how they worked together while supporting the wider changes taking place across the leadership.
Why Talogy
Following a tender process, Public Health Wales selected Talogy. Its occupational psychology expertise, combined with coaching skills and a rigorous team coaching process, offered a strong foundation for the work. Individual assessments provided further insight to support each leader’s development.
The solution
Talogy coaches worked with the leadership team for more than a year, delivering a leadership development programme that combined systemic team coaching with individual psychometric assessments and coaching sessions.
Individual assessments and coaching helped leaders develop self-awareness. Systemic team coaching supported their development as a collective leadership team, connecting individual learning to the changes they needed to deliver across the leadership.
The systemic approach placed stakeholders at the centre of the development process. Drawing on concepts including servant leadership and creating shared value, it encouraged the team to consider its role within Public Health Wales and its relationships across the wider organisation.
The coaching process comprised five stages, from scoping and contracting through to review and evaluation, in support of the team’s agreed objectives. It focused on maximising the effectiveness of the HPSS leadership and strengthening the leadership team’s ability to collaborate across organisational boundaries.
The results
Public Health Wales reported that the coaching helped leaders develop both individual and collective self-awareness. Team members became more comfortable being open and vulnerable with one another, building greater trust and understanding.
The team highlighted several outcomes:
- More effective communication: Leaders learned new techniques and practised different behaviours in a safe environment.
- Greater openness and trust: Team members became more honest and clear about their needs and perspectives.
- Stronger stakeholder understanding: The coaching helped the team understand stakeholder perceptions and its positioning within the organisation.
- Improved stakeholder relationships: The team reported stronger relationships with its key stakeholders.
- Meaningful team learning: Facilitated discussions helped leaders explore who they were as a team, how they worked, and their differing needs and wishes.
The leadership team was already capable of discussing its professional responsibilities and agreeing action plans. Talogy helped it build on this foundation by creating space for the conversations that supported its development as a team.
The client described the facilitated learning process as useful and a source of meaningful insights. Independent coaching helped the team bring its agenda to life in ways it felt it could not achieve as effectively without that support.
What’s next with Talogy
The original engagement ran from 2022 to 2023. After a six-month break, the leadership team tried self-facilitated sessions and recognised the value of the structure and independence Talogy’s coaches had provided.
The team subsequently asked Talogy to deliver further coaching, choosing to continue its leadership development journey during 2024 and 2025.
Client perspective
“Rachel and Sophie created a safe, non-judgemental environment in which leaders could explore their perspectives, learn communication techniques, and practise different behaviours. Their facilitation encouraged every team member to contribute and helped leaders become more honest and clear about their needs.
The coaches listened carefully, offered suggestions, provided honest feedback, and encouraged the team to challenge itself. Throughout the engagement, the leadership team continued to set and own its agenda, with Talogy helping members explore issues more clearly and deeply.
Overall, the Talogy coaches have helped our team have important discussions about who we are, how we work and our differing needs and wishes. The way they have facilitated the learning process for our team as a whole is proving useful and creating meaningful insights.”
Professor KHAW Fu Meng
National Director Health Protection and Screening Services
Executive Medical Director