Bupa Care Services provides health and care services to New Zealanders at every stage of the aging journey. It operates in a highly competitive market and Bupa leaders need to be adept at dealing with change, as well as delivering quality care and services in a well-managed workplace. The level of confidence and capability of Bupa’s leaders, at each level of its business, is critical. When the executive team developed an ambitious growth plan for the organisation, it knew that developing its leaders would form an integral part of its strategy and Mantle was engaged to ensure an optimal result.

We developed a long-term approach that has nurtured a strong leadership culture at Bupa. Our initial focus was on front-line leadership. Like all Mantle programmes, the approach we took was underpinned by the latest neuroscience principles and offered practical tools to build leadership confidence. A core aim was for frontline managers to feel they were working and leading in a safe and supportive environment.

Our next step was to work with Bupa to develop its vision: ‘Everyone’s a Leader’. We focused on this vision and Bupa’s strategic growth objectives, tailoring the leadership programme to suit different parts of Bupa’s business.

Key themes were:

• Creation of a culture in which Bupa’s people speak the same leadership language and use similar models and tools; and
• Equipping leaders to respond to disruption, competition, and the changing labour market within the health sector.

Bupa’s leaders tell us that as a result of our programme they are now:

• More confident and capable
• Clear about what Bupa’s vision and strategy means for them
• Able to lead motivated and engaged teams, delivering improved quality of care and service
• Lead change and look for ways to make things better
• Understand how to take emotional care of themselves and others
• Build strong relationships at all levels