At a glance

Client

Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN)

Sponsor

Divisional Director

Participants

Junior management team

Programs

SWITCH (2024, 2025) and leadership coaching with 360° feedback (2026)

The challenge

Health services depend on the people who step into management roles early in their careers. They are often promoted for their clinical or operational strength, then asked to lead teams, navigate complexity and manage competing pressures with little structured support.

A Divisional Director at NALHN wanted to change that for their division. Their aim was clear: to build growth and capacity within the junior management team.

Where it started

The relationship began in 2024, when the Director experienced Capstan Partner’s SWITCH program at the RACMA Conference. SWITCH teaches clinical leaders practical coaching skills, shifting the default from telling to asking. That first experience was strong enough that, when the time came to invest in their own team, Capstan Partners was the natural choice.

1. 2024First contactThe Director experiences SWITCH at the RACMA Conference.
2. 2025SWITCH for the divisionCapstan delivers the SWITCH program for the Director’s team.
3. 2026Leadership coachingIndividual coaching for junior managers, with optional 360° leadership feedback.

The approach

Rather than a one-size-fits-all program, Capstan Partners built a pathway that combined shared learning with individual support.

1. The SWITCH: Learning to Ask not Tell workshop, on-site.A shared foundation in coaching skills, so leaders could bring a more curious, asking-not-telling approach to their own teams..
2. 360° Leadership feedback before virtual coaching began.Each coachee chose whether to start their coaching with real-time data about how they lead, giving coaching conversations a concrete starting point
3. Carefully matched coaches.Capstan Partners paired each coachee with a coach suited to them, something the sponsor singled out for praise.
4. Flexibility built in.Optional starting dates and add-ons gave anyone who needed a different approach a way to get it, without changing the program for everyone else.

The sponsor highlighted the 360° leadership feedback and the SWITCH workshop as the elements that worked particularly well, and said they valued the program’s flexibility most of all.

The results

Coachees and sponsors reported meaningful benefits that reach well beyond the coaching sessions themselves:

• Increased confidence to have difficult conversations
• The ability to see issues from different perspectives
• Better handling of work–life balance and stress

The sponsor strongly agreed that the program provided the solution they needed, rated Capstan Partners a perfect 6 out of 6 for likelihood to recommend, and did not identify a single element that didn’t work well.

Why it worked

In the sponsor’s words, what set Capstan Partners apart was a willingness to listen, the ability to match coaches effectively, and genuine support in progressing the organisation’s leadership vision. The program was shaped around the division’s goals rather than delivered off the shelf, and it grew step by step as trust was established.

For Capstan Partners, the partnership reflects what we believe about leadership development in healthcare: it works best when it starts with strategic intent, mutual respect and trust, gives leaders practical skills they can use the next day to build capability in a complex system, and leaves room for each person to grow in their own way.