Writing and Publications
Liz is passionate about sharing her knowledge in an engaging and accessible way that is useful and relevant for leaders and managers working in the thick of change.
Liz is passionate about sharing her knowledge in an engaging and accessible way that is useful and relevant for leaders and managers working in the thick of change.
We are often bombarded with negative press coverage about the NHS bemoaning what is not working, the near misses, complaints. Deficit talk and thinking can easily dominate.
This readable book, grounded in research and the experiences of current health leaders, provides ideas and practical help, showing what is required to shift cultures in practice as well as in theory. ‘Hope Behind the Headlines’ will leave readers energised and hopeful about their own ability to make a genuine difference to patient care where they work. Chapters written by leaders in health care who have shifted their local cultures and share their experiences, warts and all, provide powerful, empathetic, first-person narratives that are very different from the sanitised case studies that are often published.
“This inspirational book offers hope in abundance and also practical ideas about how to shift cultures to be more conducive to providing the quality of patient care we all want to see.”
Professor Dame Sally Davies Chief Medical Officer“This is a kindness of a book. It offers rich and deeply personal insights from leaders about how we can all learn to improve health care ... Wonderful.”
Andy Cruickshank Director of Nursing,
‘Beyond the Toolkit’ argues that understanding QI methods such as Lean and TOC is necessary but not sufficient. Success comes through paying attention to the contextual, relational and personal domains of leadership, as well as the technical.
This highly accessible book reveals the underlying thinking and assumptions behind different QI methods to help leaders understand where and why they really differ and make choices between them. In addition, the book explores how to be an effective relational leader who is self-aware and organizationally savvy as leading QI is not a solo endeavour. It concludes with chapters written by senior NHS leaders who share their own stories, warts and all, to provide, insight, ideas and encouragement.
“This is the perfect book for those who believe that quality improvement is more than just the ‘method’.”
Jonathan Warren Acting Chief Executive“Deeply personal and disarmingly honest, the stories of improvement …are expertly curated.”
Dr Lourda Geoghegan Director Quality Improvement and Medical Director“This book inspired and motivated me as it helped me see more clearly the rationale for QI and the human side.”
Ellie Richards 5th-year medical student“This book takes a refreshing look at leadership, blending the human element with context and technical aspects.”
Mark Brassington Chief Operating Officer
‘Relational Change’ offers a refreshingly new and human way of understanding change, exploring why the ability to work relationally is what differentiates those who are able to lead sustained change from the ‘also rans’ and the ‘burnt out’. It challenges the myth of the heroic leader, liberating you from feeling you ought to solve everything. It shows how you too can encourage dialogue, connect with others and work well with power, politics and emotions. If offers ways of understanding how to unstick unhelpful patterns and create energy and enthusiasm for innovation and change wherever you work. An ideal companion for seasoned as well as novice leaders, this practical and wise book enables you to navigate the messiness of change. It is a book that comes alongside you, a coach in your pocket, extracting and synthesizing what is of practical use from academic research and theory.
“Engaging, clear, human, rigorous, enlivening.”
George Binney Author of Living Leadership“Anyone in the organizational trenches looking for guidance will find some here.”
Gervase R. Bushe Professor of Leadership and OD,“This book is as refreshing as it is powerful. A tour de force.”
Professor Donald MacLean The University of Glasgow, Adam Smith Business School
Organizational Change: Perspectives on Theory and Practice is designed for students of organizational change, particularly those on upper level undergraduate and Masters’ level programmes, including MBAs. It is equally of interest to practitioners who are curious to learn more about change theory as well as hungry for practical insights.
This engaging textbook, written by academics who also work as consultants with organizations undergoing change, offers depth and breadth. In helping you to navigate the landscape of change, looking at organizational change from a variety of different perspectives rather than being firmly wedded to one.
“This will be an invaluable resource for faculty, students and consultants alike”
Dave Bond Collective Leadership Institute; visiting faculty at“I am impressed by the breadth of knowledge of the authors”
Mairi Watson De Montfort University“A refreshingly readable book”
Marcus Powell Group HR and OD Director, Nuffield Health“Hope is such an important ingredient in healthcare and needed more than ever right now. This inspirational book offers hope in abundance and also practical ideas about how to shift cultures to be more conducive to providing the quality of patient care we all want to see.”
Professor Dame Sally Davies Chief Medical Officer“This is a kindness of a book. It offers rich and deeply personal insights from leaders about how we can all learn to improve health care … Wonderful.”
Andy Cruickshank Director of Nursing,“This is the perfect book for those who believe that quality improvement is more than just the ‘method’. It takes the reader on a journey from defining quality improvement through to how to create the culture that QI needs for it to thrive in an organization. The examples are fantastic at bringing a real-life feel to the text.”
Jonathan Warren Acting Chief Executive“Deeply personal and disarmingly honest, the stories of improvement …are expertly curated. Beyond the Toolkit is anchored in the everyday challenges we all face working in complex health and care systems. Yes the tools are important but even more valuable are the relationships we nurture, the choices we make and our ability to understand ourselves and our context. Stories from the frontline - all in a rich tapestry of leaning!”
Dr Lourda Geoghegan Director Quality Improvement and Medical Director“I so wished I’d read this before undertaking the mandatory QI project during my fourth year. This book inspired and motivated me as it helped me see more clearly the rationale for QI and the human side.”
Ellie Richards 5th-year medical student“This book takes a refreshing look at leadership, blending the human element with context and technical aspects. An insightful and powerful foray into leadership and quality improvement that could just change how you view yourself and others!”
Mark Brassington Chief Operating Officer“Engaging, clear, human, rigorous, enlivening. This is a must-read for people leading change in organizations. It is an intensely practical distillation of years of accumulated wisdom and it may change the way you go about leading. Wiggins and Hunter offer an antidote to the top-down change programmes we still see in too many organizations. Make sure you get your copy.”
George Binney Author of Living Leadership“Wiggins and Hunter’s Relational Change is a breath of fresh air in the change literature. They explain why the typical top-down, change management approach usually doesn’t work and offer, instead, practical tools and models for engaging the people who will have to change in being the change. Unlike most change books, it’s not just for the most senior leaders. Anyone in the organizational trenches looking for guidance will find some here. Well written, with many true to life examples, easy to read without insulting the reader’s intelligence … managers who accept the messy, unpredictable, political world of organizational change will find value in this book.”
Gervase R. Bushe Professor of Leadership and OD, Simon Fraser University, Canada“Written from a relational perspective, it is full of practical guidance on the complex processes of organizational change and development. For those interested in change in organizations, and particularly for those responsible for managing or leading it, this excellent book is a ‘must read’.”
Professor Donald MacLean The University of Glasgow, Adam Smith Business School“This will be an invaluable resource for faculty, students and consultants alike”
Dave Bond Collective Leadership Institute; visiting faculty at University of Cape Town and Erasmus University, Netherlands.“I am impressed by the breadth of knowledge of the authors. The text employs excellent examples from the UK and internationally.”
Mairi Watson De Montfort University“A refreshingly readable book. Leaders and managers in the throes of change will find theories which help them see the challenges they face from different perspectives as well as ideas for applying those theories in practice.”
Marcus Powell Group HR and OD Director, Nuffield Health
Academic WritingLiz remains fascinated by organizational and individual change and so continues to deepen her understanding through research, sharing her findings at conferences and in academic papers. She is Associate Professor of Change and Leadership at Ashridge Business School, now part of Hult International Business School, where she designed and runs a Masters programme for leaders in the NHS called GenerationQ. Liz has also been guest lecturer at many institutions including Birkbeck College, University of London, City University, and Nijmejen University in The Netherlands.
‘An OD approach to leadership development: questions and consequences.’
Journal of Management Development (2018) Download
‘Framing not defining – an alternative to competencies as a basis for developing leaders. Learning from GenerationQ.’
Full Paper submitted for the 8th Annual DLCC Conference (July 2016) Download
Attaining, sustaining and spreading improvement: Art or Science?, “Giving Voice to Humanity: early findings from using Action Research and Appreciative Inquiry in Qatar’s ambulance service”
10th International Behaviour in Healthcare Conference, United Kingdom. (April 2016) Download
Attaining, sustaining and spreading improvement: Art or Science?, “Pluralism: the art and science of making (practical) choices about change and improvement methods”
10th International Behaviour in Healthcare Conference, United Kingdom. (April 2016) Download
GenerationQ: The Organisational and Personal Impact of the Programme. An Evaluation Report prepared for the Director of The Health Foundation.
(2015) Download
Constructing work identity through accommodation, assimilation or rejection? Emerging leadership narratives of Senior Emiratis working alongside Western Expatriates.
6th Developing Leadership Capacity Conference, Lancaster University Management School (June, 2014) Download
“Participatory change interventions: Invitation to share power or ‘benign manipulation’?”
Paper to EGOS Conference on Power, Cambridge University (April, 2012) Download
Supervision, lives and audiotapes
Coaching at Work, Vol. 6, Issue 6, pp.42 - 45 (2011) Download