People, Plans and Practical Implications for Leaders at Every Level: Insights from Two NHS Leaders

Productivity in the NHS is not simply a numbers problem. It is a people problem too, shaped by rules that can teach clinicians to say no. In this panel from the Connected Health & Care Summit 2026, Stella Vig, National Clinical Director for Elective Care, Consultant Vascular and General Surgeon and Foluke Ajayi, Chief Executive of Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, share career stories, views on sponsorship and imposter syndrome, what surprised them about productivity data, why staff should see their own data first, and the one thing each of them would change if they could. 

Watch Stella Vig and Foluke Ajayi discuss sponsorship, imposter syndrome, productivity, the golden thread of data, and why one would get rid of RAG ratings and the other wants the NHS to try fast, fail fast and move fast. 

What the panel covers and the key messages

This panel explores leadership, productivity and data through two careers shaped by sponsorship, risk-taking and curiosity. The key messages and perspectives shared were: 

• Sponsorship matters more than mentoring. Imposter syndrome never goes away, and the panellists discuss the need for deliberate support, particularly for women. 

• Productivity is being hindered by rules and clinical risk appetite that Stella Vig argues can teach people to say no. Stella Vig wants the NHS to adopt a “try fast, fail fast, move fast” culture 

• Foluke Ajayi tells colleagues to seek forgiveness, not permission, and means it. 

• Staff should see their own data first. Foluke Ajayi argues that “There’s no conversation about me without me” applies to staff as much as patients 

• Foluke Ajayi would abolish RAG ratings because they stop curiosity. You either over-focus on the red or ignore the green until it becomes a red 

• The data exists across finance, ESR, job planning and registries but the golden thread pulling it together is not yet fully joined up.