Why Leading the Movement?
Rise is a leading health and wellbeing charity and Active Partnership based in the North East of England, focused on transforming lives, communities, and places through the power of movement. As an active partner of Sport England, Rise plays a crucial role in enhancing access to sports and physical activities throughout its region. The charity focuses particularly on engaging communities that are often excluded from participation, embedding principles of inclusion and equality into its partnerships and programmes.
Rise works closely with local stakeholders, staff and partners to create a positive impact at both the community and system levels. Overall, the organisation combines strategic leadership with hands-on delivery to drive meaningful change through physical activity.
Before approaching coaching, Rise's senior management team was seen as strong, with a positive dynamic characterised by trust, collaboration, and effective communication. They operated well together and had confidence in their foundation.
However, recognising the potential for further growth, the team were eager to explore new approaches to challenges and ways to develop as individuals and as a collective.
With significant organisational changes on the horizon, there was a desire to strengthen how they approached complex situations and enhance their decision-making and reflection skills while remaining open and motivated to improve.
"It might seem like a luxury to take that time away together to be a team... but you'll recoup that time back through being better set up to deal with the issues that you face together."
Clare Morley, CEO, Rise
Challenges
- The senior management team were challenged with the transfer of another charity into Rise.
- This organisational change was significant and complex, with potential impacts across staff, partnerships, relationships, and day-to-day operations.
- While it was seen as a positive opportunity, there was a high risk of issues arising, particularly around people, communication, and how the organisation would function during and after the transition.
Although the challenge was not explicitly framed as one of inclusion or equality, these themes were inherently present. Much of Rise’s work involves engaging communities who are often excluded from sport and physical activity. As a result, considerations around inclusion, equality, and access to opportunities were embedded within relationships with
staff and partners, influencing how decisions were approached and implemented throughout the change process.
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Core focuses
The team was drawn to coaching as a way to intentionally strengthen their leadership, structure and development, particularly during a period of significant change. Clare had previously experienced individual coaching and found it valuable for reflecting on challenges, gaining new perspectives and investing in personal growth. This positive experience influenced the decision to explore team coaching.
Despite being strong, the team recognised the need for dedicated time to step back and focus on the bigger picture. With growing demands, coaching provided a structured way to improve collective decision-making and explore diverse approaches.
Their commitment to working with underrepresented communities also made coaching a valuable space to consider inclusion and equality as a team.
Team evolution
The coaching programme influenced team interactions by introducing simple but powerful habits that improved communication, reflection and collaboration. One key change was the use of “taking a pause” where team members consciously slow down discussions to avoid rushing decisions and instead reflect more thoughtfully. This created space for more considered and effective decision-making.
The team also began regularly using the 'comfort, stretch, panic' tool to check in with each other. They applied this in meetings with their strategic leads which opened up deeper conversations about workload and wellbeing that might not have surfaced otherwise.
Additionally, team members now actively consider different perspectives by “looking through different lenses” putting themselves in others’ shoes, be it colleagues or partners - leading to more inclusive and well-rounded decisions.
Benefits
Coaching brought clear benefits to both performance and relationships within the team. It created a dedicated space to surface key issues, particularly around the organisational transfer and enabled the team to proactively plan for challenges rather than react to them. This improved overall effectiveness, especially in managing change, as the team felt better prepared and more aligned in their approach.
- In terms of relationships, coaching strengthened openness and understanding.
- Regular check-ins and shared language helped build trust and encouraged more honest conversations about workload, wellbeing and perspectives.
- Team members gained practical skills and also developed a deeper understanding of change management and the human side of organisational transitions, enhancing both leadership capability and collaboration.
"We've built simple habits, like taking a pause before decision-making. It changes the way we work, we don't rush anymore, we stop, reflect and make better choices together."
Unlock the power of team coaching
Tackling inequalities is central to Sport England’s overarching mission. Coaching created the foundational conditions: clarity, alignment and stronger collaboration, which was required for the team to meaningfully advance that mission. Invest in your team and unlock what you can achieve together. Register today.
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