EST. 2026 · MANCHESTER
Executive counsel for healthcare's most consequential decisions.
Holland & James partners with senior leaders across the NHS and the independent sector — advising on transformation, strategy, and the coaching of the executives responsible for delivering it.
01 — The Practice
A small, senior practice built on two disciplines held in tension: the rigour of consulting, and the patience of coaching. We work where the two meet — at the level of the executive.
NHS
Trust, ICS & national programme experience
Independent
Private providers, investors, and boards
Coaching
Qualified 1:1 executive coaching
Discretion
Confidential counsel, board-level
02 — Consulting
Transformation, held to the standard of the operating theatre.
Engagements are scoped tightly, staffed senior, and delivered close to the people accountable for the outcome.
- i.
Strategy & transformation
Shaping and delivering complex change programmes across acute, community, and system settings — grounded in operational reality.
- ii.
NHS advisory
Trusted counsel to Trust boards, ICSs, and national programmes on structure, performance, and clinical service redesign.
- iii.
Independent sector
Advising private providers, investors, and platform businesses on strategy, growth, and partnership with the NHS.
- iv.
Executive teams
Diagnosing where the team, rather than the plan, is the constraint — and doing the work to change it.
03 — Coaching
Qualified executive coaching, for leaders who cannot afford to be ordinary.
Who it is for
Chief executives, medical directors, and senior operators navigating first appointments, mandates for change, or the loneliness of the role.
How it works
A confidential engagement, typically six to twelve sessions, held in person and by video. Chemistry conversation first; nothing else.
Credentials
Formally qualified in executive coaching, working within recognised professional standards and supervision.
What it is not
Not therapy, not mentoring, not a training programme. A working relationship between two adults, focused on the work.
04 — About
Holland & James was founded to bring together two things that are usually sold separately: strategic consulting for healthcare organisations, and qualified coaching for the people who lead them.
The practice draws on years of senior experience across the NHS and the independent sector — with a bias toward the questions that matter, plainly spoken, and a working style that is direct without being blunt.
We keep the client list small on purpose.
05 — Contact
A first conversation, held in confidence.
Tell us a little about what you are working on. We reply personally, usually within two working days.
- Location
- Manchester, United Kingdom