Shrien Dewani: Why Behavioural Awareness Matters in Social Care Leadership

By: Shrien Dewani

Reflections ahead of our Evolve Leadership Training Day, Bristol 2025

Every year for more than fifteen years, I have had the privilege of gathering a large group of Evolve leaders for our annual immersive training day. It is one of the true highlights of our calendar: a rare moment where 150 colleagues step out of the rhythm of daily operational pressures and step into a theatre-style space designed for reflection, learning, and leadership renewal.

This year, I am especially excited because we are introducing the fundamentals of Tom Erickson’s behavioural styles model as a core part of the day. It is a simple but powerful framework that helps us understand how we show up as leaders, and equally, how others experience us.

Why This Model Matters in Social Care

Social care is a sector built on human relationships. At the heart of every team, every decision, every care interaction lies the quality of connection between people. And yet, connection can be fragile, particularly in environments shaped by complexity, vulnerability, and constant change.

Erickson’s model gives us a structured way of noticing:

• How we each prefer to communicate

• Where our decision-making instincts come from

• What drives us under pressure

• How our style impacts the psychological safety of others

In a care community, this awareness is not an optional extra. It is an ethical responsibility. Leaders who understand both their strengths and their shadows are better able to create cultures where people feel safe, valued, and trusted cultures where colleagues can offer their best selves and where those who live with us can experience meaning, purpose, and dignity.

Bringing 150 Leaders into One Learning Space

Our leadership day at the Hilton in Bristol is deliberately designed to remove hierarchy. Whether someone leads a household, a team of nurses, a clinical service, or an entire home, we all enter the room as equal contributors. The theatre-style layout allows us to immerse ourselves in dialogue, reflection, and shared learning. It creates a temporary community, a place where every voice matters.

Over the years, these gatherings have become an anchor for our organisational culture. They are productive, energising, and deeply human. They remind us why we do this work, and they reconnect us with the values that define us: integrity, compassion, curiosity, and courage.

Introducing Erickson’s behavioural styles feels like a natural next step. With 150 leaders in the room, each with their own approach to communication and leadership, exploring behavioural difference will help us understand each other more deeply, and hopefully, work together with greater ease and empathy.

Building a Positive and Open Culture

A psychologically safe culture does not happen by accident. It is the outcome of countless small leadership behaviours:

• How we listen

• How we give feedback

• How we respond when things go wrong

• How we hold boundaries with kindness

• How we support colleagues who are still learning

• How we role model integrity when no one is watching

Erickson’s model helps us see the patterns beneath those behaviours. It shows us where we may be strong, and where we may unintentionally create tension or misunderstanding.

For example, a decisive, fast-paced “Driver” style can bring clarity and energy but may also overwhelm colleagues who need space to think.

A people-focused “Expressive” can inspire and uplift but may lose detail if not careful.

A calm, steady “Amiable” can be a stabilising force, but may avoid necessary challenge.

An analytical “Thinker” brings rigour and depth but may struggle with ambiguity.

None of these are “good” or “bad.” They are simply different, and the power lies in knowing ourselves well enough to adapt.

A Sector That Deserves Better Leadership Conversations

Social care is full of extraordinary people who give so much of themselves, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. We owe it to our teams and to the people who live in our communities to keep investing in leadership development.

Training days like this are not a luxury. They are an act of stewardship. They reinforce our shared purpose and strengthen the culture that protects the adults in our care.

I would encourage every leader in the sector, regardless of role, size, or setting, to invest in themselves, their teams, and their organisations. Time spent understanding how we lead is time spent building safer, kinder, stronger communities.

On a personal level, I cannot wait to be in that room in Bristol, surrounded by colleagues who care deeply about what they do. It is a privilege to stand alongside them as we continue learning, growing, and shaping the future of social care, one leadership behaviour at a time.