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Building Confidence to
Lead Change
Case Study with Lisa West: Leading meaningful change across a complex sector is rarely straightforward
The Overview
For Lisa West, Head of Policy, Partnerships and Public Affairs at Women in Sport, the challenge wasn't simply delivering a new initiative. It was creating the mechanism, structure and governance needed to take a group of people passionate about a cause and turn it into a collaboration capable of delivering lasting change.
That's where The Activation Project (TAP) and Impact Innovation helped to make the difference.
Supporting a sector-wide vision
Lisa first worked with TAP and Impact Innovation through a Sport England taskforce established to address the lack of female coaches in sport.
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As the original group of around 40 organisations evolved into a smaller, representative leadership group with grant investment, new challenges emerged.
The Taskforce needed clear governance, strong leadership and confidence to make difficult and impactful decisions while representing the wider sector.
Rather than imposing a solution, TAP and Impact Innovation listened carefully, understood the challenges and helped the group create a structure that would enable change.
Lisa's Key Benefits from LeaderLine Active Collaboration
A trusted critical friend
Creating the clarity to lead
One of the qualities Lisa valued most was TAP and Impact Innovation's ability to challenge constructively. TAP supported, not only Lisa as the Taskforce leader, but the leadership group and its objectives as a whole.
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As independent advisers with an understanding of the sector, they were able to bring an objective perspective while remaining supportive throughout the journey.
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"They challenge you in such a lovely way that it makes it much easier to reflect and respond."
Being removed from the day-to-day politics of the programme allowed them to ask the questions others couldn't, helping the leadership team make better decisions with greater confidence.
For Lisa, the biggest outcome wasn't simply a new governance structure.
It was knowing exactly how to lead what came next.
By combining practical expertise with empathy, coaching and sector knowledge, TAP and Impact Innovation helped create the foundations for lasting change.
Looking for support to lead complex change?
Whether you're establishing a new partnership, navigating organisational change or shaping how you lead through it, The Activation Project and Impact Innovation combine commercial expertise with a deep understanding of the sport and physical activity sector.
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Together, they help leaders create the clarity, direction and structure needed to deliver meaningful change.
"TAP and Impact Innovation don't just coach,
they become trusted partners. They listen properly, ask the right questions at the right
time and give you a clear sense of how to lead change. Their combination of coaching expertise and genuine understanding of the sector is incredibly powerful."
Lisa West
Head of Policy, Partnerships & Public Affairs
Women in Sport