About Joel Stanton

I am a registered nurse and chartered manager interested in leadership, wellbeing, and workforce culture in healthcare.

My career has spanned frontline clinical practice, service leadership, workforce roles, and trade union representation within the NHS. Through this work, I have become particularly interested in how leadership decisions are felt by staff, how professional identity develops over time, and what helps people sustain long and meaningful careers in complex healthcare systems.

Alongside clinical and operational leadership, I hold postgraduate qualifications in management, coaching, and healthcare research. I have contributed to academic work in stroke care and service improvement, and I continue to be interested in how evidence, systems thinking, and lived experience can be brought together in practical and humane ways. Selected academic work is available via my ResearchGate profile.

Much of my current work focuses on the everyday realities of leadership and work in healthcare. I write and speak about leadership, wellbeing, and workforce culture, with a particular focus on compassion, fairness, and sustainability. I am drawn to leadership that is thoughtful rather than performative, and to ways of working that acknowledge both responsibility and humanity.

Alongside this, I founded The Caring Coach, an independent coaching practice offering structured, ethical support to healthcare professionals. I also host The Caring Leadership Podcast and write the Caring Leadership Blog, which explore leadership and working life in healthcare with honesty and nuance. The Caring Club sits alongside this work as a free monthly space for reflection and wellbeing for people working in health and care.

Outside of work, I am a keen runner. Marathon running has shaped how I think about resilience and the long view. I am less interested in quick fixes, and more interested in how people stay well, effective, and grounded over time.