In this CPD episode of the RiskMasters Podcast, I speak with Angela McConville, formerly Chief Executive of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), about leadership, organisational resilience and transformation in one of the UK's largest charities.
Angela joined NCT just ten weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic fundamentally disrupted how the organisation supported parents. Overnight, a charity built around bringing expectant parents together in local communities had to rethink how it delivered its services, maintained financial sustainability and continued fulfilling its mission.
We also discuss balancing mission with financial sustainability, leading distributed workforces, navigating increasing regulatory expectations and collaborating across organisational boundaries to deliver greater social impact.
🎯 What You Will Learn
By listening to this episode, you'll gain practical insights into:
Building organisational resilience through leadership rather than crisis response.
Challenging assumptions that have become embedded within successful organisations.
Using experimentation and rapid learning to improve strategic decision-making.
Creating cultures where curiosity is encouraged and learning is celebrated.
Recognising emerging risks before they become measurable.
Balancing governance, regulation and organisational agility.
Empowering distributed teams while maintaining effective oversight.
Using collaboration as a strategic capability rather than simply a partnership model.
Reinventing an organisation without compromising its purpose.
🕒 Episode Highlights
00:00 – When resilience becomes a leadership challenge Angela reflects on joining NCT just weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic and leading an organisation through immediate disruption.
04:00 – Protecting the mission, not the operating model
Why organisations must distinguish between their purpose and the way they currently deliver it.
08:00 – Learning faster than circumstances change
How experimentation, rapid learning and celebrating small failures strengthen organisational resilience.
14:00 – Understanding changing customer needs
Why successful organisations continually challenge their assumptions about the people they serve.
18:00 – Why leaders should communicate purpose, not simply process
Helping people understand why change matters rather than overwhelming them with operational detail.
22:00 – Structured and unstructured listening
How organisational awareness develops through formal governance and everyday conversations.
27:00 – Weak signals and emerging strategic risks
Recognising patterns before they become measurable issues, illustrated through NCT's experience of identifying birth trauma as an emerging national concern.
34:00 – Enabling rather than controlling
Why resilient organisations empower frontline teams rather than centralising decision-making.
39:00 – Collaboration as a resilience capability
How working across organisational boundaries can amplify both influence and social impact.
43:00 – Reinvention and the future of leadership
Why resilience ultimately depends upon continually rethinking how organisations fulfil their mission.
👤 About Angela McConville
Angela McConville was at the time of the interview Chief Executive of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), one of the UK's largest parenting charities supporting families through pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.
Her leadership spans charity governance, organisational transformation, strategic leadership, operational resilience, service innovation and collaboration, with a strong focus on creating organisations that learn, adapt and continue delivering lasting social impact.
📚 Related Resources
🎓 Download your CPD certificate:
https://thecpd.group/p/PSWG4GA
