LEAD in Healthcare / Coaching and mentoring
Coaching and mentoring · available now

One to one, with leaders who carry the responsibility.

Mentoring and coaching for people who lead in healthcare and for those who will. Delivered personally, in English, German or French.

Christian Schuhmacher
Three ways to work together

Mentoring and coaching, shaped to where you are

Executive mentoring and coachingFor Chief Executives and the whole C-suite, from Chief Operating, Medical and Nursing Officers to Chief Financial Officers, and for hospital directors. Twelve or six months, built around three goals you set and the year you are actually facing.More →
The first hundred daysFor a newly appointed Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Medical Officer or Chief Nursing Officer. Six months, most intensive at the start. Often commissioned by the board that made the appointment.More →
Next LeadersFor healthcare professionals preparing to lead. Twelve or six months of monthly mentoring, self-funded or sponsored by your organisation. One place each year is offered without charge.More →
How an engagement works

From a first conversation to a clear agenda

1. A first conversationAbout an hour, at no cost. It is for both of us to decide whether this is the right fit, and either of us can say that it is not.
2. Shaping your goals togetherTime together, in person where possible, starting from what you need: your role, the year ahead and what you want to change. Together we agree three goals, and within a week you receive a short written agreement that becomes our shared agenda.
3. Monthly sessionsIn person or online. You bring what is live. I bring experience, perspective and challenge.
4. Between sessionsDecisions do not wait for the next session. You can reach me at any time on WhatsApp, or arrange a short call, when something needs a second view.
5. ReviewWhere your organisation sponsors the engagement, we review progress against your goals with your sponsor. What we discuss stays between us.
Executive mentoring and coaching

For leaders who already carry the responsibility

Running a hospital or a health system means making decisions with incomplete information, under scrutiny and often alone. Most of these decisions have been faced before, by someone, somewhere, often at some cost. Whether you are the Chief Executive or one of the chief officers around them, this engagement gives you someone outside your organisation who has made those decisions, sits on healthcare boards today and is trained as an executive coach.

Twelve months suits a leader with a full year of change ahead: a transformation, a turnaround, a new strategy or a step up in scope. Six months suits a defined challenge or a first step. Both begin with a full day in which we shape your goals together and continue with monthly sessions of ninety minutes. Between sessions you can reach me at any time on WhatsApp.

The first hundred days

A new role, a defined start

The first months in a senior role decide much of what follows, whether you are a new Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Medical Officer or Chief Nursing Officer. This six-month engagement starts with a day to shape your goals in the first two weeks and a map of the people who matter. It continues with sessions every two weeks for the first three months and monthly after that.

Boards and owners commission it because they want a new appointment to succeed. The content stays with the leader.

Next Leaders

Mentoring for healthcare professionals preparing to lead

Most people in healthcare step into leadership without ever being taught it. Next Leaders gives doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, administrators and managers who are preparing to lead regular time with someone who has made that journey, so they can avoid the mistakes others have already made.

Six or twelve months. We start with a half-day to shape a development plan together, then meet for sixty minutes each month, in person or online. Between sessions you can send questions on WhatsApp, and I reply within two working days. Self-funded, or sponsored by your organisation, in which case your sponsor receives a short note on progress at the end.

The Next Leaders place. Each year one twelve-month place is offered without charge. Applications open in March 2027. Register interest →
How I coach

Clarity, curiosity and a calm presence

I work with senior leaders to help them find their own insight, navigate ambiguity and reach solutions that last. That may be a Chief Executive preparing for a major transformation, a new Board Member stepping into governance or an executive preparing to grow beyond the current role. Progress comes through structured reflection, challenge and encouragement.

The approach combines the discipline of executive coaching with the pragmatism of someone who has run hospitals. It draws on an understanding of leadership in healthcare and other regulated sectors, while the leader’s own goals, pace and values stay at the centre.

Solution-focusedMoving from analysis to action, in particular under pressure or uncertainty.
EnablingSpace for reflection and self-discovery, with structure and guidance when it helps.
Growth-orientedPersonal and professional growth that lasts and fits the leader’s own ambitions.
Peer to peerExecutive experience brought into the conversation, without imposing an agenda.

Background

Christian Schuhmacher chairs the boards of Emirates Hospitals Group in the UAE and of a tertiary care hospital project in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He also serves on the boards of healthcare groups in Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Djibouti and Morocco and is a mentor with Global Mentors Group.

Before his board work he spent more than twenty years in executive roles in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia: Managing Director International at VAMED, Chief Executive of King’s College Hospital London in Dubai, Hospital Director of Mediclinic City Hospital, Chief Executive of Hirslanden Klinik Birshof and Chief of Executive Staff at University Hospital Basel.

He works in English, German and French. His book, Leading with Purpose in Healthcare, will be published in March 2027. The conversations draw on the same four commitments as the rest of LEAD in Healthcare.

Education
Master of Law (MLaw)University of Basel
MBAUniversity of Toronto
Executive MBAUniversity of St. Gallen
Professional Certificate in Executive CoachingHenley Business School
Questions

Before we start

Mentoring or coaching?Coaching helps you find your own answers through structured questions and reflection. Mentoring adds the experience of someone who has held a similar role. I do both, and I am clear about which one I am doing.
In person or online?Both. I am based in Dubai. The first day, when we shape your goals, works best in person. Monthly sessions work well online.
In which languages?English, German or French.
Who pays?You or your organisation. When an organisation pays, it sees progress against goals, not the content of our conversations.
What does it cost?Fees depend on the format and are set out in a short proposal after the first conversation.
Is there anyone you do not work with?I do not take on leaders in organisations where I hold a board role or where a conflict could arise. We check this before the first conversation.

Executive mentoring and coaching

A short description of your role and what you would like to work on is enough to start.

Next Leaders

Applying for yourself, sponsoring a colleague or interested in the funded place?