Jennifer Frampton, Head of Solution Architecture and Digital Transformation at Dorset County Hospital, has carved an unconventional path to leadership in healthcare technology. Her story offers valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities for women in technical leadership roles, particularly within the NHS.

An Unexpected Journey into Digital Health

Jennifer’s career trajectory was anything but linear. Originally from Canada, she worked in customer service and sales before moving to the UK 16 years ago. Seeking more meaningful work, she joined the NHS as a band 2 renal clinic clerk booking appointments.

“I’d never have even imagined that I would have been in the digital space at all,” Jennifer recalls. “In fact, when it was first suggested to me, I think I laughed and said that you’re talking to the wrong person.”

After progressing through operational management roles, including managing the emergency department, Jennifer was approached by two senior digital team members about a six-month secondment as Head of Digital Benefits and Clinical Engagement.

“Sometimes timing can be critical to these things,” she reflects. “I’ve built my career on  secondments because they give you such a good opportunity if they come up at the right period of time to take those risks, but in a fairly safe and calculated way.”

This pivotal move launched Jennifer into digital health, where she has since held various leadership roles, including programme management, facilitating  the co-design of a departmental electronic patient record system, and overseeing operational digital services before moving into her current position nearly a year ago.

Technical Knowledge vs. Leadership Credibility

One of the most common questions for leaders without traditional technical backgrounds is whether technical expertise is necessary for technical leadership. Jennifer has developed a nuanced perspective on this issue.

“I think you need to be credible to be a leader,” she says. “The credibility can come from having the same background or the same skills as the people that you’re leading… but I don’t think that’s the only way you can develop credibility.”

For Jennifer, alternative routes to credibility include openly acknowledging knowledge gaps, actively seeking guidance and demonstrating a commitment to making conditions better for your team.

“It’s utterly critical to have subject matter experts around you,” she emphasises. “But it’s also essential that any leader is humble enough to be comfortable with having those people around them that know more than they do.”

Essential Leadership Skills in Healthcare Technology

When asked about the most important leadership skills, Jennifer highlights several key attributes that have served her well:

“Curiosity is absolutely critical. I also think the ability to manage ambiguity is really important particularly as you become more senior.” She also values perseverance and adaptability, noting that leaders must adjust their style depending on whether situations are straightforward, complicated or chaotic.

Jennifer distinguishes between resilience and perseverance, preferring the latter: “I don’t like the use of resilience. I think resilience can be weaponised against people and it can at times be used as an excuse not to deal with systemic issues. But I think perseverance is a skill or an attribute that is really important.”

In digital healthcare specifically, she emphasises the importance of remembering that technology is not always the solution: “It’s the classic three-legged stool: people, process and technology. Not getting too siloed just in the technology being the solution is really important because we’ve got to bring the people with us. It’s a human business after all.”

Navigating Imposter Syndrome

Like many women in leadership, Jennifer acknowledges experiencing imposter syndrome, even while conducting this interview. After speaking with a seemingly confident colleague who admitted to similar feelings before a panel appearance, Jennifer realised how universal these doubts are, particularly among women.

“Women often hold themselves to a higher standard in terms of what their expectations are,” she notes, referencing research suggesting women feel they need to meet about 95% of a job description before applying, while men typically apply with a lower percentage.

Her strategy for managing imposter syndrome is twofold: challenging herself to do things that scare her when feeling confident enough and directly addressing perceived deficiencies. For example, she pursued a master’s degree as an apprenticeship through work to address her concern about not having a degree.

“Imposter syndrome is the lies you tell yourself,” Jennifer explains. “What you need is the evidence that contradicts it.”

Interestingly, she sees potential benefits in these self-doubts: “I’d much rather have imposter syndrome than be massively overconfident because at least with imposter syndrome, you are asking those questions and you can reflect on where you might need to grow or develop or bring in counsel.”

The Power of Advocates and Role Models

Jennifer attributes much of her success to key advocates throughout her NHS career, including an operational leader who consistently identified and developed future leaders.

“If you look around the hospital, you can see the people that she had identified as being leaders of the future… people she might have met when they were band twos and band threes who are now in leadership roles.”

Another critical advocate was a colleague with 40 years’ experience in digital health who became Jennifer’s “cheerleader in chief” throughout her digital career.

“She’s one of the people who spots people and becomes their cheerleader… if there’s credit to be shared, she’ll make sure the person gets it. If there’s fallout from things, she’ll shoulder the burden.”

These experiences have instilled in Jennifer a sense of responsibility to do the same for others: “Your legacy has to be the people that have followed you. They’re the ones who are going to take it forward into the future.”

Creating Safe Learning Environments

When asked for advice for aspiring health tech leaders, Jennifer highlights the importance of creating psychological safety for mutual learning.

She shares an early experience managing an emergency department where, during a complex discussion about job planning with consultants, she admitted not understanding. Rather than taking advantage, the team created space for her to learn what she needed.

“Create an environment if you can, where people can ask questions and you can ask questions and you support others in their learning,” she advises. “If you build that trust, that safety, that mutual exchange of ideas, that diversity of thought, all of a sudden, you have a fighting chance of dealing with some of the wicked challenges.”

In an increasingly digital NHS facing complex challenges, Jennifer’s people-centred leadership approach offers valuable lessons for current and aspiring healthcare technology leaders: embrace curiosity, acknowledge limitations, create psychological safety and remember that behind every digital solution are the people who must use it to deliver care.