Neil has a unique ability to create practical, powerful understanding of very complex situations and content.  Neil’s approach to change and leading change is based in deep knowledge and experience in the areas of individual and organizational change which he has transformed into powerful, practical approaches.

In working with Neil over the last 8 years, I have watched him help clients make sense of situations that seemed hopelessly confused and create a constructive path forward with optimism and deeper understanding.  Neil has an engaging and reflective style and a very high level of integrity.

Neil is an excellent presenter when that is needed, but you can more often find him leading interactive, interesting discussions that lead people to achieving results. He is a joy to work with!

Dr. Baker is uniquely skilled in bringing objective measures into work that are deeply rooted in heart and soul. His ability to measure and analyze results along with his gift of inspiring and motivating excellence definitely leads to measurable performance improvement and increased satisfaction for health care professionals.

No other leader I’ve worked with has been as capable in validating my potential and coaching me in developing effective strategies to close even the most daunting of performance gaps.

Dr. Baker is a natural change agent. He is particularly skilled in sharing critical performance feedback that results in measurable improvements in patient care. You will be encouraged, inspired and truly enjoy your most challenging work with him as your consulting partner or coach.

Neil has been a partner in helping Integrated Health Partners (IHP) develop our curriculum for training coaches in primary care transformation. Several qualities distinguish Neil from other consultants we have worked with. He did not deliver a “boxed” program, but listened to our issues and concerns. He partnered his depth of experience with our understanding of our unique situation to create a tailored coaching curriculum for our organization.

His collaborative and mentoring style has allowed us to grow and develop in coaching to allow this to be a sustainable part of our organization. His experience encompasses the technical and interpersonal skills critical for successful coaching.

Neil worked with medical and operational leaders in two of our primary care clinics. Beyond just subject matter expertise, Neil could really “hear” the issues, even if we couldn’t articulate the root causes clearly.  Neil was able to synthesize the issues and suggest effective approaches. His gentle (but persistent!) style moved our clinics along. And our improvement journey continues even after Neil is not guiding us.

We miss his insights, but he left us with skills and perspectives that we’ve applied in other improvement efforts. We now regularly create run charts to track our work, and we objectively look at the results and design tests of change. We learned to speak honestly with one another about our performance, and we can now see opportunity in what initially seems to be a set-back. Clinics are reaching their goals on measures of clinical care, processes of care, and office cycle time.

I had the pleasure of inviting Neil to facilitate a workshop for our Provincial Conference for Continuing Medical Education Leaders in April 2009 where he thoughtfully guided us through the topic of “A Journey Away from the Expert Model: Integrating Adult Learning Principles and Methods.”

In developing the workshop material, he partnered with a number of members on the planning committee to arrive at the key messages for his presentation. During the workshop, his uncanny ability to draw upon the audience’s knowledge base and engage the participants in reflective thinking and subsequently allowing them to navigate through the basic building blocks to effective learning was done with exceptional ease. He demonstrated by modeling how adult learning principles should work for this sophisticated audience and embedding those concepts for his learners far more effectively than any didactic lecture could achieve.

He was able to perform this coaching job so well that it seemed almost effortless. This, in my opinion, is the ultimate hallmark of a very skilled facilitator!

Dr. Neil Baker has provided coaching to me both on specific tasks and in larger picture strategizing during my work as a lead within programs aimed at supporting all family physicians in British Columbia through the General Practice Services Committee. Through his coaching I was introduced to a wide world of content, an expert opinion on the literature and timely support to help me increase my skills and confidence to try something creative and new.

Dr Baker has a unique ability to challenge your best intentions in ways that are supportive and compassionate while revealing potentially flawed thought and avoiding misdirection. I am definitely grateful for his assistance and have grown personally and professionally since working with him.

Neil Baker has been among my valued colleagues for many years. His ability to analyze and synthesize information, combined with his deep knowledge of rapid cycle improvement and processes of change have helped organizations (and individuals leading change in organizations) succeed in improving care. These skills and his personal warmth and sense of humor make him a valuable resource when embarking on a change journey.

Neil Baker has worked with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) for many years in a number of different roles. The context in which I interacted with Neil was around very challenging new work that IHI put together on improving the use of specialty care.

In this work he faced many challenges: from the development of content to recruitment to working with a new IHI team. He recognizes that there are different styles in the way people work and works with these styles and personalities to strengthen the team.

He has flexibility to see when one process is not working and that a new direction needs to be taken. He recognizes talent in others and tries to nurture it along. To do this kind of work you need to be a good listener as well as a coach and Neil has this characteristic.

Neil Baker has been an extraordinary mentor, coach and colleague in the years that I have worked with him. Not only does he freely share his profound thinking on evidence in health care, but he also has an uncanny ability to sense what an individual, team or organization needs at any given time. He knows when to go slowly and when to pick up the pace.

Working with him in any capacity is a pleasure – from the most detailed literature review to brainstorming fresh, innovative ideas. Neil brings all his intelligence and energy to each situation and brings out the finest thinking, feeling and doing in others.

Neil has demonstrated a keen ability to facilitate discussions among folks with very differing points of view. His ability to draw out differences and commonalities which then lead to consensus is, I think, one of his talents.