What I Need to Lead: ‘I am the leading partner in management of my health’
- Written by: Grace Beaumont — Programme Manager, Self Management
- Published: 12th June 2025
Grace Beaumont looks to the Principles of Self Management as inspiration for this year’s Self Management Week awareness raising activity.
Self Management Week 2025 will return this September with a packed programme of events, webinars and conversations open to all. But before that, the Self Management team at the ALLIANCE are gearing up for a summer campaign to raise awareness of what self management really means and why it matters.
This year, we are going back to basics; refocusing on the Five Principles of Self Management set out in Gaun Yersel, the Self Management Strategy for Scotland. The principles were designed as a tool to underpin any work being done to support self management, capturing what people need from services and practitioners to feel empowered, respected and in control of their own health and wellbeing.
This summer, we are shining a spotlight on the principle ‘I am the leading partner in management of my health’.
At the heart of self management is agency; individuals being recognised as experts in their own lives, supported to make informed choices. In choosing this principle to focus on, we hope to highlight that empowerment is at the heart of a supported self management approach. Self management means you decide what your priorities are, whilst being supported by the practitioners, services and communities around you to reach them.
We regularly hear great and inspiring stories of this principle in practice, but we know there are still barriers. Truly person-centred approaches aren’t yet the norm across all health and social care settings. That’s why we want to hear from you:
What do you need to lead?
Share your experiences, your insights and your ideas. We would love it if you could tell us what would enable you to become the leading partner in the management of your health, or what things you already do. We want to hear all about it!
Email us at smw@alliance-scotland.org.uk or use the hashtags #WhatINeedToLead #SelfManagement25 and tag @ALLIANCEScot @SelfMgmtScot on X and tell us in a couple of sentences how this principle impacts your own self management.
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