Sheena Fisher – Governance Manager for Data, Contracting & Audit
East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH)

The Context

East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) supports children and families at some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. In this environment, getting information governance right is not just about compliance — it’s about trust, dignity, and care.

Sheena Fisher joined EACH as Governance Manager for Data, Contracting & Audit with responsibility for data protection across multiple sites, service areas, and teams — all handling highly sensitive personal data.

Her challenge wasn’t a lack of commitment. It was ownership, consistency, and confidence across the organisation.

The Problems She Faced

1. Information ownership existed… but wasn’t embedded

Information Asset Owners (IAOs) were named in job descriptions and took their responsibilities seriously, but:

  • Ownership had not been actively managed
  • Practices had evolved independently across sites
  • IAOs were “doing what they thought was right”, without consistent support
  • Accountability became blurred under workload pressure

Risk was growing quietly — not because people didn’t care, but because governance sat alongside already demanding roles.

2. Engagement depended on relationships, not policy

Sheena recognised early that policy alone would not solve this.

Her role required:

  • Building trust across care, fundraising, HR, volunteering, and education teams
  • Engaging people who were already stretched
  • Creating confidence, not fear, around data protection responsibilities

The challenge wasn’t resistance — it was capacity, clarity, and support.

3. A need for credibility and authority when influencing others

Sheena needed to:

  • Clearly articulate the purpose and value of her role
  • Be seen as an advisor, not an enforcer
  • Influence without direct line management
  • Speak with confidence to senior leaders, service teams, and peers

This required clear messaging, consistency, and confidence in how she showed up.

The EMPOWER Accelerator Intervention

Through the Leadership Through Data – EMPOWER Accelerator, Sheena focused on three critical areas:

Turning governance into practical leadership

EMPOWER reinforced that information governance is not a tick‑box exercise — it is about:

  • Helping people understand why data matters
  • Making ownership practical at the point data is used
  • Positioning governance as part of service delivery, not an add‑on

This shifted conversations from compliance to shared responsibility.

Building engagement through collaboration, not control

Using EMPOWER principles, Sheena:

  • Began with face‑to‑face conversations to understand real challenges
  • Led with openness and honesty
  • Shared her own vulnerabilities — including not having all the answers
  • Positioned IAOs as her “eyes and ears on the ground”

The result was trust before process — and that changed everything.

Creating structure without overwhelm

One of the strongest outcomes was clarity around process.

IAOs asked for:

  • Clear, repeatable ways to review risks annually
  • Collaboration to make governance easier, not harder

Sheena delivered this by:

  • Running an engaging IAO workshop
  • Making sessions interactive, light‑hearted, and safe
  • Clearly explaining expectations while inviting feedback
  • Working hand‑in‑hand with IT to connect risk, cyber security, and real‑world implications

The Results

Stronger engagement and ownership

  • IAOs began proactively coming to Sheena with questions
  • Teams signposted one another: “Ask Sheena”
  • Ownership became embedded as part of leadership roles, not delegated away

Better quality annual reviews

Following the workshop:

  • IAOs referenced learning directly in their annual reviews
  • Risks, DPIAs, and records of processing were approached with confidence
  • Conversations shifted from “we have to do this” to “we understand why this matters”

Increased confidence and influence

Through EMPOWER, Sheena developed and refined her elevator pitch, enabling her to clearly and confidently explain:

What she does
Why it matters
How it helps the organisation operate safely, ethically, and with integrity

She reported feeling:

  • More confident in how she shows up
  • Better able to deliver immediate, practical solutions
  • More comfortable empowering others

What Changed Most

“I already knew I was credible — EMPOWER helped me sense‑check, refine, and confidently deliver practical solutions that empower others.”

EMPOWER didn’t give Sheena a new job. It gave her clarity, language, and confidence to lead information governance as a strategic leader.

Key EMPOWER Takeaways Demonstrated

  • Information leadership is about relationships, not rules
  • Ownership sticks when people feel supported and valued
  • Influence follows clarity and confidence
  • Investing in yourself accelerates impact across others