Who we are
The leaders of the programmes are independent leadership specialists and facilitators who pool their expertise to put on these events at Windsor Castle. They include:
Chairman: Robin Field-Smith
Co-ordinator: Chris Talbot
Leadership adviser: William Tate
Facilitators: Stephen Adamson, Chris Talbot
Biographies
Stephen Adamson
Stephen is a coach, facilitator and consultant, specialising in leadership, change and communications. The majority of his work is with individuals or teams seeking performance improvement, and his focus is on helping clients create the climate necessary to improve communications, deepen relationships and develop enduring capability. Stephen is an Associate Consultant in the Public Leadership Centre at Ashridge (focusing on the Education & Local Government Sectors); and an Associate Consultant in Cranfield’s Centre for Customised Executive Development (focused on coaching senior people in the MOD). His most recent corporate position was as a Vice President for JPMorgan, where he was responsible for HR Corporate Processes, Talent Management & Communications.
Robin Field-Smith
Robin spent 30 years in the Army, latterly as Deputy Director, Education and Training, and Senior Army Member, Defence Training Review. From 2000 to 2009 he was one of HM Inspectors of Constabulary for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, focusing on workforce capability in the police. He is now on the General Dental Council, the Bar Standards Board, and the CMI Board of Companions, and is Chair of Governors of the Royal School, Hampstead, and of the Learning from Experience Trust, and a Freeman of the City of London. He also advises the OU and Portsmouth University, and City and Guilds.
Chris Talbot
Chris joined HM Customs and Excise in 1975 after a period of engineering research and a second degree in Operational Research. He worked mostly on VAT policy, personnel policy, and corporate development, including a spell on secondment to the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury. Following another secondment to the Work Foundation's (formerly the Industrial Society's) Campaign for Leadership and School of Coaching he was engaged in promoting coaching, mentoring and leadership development in Customs until his retirement in August 2004. He is an active assessor at the Civil Service's Fast Stream Assessment Centre.
William Tate
Bill takes an organisation development (OD) whole systems approach to improving leadership in organisations, with the aim being that the organisation should be better led as a whole. He argues that “it is the organisation that determines the leadership it gets, not the individual” (if you want to find leadership, instead of “look for a leader”, Bill advises “look inside the organisation and see what is happening”). So, instead of personal leadership skill development, his consultancy focuses on the organisation’s own needs, dynamics and leadership culture, thereby “enabling leadership to flourish” using a distributed leadership model. A widely published author of management books, articles and tools, Bill uses his Systemic Leadership Toolkit to examine an organisation’s leadership practice to turn it into a vital resource. His latest book is The Search for Leadership: An Organisational Perspective (see www.thesearchforleadership.com). He was formerly British Airways’ Head of HR Strategy. He runs a blog at www.systemic-leadership.blogspot.com.