Consulting

Is your change strategy stuck? Are your managers disengaged? Are relationships in your leadership team difficult? Do you fear the outcome of a forthcoming restructure or merger? Does culture damage wellbeing? Is there something going on that you just can’t get to the bottom of?

I provide specialist organisation development and change consultancy to school and MAT leaders to address complex challenges like these.

To be clear though … this is real consultancy, grounded in your context. I don’t arrive with a model or a predefined idea of what might work. We start with a blank sheet and work up from there. Qualified with a postgraduate qualification after two years’ training in organisational consultancy, I am often called after ‘school improvement’ people - former heads or SIPs - have tried the usual tricks and found that ‘best practice’ from another school context doesn’t cut it in yours. My aim is to work with you to find out what’s really going on in your unique context so that plans can be enacted, potential can be unlocked and you can lead.

This is consulting for real school improvement …

My training in the Tavistock’s systems-psychodynamic approach enables me to engage with the full complexity of your organisation. It is my understanding of both the visible realities of school life, leadership and policy, and the invisible currents that swirl beneath the surface, that sets me apart and enables me to work with the interpersonal, emotional, psychological and cultural dynamics that drive behaviour (and therefore outcomes) in schools. This is where the root cause of your most challenging issues are likely to lie, well beyond the presenting ‘symptom’ on the surface.

I will work closely and collaboratively with you to fully understand the nature of your challenge. We will then agree a comprehensive process of exploration, using a range of evidence-based approaches and interventions that suit your context and specific need. These will integrate psychoanalytic theory, group behaviour and systems thinking, enabling me to provide you with a deep understanding of how your organisation works as well as practical people-focused solutions for improving it.

I remain closely engaged with the theory and practice of organisational consultancy through my role as an Visiting Lecturer on the Tavistock’s Masters programme (as well as several other post-graduate and professional leadership courses) and my engagement with a range of professional networks.

If required, I can call on a range of wonderful partners to support me on larger-scale consultancy projects.

For a confidential chat about your challenges and how my consulting might help, please drop me a line …

  • “We thought students were disengaging, but it turned out that staff were just unable to see their engagement. Recent changes to policy and practice meant they didn’t have the time, and were encouraged to focus elsewhere. Thanks to Ben’s work with everyone in our community, we saw this just in time and were able to respond before they really did disengage.”

    Chair of Governors, secondary school, Suffolk

  • "Over the last few years, I have found Ben’s strategic insight invaluable, and the organisation has benefited greatly from his ability to take that insight out into the market context to inform our approach. Ben draws on his experience and network to make links and connections across fields of practice and sectors and has added a great deal from his understanding of organisation development in the schools context."

    Dr Rob Loe, CEO, Relationships Foundation

  • “Ben has deep knowledge of the education sector & the way in which policy initiatives impact on the performance of schools and teaching staff. Ben's forte is his ability to identify potential partnerships, forge alliances & network effectively.”

    Julian Stanley, CEO, Education Support Partnership

  • "My senior leadership team really benefited from Ben’s involvement in our strategic leadership day. The activities that Ben planned for us really helped to step back and think differently about our group dynamics."

    Helena Marsh, Principal, Linton Village College

  • "Ben's approach to my development as a system leader is bridging the gap between the NPQEL and reality"

    Deputy CEO of a mid-sized MAT in East Anglia