Keep in touch with Mike

Mike is an experienced facilitator, trainer, coach and consultant. 

His practice is based on a belief that people only learn what they really want to learn – and often don’t want to learn what we want to teach them! As a consequence of this he focusses on stimulating curiosity and provoking exploration about ‘the direction in which progress lies’ for:

• Individuals and their relationships,
• Teams and their relationships,
• Organisations and their relationships and
• Systems and…yes…their relationships.

Mike has worked extensively in the public, private and so-called Third sectors in the UK. He has also worked extensively overseas.

Over the years, Mike has developed a range of products and services to help people and organisations to be the best that they can, and to become even better over time! More details can be found here.

Background

With a degree in Biophysics, Mike originally trained as a Science and Outdoor Education teacher working in main stream comprehensive schools and then with children in care, labelled as ‘emotionally and behaviourally disturbed’.  He then spent some life changing time working in The Gambia before coming back to the UK to start a family.  Mike started working for a range of vocational education and training consultancies before starting his own business ‘Realise Development’ in 2003.

Until March 2018 Mike was Head of Applied Leadership at the NHS Leadership Academy.  This involved him leading a faculty in the design and delivery of leadership development interventions to a wide range of teams and communities in the NHS, Social Care and the arms length bodies that work with it such as NHSE/I.

Some Recent Projects

• Develop a Leadership Compact, or set of commitments for an Integrated care system
• Various coaching assignments in Hospital Trusts, CCGs and Arms Length Bodies
• Delivering How to Be an Outstanding Manager Training to a Housing Provider
• Design, launch and development of the Chief Executive Network for the NHS
• Facilitation and strategy development with a Clinical Senate and Academic Health Science Network
• Management development programmes at Epsom and St Helier Hospitals
• Supporting an Education and Cultural Partnership

For Individuals…

I provide coaching services that help you to manage your personal and professional development.

A recent project was with Clare Elliott, Services director: Economic Development and Skills at Wakefield Council.

My coaching experience with Mike came at a critical time in my career having just moved into a senior leadership position within a completely new area of Local Government.

Initially plagued with the usual doubts about ‘should I be in this position, how do I be the best I can be, how do I establish credibility and gravitas with my new team and peers’ I completed my coaching sessions with a real sense of belief in my own capabilities and a clear road map to how I continue to build on my own self-confidence and effectiveness going forwards.

Mike had a wealth of knowledge at his fingertips, drawing on tools and techniques that were easily applicable to the work place and providing me with multiple references to theorists, academics and business people who were experts in dealing with the same issues I was grappling with (and even gifted me with plenty of books after our sessions so I could further explore and consider the themes we had been discussing.)

Of most importance to me, Mike was immediately someone I could trust and completely open up to. Without this immediate rapport it would have been incredibly difficult to make the level of progress that we did in such a short time. I know that I will continue to use Mike’s wisdom and support throughout my career (and for as long as he is willing to share it!)

Clare Elliot, Wakefield MD Council

For Teams…

I provide team development and group coaching services. I work with senior teams such as executive directors, boards and functional teams. I occasionally do single day or half day workshops, but I much prefer to work on a longer term basis, allowing me to build a strong relationship.

Recent and ongoing assignments include working with the Education and Standards Directorate of a Medical Regulator, the executive team of a specialist NHS Hospital, the board of an NHS Specialist Trust.

For Organisations…

I provide a range or organisational development services. These include Leadership and management development programmes, Innovation development, strategy development, culture change and staff engagement development programmes.

Recent assignments include:

• providing group coaching for black and minority ethnic network members in NHS Digital
• training several hundred managers in a University Hospitals Teaching Trust
• providing leadership development to a range of public and private sector organisations