Tom tells the story of his sister, Alison Bell, and her family’s uncovering of the truth about what happened to her in the care of an NHS Trust. He describes the nature of the various investigations that were held into Alison’s death and the role of the prevailing cultures within the public sector organisations they have dealt with; the NHS, Police, CPS and Regulatory Bodies.

This true and ongoing story shines a light on the personal, emotional and financially costly impact that public sector service cultures can have on the lives of their service-users and their own bottom-line.

Tom’s lived and current experience will help us to explore the implications for our own practice and the organisations we might seek to influence, manage and lead.

If you would like to support Tom’s efforts to develop honesty and integrity in public service then please visit https://www.hipss.co.uk/

You can also join Tom and myself in a workshop to explore the implications for our leadership development from his experience on October 22nd.

David Lumb – is an Independent Urbanist seeking redemption for having been an architect for most of his life. David moved to Chapel Allerton in 1969 and founded the Leeds Sustainable Development Group based on the Freiburg Charter. Having heard the episode with Tom Riordan, David was keen to have a natter.

He talks about his activism around transport and pollution, his role in developing the Leeds South Bank including getting £23m from a certain Michael Gove to build a Free School in South Leeds and the ensuing big and little p Politics.

We talk about housing policy – to buy or to rent? Rachel Unsworth’s influence on us and the city, Bernard Hare, Urban Grimshaw and the Shed Crew…

And the possibility of a more committed group to develop a dialogue on development in Leeds…

Mo originally trained as a clinical psychologist. He has a BA in Psychology, an MSc in Clinical Psychology and a second Masters degree in Creative Conflict Transformation through the Arts. For 25 years, Mo has worked with organisations to deliver innovative and professionally-rooted leadership development and coaching programmes. His main area of expertise is Organisational and Personal Transformation, with a particular focus on authentic leadership and narrative approaches to communication and conflict transformation. Mo works with InterBe.

The name InterBe is inspired by The Order of Interbeing, founded by Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. We share his belief in the interconnectedness of all. In our experience, no change ever occurs in isolation. When we change, we change the people around us. Similarly, when the people around us change, we inevitably change too. Our work with businesses and groups of people focuses largely on the importance of the relationships with those around us, which are created by the stories we tell and the conversations we have.

InterBe’s work is influenced by many different thought-leaders, from ancient philosophies such as Taoism to modern day pioneers such as Sir Ken Robinson, Caroline Ellis, Warren Bennis and Michael White.

John works as an independent consultant / critical friend to individuals and groups working across all sectors but primarily with NGOs and public sector organisations. He has over 40 years of experience working in post 16 education. His particular passion is understanding and learning about collaboration from individuals learning together to organisations wanting to work in ‘partnership’. He is attached to three UK universities and sits on the Global Advisory Board of the TELLAL Institute based in Dubai.

In September 2020 he was due to be taking a train from Los Angeles to Orlando for a month to write about the conversations he has as the USA goes through the 2020 Presidential Campaign.

He is co-editor of the Sage journal Teaching Public Administration and co-editor of an international book series for Palgrave on Community-University Connections. He is fascinated too by both what we learn when we collaborate as well as what we unlearn.

In 2013 he was the Founding Director of Edge Hill’s Institute for Public Policy and Professional Practice (I4P) – now the Institute for Social Responsibility. I4P was set up to provide a bridge from the university to the outside world and to support connections going the other way. Imagined as a cross boundary multi disciplinary initiative it acted as a hub for shared learning and knowledge exchange. How we imagine such developments philosophically, intellectually, ethically as well as practically has, always, intrigued him.

We talk about:

• American literature and politics,
• Manctopia/Mancmageddon and East Manchester regeneration under New Labour
• Obama, Trump and Hillary and Bill
• Cultural shifts (Clinton nearly lost the democratic nomination because of an affair – Trump builds an election campaign on the back of them)
• American Presidents and the Rapture…
• Personal Experience, Data or Science – what do we follow?
• NHS Improvement or Transformation – lessons from Covid
• Schools and Education – what do they actually teach?
• The role of imagination in transforming public service
• Words you don’t see in public policy position statements
• Marmot and widening inequalities
• The role of interdisciplinary explorations and imagination
• How might we relocate power through networks and alliances of influence
• The post pandemic context and why we might not reach it
• Stranded in the strategic high peaks

You can find John on twitter @ProfJohnDiamond

Tom Riordan talks about leadership and his career as a public servant including 5 years as CEO of Yorkshire Forward and 10 years as CEO of Leeds City Council.

Mistakes? Proudest achievements – and why they are not on his official Council Bio, Mayors and why they are good and bad, climate, inequalities and what on earth do we do…?

Can Kindness really be the answer?