With characteristic audacity, we at Footdown would like our website to become the primary place where leaders, at every stage of development and of any type of institution, come to learn more about how to be a great leader and to share their experience and knowledge with others.

We know you won’t all become members of Footdown’s leadership mentoring groups or users of Insight but still we hope you will find the articles and other sources of leadership information helpful and are inspired to share something yourself.

This year’s Australian Open Final is being heralded by many as the most amazing sporting display seen for many years. It was awe inspiring to watch Djokovic slug it out with Nadal for just shy of six…More

Having recently made the transition from playing professional sport to the world of leadership, coaching and mentoring, I am fascinated in the crossover between the two and whether there really is any potential for learning to be…More

Dr Mark Kilgallon, leader of the Ascot Fifteen Leadership & Mentoring Group, talks about Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney and how it has influenced a leader’s way of thinking.

Nigel Risner is a regular speaker to the Footdown Leadership and Mentoring Groups across the UK. Here he tells us about his top ten steps to getting what you deserve. Nigel says, “There is a wonderful quote from…More

Where are we now in Europe? Europe continues its fudge and bodge, it continues to ignore the core problem which is that Monetary Union just cannot work under the current framework. The Core Problem Under a system…More

What is the next ‘big thing’ that will allow an organisation to find success and to maintain it in the internet age when all knowledge appears to be everywhere? The knowledge economy; the internet, Facebook, Twitter, mobile…More

Mike Roe, the audacious and inspiring  Footdown CEO shares his top five inspiring leadership books of all time. And in case you wondering Mike is currently reading Steve Jobs Biography.

One of Footdown’s values is to “Influence leadership thinking and leadership development through this century and beyond”, so we are really excited about the up an coming TEDxYouth conference in Bath, where Bath Fifteen Member; Midge Ure, is a speaker.

Laura Gordon, CEO of Corporate Connections International, describes her experience of being both a member of the newly formed Scotland Fifteen and a participant in Footdown’s School of Coaching.

The following piece on dealing with tough questions is from guest blogger, Michael Dodd a media communications specialist. It deals with the problem of how leaders deal with the trickiest of tricky questions, particularly those that come from inside their organisations.

In this guest blog communications specialist, James Tanner, explains why the way we communicate with our customers is set to change fundamentally and how we need to respond to take advantage of these changes.

As I listened to this opinion piece, by writer and philosopher Alain de Botton, I was struck by its relevance to my life: as a parent of two teenage daughters, both with very clear and precise moral…More

Nigel Hunton, long time Bath Fifteen member and the former CEO of Edwards Vacuum, offers a very personal insight into the 10 best leadership books he’s been inspired to read since becoming a Footdown group member.

In my quest to improve my skills as an entrepreneur and leader, I’ve read lots of management books over the years. In most cases they’ve utterly failed to make any lasting impression on me; most are badly written, boring, smug, impractical, self-contradictory, too vague, too complicated or just plain wrong. The exceptions, in my opinion, are the books I’ve selected for you.

Should the leaders of SMEs be as responsible as their corporate counterparts? In this article we consider the compelling reasons for business leaders to behave more responsibly – it’s actually good for business – and throw out the challenge to leaders of SMEs to follow the example set by their corporate counterparts.

Chief Superintendent Mike Veale, a member of Footdown’s Esher Fifteen since 2008, acknowledges the difference that being a member of James Dubois’ group has made to his career in the police force.

Dr Helen Wright, the Head Teacher of St Mary’s Calne, talks about why she joined the Cotswold Fifteen leadership coaching and mentoring group and how being a member of the group has made her a better leader.

Before I joined Footdown I had a great conversation with the CEO – Mike Roe.  This was unlike any interview I had ever had.  For one thing Mike made a particular point of asking me what my…More

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has just published the final report of its two year ‘Shaping the Future’ research programme into the factors driving sustainable organisation performance.  In this fascinating two-phase study, working with…More

The date that Andy Robinson first learned about Footdown’s leadership mentoring groups is seared into his brain.  It was Sunday 26th November 2006 and Andy had just received the call from Rob Andrew telling him that: “the…More

This thought-provoking article from http://www.leadershipiq.com/ makes a strong case for setting some hard goals which break the rules of SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-related) goals.  Far from feeling overworked and stressed, your employees will feel…More

As this article explains, boards of directors of publicly quoted companies in the USA now need to oversee their company’s risk management processes and controls.  Risk management naturally includes management of risks involving people and any risks…More

Footdown was invited to a great evening in London on the 2nd November. Harvey Nash hosted an inspiring dinner in Mayfair for business leaders and entrepreneurs where the key note speaker was Barbara Cassani, (Olympic team, BA, Go…More

The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) have recently commissioned a report into what employers look for in their leaders. One of the more surprising findings was feeling “that there is no substitute for failure when it…More

Merc’s blog – Day 4 of his adventure to the Yorkshire Dales. The weather finally turns, but Merc hikes on…

Merc’s blog – Day 3 of his adventure to the Yorkshire Dales. A beautiful hike up Pen-y-ghen, only to return to tomorrow’s forecast…

Merc’s blog – Day 1 of his adventure to the Yorkshire Dales. Merc explains a little about the reason for his escapade and remembering what it means to lug camera equipment on a hike…

When we talk about engagement we refer to the leadership challenges of keeping people motivated and positively engaged on the important activities.  Here is a controversial article which considers how technology will increasingly be used to monitor…More

Pro Bono for Public Good Nexus This is a LinkedIn group for experienced public sector consultants (including researchers, advisers, coaches, facilitators etc.) who wish to offer some pro bono help to public and third sector organisations during…More

Here is a controversial but very interesting article on the value of performance reviews as practised in most large companies.  The gist of the article is that performance reviews can be viewed with great mistrust by employees…More

Here is a collection of articles and talks from amazing TED women.  I urge you to browse through these for information and inspiration.

It is at times of crisis that a true leader strives even harder to be the best that they can be. At the recent Woolley Grange conference, Footdown ran an event with the aim of offering an alternative approach to dealing with crisis. Why? Because there are two critical issues at stake: a need to make the workplace a location of meaning for members of staff and leaders alike, and to ensure that organisations are financially viable, allowing them to not just survive, but grow in crises. Doing things the same way we have always done is just not an option.

The determination, resilience and talent of our members is being tested at the moment but successful leaders know that they don’t know enough and have to keep learning. But it is not just about their leadership, it…More