Richard Siddall

Richard Siddall has been a councillor at Maldon District Council, since 2019 and as well as representing his ward, has been a Committee Chair, Leader of an independent group and Leader of the Council. Over the past three years he has led a council with no overall majority, and demonstrated through good leadership how you can transform a council and enable groups to work together, to create stability for a local authority. That local authority has gone through a transformation in its structure and the way it operates. Creating a new corporate plan and developing new strategies, he has shown how to work with Senior Staff to enable delivery and accountability. He has also held positions on regional and national committees. Leading a local authority can be stressful, but by using the right techniques and leadership skills you can reduce the stress and enable delivery. Communication is vital to good leadership and knowing how to use the right styles to influence both members and staff is essential. Richard has also created a constitution for an independent political group and registered it with the Electoral commission. His career has been varied, working with a large range of organisations. This started in IT, where he gained his first leadership experience and developed skills in Business Analysis. He then worked for a large consultancy and moved into delivering training courses. He held management posts within the organisation and moved into Management and Leadership development, and trained as a counsellor. He left the organisation to work for himself and has continued to deliver training and development across a wide range of topics and organisations. He delivers training ranging from communication and influencing techniques and personal organisation, through to leadership and management courses. He also conducts team building events, focusing on using profiling tools like Belbin and Strength Deployment Inventory. He also has extensive business coaching and facilitation experience.