Tell us about your yourself
I’ve had 32 year’s experience in local government managing frontline teams, leading integrated services and enabling strategic transformational change.
My 12 years leading award-winning Organisational Development (OD) enabled nationally recognised transformation, that saw a ‘failing council’ (labelled ‘one of the four worst in the UK’!) win LGC council of the year, Investors in People gold and a RoSPA level 5 ‘Diamond’ rating.
This was proceeded by 20 years in frontline operational health & social care, in residential, day-care and fully integrated/partnership community services, within:
- Youthwork & residential children’s services
- Adults services: mental health, older people and people with physical sensory disability
- Integrated (NHS – supporting acute and community needs) community equipment: assistive technology working with O.T., Physio, D.N.S, supporting hospital discharge etc.
In addition, I am a professionally qualified coach and active member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), and the Public Services People Managers Association (PPMA). I hold a HNC qualification in Business Management and postgraduate qualifications in coaching and leadership/business improvement.
Tell us where you have come from and what has led you to be an associate on EELGA’s Talent Bank
After 32 years in public service, I was keen to share my passion, learning and expertise for helping organisations, that are serious about wishing to improve.
Employee engagement, transformational leadership and ‘empowering’ high-performance cultures are universal enablers of high performance. These improvements make for highly inspiring, healthy, creative and rewarding workplaces too, which is good for those communities that people live in.
Which Sector/Industry do you work in
I enjoy working with community and place, working in exciting new sectors such as ‘blue light’, third sector/charitable, commercial organisations and SME’s.
What are the most significant challenges relating to (your specialist area) posed by Covid
Highly engaged people, well lead and supported by cultures that empower people to thrive at work, will, of course, be the route to fastest recovery. Taking your eye off these areas at the moment has significant risks, especially with disruption and displacement to what was ‘normal’.
Those organisations successfully performing in all three, will navigate this period of turbulence far more quickly – engaging leaders to communicate effectively with emotional intelligence, empathy and sound coaching skills are needed more than ever.
How does your expertise influence positive change and results for our members
Having experienced an organisation at it’s lowest, I’ve had a unique perspective of what enables positive change and brings the best results.
It starts with honesty and constructive feedback.
There is no quick fix or magic elixir for this. It often takes longer than you’d hope, so I’d suggest you start the process right away!
High performance comes when you engage your people fully, with leadership direction, and a culture of sustainably and supports.
Frederick Laloux described culture as “How things get done without people having to think about it.”
Could your organisation benefit from Neil Keeler’s expertise? Express interest in contracting Neil through his profile on the East of England Talent Bank.