Making a difference

With all the bad news that we get fed every day: disaster; terrorism; austerity; war, it can be hard to feel optimistic for the future. In our lives, we don’t see all this disaster, but we can still struggle to see how we can make an impact on any of it. Mark Wakefield can make you feel differently. Every time I sit and have a conversation with him I come away refreshed and feel that I can make a difference when the tide is going the other way.

Mark is a genuine and open gentleman whose enthusiasm for getting the best from people is infectious. With his extensive experience across a variety of industries, he is working to see how people can reinvigorate their sense of purpose and use it for good in their community, society or organisation.

Most people don’t wake up in the morning thinking that they will be bad today, but often the systems that are put in place can make it hard for people to do the right thing. Instead of constantly fighting, they succumb and go with the flow. This often makes people feel that they are not accountable for their actions.

This led Mark to answer the nagging question of why is it that that so many great ideas fail to work in practice? Too often, in his experience, the answer lies in the human and emotional dynamics of organisations which, when harnessed, have great transforming power but which, when ignored, frustrate even the best laid plans. He believes the long-term health of organisations will increasingly depend on showing how they create value for society as a whole.

He unleashes the energy that comes from a shared sense of purpose, which is does successfully in partnership with Martin Vogel, with their Counter-Consultancy, VogelWakefield. They don’t bring pre-defined organisational or leadership training and hope to fit the company they work with into it. They look at the company/team and work with them to build an impactful and natural culture. Every team is different and VogelWakefield fully appreciate that each needs a tailored approach

Liliane Landor, BBC, has this to say “This is about real attempts to find solutions to genuinely complex and tangled issues. And so they listen carefully, unpick and unravel knots and difficulties, restate and summarise, ask questions and ask again, then reflect back. They’re demanding and relish a challenge – they work with you rather than for you, they engage, collaborate and ensure clarity and precision prevail. And crucially they’re perfectly comfortable navigating different and seemingly contradictory worlds.”

All this experience gained in his professional life is used to help young people who are disadvantaged, but should not have to miss out on high aspirations. He works for the mentoring charity ReachOut who work with children in disadvantaged communities to raise aspirations and help them grow in character and competence. They improve self-confidence and develop numeracy, literacy, communication and memory skills whilst reinforcing our core values of fairness, self-control, good judgement and staying power. They do this through one-to-one mentoring with positive role models and team activities to promote leadership, trust and responsibility.

Here at Tech Talkfest he resonates with us with his sense of purpose and the gift of generosity that he lives daily. In researching for this piece, I found out that Mark is also an ordained Anglican priest. So which came first? His beliefs that made him the lovely chap that he is or does his personality fit with the ethos of being a priest? You could find out by ‘bumping’ into him in church on Sunday and you can read more about why he decided to here.

Hope you are having a great beginning to 2015

Ghilaine

@LadyGhilaine

In a world of chaos, the voice of calm

As the world races around us and runs to the ‘finish line’ in the hope of reaching their longed for goal, it is hard not to get swept up in it all. Do you wish that you could perhaps stand calm; watching; waiting? Martin Vogel is one of those rare gentleman who is the calm in the face of this storm of action.

Quietly and intelligently spoken, Martin speaks when he needs to with relevant and knowledgeable responses. Not surprising then, that he started out as a journalist. He was part of the great institution that is the BBC and in his 20 years there, he went from reporting and producing into strategy and digital media development.

Martin understands that most people want to impact change and have the ability to do so, if they can find the right path. You can see then, why he was an ideal to choice to lead a project that was part of a politics initiative by the BBC to help people with issues that make a difference. Originally iCan then the Action Network, under its Royal Charter, the BBC has an obligation to support democracy and the national debate. As Martin stated “It gives people a starting point in civic life and puts them in touch with others who share their concerns”

He understands from experience how important it is to bring people, with similar aspirations and aims, together and the power of that collective group. You can see why we think he is so fantastic!

We are not the only ones, Paul Brannan, BBC, thinks so too. “Martin’s always had an impressive grasp of complexity and a keen analytical mind. Where others get bogged down, Martin brings clarity – along with options and solutions. He’s undemonstrative by nature, but no less effective as a senior leader who carries himself with a calm authority. I have the highest regard for him as a strategic thinker.”

This makes it clear to see why he, as a senior advisor at the BBC Trust, he led the first public value tests, a radical and innovative approach to evaluating public investment decisions. ‘Radical and Innovative’ pinpoint exactly what Martin, and his business partner Mark, are trying to achieve with their Counter-Consultancy, VogelWakefield. They don’t bring pre-defined organisational or leadership training and hope to fit the company they work with into it. They look at the company/team and work with them to build an impactful and natural culture. Every team is different and VogelWakefield fully appreciate that each needs a tailored approach.

As you can imagine when you speak with Martin he is always thought provoking. His blog is a great way to feel inspired and bring that voice of calm back into your life. My favourite at the moment is Being and Doing. I was lucky enough to speak to Martin about this and I came to the conversation, very much a ‘doer’. Martin’s thoughts really made me step back and consider that being is not opposite to that view. Keep an eye out on his twitter @martivo and you may get a chance to hear his wise words. If you do, let him know we sent you.

We hope you find your calm this week!

Ghilaine

@LadyGhilaine