Mark Cole

Working with people to improve organisations

With over 30 years of practice in a range of roles supporting development in organisations, Mark has significant breadth and depth in terms of his expertise.

As well as being a practitioner, he has written three books. The first outlines his distinctive approach to organisation development. The second looks carefully at corporate leadership and offers a fresh way of thinking about it. The third offers careful consideration of how to think about voice and silence in organisations. He is also a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.

Mark’s career to date and his ongoing scholarship means that he is uniquely placed to offer truly creative and impactful advice, guidance and practical support to organisations that are looking to work positively and meaningfully with their people.

How Mark works…

Mark’s approach encompasses:

  • A focus on the RELATIONAL rather than the formal, concentrating on how people organise rather than on the organisation

  • An emphasis on the SYSTEMIC as opposed to the structural, acknowledging the unknowability and uncertainty of life and how that impacts business

  • A concentration on the presence of POWER in the workplace, often hidden but always impactful in terms of people’s experiences and how things get done

  • A commitment to create conditions for DIALOGUE where participants can take their individual and collective thinking for a walk rather than simply creating formulaic “meetings” and “awaydays” riven by power and guided by their unwritten scripts

 Examples of recent work…

  • Design of a programme for middle managers to support their confidence and connection to actively promote fresh ideas for the workplace.

  • Delivery of six Unpacking Power sessions in 2022-23, which attracted 320 participants from across England.

  • Design and delivery of four separate Leadership Inquiry programmes, involving six monthly sessions of 75 minutes each for clinical staff to explore their experiences of being led and seeking to lead.

  • Support to an ICS in terms of a significant piece of work that they are doing on Inclusive Leadership, focusing heavily on systemic and cultural issues.

  • Facilitation of collective inquiry events for senior leaders – up to Board level – to create space and time for a textured conversation.