Mark Wakefield
Mark works largely but not exclusively with board members and senior leaders in the Higher Education and Media sectors. Clients include the Open University, King's College London, Time Inc., and the BBC. They find his friendly but challenging approach invaluable in navigating the often baffling complexity of modern organisational life.
Overview and key skills
Mark brings to his work skills developed as a journalist, corporate strategist, and coach. His approach is founded on the belief that we're at our best when we're true to ourselves. He supports his clients in developing self-awareness and acquiring the skill required to lead from a position of personal integrity. They value the years of experience he has of leadership in complex, often highly charged environments and the different perspectives he brings to bear on their particular situations - the social, political and economic as well as the psychological.
Typical issues include: leading through disruptive change; transitioning to new, more demanding roles; and defining the right, next career step.
Experience
Mark developed his analytical and investigative skills during a career in BBC journalism, so he knows how to tease out the story beneath the organisational veneer. He was the award-winning editor of Public Eye and had key roles on programmes such as Panorama, Newsnight and The Money Programme.
Soon after moving into management consultancy he became Head of Media at Arthur D. Little's London office. From there he moved back to the BBC where he was a key strategy advisor to the Chairman and Board of Trustees during some of the most difficult times in the Corporation's recent history, including the Gilligan/Hutton crisis. As the BBC's Head of Performance he pioneered the application of public value methodology. With his business partner, Martin Vogel, he set up Vogel Wakefield in 2011, the consultancy which sees business as part of the solution to society's problems.
Personal development and accreditation
Mark holds an ILM Diploma in Executive Coaching and Leadership Mentoring. He is a licensed practitioner of both the MBTI and FIRO-B instruments, and in the Analytic-Network Coaching System. He is an accredited member of the Association for Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision and subscribes to its code of ethics. He was ordained priest in the Church of England in 2007.