REAL Trust's Annual Leadership Two Day Conference

Floyd Woodrow MBE DCM will open the conference with his session ‘Elite leadership and performance’
Friday morning will begin with David Cameron and his session ‘Leading Uphill – avoiding Grand Old Duke of York syndrome’.
Friday afternoon’s speaker has now been confirmed as Alastair Campbell. Alastair is a writer, communicator and strategist best known for his role as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and s

Day 1 – Thursday 9th November 2017

Day 2 – Friday 10th November 2017

Guest speakers include:

Floyd Woodrow MBE DCM

Floyd Woodrow will open the conference with his session ‘Elite leadership and performance’.

What makes Floyd stand out isn’t that he was one of the youngest ever recruit to the Special Air Service where he then spent over 20 years, that he received the Distinguished Service Medal for his work in Iraq and an MBE for his work in Afghanistan, that he led the UK’s Counter Terrorism Unit and has ‘Hostage Negotiator’ on his CV. It isn’t even the fact that his clients these days include organisations such as the Welsh and Scottish Rugby Football Unions or the English Cricket Board.

What makes Floyd stand out is that he has done all of this with a clear focus on values, integrity and compassion and this is what comes through loud and clear in his work on leadership with adults and on achievement and motivation with young people. It is this passion to share with others - leaders of powerful multinational corporations, world class and Olympian sports people and teams, school leaders and five-year-olds – what he has learned, that drives him these days to work globally, sharing his message about what leadership is really all about.

The compass for life is simple, concise and effective concept that explains the key aspects of leadership. It is aligned to the key cardinals of the compass. The Super North Star is the direction you need to travel, the ability to be an adventure and push your performance to the limits. The South cardinal, is how to be strategist a pathfinder and ensuring you identify the correct route you need to follow and how you take people with you. The East cardinal is your ethos and the code of conduct your team needs to employ to be successful. This is about values and behaviour and finally the West cardinal is your strength of character, the ability to get to each milestone and having the skills and confidence to do so. During his session Floyd will break each cardinal down into its component parts. By the end of the session you will have understood the compass and how to apply it to your own journey and that of the organisation you represent. More importantly you will see how the same system can be used in primary and secondary schools to give ambition and confidence to the students so that they have their own compass and map for success.

David Cameron

Friday morning will begin with David Cameron and his session ‘Leading Uphill – avoiding Grand Old Duke of York syndrome’. David – or the ‘Real David Cameron’ as we all know him – has a unique view of the educational landscape. His experience stretches from leadership of children’s services at authority level to the classroom, from the development of national educational policy to its implementation in schools and takes in work at national and regional level in both Scotland and England. The lead on Scotland’s Outdoors Education strategy, he was also involved in the devolved management of schools initiative and was a central player in Scotland’s challenging Curriculum for Excellence project. A highly entertaining and engaging speaker, he has worked across the UK with teachers, school leaders and governors and is currently chair of the York Education Partnership. He is behind Creative Conversations in Edinburgh, bringing together artists and educators, is a leading player in Scotland’s regular Festival of Dangerous Ideas and helped draft Creative Scotland’s recent manifesto on learning and creativity.

David’s session will recognise the increasing challenges faced by heads and focus on the ides of leading to make a real difference, rather than a series of changes which are often undermined. There will be ranting, humour, practical advice, and useful hints. David will address the big question – how can we do better when we are already flat out?

Alistair Campbell

Friday afternoon’s speaker has now been confirmed as Alastair Campbell. Alastair is a writer, communicator and strategist best known for his role as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman, press secretary and director of communications and strategy. Still active in politics and campaigns in Britain and overseas, he now splits his time between writing, speaking, charities and consultancy.

He has written eleven books in the past eight years, including six volumes of diaries, three novels, a personal memoir on depression and the pursuit of happiness, and most recently Winners and How They Succeed, a Number 1 best-selling analysis of what it takes to win in politics, business and sport.

He has for many years been chairman of fund-raising of Bloodwise, Britain’s main blood cancer charity, but in recent years has become increasingly involved with mental health charities and causes. A former ‘Mind Champion of the Year’, he is an ambassador for the Time to Change campaign to raise awareness about mental illness, ambassador for Alcohol Concern, patron of Maytree, the country’s only charity for the suicidal, and of Kidstime, which supports the children of mentally ill parents. He co-founded the all-party campaign, Equality4MentalHealth, which was credited in Parliament by Chancellor George Osborne with securing an extra £600million for mental health services in the 2005 spending review.

Alastair’s session will be based around his book, Winners, drawing on both personal experience and his own research looking at leadership & team-ship in politics, business & sport and assesses what lessons can be applied to leadership in schools.

Costs

As always, REAL Trust members can take advantage of our early bird offer:

REAL Trust Members – Early Bird Offer (Bookings made prior to 31st July)

£170 – Full inclusive for both days
£110 – Friday only

REAL Trust Members – Bookings made after 31st July

£190 - Full inclusive for both days
£130 – Friday only

Non members

£250 - Full inclusive for both days
£140 – Friday only

Please note – any cancellations made after Friday 20th October will still be charged

Facilitator
Venue & Travel Information

Leadership Conference Facilitatiors

For more information on the speakers for this conference click here.

Dunkenhalgh Hotel and Spa

The Mercure Blackburn Dunkenhalgh Hotel & Spa is a beautiful 700 year old country manor retaining many of its original features including turrets and porticos. Set in the Lancashire countryside in idyllic grounds, Dunkenhalgh Hotel is the ideal location for relaxing spa breaks offering a full range of spa treatments, an indoor pool and modern fitness centre. The 14 meeting rooms holding up to 400 guests set in idyllic grounds make it a perfect wedding venue and an ideal venue for meetings and conferences.

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