Gary Wright
Most recent experience: Developing and running an executive leadership programmme for a leading global retailer; Strategy development & deployment project for a leading European trading organisation; Project Management of organisational change for a Fortune 100 company; Managing Director of the Russian Federation, CIS&EE BU for top 5 architectural organisation; Director of Business Development MENA (designed and implemented marketing strategy for Libya)
Previous experience: Strategic planning, leadership and communications Facilitator at UK’s Defence Academy; Parachute Regiment Company Commander (Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq)
Education: MBA specialising in strategy and marketing; Master of Arts (Honours) in History; Graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
An interview with Gary
What is your area of specialty?
The alignment of the senior leadership of high performance organisations with the envisioned strategy and; mission centred leadership/employee empowerment.
What motivates you most in your role?
The positive feedback from clients when they realise that this free-thinking, unconventional consultancy have looked at an issue differently, offering a truly fresh, unconstrained perspective. Also, forming lasting professional relationships with like-minded and highly motivated clients of all nationalities, roles and grades, from whom I can continue to learn and develop.
What is the biggest challenge? How do you overcome that?
Not being industry specialists, the challenge is to quickly grasp the context within which an organisation exists and what it is, precisely, that a new client expects from Kinetic. Often stakeholders have wildly opposing views and they need to be reconciled if the heart of the issue is to be understood and the way ahead agreed. Emotional intelligence and, most importantly, simply listening helps to gauge client needs. A dose of compassion, humility and a sense of humour work too.
What’s been your greatest success to date?
Being able to watch the successful development and roll out of a global leadership programme in the knowledge that, although a cooperative effort with the client, it bears some of the hallmarks of my previous experience and studies.
Who is your business hero?
Although not strictly ‘business’ in the traditional sense, it would be Bill Bratton who turned around the New York Police Department. His ‘Tipping Point’ leadership is upheld as one of the most stunning modern day examples from which business leaders can learn how to succeed in the implementation of large scale organisational and culture change.
Give us your nugget quote…
‘O would some Power the gift to give us
To see ourselves as others see us!’ Robert Burns, 1785
