Mark develops leaders and leadership by creating leadership conversations that count – and have a significant and sustainable impact on behaviour and performance.

An Executive Coach, Consultant, Mediator and Highly Experienced HR Director. Mark is a Global People and Transformation Director, with experience across sectors, and geographies, with over 30 years’ experience in private, public and not-for-profit sectors in Europe, Middle- and Far-East Asia.  This includes Strategy Consulting (1988-94), Royal Bank of Scotland (1992-2002), Scottish Water (2002-7), the National Trust for Scotland (2007-8), NHS (2009-2011), and Heriot-Watt University (2011-2018).

Mark has been a Chief-Executive, Executive and a Non-Executive Director for over 20 years, understanding governance, compliance and strategic insights needed at the top of organisations. He has been in HR or People director roles for over 10 of those, leading the HR function, HR strategy and people-related change from the inside, working with executive teams to deliver organisational strategy through its people.

Mark is an independent facilitator, coach and consultant, and an associate with Advance HE, Taylor-Clarke, McCormick Consultants, Saxton Bampfylde and Praesta, a qualified facilitator and trained mediator with a passion to deliver and has coached leaders and leadership teams  in the HE, Public and Private Sectors including Principal, DVC, PVC, Director, Head of School, Head of Function, Head of Department, Heads of Faculty and other senior executives.

Mark has co-directed and designed leadership development programmes across sectors, at executive level, senior and middle manager level and aspiring manager level.  Common themes include strategic and transformational leadership, culture and strengths based leadership to challenge established ways of leading organisations.

What does Mark bring from his experience to organisations?

Mark is an experienced leader.  He understands the context within which senior managers make decisions and has stood in places similar to where they stand.  He has a detailed and strategic understanding of organisations and has real experience at the senior team table.

Mark has delivered major organisational, operational and behavioural change, led negotiations with and development of strong partnership relationship with Trades Unions during major change.  He brings an understanding of people and partnership in a global setting to his coaching, able to support those tackling challenges, be they: local or global; operational or strategic; and personal or professional.

How does Mark add value? 

Mark has a strong belief in people and change, and an organisational and individual commitment to ‘enabling people to be the best they can’.  He has seen the difference that well supported and developed people and teams make to organisational performance. He has coached senior leaders to achieve higher levels of performance, personal satisfaction and wellbeing, through getting alongside, understanding, listening, questioning and supporting.

He has a range of tools and techniques at his disposal and tailors his approach to each client, and their leadership needs, to help senior leaders to find their own solutions, increasing awareness, ownership and final outcomes.

Some client feedback 

 "Coaching sessions with Mark were extremely helpful during challenging times in my leadership role.  Our conversations fast became welcome and invaluable occasions for stepping back and reflecting on current challenges, but also — crucially, and guided by his questions and nudges — for developing confidence and a toolkit for addressing challenges, building resilience, and strategising effectively into the future, once the coaching had finished." (Head of Dept)

“Mark is a truly exceptional HR Director and coach. He operates at both a strategic and operational level and is passionate about enhancing organisational performance through people. This is a man with a powerful intellect, huge integrity and boundless energy. One of my favourite people.” (HR Director)

“Mark is a highly professional and respected colleague working with great integrity, insight, appropriate empathy, strong drive, attention to detail and with strong resilience. His skills in people development and personal coaching have been especially valuable across the organisation.” (University Vice-Chancellor)

“His coaching of different individuals has supported their personal and professional development as well as impacted positively on organisational performance.

One said ‘the impact has been significant. The coaching has completely turned things around for me.  I was on the verge of leaving my current role, but now I am confident and excited about the future’” (HR Director)

I have regularly utilised Mark’s services in a consultancy capacity, a tried and trusted external partner given his vast experience and unique expertise for executive coaching, professional mentoring and individual counselling purposes to work with and provide support to a number of our senior leaders and other key figureheads within the University. (Russell Group University HR Director)

“Mark Adderley came highly recommended and I can see why.  He worked intelligently, responsively and flexibly with our senior leadership team on a significant piece of strategic thinking.  His style was unobtrusive yet highly effective and really got the most from the whole team within a short time frame: the work has given us a crystallised and agreed set of decisions to now start operational planning from.  We knew that he did not have sectoral experience and, as planned, his coaching and facilitation style transferred smoothly and so Mark was able to bring out the best from us.” (Headmaster of one of the largest Independent Schools in Scotland following 2-day strategy awayday)

“Just a thanks for facilitating for us today. We had a good outcome and a good basis for future planning.  One of my colleagues said afterwards that she is deeply cynical about facilitators but has really enjoyed this morning - I think that’s praise!” (Following Joint Venture away-day discussion involving NHS and a partner)

"Mark made a huge contribution to my life. I have undertaken a lot of study and read a lot of books but it’s the things that aren’t in the books, it’s the knowledge about people and issues that no one teaches you. This is what you need to start to perform at a different level. Thanks to the coaching I started to become the kind of leader/manager/person that I really wanted to be.“ (Director)