Who Are We . . .

Simon is a founding director of Leading Edge Personal Development Ltd and has had a long and enduring interest in leadership and leadership development.  Following a career in the Royal Marines he obtained an MA in Leadership (his thesis was on High Performance Teamwork) from the University of Exeter. He was previously Director of Customised Programmes at The Leadership Trust, and then Chairman of Values Based Leadership Ltd.  He holds an Advanced Diploma in Coaching and Mentoring from Oxford School of Coaching and Mentoring, and is a Practitioner of NLP, Time Line and Hypnotherapy (British Board of NLP). He is also an Affiliate of the Centre for Leadership Studies at Exeter University and lectures at Plymouth University, Exeter University and Carnegie College.

He is a passionate advocate of the development of leadership at all levels of an organisation, of working in teams across functions, of the use of a coaching style to release potential, and of involving people in the change that faces all organisations. He is a skilled and dynamic presenter and trainer who engages audiences quickly.

He has had many articles published, has his own blog on current leadership matters and is currently co-authoring a book on leadership from within organisations.

He is also a Patron of DecAid

Anne Watkin is an enthusiastic and highly motivated person totally committed to the pursuit of excellence, quality and continuous improvement of the individual. She believes in creating an environment in which it is safe to challenge and where giving and receiving feedback is the norm.

She is a founding director of Leading Edge Personal Development Ltd, prior to which she was owner and director of Helix Coaching & Mentoring which she set up after a long and successful career in the National Health Service.

Anne is a qualified coach, and a trained Supervisor for qualified coaches. She has an Advanced Diploma in Professional Coaching & Mentoring from the Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring, is a Certified Practitioner of the Art & Science of Neuro Linguistic Programming and is a Registered Nurse. She is a member of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council and adheres to their code of conduct. Anne works extensively with the NHS and the education sector and across a variety of business sectors.

Anne specialises in coaching, setting-up and facilitating Action Learning Sets, and has significant experience in the setting-up and implementation of Clinical Supervision within the NHS. She is skilled in project management and is a passionate advocate and deliverer of training and development, change management, cultural change and team building.

Anne acts as a fresh mind who brings no investment or position of her own and who is not involved with the organisation or its culture.