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Hey, I'm Richard Wills...

...and I’m a management and leadership training
specialist.

You probably want to learn more about what I can do for you.

That’s cool, but first let’s break the ice a little…

As you’ve already gathered, seeing as it’s plastered all over this website, my name is Richard and I’m a management and leadership training specialist. I work with all types of organisations, both large and small, but mostly those from within the public sector, supplying their management, leadership and wider skills training solutions.

To date I’ve worked with over 50% of the country’s local authorities, supporting approximately 5000 people to become the very best version of themselves.

I launched my own business in 2020 after spending around 18 years in both central and local government. My love of organisational and personal development exploded in 2012 when Breckland Council empowered me to create and lead Breckland Training Services (BTS), a local authority owned L&D company which has become quite infamous for its Local Authority Challenge product.

There’s loads more I want to tell you about including: a Guinness World Record, paint brushes, Boy George, meeting over a thousand brides and walking 100km non-stop but I’ll leave that until we know each other a bit better.

Anyway, that’s enough about me, what about you….?

Management & Leadership.

First up, a heads up. Every session, workshop and event that I deliver is done so in-house at your premises or at a location sourced by you. None of my products are open sessions where you can book a space or two on a specific date. There is no minimum or maximum numbers required for the session to go ahead either, although I recommend capping the head count to 24 if you can.

Whilst I do have a number of off the shelf management and leadership programmes ready to go, I prefer to start with a blank piece of paper, you opposite me, a big mug of tea or coffee in front of us both and our thoughts, imagination and creativity running wild. This approach has led to some amazing results which you can read in the testimonial section.

Most management and leadership programmes are put into action to help deliver a number of things; a standard of leadership behaviour needs to be set, a consistent approach to management needs to be agreed, managers and leaders need common direction after an intense period of change or a certain group of managers/leaders need some investment to support their morale or their personal development. Whatever the reason, let’s create a unique and bespoke programme together, that will deliver results and crystal-clear changes to behaviours.

To get the ball rolling simply get in touch. There are various ways you can do that and I’ve listed them in my contact section.

Here’s a picture of my Mum and Dad (why? You ask…)
Well it’s their values of honesty, integrity, hard work and togetherness that I have inherited. These are the values that you’ll see oozing out of me when we work together.

Wider Skills Courses.

First up, a heads up. Every session, workshop and event listed below is delivered in-house at your premises or at a location sourced by you. None of my products are open sessions where you can book a space or two on a specific date. There is no minimum or maximum numbers required for the session to go ahead either, although I recommend capping the head count to 24 if you can.

If you need any further information on any of our courses below simply get in touch!

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Training for Councillors.

I’ve been privileged enough to work with many councillors and other politicians for a chunk of my career, firstly with Government Ministers within the Treasury and then with ward members, committee chairpersons, cabinet members and council leaders. As a local government officer for many years, I have proudly worked side by side some of the most dedicated and hard working elected officials and I’d be honoured to work alongside yours delivering a range of skills development workshops.

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Training for Planners and Planning Teams.

We are so pleased to be able to offer tailored training specifically for Local Planning Authorities. Our sessions range from those for planning practitioners that focus on development management, planning enforcement, policy and planning support; for Councillors involved in planning; and also crucial training events for those who are non-planners but who interact with, or have an interest in the planning system. If you’re looking for planning related sessions that aren’t listed in this section, please let us know

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The tri-sector challenge.

An all-day management training event that, through simulation, places delegates from the public, private and voluntary sectors into senior management positions within their specialism allowing them to manage, and propose resolution to, a wide range of relevant issues and a completely safe, supportive and developmental environment.

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My Associates.

I am blessed to have met and worked with some of the most talented and inspiring trainers and mentors over the years. Listed below are a group of people who I love working alongside because of their passion, knowledge, experience and sense of humour. For some of my sessions one of my associates may be delivering alongside me because of the specialism they’ll bring to the training. For other subjects it may be my associate delivering solo for you if they have a particular skill you’re looking for.

Neil Keeler

Neil is an award winning organisational development consultant with over 30 years of public sector management and leadership experience.

A qualified coach, licenced and accredited partner of the Real World Group & Go MAD Thinking Ltd., Neil blends his years of practical experience with two post graduate qualifications in organisational performance improvement & leadership.

I’m really excited to work alongside Neil as an associate, using his expertise, experience and accreditation to deliver the very best 360˚ feedback tools to my customers.

Charlotte Howell

Charlotte is one of the most respected corporate Coaches and Mentors around. She works with businesses and organisations to transform their management style, creating a culture of inspirational leadership. Charlotte shares her techniques and practices to incorporate coaching across organisations, developing managers and staff. Whenever coaching is required as part of the management and leadership programmes we deliver, Charlotte is one of the experts we always call upon.

Charlotte is also a Women’s Empowerment Coach, which means she guides women in identifying their inner strengths and conquering their fears and the perceived barriers that hold them back. We are so proud to be able list Charlotte as one of our partners.

Dominic Chessum

Dominic worked on the UK’s largest selling regional morning daily newspaper, The Eastern Daily Press, for much of his journalistic career before hopping over the fence into the world of corporate communications.

He has since held senior communication roles in the public sector from local government and the NHS through to The Office of The Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk where he was Director of Communications.

I work very closely with Dominic to deliver memorable and impactful media training events for council officers and elected members.

William Nunn

William was first elected as a councillor in 1995, at the age of 29, juggling the pressures of council activities with the challenges of building up a successful business and the demands of a young family. Not only has William made a real difference at a local and regional level, but he has shared his knowledge, expertise, wisdom and common sense across the whole of the local government family through his work with the Local Government Association (LGA). William first became involved in the LGA around 2002 and is currently Regional Peer for the East of England Region as well as playing a key role in the LGA’s Leadership Academy which seeks to encourage and develop aspiring councillors. Having previously served as the Chairman of the Improvement and Innovation Board as well as Regional Peer for the West Midlands.

William is widely recognised within local government as an exceptional council leader with a flair for innovation. He has coached and mentored many councillors of all political persuasions, including numerous council leaders, providing encouragement, inspiration and challenge. He has worked to provide support where member/officer relationships were fragile and relationships between the political groups had broken down, giving a clear sense of direction as to how the authority might move forward more positively. William has been a lead peer and has carried out more than 30 LGA Corporate Peer Reviews, he has a charismatic and visionary approach, never being afraid to offer constructive challenge where this is necessary and appropriate.

We are proud to deliver tailored political awareness and acumen sessions alongside William as well as use his guidance and support for any councillor training event.

Kay Buckby

Kay Buckby is a qualified and experienced trainer, facilitator, mentor and coach, with over 35 years experience in Learning & Development, developing Managers, Leaders and people to be the best they can be. Her style is learner led, practical, and engaging. Kay is a Mindfulness Teacher, and Mindfulness Mentor. She facilitates Corporate awaydays, retreats and 8 week online ‘Mindfulness for Life’ courses. Kay works with clinical staff 1 to 1 and mentors groups who wish to go deeper with their mindfulness practice. Clients say their staff are more present, connected and happier when they incorporate mindful practices into their days at work. Her vision is for compassionate leaders who lead from the heart.

Craig Collinson

Craig has almost 30 years’ experience as a training professional working with a wide range of organisations throughout the UK and internationally, in both the public and private sectors. His intention when supporting clients is to always ‘inspire a positive difference’, whether that’s working at the level of the Chief Executive, the management team or the workforce. He is the author of ‘Improve Your Life! 21 Strategies That Will Make The Difference’ (endorsed by international bestseller Brian Tracy) and the e-book ‘138 Simple Ways to be a Successful Leader’.
Craig develops and facilitates tailored programmes, courses, and events on behalf of RWTA in the areas of Leadership, Communication and Positive Mind-Set that can be delivered in person or remotely via MS Teams. With a background of over a decade in showbusiness prior to the world of learning and development Craig works hard to make the learning experience as enjoyable as possible!

Tom Krykant

Tom Krykant is an employee engagement specialist. His mission is to transform how organisations engage and communicate internally, so employees feel motivated at work and
want to stay, grow and thrive.

Tom began his career as a BBC reporter and progressed through a number of executive roles
in media, publishing and the creative industries before launching his employee engagement
consultancy Real Engagement.

He works with business leaders, HR and comms teams to build effective engagement and
communication strategies that establish clarity and a culture of trust and authenticity.
He trains, coaches and mentors across every employee touchpoint from talent attraction
and employer branding, to pre-boarding and induction.

Tom’s passion to move the needle on employee engagement has been recognised in the HR
Excellence Awards and he was proud to win Gold at the international Engage Awards for his
work during the pandemic.

Kate Midgley

Kate is an experienced instructor in first aid skills. Her background in teaching and nursing, provides the confident approach to her course workshops that is so appreciated by her delegates. Serious topics are taught with empathy but with a light touch, enabling all learners to achieve.
Kate’s background in creating informative & inspiring training in the banking world, led to her gaining the Certificate in Training Practice through the CIPD. A PGCE at Exeter University followed and teaching first aid to her students after school was the start of her path to teaching this full time.
Kate supports RWTA by offering all of my clients an outstanding solution when it comes to first aid training needs.

Wali Rahman

Wali was the first Community Liaison Co-ordinator for Bath & North East Somerset Council, responsible for promoting good relations between the residents of Bath and its 15,000 university students. He was also Wiltshire Council’s first Prevent Officer back in 2009, as part of the Corporate Equalities team before running an adult education centre for a couple of years. Wali then returned to Wiltshire Council to work in the Economic Development service on Employment and Skills initiatives for five years before joining the Organisational Development team in 2017.

Wali has since gained a CMI (Chartered Management Institute) Level 3 Diploma in Leadership and Management as one of the first people to complete Wiltshire Council’s accredited Leadership and Management programme. He has also been awarded Associate Member status with the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) for Unconscious Bias. Wali won the Wiltshire Council Achieving Excellence individual award in 2018 and contributed to his team winning the team award in 2019. Wali was also shortlisted in the individual category at the enei (employers network for equality and inclusion) awards in 2018.

Wali is an outstanding trainer who delivers his course material with passion, experience and sincerity. Wali supports RWTA with all unconscious bias and equality and diversity training requests.

Rose Rouse

Rose Rouse is an experienced local authority chief executive, leader of change and management coach. Rose most recently worked at Eden District Council where she led and delivered an ambitious agenda of place-shaping and master-planning in the district along with organisational transformation within the council. Prior to that, Rose was a corporate director at Worcester City Council, where she was responsible for a large outward-facing directorate, as well as corporate performance, transformation, ICT, and customer services. She was chair of the South Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership.

Rose is an exceptional leader and public sector expert who works with me to support the creation and delivery of senior management team leadership programmes.

Testimonials

"Working with Richard as a trainer is simply a breath of fresh air and a pleasure. Richard’s natural energy and passion coupled with his knowledge and understanding of our sector means that everyone he is around will gravitate towards him. Richard has worked with us in a variety of ways, consultant, facilitator, trainer but always makes a memorable impact. He has delivered our internal Leadership Development Programme for the last 4 years which has seen every line manager from Managing Director to supervisor benefit from focussing on their own and collective leadership capability. When we say Richard is due back, you can guarantee that all sessions sell out! Take my word for it....you won’t regret it working with Richard!"

Michelle O’NeillWorcester City Council

"Richard is one of my go to trainers due to his adaptive approach and engaging techniques as well as bringing a wealth of experience. Richard has supported a number of initiatives including facilitating an away day for a newly formed Executive Leadership Team where he helped team form and align around key messaging for a major change programme. Richard receives warm delegate feedback and good fun to work with. I have no hesitation in recommending him."

Darren KnightCheltenham Borough Council

"Richard’s style is warm, accessible, informative and interactive. All of his courses are enjoyable and incredibly useful for managers at all levels."

Rose RouseEden District Council

"Richard is an accomplished trainer, facilitator and presenter with a passion and enthusiasm for developing local government employees to be the best that they can be, for encouraging individuals and teams to stretch and challenge themselves and for ensuring that they managed to do so whilst still having fun. He adds value to every organisation that uses his services.”

Michelle KirkEELGA

"We have worked with Richard for a number of years and on several projects. Richard works closely with us to ensure what he delivers is what we’re looking to do – taking into account our overall aims, objectives and desired outcomes. He has a very natural style for training and facilitation, always enjoys a tremendous rapport with delegates and is very highly regarded at our council."

Heather ShillingEast Suffolk Council