About us

D.V.Harries.co.uk is a leadership development consultancy, set up in 2007, to work primarily with the not-for-profit sector. We provide mentoring and coaching for people in leadership positions alongside bespoke training programmes for trustees and leadership teams.

Approach Our approach has four main strands: Systems thinking Effective and enabling leadership Continuous improvement of processes Appropriate Governance We believe that taking a coherent approach to these issues is vital to the development of organisations and their leadership across the not-for-profit sector.

Managers at the University of Gondar, Ethiopia working on process improvement

Systems Thinking

Whole systems thinking can help you to understand your organisation in the broader context of the changing world. It enables the development of shared purpose and vision underpinned by effective and efficient systems and processes. It gives an appropriate framework for you and your team to work with when developing strategy, as well as a framework which will help you to think deeply about the relationship between your organisation’s purpose, its context and key stakeholders.

Effective and enabling leadership

Effective and enabling leadership is widely recognised as critical to the success and sustainability of organisations. Many people in leadership roles are feeling under pressure from high expectations in terms of delivery coupled with equally high expectations in terms of treatment from those they lead. The way you and your team manage people and systems is what shapes your organisation. Making real breakthroughs in this area requires a deep understanding of effective leadership, as well as an ability to listen, reflect and act to inspire confidence and self esteem. We can work with you and your team on these challenging and rewarding issues.

Continuous improvement of processes

Reliably delivering high quality outcomes for beneficiaries and clients needs good processes. Continuous Process Improvement moves away from the traditional approach of focusing on targets and personal performance by helping managers and work teams understand how to improve performance by building a deep understanding of key processes and putting energy into identifying, piloting and evaluating new ways of doing things. We can help you and your teams understand how process improvement can make a real difference. Using a range of participative tools and techniques we will support the development of improvement projects focused on the core processes in your organisation.

Appropriate Governance

As organisations grow and their structures evolve there is a need for the governance bodies to keep pace. For many organisations this means a move away from the concerns of operational management of the organisation to a properly strategic role. Balancing the need to oversee the effective running of the organisation with the need for appropriate delegation alongside recognising how to support strategic development can be very difficult. We can facilitate board development workshops, and provide mentoring and support tailored to the needs of your organisation.