We are really delighted to welcome Michael Greenway, Partner in our Leadership and Talent Consultancy within Central Government.
Michael has an extensive background in developing high-quality relationships within the L&D, skills and workforce capability market across both private and public sectors. For the last 10 years Michael has been closely aligned to central government customers. He has been involved in developing long-lasting and productive relationships with senior leaders and decision-makers within Learning & Development, becoming a trusted adviser for central government customers.
What brought you to GS?
What I like about the company is its ambition and that encompasses really caring about the customer. That came across strongly in my initial interviews; whatever we do, it’s all about doing the right thing for the customer and that lands really well with me.
I feel culturally aligned as well. I like our values of curiosity, courage, collaboration. I’ve been encouraged to express those from the minute I started and to have an active voice in meetings, even though I’m new. I’ve been encouraged to look at where we could be doing things differently, where we could be making improvements, where we could improve the end product for the customer. I like that.
Doing the right thing for the customer means creating the right solution for them. Most of what we do is offer bespoke solutions for clients along with some really powerful off-the-shelf masterclasses. The majority of the customer interaction I’m having underlines the importance of really understanding their challenges, where they’re trying to move their business and their people to, what they’ve tried already and what kind of process works for their people. We can then build solutions around those specific challenges and objectives.
What’s your experience of the first few weeks?
Leadership and development are not new areas for me. I’ve worked in some kind of guise within L&D since the mid 90s, starting off as a trainer/facilitator of learning and then gradually building my career into heading up L&D functions. I’ve also been working within central government for more than 10 years, so the client base is really familiar to me, as are the frameworks and my understanding of how learning is regulated across central government, to drive value for the end customer.
It’s been really refreshing to have been given a few months to settle in and really familiarise myself with our leadership and talent consultancy within central government, as well as our culture.
What are you looking forward to offering leaders in central government?
I’ve worked within the Government Campus framework, along with the companies that manage this framework, for many years. I know the challenges of procuring via the framework and some of the frustrations customers might have, so I will be able to help the client navigate the procurement routes.
I am looking forward to continuing to develop my existing relationships with key influencers and present what GatenbySanderson can offer in front of a wider audience. We’re far more than a training provider. We build bespoke solutions for our clients, rather than off-the-shelf training. We facilitate learning environments, enabling self discovery. Our solutions are really immersive for the learner, helping them delve into their own thoughts, their own experiences, their own perceptions, their own wishes. We help people understand what the next steps might be, and also how they can get there.
What do you think are the priorities for leaders in central government today?
It’s great to see lots of organisations investing in future talent, looking at where our next leaders are by focusing on top team development and board development. That’s so important.
What I see, which is now almost starting to scream, is the needs of the ‘squeezed middle’; people in senior positions who are not part of senior leadership and not new talent, but are essential for any organisation to value and who might be feeling neglected. They’re people who are deep technical experts in what they do and have found themselves in a leadership position but no one’s helped them to develop their leadership abilities. We’re hearing a lot of organisations who want to talk about how to invest in and develop these people.
There is also a real and growing focus on the ongoing and massive digital transformation. This needs new tech talent and how the existing work force is reskilled. Great leadership in all of that is vital. There’s a real opportunity for us to help with digital transformation.
What is important to you outside of your work?
I have to work somewhere that I feel passionate about, and that’s been the case for the whole of my career.
When I’m not working, I am addicted to travel. My husband and I get away on holiday four or five times a year. We’ve travelled to most major European cities and further afield.
I’ve also taken up running recently. I do 5K every morning and I’ve learned it wakes me up. It gives me time to think and helps me to plan my day.