Description
TLC Zoom
Wednesday 19th June 2024 @ 18:00 BST
Transformation Leadership
James Woodham CBE MC
Prior to joining Deloitte in 2019, James enjoyed a distinguished career in the Army attaining the rank of Brigadier and completing his military career as Head Defence Operational Capability, where working for the Minister of Armed Forces and Vice Chief of Defence Staff, he delivered strategic audits of Defence’s operational capabilities and provided diagnostics to help understand and mitigate strategic and operational risks. However, it was James’s leadership of the transformation of the Army’s behavioural culture, its training capability, and the leading complex change on operations in Afghanistan, underpinned by study on the Major Projects Leadership Academy Said Business School which led to developing a passion for leading transformation. It was this passion and his experience of the Defence sector which took James to Deloitte’s consulting business where except for a year supporting the DHSC build the workforce for the COVID19 national testing programme, he has been busy supporting defence client transformations for the past 5 years.
James has developed a unique perspective borne of leading transformation/change as a soldier and now as a management consultant. Whilst when facing the threats and challenges of operations, Defence can evolve quickly, attempts to transform away from the immediacy of operations are often slow and face institutional drag. He will reflect on the challenges of transformation in Defence, the leadership parallels/differences he has witnessed in and out of uniform and offer insights into how things could be improved.
Biography
James was commissioned into the Royal Anglian Regiment in August 1986. His early career was dominated by service in Northern Ireland, the Balkans and subsequently Iraq. He served as Commanding Officer 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and was deployed to Helmand Province in 2008 leading the efforts to train and mentor the Afghan National Police. He went on to be Chief of Staff of 1st (United Kingdom) Divisionin Germany in January 2011 and commander of 7th Armoured Brigade – The Desert Rats in January 2013. He deployed as commander of Task Force Helmand in October 2013 and led the withdrawal from the Helmand. After that he was asked by the CGS to lead a team to address a culture of Bullying Harassment and Discrimination in the Army. Subsequently , James became Head of Training and Education for the Army in July 2015 and Director of Operational Capability at the Ministry of Defence in August 2017. He left the Army in 2019, joining Deloitte’s consulting business where he has focussed on supporting Defence transformation.
He was awarded the Military Cross for his role in the rescue of 2 SAS soldiers in Basra, Iraq in 2005. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2011 Birthday Honours and advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2015 Operational Honours and Awards List.
