40 Leadership Voices in England Worth Watching Today

Last updated: August 2026

Leadership in England is being shaped in many places at once: universities, schools, health services, professional bodies, social enterprises, local government and consulting practices. In 2026, leaders across those settings are dealing with work that crosses old boundaries, from organisational change and workforce pressure to inclusion, public trust and the future of work.

This guide brings together 40 people whose current roles and published work offer useful perspectives on those challenges. It is a recognition list, not a ranking. The value lies in the range: researchers sit beside system leaders, educators, psychologists and practitioners who see leadership from different parts of the work.

Use the list with a live question in mind. Choose the voices closest to the decision your team needs to make, then compare perspectives before deciding what fits your context. A good leadership idea should do more than sound impressive. It should help people see the work more clearly and make a better next move.

Why these voices matter

The strongest thread across this group is the connection between people and systems. Culture, wellbeing, judgement and capability all matter, but none can be separated from the structures and conditions that shape everyday work.

The group also shows why leadership is broader than one title or sector. A university researcher can sharpen the questions of a public service executive, while a school or community leader can show what those questions look like under real constraints. Reading across those boundaries helps teams avoid easy answers.

1. Lynda Gratton

Professor of Management Practice in Organisational Behaviour, London Business School

Lynda Gratton is Professor of Management Practice in Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. She leads the School's Future of Work Research Consortium, placing her work close to the choices organisations are making about how work is designed and experienced.

Her perspective is useful when a leadership team needs to look beyond the immediate policy question and consider what work may ask of people next. It invites leaders to connect long-range change with the practical decisions they make about roles, capability and working life today.

2. Niro Sivanathan

Professor of Organisational Behaviour, London Business School

Niro Sivanathan is Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. His teaching and research examine judgement, influence and the way decisions are made inside organisations.

That focus matters because leadership is often tested in moments where status, confidence and evidence pull in different directions. His work offers a useful lens for leaders who want to notice how a decision is being shaped, not only whether the final answer sounds convincing.

3. Bernd Vogel

Professor in Leadership and Founding Director of the Henley Centre for Leadership, Henley Business School

Bernd Vogel is Professor in Leadership and Founding Director of the Henley Centre for Leadership at Henley Business School. He co-authored Fully Charged, which examines organisational energy and the conditions that help it move through a workplace.

Energy can sound abstract until a team sees how strongly it affects attention, momentum and follow-through. Vogel's work gives leaders language for discussing why some priorities gather commitment while others stall, even when both appear sensible on paper.

4. Megan Reitz

Professor of Leadership and Dialogue, Hult Ashridge Executive Education

Megan Reitz is Professor of Leadership and Dialogue at Hult Ashridge Executive Education. Her work brings leadership, dialogue and mindfulness together, with particular attention to speaking up and how voices are heard.

That combination is valuable for leaders who want more honest information without assuming that an open invitation is enough. It encourages a closer look at power, attention and the everyday signals that tell people whether it is safe and worthwhile to contribute.

5. Jonathan Trevor

Professor of Management Practice, University of Oxford Saïd Business School

Jonathan Trevor is Professor of Management Practice at the University of Oxford Saïd Business School. He writes and teaches about organisational alignment, linking strategic intent with the choices that shape how an organisation actually operates.

His contribution is especially relevant when leaders can describe the strategy but struggle to see it in structures, priorities or behaviour. Alignment asks a practical question: do the organisation's parts make it easier or harder for people to deliver what leaders say matters?

6. Jennifer Howard-Grenville

Diageo Professor of Organisation Studies, Cambridge Judge Business School

Jennifer Howard-Grenville is Diageo Professor of Organisation Studies at Cambridge Judge Business School. Her research explores culture, organisational change and sustainability, including how people work from within established systems to create change.

This is a useful counterweight to the idea that culture is simply a set of values to announce. Her work helps leaders see culture as something people draw on, interpret and reshape while trying to move an organisation towards a different future.

7. David Denyer

Professor of Leadership and Organisational Change, Cranfield University

David Denyer is Professor of Leadership and Organisational Change at Cranfield University. His work focuses on organisational change, resilience and the challenges leaders face when pressure is high and simple answers are unavailable.

Resilience is most useful when it is treated as an organisational capacity, not a request for individuals to absorb more strain. Denyer's perspective can help leaders examine how structures, relationships and decisions affect a team's ability to adapt without losing sight of its purpose.

8. Emma Parry

Professor of Human Resource Management and Director of People, Skills and Leadership, Cranfield University

Emma Parry is Professor of Human Resource Management and Director of People, Skills and Leadership at Cranfield University. Her remit brings together people strategy, skills and the changing world of work.

That breadth matters because workforce questions rarely sit in one neat box. Her work offers leaders a way to connect capability, employment practice and organisational change, rather than treating each as a separate programme owned by a different part of the business.

9. Ruth Sealy

Professor of Responsible Leadership and Director of Impact, University of Exeter

Ruth Sealy is Professor of Responsible Leadership and Director of Impact at the University of Exeter. Her work on boardroom equality has contributed to how organisations think about representation and responsibility at the highest levels.

The practical value is not limited to counting who is present. It directs attention to who gets access to influence, how leadership pathways are shaped and whether governance arrangements create better judgement for the organisation as a whole.

10. Cary Cooper

Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health, University of Manchester

Cary Cooper is Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the University of Manchester. His continuing work in organisational psychology keeps workplace wellbeing connected to the conditions in which people are expected to perform.

That distinction matters when wellbeing risks becoming a collection of individual benefits placed beside an unhealthy system. Cooper's perspective encourages leaders to examine workload, relationships and job design as part of the leadership agenda, not as matters to delegate after decisions are made.

11. André Spicer

Executive Dean and Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Bayes Business School

André Spicer is Executive Dean and Professor of Organisational Behaviour at Bayes Business School. His research and writing examine management, organisational culture, identity and the realities of corporate life.

His contribution is useful because it does not assume that fashionable management language is harmless. It gives leaders a reason to test whether a practice clarifies the work, improves behaviour and helps people make better choices, or simply adds another layer of performance.

12. Nick Chater

Professor of Behavioural Science, Warwick Business School

Nick Chater is Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School. His work brings behavioural science into questions about judgement, decision-making and the patterns behind human choice.

For leaders, this is a reminder that people do not arrive at work as perfectly consistent decision-makers. Chater's perspective can help a team design choices, communication and routines with a more realistic understanding of attention and behaviour.

13. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic

Professor of Business Psychology, University College London

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is Professor of Business Psychology at University College London. His work focuses on talent, personality and how organisations identify and develop potential.

That makes his perspective relevant to leaders making consequential choices about selection, promotion and performance. It prompts a useful challenge: are the signals an organisation rewards actually connected to the capability and behaviour the work requires?

14. Sir James Mackey

Chief Executive, NHS England

Sir James Mackey is Chief Executive of NHS England, a role he took up in April 2025. His remit places him at the centre of public service transformation and the stewardship of a complex national health system.

His inclusion broadens this guide beyond leadership commentary into leadership under live operational pressure. The work offers a view of what it means to make decisions across institutions, professions and communities where consequences are immediate and accountability is widely shared.

15. Matthew Taylor

Chief Executive, NHS Confederation

Matthew Taylor is Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation. His work represents and connects leaders across health services, bringing a system-wide perspective to questions of reform, partnership and public value.

That viewpoint is useful when no single organisation can solve the problem in front of it. Taylor's contribution invites leaders to consider how advocacy, collaboration and shared responsibility can help a whole system move, even when its parts face different pressures.

16. Becky Francis

Chief Executive, Education Endowment Foundation

Becky Francis is Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation. Her career connects education research, inequality and the practical use of evidence by teachers and school leaders.

That combination matters in a sector where good intentions must eventually reach the classroom. Francis's perspective encourages leaders to ask what the evidence suggests, how it fits professional experience and what conditions will help a promising approach become consistent practice.

17. Leora Cruddas

Chief Executive, Confederation of School Trusts

Leora Cruddas is Chief Executive of the Confederation of School Trusts. Her writing on a trust-led education system places governance, institutional design and collective responsibility at the heart of school leadership.

Her contribution is particularly useful for leaders looking beyond the performance of one school or one team. It raises questions about how organisations learn together, where accountability sits and what system design makes possible over time.

18. Dame Alison Peacock

Chief Executive, Chartered College of Teaching

Dame Alison Peacock is Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching. Her leadership sits at the intersection of professional learning, teaching practice and the status of the profession.

That makes her work relevant to anyone trying to build capability without reducing development to a one-off event. Her perspective keeps attention on professional knowledge, shared standards and the conditions teachers need to keep learning throughout their careers.

19. Ann Francke

Chief Executive, Chartered Management Institute

Ann Francke is Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute. Her work spans management practice, professional standards and gender-balanced workplaces.

The value of that mix is its focus on management as a craft that can be learned and improved. Francke's perspective is useful for organisations that want inclusive leadership to show up in everyday decisions, promotion pathways and the quality of how people are managed.

20. Matthew Syed

Co-founder, Matthew Syed Consulting

Matthew Syed is Co-founder of Matthew Syed Consulting and the author of Rebel Ideas. His work explores learning, mindset, high performance and the value of bringing different perspectives into a problem.

That focus matters for teams that say they want challenge but still reward familiar answers. Syed's contribution helps leaders think about how disagreement, curiosity and diverse thinking can improve the quality of decisions rather than simply make a room feel less comfortable.

21. John Amaechi

Professor of Leadership at the University of Exeter Business School and Founder of APS Intelligence

John Amaechi is Professor of Leadership at the University of Exeter Business School and Founder of APS Intelligence. His work applies behavioural science and psychological insight to leadership, culture and inclusion.

His perspective is valuable because it places everyday behaviour beside stated values. It asks leaders to notice the repeated choices, standards and responses that tell people what an organisation truly expects, especially when those signals are inconvenient to confront.

22. Tom Rees

Chief Executive, Ormiston Academies Trust

Tom Rees is Chief Executive of Ormiston Academies Trust. His background includes work with Ambition Institute on leadership development, alongside his current responsibility for a school trust.

That connection between developing leaders and leading a live organisation gives his contribution practical weight. It keeps school improvement tied to the capability of the people doing the work, not only to plans, targets or structural change.

23. Amanda Goodall

Professor of Leadership, Bayes Business School

Amanda Goodall is Professor of Leadership at Bayes Business School and the author of Credible: The Power of Expert Leaders. Her research examines expert leadership and the relationship between leaders' core knowledge and organisational performance.

Her work gives leaders a concrete way to discuss credibility. It asks whether the person leading understands the work deeply enough to make sound judgements, support skilled people and recognise the difference between useful management and empty authority.

24. Richard Bolden

Professor of Leadership and Management, University of the West of England

Richard Bolden is Professor of Leadership and Management at the University of the West of England. He directs the Bristol Leadership and Change Centre, connecting leadership research with questions of practice and change.

That emphasis helps move leadership away from a narrow focus on one heroic individual. Bolden's work gives teams room to examine how leadership is shared, shaped by context and carried through relationships across an organisation.

25. Rob Briner

Professor of Organisational Psychology, Queen Mary University of London

Rob Briner is Professor of Organisational Psychology at Queen Mary University of London. His work develops evidence-based practice in management, human resources and organisational psychology.

That contribution is useful whenever a confident management claim begins to travel faster than the evidence behind it. Briner's perspective encourages leaders to combine research, organisational data, professional judgement and stakeholder experience before deciding what to do.

26. Peter Holbrook

Group Chief Executive, Social Enterprise UK

Peter Holbrook is Group Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK. He leads a national membership body focused on organisations that use enterprise in service of a social or environmental purpose.

His inclusion brings mission-led leadership into the conversation. Holbrook's work is relevant to leaders trying to hold commercial discipline and public purpose together without allowing either side of that tension to become a slogan.

27. Rose Marley

Chief Executive, Co-operatives UK

Rose Marley is Chief Executive of Co-operatives UK. Her current work supports co-operative enterprise and connects the UK movement with wider international co-operation.

That perspective matters because ownership changes the questions leaders need to ask. Marley's contribution offers a view of leadership shaped by member voice, shared benefit and the practical work of building organisations in which participation has real consequences.

28. Doyin Atewologun

Dean of the Rhodes Scholarships at the University of Oxford and Director of Delta Alpha Psi

Doyin Atewologun is Dean of the Rhodes Scholarships at the University of Oxford and Director of Delta Alpha Psi. Her research and practice focus on leadership, identity and inclusion.

Her work is useful for leaders who want to understand inclusion as more than representation. It draws attention to how identity shapes experience, access and authority, and how leaders can build environments where difference informs the work rather than being managed at its edges.

29. David Clutterbuck

Professor at Henley Business School and Founder of Coaching and Mentoring International

David Clutterbuck is a Professor at Henley Business School and Founder of Coaching and Mentoring International. He has written extensively about coaching, mentoring and the relationships through which people develop.

His contribution helps leaders distinguish a useful developmental conversation from advice dressed up as coaching. It keeps attention on trust, reflection and the learner's responsibility, which are central when an organisation wants growth to continue beyond a formal programme.

30. Binna Kandola

Founder and Senior Partner, Pearn Kandola

Binna Kandola is Founder and Senior Partner of Pearn Kandola. His work examines inclusion, bias and the organisational behaviour that can sustain exclusion even when intentions sound positive.

That focus is practical for leaders who want to move from statements to changed experience. Kandola's contribution encourages a closer look at habits, systems and decisions that shape who is heard, trusted and given room to progress.

31. Toby Greany

Professor of Education, University of Nottingham

Toby Greany is Professor of Education at the University of Nottingham. His work includes research on school leadership, education policy and improvement across organisations and systems.

This perspective is valuable where a reform looks clear at the centre but becomes more complex in practice. Greany's work helps leaders think about how policy, professional learning and local relationships interact as schools try to improve.

32. Hilary Spencer

Chief Executive, Ambition Institute

Hilary Spencer is Chief Executive of Ambition Institute. Her leadership centres on professional development for teachers and school leaders.

That makes her work relevant to organisations trying to turn development into better everyday practice. Spencer's contribution keeps the focus on what people need to learn, how that learning is supported and whether leaders have made space for it to be used.

33. James Toop

Chief Executive, Teach First

James Toop is Chief Executive of Teach First. His current remit connects leadership, teacher development and the organisation's focus on education opportunity.

His inclusion highlights the link between who enters a profession, how they are developed and where leadership attention is directed. It is a useful perspective for leaders who want talent decisions to support a wider purpose rather than operate as a separate workforce process.

34. Gareth Conyard

Chief Executive, Teacher Development Trust

Gareth Conyard is Chief Executive of the Teacher Development Trust. His work sits around teacher development and the policy conditions that shape professional learning.

That connection matters because development quality is affected by more than the content of a course. Conyard's contribution encourages leaders to consider time, support and organisational conditions alongside the learning they want teachers to undertake.

35. Dame Sue John

Executive Director, Challenge Partners

Dame Sue John is Executive Director of Challenge Partners. Her work focuses on school improvement and collaboration between schools.

The strength of that contribution is its belief that improvement can be built with peers, not only delivered from above. It offers leaders a practical lens on challenge, shared learning and the trust required for organisations to examine their own work honestly.

36. Robin Hambleton

Emeritus Professor of City Leadership at the University of the West of England and Director of Urban Answers

Robin Hambleton is Emeritus Professor of City Leadership at the University of the West of England and Director of Urban Answers. His work connects place-based leadership, cities and public innovation.

That perspective widens the unit of leadership beyond one organisation. Hambleton's contribution is useful when progress depends on public bodies, communities and institutions making sense of a shared place and acting across traditional boundaries.

37. Henry Kippin

Chief Executive, North East Combined Authority

Henry Kippin is Chief Executive of the North East Combined Authority. His role brings together regional development, public service change and leadership across a diverse place.

That work offers a live example of leadership through coordination rather than simple command. Kippin's contribution matters to leaders working across agencies, where progress depends on aligning different mandates around outcomes that local people can recognise.

38. Dame Rachel de Souza

Children's Commissioner for England, Office of the Children's Commissioner

Dame Rachel de Souza is Children's Commissioner for England. Her office represents the views and interests of children, bringing their experience into public leadership and policy conversations.

Her inclusion is a reminder that leadership quality is partly measured by whose voice reaches the decision. This perspective helps leaders ask whether the people most affected by a system have a meaningful route into how that system is understood and improved.

39. Tony McAleavy

Chief Education and Skills Officer, Education Development Trust

Tony McAleavy is Chief Education and Skills Officer at Education Development Trust. His work connects education systems, evidence and the practical challenge of improving learning at scale.

That systems view is useful for leaders who need an idea to travel beyond one strong team. McAleavy's contribution encourages attention to implementation, professional capability and the local conditions that affect whether a promising practice can endure.

40. Anna Randle

Chief Executive, New Local

Anna Randle is Chief Executive of New Local. Her work focuses on community power and public service reform, with attention to the relationship between institutions and the communities they serve.

That contribution challenges leaders to think about authority, not only consultation. It asks what changes when communities have a stronger role in shaping decisions, resources and services, and what institutions must learn in order to share power well.

Conclusion

Three themes stand out across these 40 voices. Leadership depends on the quality of judgement, on the conditions people work within and on whether organisations can learn across boundaries. Those themes appear in different language, but they keep returning.

For a leadership team, the useful move is not to adopt every idea. It is to choose a live challenge, compare a small number of perspectives and decide what one practice should change. That keeps learning connected to real work rather than turning it into another stream of content.

The people in this guide offer starting points for better questions about culture, capability, evidence, inclusion and public purpose. The next step belongs to the team using those questions together.

About the Author

Jonno White is the Brisbane-based author of Step Up or Step Out and a Certified Working Genius Facilitator. He works with schools, organisations and leadership teams around the world, helping leaders build organisations people would move cities to work at.

His approach is practical rather than motivational: something people can use on Monday morning, not a feeling that fades by Friday. You can read more at Consult Clarity.

Related Reading

If this guide has raised questions about how your own team works, start with 11 Proven Ways to Get Your Leadership Team Aligned. For a deeper look at the work behind alignment, read 37 Practical Tips for Leadership Alignment Consulting.

You may also find Why Organisational Health Is the Ultimate Advantage useful when the challenge is not one person's performance but the way the whole system operates.

If you want practical help turning leadership ideas into better team habits, email jonno@consultclarity.org to ask about a keynote, workshop or facilitated leadership session.