Hello

My coaching practice is grounded in a unique synthesis of doctoral-level behavioural science and validated psychological insights. My approach is shaped by my natural, dominant talents for:

• Strategic & Futuristic Thinking: I instinctively see patterns and future possibilities where others see complexity, allowing me to help founders create clear, compelling visions and navigate ambiguity. I energise leadership teams by painting a vivid picture of what could be, transforming abstract goals into tangible realities.

• Ideation & Individualization: A natural originator of novel ideas, I excel at finding connections between disparate concepts to unlock innovative solutions for scaling businesses. I am gifted at understanding the unique qualities of each team member, diagnosing how different personalities can work together productively, and coaching individuals to maximise their unique contributions.

• Proactive Achievement: I possess a relentless drive and stamina to help teams execute on their vision, pressing them to move beyond mediocrity and achieve exceptional results. This focus on tangible outcomes ensures that coaching and behavioural change translate directly into measurable commercial success.

Core Coaching & Leadership Competencies

• Executive & C-Suite Coaching

• Founder Mentoring & Board-Level Advisory

• Leadership Team Development & Off-site Facilitation

• Behavioural Diagnostics & Team Health Assessment

• High-Stakes Negotiation & Conflict Resolution

• Strategic & Futuristic Visioning

• Scaling High-Performing, Collaborative Cultures

• Driving Behavioural Change & Transformation

• Lean Methodologies for Operational Efficiency

• Commercial & Relational Risk Mitigation

Selected Coaching & Transformation Engagements

Leadership Team Turnaround & Relational Coaching - Nuclear decommissioning tech

• Challenge: A high-value, complex project was on the verge of failure due to severe relationship friction and a breakdown of trust between the client and a key delivery partner.

• Action: Led an immersive diagnostic assessment, using my talent for Individualization to understand each stakeholder's perspective and uncover the root causes of dysfunction. Designed and personally delivered a targeted 90-day coaching intervention focused on rebuilding psychological safety, establishing new communication protocols, and fostering a collaborative, problem-solving mindset.

• Impact: Successfully repaired a critical commercial relationship, averting project collapse. The intervention rebuilt mutual trust and cooperation, enabling the integrated team to move forward and deliver on its objectives.

Architecting & Implementing a Scalable Behavioural Change Programme - RDP

• Challenge: Tasked with driving a paradigm shift in behaviour and productivity across the entire UK highways construction sector, a traditional industry with deeply entrenched, transactional practices.

• Action: Applied Futuristic and Strategic thinking to devise the overarching strategy to embed Lean principles of continuous improvement. Built and led a multi-firm consulting team to implement the programme. Personally trained and mentored the client’s senior leadership team through the critical initial stages of the cultural transformation.

• Impact: Successfully embedded a new, collaborative way of working across the industry, delivering over £300 million in efficiency savings. The programme demonstrated a tangible 20:1 return on investment, proving the commercial power of targeted behavioural change.

Developing a Diagnostic for High-Performing Teams - Infrastructure Alliance

• Challenge: A 15-year, multi-party strategic alliance was significantly underperforming and facing potential termination at a five-year break-point. The client needed an objective, forward-looking method to assess its relational maturity and potential for success.

• Action: Leveraged my talent for Ideation to innovate beyond a standard audit, designing and implementing a unique "Alliance Maturity Measurement Model". This proprietary tool was created to facilitate guided self-assessment, establish clear behavioural expectations, and create a data-driven roadmap for continual improvement in team collaboration.

• Impact: Provided the leadership teams with a clear, non-confrontational path forward, saving the £multi-billion alliance. The model has become a reusable diagnostic tool for assessing and developing team health in future collaborative ventures.

Driving Performance through Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) Mindsets - CIIP

• Challenge: A £1bn+ capital programme was hampered by siloed, transactional decision-making among project leaders, creating inefficiency and increasing risk.

• Action: Championed the transition from transactional behaviours to an integrated, Lean-based delivery mindset. Coached project leaders and teams in using collaborative tools to improve decision-making, transparency, and shared accountability for outcomes.

• Impact: Drove a measurable increase in the rate of change towards collaborative behaviours. The shift in mindset directly contributed to over £100 million in waste reduction and improved both project predictability and commercial returns for all partners.

Foundational Career Trajectory

• Commercial Director, Complex Infrastructure Programme | National Highways (2021 – Present)

• Commercial & Procurement Programme Director | Highways England (2017 – 2021)

• Technical Principal, APD Division | Mott MacDonald Group (2002 – 2017)

• General Manager of Development | Birmingham International Airport Ltd (2000 – 2002)

• Associate Director | Gleeds Construction Consultants (1990 – 2000)

Academic Distinctions & Professional Standing

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) | Birmingham City University (2024)

• Thesis: Developing a new procurement model, using behavioural economics, to enable continuous improvement of productivity and better value in large UK infrastructure projects.

• Visiting Professor in Project Commercial & Procurement Management | Birmingham City University

• Business Performance Coach | Newcastle College

• Gallup-Certified Strengths | Top 5: Strategic, Futuristic, Ideation, Individualization, Achiever

• Fellow | Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS)

• Board Member | Lean Construction Institute UK

• Member | Institute of Collaborative Working

• Senior Management & Leadership Training | Ashridge & Cranfield University Business Schools

Endorsements

"Martin is engaging, exceptionally personable and has an infectious passion and enthusiasm for what he does. He is very much a 'big picture' thinker, with a rarefied ability amongst people with those qualities to look at the detail and get things done." – Head of Professional Services, McGinley Support Services

 

"Martin's ability to generate opportunities and consider innovative solutions is outstanding. He is an excellent networker, and is the type of person who will always provide assistance, no matter how busy." – Partner, Mason

“Martin uniquely brings together key people to make a real difference." – Senior Engineer, Highways Agency