Dave Lewis Coaching Testimonial

What was your role at the time you received coaching from Windsor Leadership, and what did your role entail?

I was the Deputy Chief Constable of Dorset and Devon and Cornwall Police Forces, so was effectively the Chief Operating Officer for Dorset and had responsibility across both forces for complaints and discipline, a change programme, a number of departments, the fleet and performance management.

What considerations were at the forefront of your mind when you decided to have coaching?

As I was coming up to my retirement date from policing, a career transition was looming and I realised that I needed to talk through the considerations of how to finish strongly and move into a new career.

I wanted to end by sprinting for the line rather than just stumbling over it.  I didn’t want to lose momentum at work in the final few months. Moving out of policing after a 30-year career meant that I needed to work out how I was going to operate in a new world, and coaching was a helpful way of supporting me to make that transition.

What led you to choose Windsor Leadership Coaching rather than any of the other coaching providers?

I chose Windsor Leadership coaching for a couple of reasons, firstly I knew that a new coaching offer was being mooted, and secondly I had previously built a relationship with the coach in question and was confident we had good chemistry. I had confidence he was somebody I could trust to work through some of my challenges.

I’m a huge admirer of everything that Windsor Leadership does and so that route into coaching was the natural one for me to take. The fact that my coach had no substantial prior knowledge of the world of policing was actually a real benefit, not a hindrance.

The general principles of ending well, exiting gracefully and handing over successfully are applicable across all organisations. I knew that the world that I was being flung into (ie a portfolio career) was a world that my coach was already operating in, so his expertise was invaluable to me.

What has been your experience of coaching and were there any personal breakthroughs you might be willing to share?

The experience was very enriching.  I felt that I was able to end my policing career in a positive and constructive way and was able to hand over very smoothly to my successor without leaving work undone.  I finished what I said I would and was able to maintain pace and energy to the end.

For me, legacy wasn’t about bricks and mortar projects, but about people.  I wanted to seed lasting impact in the lives of colleagues, enabling them to grow and achieve after I’d gone. There are people that I encouraged and helped develop, mentor, support and champion who are now coming through into senior roles. 

There were two or three things that were particularly helpful.  Firstly, coaching provided me with much-needed encouragement to make the leap.  The ability to talk to someone who was there purely for my benefit, who recognised that I had a huge array of transferrable skills and that it was all about the way I ‘packaged’ myself was invaluable.

He encouraged me to build up certain areas of my CV to highlight expertise and then supported me to establish my value and price in the market. Probably the biggest breakthrough was learning how to mobilise my network without being overtly direct about seeking work. 

In particular, the emotional support provided enabled me to step out in confidence, feeling reassured that I’d be an asset in the marketplace. It was the old impostor syndrome. When I left policing I had a vague notion I wanted a portfolio career, but had no idea it was really possible or what type of roles were around.  Talking it through with someone was incredibly helpful, and I now:

• Chair a small charity which funds and supports a girl’s school in South Sudan,
• I'm on the England and Wales Cricket Board’s Regulatory Committee as Non-Executive member,
• Chair and Facilitate for Windsor Leadership,
• Am a member of the Home Office’s Forensics and Biometrics Ethics Committee,
• Do some assessing work for the College of Policing.

In addition, I do ad hoc bits of consultancy work.  For example, I've designed a training programme on digital ethics for leaders in policing in partnership with a training company and most recently I've been appointed as a Director of the Human Tissue Authority.  My portfolio is a mix of paid and voluntary roles as I wanted to do some voluntary and pro bono work to be able to give something back to society.  It’s a privilege to now be in a position where I am able to have that mix and freedom.

Would you recommend our coaching to others, and if so why?

Absolutely and unequivocally! I know most if not all of the coaches, and they are incredibly skilful, experienced people.  You’re not going to find better quality in the coaching field than the coaches that Windsor Leadership is using.  Obviously, I've had a very positive experience of coaching and would recommend it to people, and it’s superb that some of the surplus income goes towards providing bursaries for other leaders to experience the Windsor Leadership transformation. It’s a fabulous cause and incredibly worthwhile endeavour which one should try and support.