colin@wickland-westcott.co.uk Walk With
Colin Mercer
Colin is Managing Director of the business. He has been with Wickland Westcott since 1994, prior to which he was a member of BT's Business Psychology Group. He holds a degree in Psychology and a Masters degree (with Distinction) in Occupational Psychology. He is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and is fully qualified in psychometrics.
His clients include market leading organisations in telecommunications, financial services, manufacturing, professional services, and private equity. He operates at senior level in the areas of executive assessment, development, coaching and board evaluation. He also works with top teams to optimise their effectiveness and create a high-performance culture.
Interests
Match fishing, art deco vases, test cricket.Articles
19th January 2012Some Honest Answers
Managing Director and Business Psychologist Colin Mercer was recently the guest speaker at a function for private and public sector CEOs. He was asked by the event organisers to give frank, forthright answers to questions from the floor. Extracts from his responses are reproduced below. What do you look for in a leader? “Brains are the most important element – the ability to analyse complex information and make sound judgements. Second is hard work – the best leaders put more effort in....
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18th November 2011Management vs Leadership
The terms Management and Leadership typically refer to different, albeit related, concepts. The...
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24th September 2010New Look, Original Values
Our new website is built to help clients, convey a sense of our brand values, and introduce the different people that work for Wickland Westcott. What are the features of our new site, and how do they benefit clients? Thought Leadership: dozens of articles from our Consultants, many of which have been published in best practice journals. Read and download these free of charge in order to stay up to date with the latest thinking. Ease...
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14th August 2009Fired Up For a Leadership Challenge
We've just conducted interviews with senior figures within major police forces, local government, regional and central government, education, the fire service and the NHS that identifies their characteristics and what makes them public sector 'Trailblazers'. All 30 were people with a demonstrable track record of leading public service reforms that actually made a difference. We used psychometrics and face-to-face interviews and were surprised by the consistency of the picture that emerged.Trailblazers have distinctive career histories....
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09th April 2009Beware the Greener Grass...
It's a good time to... Think just how well suited you are to a job if you are considering a new position. Nobody likes unpleasant surprises, especially when it comes to their job....
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02nd April 2009Trailblazers Report
"If you come across someone in public service who is cheerfully passionate about helping people, has demonstrated courage in the face of adversity, and is always looking to change things, then stop and think....you may just have found yourself a Trailblazer" This report identifies the factors that distinguish high performers in the public and not-for-profit sector. The research was carried out by talent consultancy Wickland Westcott, supported by Manchester Business School. Background Having...
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26th September 2011Reviewing Board Effectiveness
Whilst public companies, in line with the Combined Code recommendations, are expected to evaluate the effectiveness of their Board, other firms are increasingly alive to the benefits offered by an independent, external analysis of the leadership team. The more progressive professional service firms (eg. financial services, PE houses, hedge funds, law firms) in particular are embracing such initiatives. Why?...
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04th February 2010Supporting Behavioural Change
An extremely bright and highly experienced Head of a public sector department wanted to work on raising his own profile and that of his team. His goal was to ensure that his department's perspective was taken into consideration at a strategic level across the whole organisation. This meant getting his peers to involve him in their plans at an earlier stage....
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21st September 2008Grant Thornton Partnership
Grant Thornton UK LLP is one of the country's leading financial and business advisers with more than 15,000 corporate and institutional clients. In 2006, it was once again ranked 5th by the Accountancy Age annual 'Top 50 Firms' survey. Key to retaining its strong position is the calibre of the individuals that lead the business and who maintain its values and culture, namely its Partners. Several...
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06th August 2007Improving Job Performance
Francesca was the Operations Director for a hi-tech b2b service provider. Early analysis (using psychometrics and interview) identified that whilst she was fundamentally competent, with good judgement, she was narrow in her perspective. She kept her own house in order - indeed she had it running like clockwork - but she only really contributed to the business decision-making process when the issue impacted directly on her area....
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24th April 2008Orange - Developing a Leadership Pipeline
Orange is an organisation undergoing significant change. Critical to its future success is a pipeline of leadership talent able to deliver both direction and results in the competitive British mobile market. To secure this pipeline, the business has recently invested in a progressive talent development programme created and delivered by Wickland Westcott. Talent discovery The brief from Orange's internal Talent Team was to provide stretching developmental input to their most senior leaders....
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09th October 2006Rochdale MBC - Public Sector Recruitment
The value of partnership working within the public sector is well established. Wickland Westcott has recently supported Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council in the recruitment of three Head of Service level positions within an eight-week timeframe....
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