David Archer

David Archer has more than 25 years’ consulting experience in the private and public sector, following a career in systems engineering and academic research.

I work with leaders and their teams to build relationships across internal or external organisational boundaries that deliver lasting business results. My particular expertise is in understanding the challenges of collaboration and using this to help leaders be more effective in complex business environments. I also evaluate public and private sector Boards, facilitate senior teams, build trust in multi-organisational groups, and design strategic change initiatives.

Recent client experience

My client experience includes a number of assignments supporting systems leadership in the transport sector. For example, I recently worked with Executive teams from Hitachi Rail and LNER to support the delivery of the benefits of new rolling stock and to explore greater collaboration between operators and the suppliers / maintainers of strategic assets. I work on a number of long term organisational projects at the top of London Underground. I have also been assisting a strategic review of RSSB and working on collaboration projects at ORR and the Civil Aviation Authority.

I have delivered programmes on Collaborative Leadership at Ashridge, Bristol University and Warwick Business School, as well as delivering bespoke leadership development programmes for specific clients. Over the past 20 years I’ve coached senior leaders in many private sector organisations and supported the development of individuals and senior teams in several Central Government departments, as well as the devolved administration in Scotland and the Estonian civil service.

I have particular interests in the application of complexity theory to the management of multi-organisational systems and the governance issues in membership and other mutual organisations. I work with the Boards of two Mutually owned insurance companies and also advise the Boards of organisations involved in housing, health, and criminal justice..

Qualifications & associations

I’m an Engineering graduate from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and a chartered member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers. Before working as a management consultant, I was a senior lecturer in Electrical & Electronic Systems at the University of Hertfordshire, where I led BSc and MSc programmes as well as externally funded research projects. I’m qualified in the use of FIRO-B and the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

I have been Trustee to the Board of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), a Fellow of Practice in the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University and a member of the advisory board of the University of Westminster Business School and Maynard Leigh Associates.

Selected publications and conference presentations

  • One evaluation framework for all Boards – Governance Magazine
  • Relationship risk management – Risk & Compliance magazine
  • Being right doesn’t count – Project Manager Today
  • Collaborative Leadership – Building Relationships, Handling Conflict, Sharing Control – with Alex Cameron
  • Delivering transport for the London 2012 games – joint ODA / ICE conference
  • Collaborative Leadership in Project Delivery – APM conference
  • A Manifesto for Collaborative Leadership – pub in The Edge

Personal contact information

email: david.archer@socia.co.uk  |  m: 0777 425 7596  |   connect on LinkedIn