Harnessing conflicting views

Does your organisation proactively seek and welcome divergent views and harness positive conflict? Do the channels exist for information and data to flow freely through your organisation? Are people forced to whistleblow to air their concerns and how are whistleblowers treated by the organisation?

I can help you establish multi-channel listening systems and create space for constructive conflict.

Shifting the dial on patient safety

I possess an unparalleled wealth of informed expertise and practical usable knowledge in this vitally important area. The unique insights and tools I am able to bring to this subject are the products of learned know-how, a continually evolving level of professional competency, and most valuably, lived experience.

I can help you identify and join the dots so you can focus effort where it will have the most impact.

Wilful awareness (problem prediction)

It was Peter Senge who astutely observed that today's operational problems arise from yesterday's solutions. The truth is there are very few truly genuine curved balls that cannot be seen coming if organisations know where and how to look for the signs, and are prepared to acknowledge and address what they find.

I can help you identify potential issues before they manifest as tragic and unmanageable events.

Engaging with impact

A disengaged and disconnected organisation is an unhappy and ineffective organisation at best, and an accident waiting to happen at worst. Engaged organisations are more productive and financially viable, they enjoy greater staff retention and higher levels of service user satisfaction.

I can help you increase levels of engagement and build trust with internal and external stakeholders.

Leadership development

Leadership is about creating the conditions in which the right things can happen. Well-Led organisations understand that leadership is the single most important factor influencing performance, shaping reputation, and ultimately the stability and long-term viability of the organisation.

I draw on my experiences and insights to provide growth opportunities for leaders at all levels.

Addressing cultural conformity

When questioning and challenging are seen as risky behaviours, not only are blind eyes and deaf ears turned away from incidents of wrongdoing, but innovation is stifled and the enormous potential that exists in each and every member of the workforce goes untapped.

I can help you create a culture in which people feel able to question and challenge safely.

Reviews of Tom's book, Lions, Liars, Donkeys and Penguins

"A very valuable reminder that, at its worst, and even with the best of intent to begin with, our experience of a really bad bureaucracy can be no different from tyranny."

Rory Sutherland

Vice-Chairman Ogilvy

"The ongoing struggle Tom and his family have experienced in accessing truth and justice is one faced by too many people in the UK to this day. This book is an important reflection on that struggle, and on the defensiveness of public services who failed Alison when she needed them most."

Deborah Coles

Executive Director INQUEST

"This tragic tale is representative of the general failure of our institutions to act morally, whose leaders worry more about their reputation than their organisation's purpose. Insightful, compelling and disturbing."

John Seddon

Managing Director Vanguard

About Cormetis

About Tom

The name Cormetis combines the root of the word courage, Cor the Latin word for heart, which in its early form meant to speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart, and Metis, the Titan Goddess of good counsel, planning, and wisdom. To speak one's mind by telling one's heart is not always easy in organisations where cultural conformity and compliance, explicit or implied, dominate.

I established Cormetis to provide specialist consultancy founded on extensive lived, learned, and professional experience. The unique insights I possess are the product of over three decades of experience and observation and a personal commitment to lifelong learning. My expertise is in the area of wilful blindness and ethical fading, how they are shaped by, and how they influence organisational culture. I understand the costs they incur, the impact they have on people and performance, and their effect on levels of trust within and around organisations.

I work alone or with trusted and experienced associates to help organisations, teams, and individuals identify, unearth, understand, and address the forces shaping their organisations culture and behaviours. I work with compassion, sensitivity, empathy, and discretion. I am a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.