Mary Foster

I am an organisational and personal development consultant with experience of working with leading UK and international companies. My early career was in public services working in career development and human resources. I set up Mary Foster Consulting in 2007 and now work with a wide range of private and public sector organisations. My expertise includes designing organisational development strategies, delivering management development interventions and evaluating impact and success.

I regularly run management development programmes and specialise in leadership and personal effectiveness. I am an experienced facilitator with employee and customer groups. I tailor my approach to each group or individual, maintaining a highly interactive style and always with a clear focus on impact and outcomes. I have an MA in Guidance and am a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management. I am a qualified executive coach and workplace mediator and an NLP and MBTI practitioner. I am also a certified TAP L&D practitioner.

Associates

Jules Peck

Jules is an international training consultant with over 20 years’ experience, specialising in leadership development and workplace mediation. Jules has a passion for helping others reach their potential. She is a Master NLP practitioner, qualified coach, MBTI and Hogan practitioner. She is a member of the CIPD and a qualified Mindfulness trainer.

Bill Kerr

Bill is a learning and organisation development consultant, with over 30 years experience in organisation and management development. He specialises in organisational change, leadership development and influencing skills and has worked extensively with local authorities across the UK. Bill is a member of the CIPD and is qualified to use a range of psychometric instruments including MBTI and FIRO B.

Fatima Vepari

Fatima’s reputation is for designing and delivering successful learning and organisational development initiatives. Over 20 years, working both in house and as a consultant, she has led projects spanning the corporate, public and voluntary sectors. She is skilled in facilitation, relationship building and influencing senior teams and individuals and is a qualified Coach and MBTI practitioner.

Fiona Collings

Fiona is a learning and organisation development consultant, with over 20 years’ experience in team and management development. Her proven approach centres on developing bespoke, customer-focused solutions, often in highly challenging and rapidly changing environments. She is a qualified and experienced Belbin and MBTI practitioner.

Companies we work with include:

                         

 

Find out how we could help your team

Julia – Stepping Up Client

Stepping Up encouraged personal growth, recognised my achievements and helped me focus on future goals. A brilliant course, thank you Mary.

Julia, Stepping Up Workshop

Mary Foster
2015-01-06T15:15:32+00:00

Julia, Stepping Up Workshop

Stepping Up encouraged personal growth, recognised my achievements and helped me focus on future goals. A brilliant course, thank you Mary.

NICE

Mary facilitated our recent team away day; she supported the planning (suggesting alternative approaches) and was instrumental on the day in ensuring that our objectives for the away day were met. Mary’s enthusiasm and creativity, as well as the ability to flex the day when required meant the team had a very productive as well as enjoyable day. I would have no hesitation in recommending Mary to facilitate team developmental activity

Jan Robinson, Programme Manager at NICE

Mary Foster
2015-01-13T17:12:13+00:00

Jan Robinson, Programme Manager at NICE

Mary facilitated our recent team away day; she supported the planning (suggesting alternative approaches) and was instrumental on the day in ensuring that our objectives for the away day were met. Mary’s enthusiasm and creativity, as well as the ability to flex the day when required meant the team had a very productive as well as enjoyable day. I would have no hesitation in recommending Mary to facilitate team developmental activity

Sigma Aldrich

The course content is really good and can be applied to my current role and development areas. I will be using some of the tools learnt and will put them into practice. Mary is a very good trainer and easy to follow and engage with.

Management and Leadership course participant, Sigma-Aldrich

Mary Foster
5
2015-01-13T17:17:37+00:00

Management and Leadership course participant, Sigma-Aldrich

The course content is really good and can be applied to my current role and development areas. I will be using some of the tools learnt and will put them into practice. Mary is a very good trainer and easy to follow and engage with.

TFL

A very interactive and fun course. I achieved my objectives I set out before the course. Good balance between theory and practical.

Personal Impact course participant, TfL

Mary Foster
5
2015-01-13T17:28:36+00:00

Personal Impact course participant, TfL

A very interactive and fun course. I achieved my objectives I set out before the course. Good balance between theory and practical.

Frank West London Business

Mary facilitated a Board strategy session for us, and turned a potentially dour discussion into a creative, lively and fun event, which resulted in some innovative and forward thinking for our business planning. She's effective and charming.

Frank Wingate, Chief Executive, West London Business

Mary Foster
5
2015-02-19T17:55:31+00:00

Frank Wingate, Chief Executive, West London Business

Mary facilitated a Board strategy session for us, and turned a potentially dour discussion into a creative, lively and fun event, which resulted in some innovative and forward thinking for our business planning. She's effective and charming.

Luke Colman

One of the best courses I have attended during my Fire Service Career, it will greatly assist in improving my effectiveness as a leader & manager in RBFRS.

Luke Colman, Station Manager, Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service

Mary Foster
2018-03-23T16:19:23+00:00

Luke Colman, Station Manager, Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service

One of the best courses I have attended during my Fire Service Career, it will greatly assist in improving my effectiveness as a leader & manager in RBFRS.

Antonia Farrell

I attended Mary's 'Citrix Leader Program' in Nov 2017. Being a new manager at Citrix Systems I was a little nervous about the program as I worried I would be out of my depth... By the end of the two days, I felt far more confident in myself and my new role. The tools Mary used were very useful and appropriate - in fact, I know most of our group will be using the tools when conducting meetings/creating development plans and as part of our day-day planning/ organizing. Needless to say, I highly recommend Mary for your training days.

Antonia Farrell, Sales Support Manager, Citrix

Mary Foster
2018-03-23T16:23:24+00:00

Antonia Farrell, Sales Support Manager, Citrix

I attended Mary's 'Citrix Leader Program' in Nov 2017. Being a new manager at Citrix Systems I was a little nervous about the program as I worried I would be out of my depth... By the end of the two days, I felt far more confident in myself and my new role. The tools Mary used were very useful and appropriate - in fact, I know most of our group will be using the tools when conducting meetings/creating development plans and as part of our day-day planning/ organizing. Needless to say, I highly recommend Mary for your training days.

Matthew Coleman

Mary is an extremely engaging coach and trainer and I learned a lot of new skills and techniques from her training. I applied these a year after attending the first training course and honestly feel more comfortable in my role thanks to these. I would highly recommend Mary's Coaching and Leadership training.

Matthew Coleman, Team Leader, Shaw Trust

Mary Foster
2018-03-23T16:27:03+00:00

Matthew Coleman, Team Leader, Shaw Trust

Mary is an extremely engaging coach and trainer and I learned a lot of new skills and techniques from her training. I applied these a year after attending the first training course and honestly feel more comfortable in my role thanks to these. I would highly recommend Mary's Coaching and Leadership training.

Tayyaba Karim, London Borough of Wandsworth (Stepping Up Programme)









A very useful course to build confidence, realise one's potential, revisit your skills, find goals and get motivated to achieve them.








Tayyaba Karim, London Borough of Wandsworth (Stepping Up Programme)

Mary Foster
2018-04-17T14:52:49+00:00

Tayyaba Karim, London Borough of Wandsworth (Stepping Up Programme)

A very useful course to build confidence, realise one's potential, revisit your skills, find goals and get motivated to achieve them.

Matt Pinto – Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service











The Leadership Development Programme provides an excellent opportunity to learn how to lead a successful and happy, motivated team.











Matt Pinto, Business Applications Manager, Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service
Mary Foster
2018-04-17T14:54:36+00:00
Matt Pinto, Business Applications Manager, Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service
The Leadership Development Programme provides an excellent opportunity to learn how to lead a successful and happy, motivated team.

Professor Michael Rainsborough


Mary's exploration of conflict management in the work place proved a real eye-opener. Her presentation and analysis was fascinating and I learned about new ways to think creatively around the subject that have genuinely helped me deal effectively with complex situations in my large and busy department.


Professor Michael Rainsborough
Head of Department of War Studies, Kings College London
Mary Foster
1
2017-08-18T15:51:05+00:00
Professor Michael Rainsborough
Head of Department of War Studies, Kings College London
Mary's exploration of conflict management in the work place proved a real eye-opener. Her presentation and analysis was fascinating and I learned about new ways to think creatively around the subject that have genuinely helped me deal effectively with complex situations in my large and busy department.
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Mary Foster