David Rooke, Harthill

David Rooke

David Rooke
BA (Hons), MA

Founder of Harthill

“The good news is we can get wiser as we get older, the bad news is that we may not!

Leadership is a great challenge and an opportunity to make a positive difference – so each of us should work at being the best possible leader we can be. I truly believe, that beyond the cliché, this is a journey that has no end, with only a few signposts along the way, but one we can nevertheless navigate with increasing wisdom. But only if we are ‘awake’. The challenge, mine and yours, is to be awake!”

David co-founded Harthill Consulting and works to develop wise and capable leaders within all organisations

David has led a deeply privileged life. For more than 35 years he has worked with organisations that have been making history and with leaders that have genuinely sought to make a difference.

David co-founded Harthill Consulting Ltd in 1985. Since then he has been working to develop ever more wise and capable leadership within organisations. Inquiry lies at the heart of his work - he believes as contexts and people change, what is useful can only be understood and improved through explorations that move fluidly between the personal, the relational and the systemic. Whilst sound leadership certainly comes from within, its impact should be felt systemically.

Since 1997 his work has focused on what has become known as ‘vertical development’ and in supporting leaders to develop the capacities to survive and thrive in an increasingly complex and challenging world. In recent years his concerns have focused on the environmental challenges of our times and the learnings that our collective decimation of nature might have for a sustainable future.

Never, believes David, have systemic understanding and capabilities been more important.

He is highly regarded for his work, with others, in developing and applying the Leadership Development Framework to leadership and organisational transformations. David has published several books including Personal and Organisational Transformations and has co-written the award winning Seven Transformations of Leadership article for Harvard Business Review. This article has been included for years in HBR's '10 Must Reads' on leadership.

Community of Practice

Harthill has created and sustains a collaborative group of coaches, consultants and facilitators in a Community of Practice,

which supports our own transformation and the transformation in individuals, teams, organisations and society. Each person who completes the LDF Authorisation is included in the Community and enriches our work.

Developmental Events

Orchestrated and choreographed by Rebecca Stevens, the Community is beginning to buzz with ideas, connectivity, sharing of experiences, co-inquiring into aspects of our work and the field. Harthill has created and curated a range of developmental Events which serve this purpose and some are also available to those outside the Community of LDF Authorised Practitioners.

Collective Inquiry Groups

Harthill has also launched a series of Collective Inquiry Groups - Community Inquiry, Developmental Inquiry, Practice Inquiry. We have also launched FrameChangers - like a book group for sharing and discussing any books, articles, videos or indeed any material that has shifted our frames of reference, triggered a new line of thinking or developmental idea.

Wisdom Council

Under the guidance of Dr Stephen Duns, we have also initiated a Thought Leadership space, with a Wisdom Council providing guidance and oversight, a planned annual Conference at which we will share new thinking, and a supportive group that will facilitate the research and studies that can lead to the publication of articles in our field.