I’ve been a professional musician, an expert in computing in the arts at Oxford University, the head of a university education department, the president of a university of the arts, a musicologist, a government advisor, the principal of a Drama College, a national representative on the European Council, and the founder of a startup company.

I think leadership needs insight and intelligence more than a new strategic plan. So I always try to understand the different motivations of people I’m working with. It doesn’t always work - I’m no psychologist - but I find that any empathic understanding I am able to gather is useful in helping individuals to work happily in the organisation, and the organisation with them.

My current book is called The Characters of Creativity - activate creativity by understanding your colleagues. It’s useful for any organisation that needs the creativity of employees. The book is published by BIS of Amsterdam. The next book will be a self-help guide to students about to enter university; it shows them how to be academically successful there. I suppose it’s about creativity meeting university assessment criteria, and it doesn’t have to be a car crash! The one after that? Not sure, but maybe something a bit dreamy about what it feels like when we are at our most creative.

Flowing from all this stuff about creativity and success at university come quite a few invitations to lead staff development workshops for companies eager to energise creativity, and from universities’ management courses who want me to run seminars for their students. Additionally, I frequently lead classes for school students preparing for academic life at university.