James Kerr

James Kerr is a superb presenter and a natural storyteller who speaks on a mixture of topics including sports psychology, leadership practice and organisational science, with a compelling narrative. Kerr is the author behind the global best-seller Legacy, revealing the simple secrets of success behind some of the world's elite business, sports and military organisations. In Legacy, Kerr unpicks the secrets of the world's most successful sporting team, the All Blacks. The book has been described as "seminal" by the Independent newspaper and "unputdownable" by Bloomberg. The Daily Telegraph newspaper called it the ‘modern version of Vince Lombardi’s guides to coaching' and says 'for those searching for genuine keys to team culture, it is manna from heaven'.

Kerr explores the driving forces behind best teams to extraordinary results including a focus on excellence, a collective commitment, a high degree of autonomy, trust and individual initiative, compelling communication, individual accountability, integrity and humility, all underpinned by a climate in which "leaders create leaders". There is an impressive list of teams and corporations that have sought Kerr’s expertise including, US and UK Tier One Special Forces, Formula 1 teams, America’s Cup crews, Premier League football managers, Olympic Performance Directors, Google, PayPal, Dyson, Red Bull, Shell and Boeing. As well as small, elite teams, Kerr addresses the specific challenges faced by larger, more diverse organisations today: including the impact that female leaders can have in previously male dominated environments, the challenges of engaging millennials, the shift from a transactional towards a transformative leadership style, personal leadership, ethics and integrity, marginal gains and incremental improvement, values and vision-setting, and resilience in adversity

He is currently working on two books: Where the Earth Meets the Sky is about the Everest basecamp disaster and what it takes to overcome adversity in order to reach the top. The Legacy Workbook, a Curriculum for Change, addresses the practical challenges leaders face in implementing change. He regularly advises elite clients on galvanising teams, resetting standards, and rebooting a winning culture and mindset.

As well as keynotes and inspiring team talks, Kerr also runs highly interactive LegacyLabs - masterclasses in which participants design their own high-performance culture and personal leadership story. In these sessions, Kerr challenges participants to first design, and then take responsibility for delivering, the marginal gains that deliver breakthrough results. Acting as a creative catalyst, Kerr unlocks the latent potential within the team, helping develop agility, resilience, connection, cohesion and common purpose.

ADDITIONAL NOTES
- In business, he has advised Boeing, HSBC, Google, McKinsey’s, KPMG, Citbank, and many others. He is currently coaching a board member of Tesla and Space X.

- In the military speaker, he has advised Tier One Special Forces including the SAS and the SBS, DevGru Navy SEALS (Team 6), SOCOM, West Point, Sandhurst, 75th Rangers Regiment, the Gurkhas. He wrote the spirit guide for the Special Boat Service and is currently crafting the identity for the new British Army Rangers Regiment. He was the keynote for the Army-wide leadership conference for the Commander Field Army. 

- His work has influenced the leadership within teams and businesses around the world, including the England Football team, the Atlanta Falcons, UMASS Ice Hockey (taking them from worst to first), within Nuclear Submarines, the White House and the MOD.

- He is adept at running creative workshops that help leaders define, design and deliver their leadership legacy. In this, has well as across business, he has guest lectured at Eton College, West Point Military Academy, and Team Six of the Navy SEALS.

- He is a regular contributor to the Today programme, BBC online, and as a guest on countless podcasts.

- His book, Legacy, is on the reading list of Harvard Business School, the CIA, SOCOM, the FBI and the Australian Institute of Sport. It has been described as liminal by the Times and changed the coaching game.