OPDC was founded by David Kearney in 1986. Having qualified as a Chartered Psychologist, David worked in the Public Sector for 10 years before moving into the commercial world with Hewlett Packard. Here, David ventured into business process re-engineering and explored the types of leadership needed to make this happen effectively.

David founded OPDC to realise a passion for combining the softer skills of leadership development with hard business outcomes. The core premise was and remains that groups and individuals learn more when they are addressing the real business issues they are faced with. In the years that “outward bound” was popular as an approach to team building, David was helping senior teams to “abseil down their business plan”. The focus was on two inter-connected outcomes: creating an improved plan and building a stronger team. This combination of “hard” and “soft” remains at the heart of our approach to client issues, the design of our programmes and interventions and our evaluation of effectiveness.

David’s PhD research has informed a significant cornerstone of OPDC’s approach to leadership development. This research explored the effect of different styles of influencing others in different contexts. It also led to development of a process to help people recognise their preferred styles and add other styles in their repertoire. The 360 degree questionnaire David developed is now an exclusive tool available to OPDC. The data we collect from this questionnaire enables delegates in our leadership programmes to understand the links and disconnects between their intentions, their specific behaviour and the impact that is has on others. Using the insight they gain from this understanding, we help them initiate dialogue with colleagues and others to surface and resolve misunderstandings and build on common ground.