Welcome to our series ‘Meet the Entrepreneur’, where we meet the people behind start-ups in the Channel Islands to find out what they’re doing and what makes them tick.
Dave Crossland is the Founder of Odyssea, a leadership and organisation development consultancy. He spoke to Channel Eye about helping organisations navigate change, build stronger leadership teams and embed sustainable culture.
Tell us about your background and journey to your current role
My career has largely centred around learning and development, starting off as a TESOL teacher, living in Pisa, Italy. Over 20 years later, I have worked across professional services, finance and utility organisations to build up my expertise in leadership and organisation development.
Previous roles have seen me working with Executive teams across European locations to build development programmes and actionable talent management frameworks. Most recently, I worked within the utilities sector, running the organisation development function, aligning employee engagement, wellbeing, talent and skills strategies to corporate goals.
What does your company do?
Odyssea (pronounced ‘odd-a-see’) is a leadership and organisation development consultancy. Essentially that means I work with individuals and organisations to build programmes that make change happen in a sustainable way. For example, a company may be facing some kind of transformation in its lifecycle, and I would partner the Executive and Leadership teams to make sure everyone can make sense of what’s happening and draw out the great learning that occurs when anything changes.
How? Through individual or team coaching or facilitating employee workshops. I work at all levels of the organisation to translate strategy into action and ensure the team at the top is ever-conscious of their developing leadership style. Ultimately though, my job is to get organisations to a place where the leadership team doesn’t need me anymore and can take the new lessons forwards to future success.
What makes Odyssea different?
In a word, me. Yes, I bring with me a number of years’ experience, like any other consultant might. What makes me different is my overall approach.
For me, everything starts with an in-depth conversation where we can collaboratively explore what’s happening from every angle – strategy, people, systems, etc. I have a keen interest in making complexity simple, which requires a curious, creative mind.
What is a typical day for you?
I’m not sure any day is typical really. Most days start with the usual family things like school drop off before I head out to my first appointments, whether a coaching session or a conversation with a potential client. Then it’s a case of either working on my laptop, developing the next client solution or working on marketing and business development.
As a sole trader, all of those things fall to me to do, which I actually really enjoy. I’ve learned a lot (and made a few mistakes) in the first 9 months, but it all adds to my experience.
When delivering team sessions, my days are filled with the “performance’ that is facilitation. There is a lot of preparation that goes into delivering one-day or multiple day sessions, so a day can pass by very quickly.
When you’re working at your best, what are you doing?
I love to make use of my holistic skill set, rather than just the skills that are immediately connected to my profession. By that I mean making use of skills I have developed even through my hobbies and interests outside of work.
My undergraduate degree was in Italian and German, so I enjoy anything that involves language skills or using the ability to understand different cultures and how to express complex concepts more simply. You’d be surprised at what you learn about yourself when trying to explain vocabulary you have forgotten in a foreign language to a native speaker, all so that they understand what you mean.
I’m also a performer outside of the ‘day job’ so am no stranger to the stage, whether acting or singing. The confidence that comes from that experience means I am always happy in front of an audience. I am also happy developing a character and understanding diverse viewpoints and behaviours.
So, when working at my best, I am with a group of people exploring complex concepts in a creative way, seeking the most successful solution possible that keeps everyone aligned.
What do the next few years in your business look like?
Over the next few years, Odyssea will become an established brand across the Channel Islands, known for delivering people-centred organisation development and creating environments where individuals can thrive. I have already begun to branch out of Jersey into Guernsey and UK and will continue to build new relationships where I can.
Personally, I will continue to build my own skill set and have my eye on a Lego-based coaching accreditation which will open up my practice and allow me to add something a little more creative to my offering.
On top of that, I hope to be involved in more public speaking engagement similar to my recent TEDx talk in St Helier. I enjoy sharing ideas in a public forum, so I will happily take any opportunities to do that.
What do you do with your free time?
I have a number of interests that keep my motivated. When not at the gym, I am a self-defence instructor, a performer and a musician (am currently learning drums).
As my days are busy with a variety of different things, I am also not scared to admit that I love to just chill in front of the television with the latest crime drama or comedy series. Relaxing and taking time out is so important, so anything that helps to bring the energy down is essential in making sure I stay focussed when I do need to concentrate on client work.
To start a conversation about how coaching, leadership, and organisation development can help your company drive the culture you want, you can contact Dave on LinkedIn or via email at [email protected].
