Stuart Waddington

Founder of Star Development UK, and host of the “#Leadership – What’s on your Mind?” Podcast, Stuart Waddington delivers leadership and transformational development programmes and one-to-one coaching to high performing teams, individuals, senior managers, CEO’s and other top performers.

With a strong background in sports that saw him earn a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science, Stuart’s interest in high performance and the links between body and mind extend beyond the playing field into the business world and other key areas of life. He continues his mindset coaching and mentoring work with sports teams and elite athletes; but offers his guidance and experience to all seeking to excel. A natural people person, Stuart uses his experience to identify and overcome issues that are preventing people and teams achieving their full potential in any discipline.

Stuart left the RAF in 2018 having served 12 years delivering leadership training and physical training to basic trainees, instructors, senior officers and specialist teams across all three of the Armed Forces. He founded Star Development UK to apply his military experience to civilian situations.

To build on his experience outside of his “military bubble”, he embarked on a successful collaboration with the University of Cumbria, teaching life skills to students on the cusp of entering the working world. He also engaged with owners of growing businesses who found themselves seeking guidance with the unfamiliar demands of team leadership. He also worked as an associate delivering development training programmes to management teams within multiple government departments.

While returning from one of these engagements Stuart used the train journey to brainstorm his own ideas on teaching leadership skills, and methods to expand their potential. He had identified 7 Steps –the nuts and bolts of leadership– and further developed them into a structured method for teaching these skills online in an understandable, user-friendly format. He also refined the process which enables clients to hone their skills in their own working environments. The “7 Step Strategy” now forms the basis of his successful “Business Owner Bootcamp” and other well-established programmes.

When the Coronavirus pandemic saw our working and professional lives grind to a halt, Stuart found the opportunity to post a weekly thought-provoking podcast: “#Leadership – What’s on your Mind?” A free resource, the podcast presents interesting guests who reveal their unique perspectives on leadership and share their stories to inspire and motivate others.

In readiness for the easing of lockdown restrictions, he has maintained close contact with the specialist trainers who work in association with Star Development UK, and has laid the groundwork to hit the field running in partnership with those trainers.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Stuart’s newest partnerships is with Carden Park luxury hotel, set in the beautiful Cheshire countryside near Chester. Together they are launching a Leadership and High Performance Centre to integrate Star Development UK’s training team into the stunning location and world class facilities of Carden Park. Features include a spa, two championship golf courses, and a new aerial adventure course with access to a wide range of outdoor activities. A full-sized FA football pitch and other open areas are ideally suited for the training needs of sports teams.