Richard Pheasant

MTh, BA (Hons), Dip Comp, Dip TESOL
Senior Management Associate, Spearhead Training, U.A.E.

Richard is a U.K. national with over twenty five years experience in management, education and training, the majority of which has been gained in the Middle East. This valuable regional knowledge, combined with practical management experience, and local case studies, has given Richard a very solid training base to be able to support companies in improving their business performance, throughout the region and beyond.

Richard’s professional career started in the U.K. in 1988, where he taught English language, at a naval school, in Portsmouth for a brief period. He was then recruited to the U.A.E. to work for two years on an English language project providing instruction to air-force pilot cadets from across the Gulf region. In 1990 he returned to Portsmouth, and worked on a programme providing English Language courses for servicemen from several Gulf countries. In 1995 he returned again to the U.A.E. to teach in a military vocational training college in Abu Dhabi. In 1997 he was promoted to a senior management position, with responsibilities that included supervising the delivery of language teaching for new students, developing and improving courses, and observing and coaching course instructors. During this time he also delivered several teacher training certificate courses for a professional training institute in Abu Dhabi.

In 2001, Richard joined ADNOC’s engineering university (The Petroleum Institute) on a programme for new university entrants. After two years he was promoted to a key senior management role, responsible for coordinating the computing department and overall delivery of computing courses to students. During his tenure at the university, he also delivered a number of professional development courses in Microsoft applications for both faculty and staff. In 2005 he was personally awarded ‘Faculty Of The Year Award’ for his teaching achievements on his programme.

In 2005, Richard was asked to co-deliver a new Leadership course to students at the university. It proved extremely popular, and from 2007 onwards, he was solely responsible for the management and teaching of all leadership courses for undergraduate students. The courses covered key subjects such as the skills necessary for good leadership, situational leadership, transformational leadership, problem solving and decision making, delegation, teambuilding, motivation, and effective communication.

In 2011 Richard made a career choice to move into full time adult training, joining Spearhead as a Senior Management Associate in Dubai. He has excellent communication and interpersonal skills, combined with a very approachable, empathetic manner. This combination of skills has helped him to successfully deliver courses across a wide range of subjects to different audiences. He also brings a number of real life regional case studies into his programmes. With his experience of management and leadership training, Richard can offer great knowledge and practical assistance inside the training room. Outside of his professional work Richard is currently the chair of the Board Of Trustees of a national youth association based in Abu Dhabi.

Richard’s key areas of expertise include:

Management & Leadership
>Developing Management Skills
>Supervisory Management Skills
>Creative Problem Solving & Decision Making
>Leading High Performance Teams
>Planning & Organizing Skills
>How To Conduct Effective Meetings
>Developing A Crisis Management Strategy
>Change Management
>Strategic Thinking & Planning
>Senior Management Programme
>Coaching For Optimum Performance
>Counselling Skills