James Stuart
Profile
James, a graduate of Southampton University and a passionate sailor, is 30 and has completed 8 years in the British Army as a Captain serving with the 4th Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Highlanders). He has completed tours of both Iraq and the Balkans. James remains involved with the military and delivers the leadership and management training for the City of Edinburgh Universities Officers' Training Corps. He has also recently completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Performance Psychology at The University of Edinburgh and has been appointed as a Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Coach Assessor.
While, James is the current Chief Operating Officer of the Scottish Equestrian Association, he has recently been appointed as the Chief Operating Officer of the Royal Yachting Association (Scotland) and will move from equestrianism in a couple of months. He has also recently been promoted to Major in the TA.
Specialist Areas
- Building Performance Teams - Yachts provide an excellent platform to explore teamwork. James' broad experience of sailing, practical leadership development and performance psychology allows him to help teams and individuals maximise the value of training on the water. Using both objective measures of performance, facilitated reflection and observation James helps teams develop, improve communication and understand the importance of differing skills sets.
- Leadership - Leadership is a critical attribute in turbulent times and James' has a depth of experience in developing leaders who must perform in exceptional circumstances. Leadership comes to the fore in dynamic situations; when plan A has to become plan B, C or D. A yacht is a perfect environment to explore the importance of leadership and James' combination of experience and training help candidates get the most out of this challenging and enjoyable platform.
- Exploring the importance of emotional intelligence - there is compelling evidence of the benefits of EI in the workplace, or indeed in a high performance yacht for an extended or difficult period of time. By manipulating the factors influencing a team sailing a yacht, the leaders can be quickly exposed to the importance of EI. James specialises in these practical experiences that go well beyond the theory; providing scaffolding, feedback and objective scoring and ensuring that the experience does not overwhelm.
Qualifications /Memberships
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PG Dip Performance Psychology (Edinburgh University)
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GCGI - City & Guilds Graduateship in Leadership and Management
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BSc (Hons) Oceanography with Physical Geography
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RYA (Royal Yachting Association) Coach Assessor
RYA Powerboat Instructor
Chairman of the RYA Participation Development Group -
Member of the Chartered Management Institute