Trail Consultancy

13/05/2026

'They cling to their poverty programmes that keep people in the warehouse of social security. Social security needs to help those people who can’t help themselves. It should not be a graveyard for giving up on people who never have a full life because they have never been given the means to get out of poverty.'

Governments have to recognise the inheritance of poverty. Only then can their energies can be rallied to come up with ways to break it

08/05/2026

'Small charities play a distinctive and irreplaceable role. Research shows that they act as first responders, and fill gaps in statutory provision.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, they responded faster and stayed engaged longer than larger organisations — capacity that researchers concluded the system cannot afford to lose.

Another key strength is that they are able to reach and engage those others cannot but cannot offer scale.'

Research suggests that meaningful fundraising recovery in the near term is unlikely and there is now a high risk of another crisis

20/04/2026

A fantastic course from Laura Bremner LB Therapy.

https://lbtherapy-ot.com/nice-day/?fbclid=IwY2xjawRTUlJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFleWVhQUN6V2x2M1FhUEdMc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHviDegGo9oZ5y6CvGXedNxB3QXhqzq_aX6_eorF4SBzY9Rc3DOQp87JAPXwF_aem_D83poOF6unD4rZlqf2qkJg

Practical, expert support - right alongside you - to help you de-escalate in real time and feel steadier in the moments that usually spiral.

09/04/2026

Plenty of people have worked under a manager who appears confident, articulate and highly visible – yet they struggle to lead their team effectively. Team members can become disengaged, decision-making slows and performance declines. But despite this, the same people always seem to progress through the hierarchy.

When leaders all end up looking the same, it could be because they’re chosen for the wrong qualities.

25/03/2026

Trail Consultancy has been working with Word of Life UK over the last few months. It was great to spend a morning with some local staff and students from Hungary this morning and help them think through what is happening in the church in Scotland and how Word of Life can support Scottish churches to reach young people for Christ.

21/03/2026

A coherent vision communicated passionately can inspire teams and organisations to greatness. When teams have a shared, purpose driven vision, and where there is a culture of trust and belonging, great things can be achieved, and staff can flourish.

THE PHILOSOPHY Navigating the Challenges of Leadership Leadership is difficult. There is no blueprint, no handbook and often there is nobody to guide you. Trail Consultancy was set up to support leaders, team and organisations to find purpose and direction so they can grow and flourish. Great leader...

04/02/2026

Leadership is about steering people though challenges, change and complexity. Leaders need to ditch the jargon and communicate clearly. Our words can build barriers, create resentment or build connection towards shared goals. As it says in the book of Proverbs: "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."

04/02/2026

The hardest truth is this: much of Scotland’s public sector architecture now appears better designed to protect itself than to solve the problems it exists to address.

We have created structures where organisational reputation can matter more than collective impact; where auditability outweighs adaptability; where process compliance trumps human outcomes; where institutional survival takes precedence over citizen experience.

You see the consequences across child poverty, justice, sustainability, employability, health and education.

We say we believe in prevention, yet only a small fraction of spend is genuinely preventative.
We say we believe in whole-family support, yet funding and commissioning still carve families into disconnected categories.
We say we believe in relational practice, yet contracts reward throughput rather than trust.
We say we believe in empowerment, yet decision-making remains stubbornly centralised.

Perhaps most damaging of all, we have normalised these contradictions.

Incrementalism is reframed as realism.
Caution is presented as wisdom.
System comfort is treated as stability.
Critique is labelled negativity.

Carney’s challenge cuts through that fog: honesty is the first act of leadership.

Mark Carney’s recent speech in Davos was framed as a geopolitical intervention. But its real power lay elsewhere. It was a warning about how systems persist not because they are effective, but because too many people continue to perform belief in them long after the belief has gone. Drawing on…

13/01/2026

This is shaping up to be a very exciting event. Tickets now available.

Scotland’s National Leadership Summit
A one-day, high-energy summit designed to strengthen how you lead — in business, education, public service, community, and everyday life.

The Calling 2026 is Scotland's new one-day leadership experience designed to inspire, equip, and commission people who want to lead well.

12/11/2025