DEAN WILLIAMS
Dean is the author of “Leadership for a Fractured World: How to Cross Boundaries, Build Bridges, and Lead Change” and “Real Leadership: Helping People and Organizations Face Their Toughest Challenges.”
Originally from Geelong, Australia, he was a faculty member at Harvard University’s Kennedy School for two decades. His base now is Singapore, where he has established The Leader’s Compass, an international consultancy and Thinking Heads Global, a leadership think-tank and research initiative. Dean has twice been a visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
At Harvard’s Center for Public Leadership, Dean led the World Leaders Project – a research initiative that has drawn lessons and insights on leadership from successful (and some unsuccessful) world leaders. He also directed The Global Change Agent executive education program.
Dean has been directly involved in many significant change initiatives. He served as the Chief Adviser to the President of Madagascar for five years, leading one of the most innovative development reforms in Africa. He was the chief consultant for reform of the state educational system in Queensland, Australia. He helped the leadership of East Timor make the transition into an independent and functioning state. He was the lead consultant for the transformation of two major financial institutions. For the past twelve years he has led Social Leadership Singapore, an important four to six month program bringing leaders from government, business and the social sector together to build leadership capacity to address the nation’s array of social challenges. He has also done leadership work in many other countries including China, Mongolia, Nigeria, India, the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Colombia, Mexico, Cambodia, Philippines, Myanmar, the United States, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates.
He earned both Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Harvard, specializing in leadership studies and organizational development, conducting research with tribal groups in Borneo, public service reform in Brunei, the development of change agents in Japan, and leadership and organizational renewal in some of America’s leading corporations. His first job out of high school was working on the factory floor of Ford Motor Company in Geelong, Australia.
He continues to work with businesses, governments, and educational institutions around the world on building leadership capacity to respond to the demands of leading in a complex and volatile world.
