Accomplishment and Educational Change - A Conversation with Sir Michael Barber

Sir Michael Barber is a world leading expert on government
delivery, education systems, systemic innovation and education
reform.


Sir Michael led the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit for the Blair
administration in the UK from 2001-2005. Since then, he has
worked on delivery and system-wide reforms in more than 50
countries. He personally leads high-stakes engagements with
political leaders, such as quarterly cabinet retreats in Canada
with PM Justin Trudeau, to help them adopt the delivery approach.


Michael held the first Chair of the Office for Students in the UK
from 2017 to 2021, and prior to that as Chief Education Advisor
at Pearson, Michael led a worldwide programme delivering
Pearson’s strategy for education in the poorest sectors of the
world, especially in fast-growing developing economies.

Michael was a Partner at McKinsey & Company and Head of
McKinsey’s global education practice. He is a Distinguished
Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and
holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Exeter. Before
joining government he was a professor at the Institute of
Education at the University of London.


Sir Michael has written extensively on education at all levels,
government delivery and innovation. His most recent publication
'How Seventeen Secretaries of State for Education, through Thirty
Years of Constant Change, Enabled the System to Improve' was
published this month and is a synthesis of the reflections of the
UK education ministers since 1986.


Michael's book Accomplishment: How to achieve ambitious and
challenging things was also published earlier this year and sets
out the ingredients for success based on the stories of many
inspirational people and Michael's own experiences of delivering
success for governments and education systems around the world.


Other books he has authored are Deliverology 101: A Field Guide
For Educational Leaders and How to Run A Government: So that
Citizens Benefit and Taxpayers Don't Go Crazy.


Social Links


LinkedIn: @sirmichaelbarber


Twitter: @MichaelBarber9