Good digital work needs the right conditions.
I'm Adam Maddison – an independent digital transformation adviser and leadership coach. I help leaders build organisations where good work can happen.
The book
AI is an amplifier. If your organisation is a mess of silos, handoffs and theatrical governance, AI will make you more dysfunctional, faster.
Most transformation projects stall, and most organisations get little value from their AI spending. My book argues the cause isn't the method or the technology. It's the conditions: whether you can safely try new things, learn what works, and scale it.
The Intelligence Era Organisation: Creating the Conditions to Thrive in the Age of AI is published by Public Digital (2026).
They come from the same belief: people do their best work when the structure around them lets them.
Two ways I work
Advisory
For leaders running large programmes and portfolios.
I help you organise your teams and your work so you deliver digital services that meet users' needs and serve your business. That means getting the structures, capabilities and mindset right, so big programmes actually land.
Coaching
For people in senior roles, or heading for them.
I'm an ICF-accredited coach, and I've held senior leadership roles in the public and private sectors. I work with individuals and teams to show up as themselves and lead with integrity and confidence.
Track record
I've worked in and with public and private sectors, in the UK and internationally.
Senior leadership roles at GDS, Department for Education and NHS Digital
Leading and assuring digital delivery teams and programmes inside government and the NHS, transforming ways of working and outcomes delivered.
Client Service Director, dxw
Growing revenue and profit margins with clients across central and local government, and third sectors.
Network member, Public Digital
Working alongside some of the best thinkers on digital transformation.
Advisory board member, Torchbox
Helping shape a digital agency's direction.
About me
I'm Adam Maddison. I started out as a software developer, after a psychology degree and an MPhil in computational neuroscience – a very niche branch of AI. But studying how nervous systems organise themselves turned out to be good training for understanding why organisations behave the way they do.
Since then I've held senior roles at the Government Digital Service, the Department for Education and NHS Digital, run client services at a digital agency, and worked independently since 2021.
I'm a qualified, ICF-accredited leadership coach.
What clients say
Adam bridges the gap between theory and action in a way that's genuinely rare. He's seen and driven real transformation – not just the slide pack version.
I finished each session feeling more confident and assured. And that confidence has continued, particularly around my leadership and management style.
Adam helped our product, engineering and delivery teams collaborate more effectively and communicate more clearly. He helped us get the assurance we needed to deliver on time.
It’s quite rare that coaching has a long lasting impact on my thinking and mindset. Adam's definitely has.
It's brilliant when people can embrace the insanity and help keep us sane.
It’s been an absolute privilege to work with you. And to learn from you.
Thank you so much.
Let’s talk
Tell me what you're trying to change and where you’re stuck. I'll tell you honestly whether I can help.