About Richard Eason

I've spent over 25 years working in hierarchical organisations - 16 years in the military, followed by more than a decade in local government at a senior level leading on climate and transport.

Across both contexts, I've seen the same pattern: progress stalls not because people don't care, but because something unspoken is slowing things down. I call it polite resistance.

The Moment I Remember

One afternoon in our open-plan office, I stood over a colleague, raising my voice and questioning their delivery. The room froze. People stopped working. My colleague sat silent.

I remember that moment clearly, but I didn't understand it then.

Over time, through reflection, I realized what I'd done: I wasn't creating conditions for honesty. I was making honesty dangerous. People were protecting themselves from me.

That wasn't an isolated incident. It was a pattern. My directive approach - which had worked in the military - was creating exactly the resistance I was frustrated with.

What Had to Change

I had to change how I led:

  • Stop using frustration as a management tool
  • Start asking "What do you think we should do?" instead of always giving answers
  • Create space where saying "I'm struggling" didn't trigger public criticism
  • Build conditions where honesty was possible, not punished
  • Apologize when I got it wrong

This wasn't quick. It was years of difficult learning, stumbling, trying again. And my learning continues.

The Framework

Through that learning, I developed five conditions I now use constantly to examine my own leadership:

  • Speak Without Fear: Am I making it safe to raise concerns openly, or are people staying quiet?
  • Shared Ownership: Is responsibility distributed, or am I hoarding control?
  • Confident Action: Can people act without waiting for permission, or have I created dependency?
  • Follow Through: Are we reliably delivering on commitments, or do promises drift?
  • Keep the Rhythm: Does progress sustain when things get hard, or does momentum die?

I check these conditions regularly in my Programme Director role. When teams slow down or go quiet, it's usually because I've weakened one of these conditions without realizing it.

Why I'm Sharing This

I'm sharing the framework with other local authority leaders because I believe structured self-examination matters more than most leadership development offers.

The Polite Resistance Index helps you see which conditions you're creating. It's the same reflection tool I use myself.

Through ELVO, I'm also gathering insights about where local authority leaders struggle most. Seeing patterns across hundreds of leaders helps me understand my own challenges differently.

This work helps my practice. It might help yours.

About this framework

I want to be clear about what this is and what it isn't. The Polite Resistance Index is built on my experience - 16 years in the military and more than a decade in local government. It reflects patterns I've observed and, often, created myself.

It isn't peer-reviewed research or proven methodology. It's a framework I find useful and that others have told me resonates. You might look at the five dimensions and see them differently - that's ok.

What I do believe is that the act of reflecting on these questions is worthwhile regardless. If the framework gives you a useful lens, good. If it prompts you to think about your own version of what good looks like, even better.

Background

  • MSc in Practice-Based Research
  • Executive Coaching & Mentoring Training
  • 16 years as RAF Officer
  • 12+ years in local government leadership
  • Programme Director, London Borough
  • Leading climate and transport programmes