Jim Gritton – Educator, Researcher and Consultant

Until 2015/16, Jim Gritton was Deputy Head of Psychology, Social Work and Counselling at the University of Greenwich in London, a role he combined with his teaching duties as Principal Lecturer in Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care. Now retired, he is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education, having previously completed a BA (Hons) in German and linguistics (Wales), a diploma in social administration (LSE), an MA in social work (Brunel), an executive MBA (Reading), an MSc in e-Learning (Edinburgh), an MA in Educational Research (Greenwich), and an MLitt in Viking Studies (UHI).

A late entrant to academia, Jim spent much of his career in public service. As a probation officer he worked with offenders and as a family court welfare officer he advised courts, drawing on his training as a family therapist, on the best interests of children in complex custody disputes. Having attained the rank of Assistant Chief Probation Officer, he left public service in 2003 to co-found a management consultancy and worked with organisations, primarily in the public sector, to build leadership capacity. In 2009 he began teaching for the Open University Business School and was one of the first tutors to teach on the NHS’s flagship leadership development programme for first-time leaders. In 2011 he moved to the University of Greenwich and was awarded Fellowship of the Institute of Leadership and Management in 2012. He was an external examiner at both Sheffield Hallam and Kingston Universities.

Jim sits on the Board of Governors at an adult education college and local secondary school. His research interests span social sciences and the humanities, and he has been published in fields as varied as public health, criminal justice, leadership development in virtual worlds, cinema in the classroom, and Viking studies.

Selected Publications

Gritton, J. (2020) ‘Yngvars saga víðförla and the Ingvar Runestones: A Question of Evidence’, Apardjón Journal for Scandinavian Studies, 1 (1), pp. 54-86.

Gritton, J., Stewart, J., Jeavons, C., Mehmet, N. and La Placa, V. (2016) ‘Movies in the Classroom: Lessons for Curriculum Design’, Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, 8 (12).

Stewart, J., Smith, D. and Gritton, J. (2016) A Public Health History of a Forgotten Corner of Kent: The Isle of Sheppey. Occasional Paper No. 3. London: Environmental Health Research Network.

Gritton, J. (2016) ‘It’s Leadership Development, Jim, But Not as We Know It’, in C. DeCoursey and
D. Gui (eds.), Games, Leadership and Learning in Virtual Environments. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, pp. 93-123.

Stewart, J., Crocket, R., Gritton, J., Stubbs, B. and Pascoe, A. (2014) ‘Ageing at Home? Meeting Housing, Health and Social Needs’, Journal of Integrated Care, 22 (5/6), pp. 218 – 228.

Stewart, J. and Gritton, J. (2014) ‘The Living Environment and Wellbeing: Wicked Problems, Wicked Solutions?’, in A. Knight, A. McNaught and V. La Placa (eds.). Wellbeing: Policy and Practice, Banbury: Lantern Publishing, pp. 39-50.

Gritton, J. (2013) The New NHS Leadership Framework: Distributed Leadership or Emperor’s New Clothes? Paper presented at the Inaugural Conference of the Phi Mu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, Nursing Honour Society, Bournemouth University, June (https://bit.ly/34HlJWu).

Gritton, J. (2011) ‘Leadership Lessons from Pandora and Beyond’, in P. Jerry and L. Lindsey (eds.), Experiential Learning in Virtual Worlds: Opening an Undiscovered Country. eBook. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, pp. 93-105.

Gritton, J. (2010) ‘Leadership’, in B716 Unit 1: Exploring Management. Milton Keynes: The Open University, pp. 61-75.

Gritton, J. (2010) ‘General Theories of Management – Contrasting Approaches’, in B716 Unit 1: Exploring Management. Milton Keynes: The Open University, pp. 6-8.

Gritton, J. (2010) ‘Stakeholder Analysis and Management’, in B716 Unit 1: Exploring Management. Milton Keynes: The Open University, pp. 25-38.

Gritton, J. (2007) Can Serendipitous Browsing Lead to Serendipitous Learning? Bristol: Futurelab [No longer available online].

Barclay, A. and Gritton, J. (2006) Evaluating the Impact of Leadership Development: An Evaluation Framework. London: Public Services Leadership Consortium.

Barclay, A. and Gritton, J. (2006) Leading in a Learning Organisation. eBook. London: National Probation Service.

Barclay, A. and Gritton, J. (2006) Leading Performance Through People. eBook. London: National Probation Service.

Gritton, J. and Barclay, A. (2006) Leading Change. eBook. London: National Probation Service.

Gritton, J. and Barclay, A. (2006) Leading for Results. eBook. London: National Probation Service.

Gritton, J. and Barclay, A. (2006) Leading Improvement. eBook. London: National Probation Service.

Gritton, J. and Barclay, A. (2006) Leading in the 21st Century. eBook. London: National Probation Service.

Gritton, J. (2000) ‘Scenario Planning in the Probation Service – the Need for 20:20 Vision’, Vista: Perspectives on Probation, Criminal Justice & Civil Renewal, 6 (1), pp. 46-59.

Gritton, J. (1998) ‘Probation on the Internet’, Vista: Perspectives on Probation, Criminal Justice & Civil Renewal, 3 (3), pp. 196-207.