Hello, I'm Lee Houghton.

Leadership team coach Keynote speaker Author National Coach of the Year 2025

Lead with AI.
Actual Intention.

Everyone's talking about artificial intelligence. I help leaders master the other kind: Actual Intention. Being deliberate about how you show up, the questions you ask and who you make time for. However clever the tools get, people still follow people, and people are the most beautiful thing in the world.

Start a conversation Try a curious question

National Coach
of the Year 2025 #1 bestselling
author

What did you have for your tea?● Who taught you the most about people?● What are you proud of that nobody knows?● What did you want to be when you were ten?● What's made you smile this week?● What did you have for your tea?● Who taught you the most about people?● What are you proud of that nobody knows?● What did you want to be when you were ten?● What's made you smile this week?●

Try this

One question. Asked properly. Listened to properly.

It doesn't need to be clever. Some of the best conversations I've ever had started with the simplest question in the world.

Ask someone today

What did you have for your tea?

Then really listen to the answer. That's the whole trick.

My story

I've always been more interested in the people than the plan.

Always make time.

I grew up in operations. Big, busy organisations full of depots, shift patterns and Monday morning meetings. What struck me, even then, was that the best results never came from the cleverest plan. They came from the teams where people actually knew each other.

The leaders who got the most from their people weren't the loudest or the most experienced. They were the most curious. They asked better questions, they listened longer, and they remembered what you told them.

Then life taught me something harder. Losing my best friend, Chris, left me with three words that now shape everything I do: always make time. For people. For the conversation you keep putting off. For the question you've never asked.

Today I coach leaders and teams, speak at conferences, write books and host a podcast, all about the same thing. In 2025 I was named National Coach of the Year. I'm also co-founder of Get Knowledge, where a lot of my team coaching happens.

In the room

Less talking at people. More talking with them.

Lee Houghton presenting The People Puzzle, piece one: Alignment, asking what a high-performing team means — The People Puzzle, piece one: Alignment

Lee Houghton with his hand raised, getting a room of leaders talking — Hands up if you've ever…

Lee Houghton delivering his culture talk to a room of leaders at round tables — Culture is the real BOSS

What I believe

Four things I'd put my name to

Curiosity beats judgement

The moment you decide you've worked someone out, you stop learning about them. Stay curious a little longer than feels comfortable.

Everyone has a story worth hearing

The quiet one on the late shift. The new starter. The person who always disagrees. There's more to every one of them than their job title.

Behaviour is the message

People don't follow what you say. They follow what you do, especially when you think nobody's watching. Culture is built in the corridor.

Always make time

The conversation you're too busy for is usually the one that matters most. Time is the clearest way to tell someone they matter.

How I help

It's rarely a capability problem. It's almost always a conversation problem.

Most teams already have the skills. What gets in the way is what people feel safe to say, and what leaders are curious enough to ask. That's where I work.

Leadership team coaching

As a leadership team coach, I work with senior and executive teams, together and one to one, so they understand each other properly, talk honestly and pull in the same direction. Much of this happens through Get Knowledge, alongside a brilliant team of associates.

Speaking and workshops

Interactive talks that get a room laughing, thinking and talking to each other. People leave with new thoughts, new feelings, new actions and new connections. That last one matters most to me.

Books, podcast and newsletter

The People Puzzle, my business novel The Missing Piece, the Business Problems Solved Podcast and a weekly newsletter. Ideas you can pick up today and try with your team tomorrow.

Practically common sense, nothing too technical or filled with jargon, but framed in a way that got people thinking differently about how they act.
Senior leader, engineering consultancy

The People Puzzle by Lee Houghton, book cover

Lee Houghton The People Puzzle

Amazon
#1
bestseller

The book (that's a long Lancashire oo, by the way)

The People Puzzle

High performance isn't forced. It's felt.

“Your people aren't a problem to fix. They're a puzzle to understand.”

A practical, people-first guide for leaders who know their team can be more. It's written to be worked through, not just read, and it shows how four pieces fit together to create a team where people genuinely want to give their best.

Alignment

A shared purpose people actually believe in, shaping decisions at every level.

Relationships

Trust built through small daily habits: Connect, Converse, Collaborate and Celebrate.

Feelings

BEACON: Belonging, Engagement, Alignment, Communication, Ownership and Nurturing growth.

Leadership

The mindset, presence and actions your people need from you, especially when it's hard.

If your people don't feel it, they won't follow it.

“It is much better than I expected…” Jason Elliott, co-founder of Get Knowledge

Get The People Puzzle Or read The Missing Piece

Lee Houghton, keynote speaker, on stage with his hand raised

Speaking

Talks that get people talking.

Culture is the real BOSS

Behaviours Observed Set Standards. An interactive talk about the small, everyday moments that really shape a culture, and why the values on the wall matter far less than what people see you do. It ends with one simple ask: change one behaviour this week.

Keynote, 30 to 40 minsWorkshop, 90 mins

There is no algorithm for trust

In a world racing towards automation, trust is still built the old way: one honest conversation at a time. First delivered at the Lean Competency System conference, October 2026.

Ask about speaking

Recognition

National Coach of the Year 2025

Awarded at the Paseda360 National Coaching Awards. I'm proud of it, but the credit belongs to the people I've coached. They're the ones who did the brave bit: getting curious, having the honest conversation and changing how they lead.

My company

Get Knowledge

Get Knowledge is the leadership and improvement consultancy I co-founded with Jason Elliott. It's where most of my team coaching happens, alongside a brilliant team of associates, working with leadership teams in some of the UK's biggest operational organisations.

About Get Knowledge Visit getknowledge.co.uk

Podcast

Business Problems Solved Podcast

Over 300 episodes of real-world examples and practical ways to solve the people and performance problems every business faces. Fair warning: it will challenge your thinking.

Coming soon A brand new podcast is on its way, and it will live in the same place. Subscribe now and it'll land straight in your feed.

Have a listen

Questions people ask

The quick answers

Who is Lee Houghton?

Lee Houghton is a UK leadership team coach, keynote speaker and author based in Lancashire. He is co-founder of Get Knowledge, author of The People Puzzle and the business novel The Missing Piece, host of the Business Problems Solved Podcast, and was named National Coach of the Year 2025 at the Paseda360 National Coaching Awards.

What does 'Lead with AI: Actual Intention' mean?

It is Lee's playful twist on the AI conversation. While organisations focus on artificial intelligence, Lee helps leaders master the other kind of AI: Actual Intention. That means being deliberate about how you show up, the questions you ask and who you make time for, because people still follow people.

What does Lee Houghton do?

Lee is a leadership team coach. He coaches leadership teams and the leaders in them, speaks at conferences and leadership events, and writes about people, trust and culture. Much of his team coaching is delivered through Get Knowledge, the consultancy he co-founded with Jason Elliott.

What does a leadership team coach do?

A leadership team coach works with a whole senior or executive team, not just individuals, to improve how the team thinks, talks and decides together. Lee Houghton coaches leadership teams through moments of change, growth and transition, helping them build trust, have honest conversations and turn strategy into what actually happens on the front line. Most of his leadership team coaching is delivered through Get Knowledge.

What is The People Puzzle about?

The People Puzzle is Lee Houghton's Amazon number one bestselling leadership book. It shows how four pieces, Alignment, Relationships, Feelings and Leadership, fit together to create a team where high performance feels natural. It includes the BEACON model and the 4Cs: Connect, Converse, Collaborate and Celebrate.

What is Get Knowledge?

Get Knowledge is a UK leadership and improvement consultancy co-founded by Lee Houghton and Jason Elliott. It works with leadership teams in large, complex operational organisations through two connected practices: the Leadership Practice and the Improvement Practice. Find out more on the Get Knowledge page or at getknowledge.co.uk.

Can I book Lee Houghton to speak at my event?

Yes. Lee speaks at conferences, leadership events and away days across the UK. His talks include 'Culture is the real BOSS' and 'There is no algorithm for trust', available as a 30 to 40 minute keynote or a 90 minute workshop. Get in touch to enquire.

Say hello

I'd love to hear your story.

Whether it's about your team, an event, the book or just something on your mind, drop me a note. I read every message myself.

Or book a call in my diary

Based in Lancashire, working across the UK.

Lead with AI.↖ not that oneActual Intention.