Admiral plotting a new course for much-loved charity

There's a moment in my interview with Richard Leaman, chief executive of one of this country's best-known charities, which illustrates the power - and the problem - of branding. It's when I'm quizzing Leaman, a former admiral, on his credentials and ask whether he knows much about dogs. "I thought you were going to ask if I have experience of working with blind and partially sighted people," he responds. It's a fair point. The charity formerly known as Guide Dogs for the Blind, which is now called simply Guide Dogs , has a clear mission to support blind and partially sighted people. It achieves that, despite its name, not simply through its best-known attribute, the lovable labrador, but in a variety of ways. Based in Reading, Guide Dogs employs about 1,000 staff and has 28 district teams around the country. But it relies heavily on its 11,000 volunteers for many of its activities, including fundraising, puppy walking, and promoting the charity's work in schools. This week is Guide Dogs week , so it's an appropriate moment to talk to Leaman about the changing nature of this organisation and the leadership style that he brings to it from his former life in the navy. Leading a major charity is a very different matter from being an admiral, but Leaman makes a strong case for his move. He points out that the last time he gave a direct order was probably in 1994, when he was the commander of a warship. At the level he left the navy, after a lifetime of service, he says his role was about setting tone and direction - and that's the same in his new job, where he has been in post for just six months. It's still a lot of learning for Leaman, who acknowledges that he has much to learn about blind and partially sighted people. But he says the ability to lead and, in particular, the ability to listen, is vital as he takes the charity through a major change programme, to put more emphasis on its role in helping people in more ways than simply by providing a a guide dog. Increasingly, the charity wants to train sighted people to "lend an arm" to blind or partially-sighted people who need to get out of their home. The economic climate is of course a big challenge for all charities, including Guide Dogs. Leaman says fundraising is "holding its own", but legacies have fallen. The main need is to make the charity's finances more resilient and able to reach more blind and partially-sighed people. Some charities have found the downturn has led to greater competition for funds, but Leaman stresses that there are many ways in which Guide Dogs is working with other charities. "There is competition, yes, but we don't have to be at each other's throats," he comments.