About me
I work with senior leaders and people at points of transition who want space to think deeply about what comes next in their work, in their leadership and sometimes in their lives.
I’ve spent 30 years working in public service and the voluntary sector, including more than a decade at board level, leading large and complex organisations through change, political pressure, uncertainty and scrutiny. I’ve had to make difficult decisions when there wasn’t a good answer, lead through crises and get things wrong as well as right, I know what senior leadership can ask of you.
I also know that being successful on paper doesn’t mean everything feels right.
Alongside my leadership experience, I trained as an Executive Coach at Ashridge and as a Psychotherapeutic Counsellor in Transactional Analysis. These two parts of my experience are equally important to how I work.
I understand organisations: the systems, relationships, power and politics that come with them. But I’m also interested in what is going on underneath. The patterns we fall into and repeat, the expectations we place on ourselves and the relationships we create. Often, the greatest insight comes from exploring the stories we’ve come to believe about who we need to be and the way those stories shape how we lead.
My coaching
My coaching isn’t about giving you a set of leadership techniques or trying to turn you into somebody else’s idea of a successful leader. What I can offer is a relationship in which we can be curious together. A place where you can say the things you can’t necessarily say at work, look honestly at what’s going on, challenge some assumptions, including your own, and begin to see what choices you actually have.
I particularly enjoy working with people who have reached a point where something needs to change. You may be stepping into a bigger role; questioning whether the career you’ve built still fits; dealing with the weight of senior leadership or beginning to ask a deceptively simple question: What do you actually want now?
What do you actually want now?
These can be uncomfortable questions to ask, particularly when you’ve spent years building a successful career. But I think they are important ones. They can open up possibilities that are difficult to see when you’re busy getting through the next meeting, the next deadline, or the next crisis.
My style is warm, thoughtful and straightforward. I’ll listen carefully, I’ll challenge you when I think it might be useful, and I’ll be interested in you as a whole person not just in your job title.