1-1 coaching

Take on the challenge that's been holding you back

I offer 1-to-1 coaching for leaders and professionals seeking space to think deeply, navigate complexity, and move forward with greater clarity and confidence.

You want to change your situation at work and you’re committed to making it happen. You’ve been over (and over) the issues in your head.

You’ve talked to friends.
You’ve lost sleep.
You’ve lost confidence.
You might be feeling a bit embarrassed.
You’re stuck.

You need someone calm and thoughtful to get you out of your head and out of the loop. You need a skilled listener who won’t jump in with their own problems or their own advice. You need someone alongside you who can spark the thinking you know you’re capable of if you only had the space. Someone to hold you accountable, to bear with you and keep you on track when things get tough.

Personalised coaching

I’ll work with you to find clarity and perspective.
I’ll be your thinking partner so you can dig deep.
I’ll help you feel lighter, motivated and clear-sighted about your next steps.
I'll listen deeply to you while holding your system and context in mind and make links that you might have missed.
I'll reflect what I see and feel when we work together to help you see and feel things differently.
I’ll work with you to draw out your own solutions that are right for you, right now.

We meet online with the option of meeting in person if you live in St Leonards on Sea or Hastings or London. We usually agree a package of six or twelve sessions.

What's it like to work with me? A couple of client cases

A question of promotion (6 session package)

Claire (not their real name) had worked for a small specialist organisation for over twenty years and was extremely good at her job when she was promoted into the leadership team following a re-structure. She found herself doubting her abilities for the first time. Was she up to the job? Was she good enough? Was she being set up to fail? Despite her extensive knowledge and experience in the organisation she’d lost confidence, was fearful of making mistakes and rather than enjoying the promotion was thinking of quitting.

Claire and I met for six sessions spread across six months. We analysed her new role in the context of the changing organisation. Claire was able to pinpoint several incidents where she’d been undermined and unsupported and this helped her make sense of her loss of confidence. This enabled us to work on re-building it through gradual changes in her communication with her boss and taking up her authority with those she managed. By the end of our work, Claire had regained her confidence and was ready for the next phase of her new role with positivity and pride.

Working Identity (12 session package)

Layla was in a senior marketing role in a global company when we started working together. She was up for promotion to director level but was uncertain if the role was right for her. Was she ready? Was she good enough? In our early sessions, she was able to recognise she had the skills, experience and confidence to take on the senior position but something else was holding her back.

Through our work we unpacked what was going on for Layla.

Layla had always been very creative when she was younger but as she had progressed in her career, and become a parent, Layla had let go of her artistic practice. The 'Marketing Director' job title didn't feel right because such a senior professional role felt like a label that didn't match Layla's sense of her own identity.

Layla felt 'guilty' at the idea of taking time for herself but when she joined a local art class and re-connected with her creative artistic side, it had a hugely positive impact on her life. She felt so much happier ('joyful'), more balanced, less stressed and more resilient. For example, the practice of painting, making mistakes and starting again boosted her capacity to manage inevitable setbacks on projects she led on at work. A wisdom her team also benefitted from.

Layla was promoted to the director role and we continued to work together as she contemplated the next steps in her career – which she most definitely wanted to incorporate time for herself and her art.

And a few notes about clients

I may be familiar with your sector (but I may not)

It can be helpful to have a background understanding and knowledge of your situation (and some clients find this re-assuring) but in some ways it can be an advantage not to know your area of work. I won't be distracted by my own experience or make assumptions and the kind of 'naive' (daft?!) questions I ask might seem obvious but can often be very revealing.

I may have worked with someone in a similar situation to you (but I may not)

I've worked with hundreds of clients in education, law, financial services, construction, energy, mental health, cyber security, project management, human resources, care...

I've worked with experienced senior leaders, recent graduates, people in between jobs... I've worked with people in global organisations, medium sized businesses, charities and boutique firms.

I've worked with people who are happy, optimistic, confused, angry, frustrated, lacking in confidence, full of confidence but lacking in clarity, full of ideas with no direction, going for promotion, about to lose their job. People who love their job, hate their job, get along with their colleagues, don't get along with their colleagues....

Everyone is different and unique and I will work with you.

How you'll work with me

We usually meet online but we can meet in person if you live in Hastings or St Leonards. We can also meet occasionally in person if you live in or near London.

Online sessions are one hour. In-person meetings are longer (90 -120 mins).

We meet for six or twelve sessions across three - six months or a bit longer.

We'll usually start meeting fortnightly but this is flexible - we can work faster or have breaks or stretch out the time. Each session we explore what you want to focus on. We might go with the flow or we might work through an agreed structure and we might try out thought experiments or test ideas in the moment. You'll form ideas for what you want to think about or do between sessions and I'll send you suggestions of books, online videos and articles.

I'll design specific tasks for you to support our work.

Step by step

At the start of every session we clarify your aim for the session. I’ll keep checking that we’re on the right track.
We end every session checking what’s been most useful for you and agreeing any thinking or actions or tasks you want to take before the next meeting.
We’ll review progress on an ongoing basis.
When the agreed sessions end, the aim is for you to continue the work that we’ve started by yourself but you may choose to continue or you may choose to do ad-hoc follow up sessions.

Intensive coaching

If you are short of time or you are facing an urgent challenge, I design a bespoke compressed session (over a morning, a day, a weekend) or a series in short succession to fast-track your development.

How to get started

Get in touch. Fill out the form with your contact details and a quick message about your situation - why are you thinking about coaching?
I will contact you within 48 hours to arrange a 30-45 minute Zoom call. You share more about your situation which we explore together and we discuss what you’d like to get out of coaching. You'll get an idea of how I coach and I get a sense of how I can support you. We will decide together if I am the right coach for you and what package would suit you best. You decide (there and then or take your time) if you’d like to start.
We agree a timeframe, an overall goal for the sessions (and for some clients, the goal is to establish the right goal), number of sessions, cost and set a date for our first meeting.

This is for you if...

you think your problems are ‘too minor’ or ‘too complex’ or ‘too unique’ or are overwhelming

you can’t talk to family or friends or work colleagues about how you feel but you really need to talk

you’ve tried making changes by yourself but keep coming back to the same position – you feel stuck

you’ve started to believe there aren’t any solutions

you find yourself saying the same thing to yourself / your friends / your family / your work colleagues but you can’t seem to make the change

You know you need to make a change in your situation but there are so many options you don’t know where to start.

FAQs

How much does it cost?

This is crucial information for you and often the first question people ask. I create a package for you based on our discussion and this determines the cost. Importantly I want you to choose to work with me based on us being a good match – not on how cheap or expensive you think I am. So, the answer to this is: it depends. Get in touch and we can discuss.

How do I know if you can help me?

We decide together. We have an initial (free) call to explore your situation, what you want to work on and you get a sense of who I am and how I coach. If you've read the information here and you think I can help, you're probably right. If you want to work hard and commit to making changes, I can help.

What kind of people do you work with?

I've worked with hundreds of clients in education, law, financial services, construction, energy, mental health, cyber security, project management, human resources, care...I've worked with experienced senior leaders, recent graduates, people in between jobs... I've worked with people in global organisations, medium sized businesses, charities and boutique firms.

Basically, I work with people with or without current work, want to change something about how they work or change their work.

What if you don't have experience of my sector?

What's the usual timeframe to work with you?

This depends on you. We can work intensively over a short period (eg for a specific project or challenge you are working on) or across several months. The majority of clients tend to work with me for about six months. I've been working with some clients over several years.

Do I have to book a block of sessions?

Usually, yes. From experience, clients make more progress when they commit to a set of sessions. I also offer a bespoke intensive intervention (a day / 2 days / a weekend) if you need to work on something urgently. Get in touch and we can discuss.

What's next?

I offer 1-to-1 coaching for leaders and professionals seeking space to think deeply, navigate complexity, and move forward with greater clarity and confidence.

Want to learn more? Want to discuss? Want to arrange a call? Want to start? Fill out the form above and I'll be in touch within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, you can sign up for my newsletter where I share thoughts and ideas on work, share information about offers (mine and others') and quick coaching tasks.