I help senior leaders think clearly and act well when something important is difficult, uncertain or changing.
Senior roles rarely become difficult because there is simply a lack of information.
More often, the challenge is making sense of competing priorities, difficult relationships, organisational politics, changing expectations or decisions where there is no obviously right answer.
I work with CEOs, founders and senior leaders as an independent thinking partner, providing perspective, challenge and practical judgement to help them understand what is really going on, make good calls and move forward.
Sometimes that work is an ongoing one-to-one coaching and advisory relationship. Sometimes the issue sits more widely within the leadership team or organisation, and my involvement extends accordingly.
When do I get called upon?
Leadership transitions
Stepping into a CEO, MD or more senior role changes what is expected of you. I help leaders work out how they need to operate differently, where to focus their attention and how to build the relationships and leadership team they will need around them.
Consequential decisions and relationships
Some situations are difficult precisely because there is no simple answer. I help leaders step back, test their assumptions, understand the different interests in play and think through how best to respond.
Senior teams and organisational complexity
I also work with leadership teams and organisations where difficult relationships, unclear roles, strategy, governance, founder transition or organisational politics are getting in the way of progress
How we work together
The work starts with understanding the situation rather than prescribing a standard programme.
With individual clients, I provide a confidential place to think openly, including about things that may be difficult to discuss elsewhere. I will listen carefully, ask questions, challenge assumptions and offer a perspective or advice where that is useful.
Where the issue extends beyond the individual, I can also work with leadership teams, boards and other stakeholders to help surface difficult issues, build clarity and move things forward.
The aim is not to provide someone else's answers.
It is to help you arrive at better ones and then act on them.
About me
I have spent much of my career working alongside people carrying significant responsibility in demanding environments.
For more than a decade I have worked independently with CEOs, MDs, CFOs, founders and senior leadership teams, often through long-running relationships that evolve as the client's role and organisational challenges change.
My earlier career included elite sport, sports psychology and military service. I have subsequently trained extensively in executive coaching, leadership, negotiation and organisational work, including study at Harvard and Cambridge.
Those experiences inform my work, but they are not a methodology I impose on clients. What matters is understanding the particular person, organisation and situation in front of me
Lets start the conversation….
If you are dealing with a significant leadership decision, transition or organisational situation and think an independent perspective might help, please get in touch.