Check out the FAQs below for the answers to some of the frequently asked questions about my coaching, consulting and training services. If I haven’t answered your questions, please get in touch.

  • Coaching is a collaborative result-orientated process that focuses on high-performance and professional improvement. It involves dialogue, powerful questioning and reflection, with the aim of improving awareness, responsibility and choice in an individual and/or teams. As an individual or team coach, I function as a ‘thinking partner’ in your quest for goal achievement, self-improvement and problem solving.*
  • Consulting. In my consulting role I help leaders and organisations navigate challenges such as corporate culture transformations or improve employee engagement and/or staff retention – often (but not necessarily) after events like mergers, takeovers, or redundancies. I do this through assessment diagnostics, engagement surveys, focus groups and one-to-one interviews to assess where the key issues lie and then build a plan to address the issues and gaps. Additionally, I can help implement meaningful wellbeing initiatives as well as strategies to promote psychological safety and support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
  • My training programmes deliver structured learning around pre-defined skills or knowledge areas. The programmes and workshop content are broad-ranging and always bespoke, covering topics that include improving communication effectiveness, developing leadership impact or building confidence and influence.

*This differs from mentoring which involves sharing personal and professional experiences and advice from a someone in a similar field.

Some or all of the above will be relevant depending on your challenges or the goals you want to achieve. So please reach out if you are unsure of what you might need.

The coaching process involves dialogue, powerful questioning and reflection, and is aimed at improving performance, self-awareness and personal growth in individuals and teams. As your coach I will challenge you constructively while supporting your growth. As a leader this will help you:

  • Achieve more clarity around priorities and long-term goals
  • Align your vision with actionable strategies.
  • Foster stronger relationships with stakeholders and teams.
  • Improve the communication and decision-making skills.
  • Build your confidence and resilience in high-pressure or challenging situations.
  • Develop greater self-awareness and emotional intelligence.

All my coaching programmes are highly personalised and start with an in-depth assessment of your current situation, goals, and challenges. Together we work to identify and agree specific areas to focus on e.g. how to better manage competing priorities, better managing difficult people, improve your executive presence etc. What is critical to remember is that this is your coaching programme so each session and the techniques used will always be specific to your agenda and needs, ensuring relevance and impact.

I work with a wide range of companies in the public and private different sectors that all share a common theme – to be successful at what they do. What success looks like differs from client to client, but the focus is always the same – to build great teams and organisations through great leadership. And that’s where my services help.

A common misconception about coaching is that to be effective a coach must have direct experience in a specific industry or have held a similar role. This is simply not the case. A coach’s role is to facilitate a collaborative, results-driven process that enhances individual and team performance. This is achieved through powerful questioning, meaningful dialogue, and reflective practices. Unlike a mentor or advisor (see Q1), a coach does not guide, direct, or offer advice. Therefore, having a coach with no experience in your sector can prove more advantageous than not since they can challenge assumptions, ask unbiased questions, and bring fresh perspectives – helping individuals and teams gain deeper insights and often make better decisions without being influenced by narrower, more industry-specific knowledge and experience.

In addition to one-one coaching, I also offer both team and group coaching. Team coaching is about helping a team work better together as a single unit towards a common goal, whereas group coaching focuses on developing individuals through peer learning and collective exploration, creating more accountability for long-term development.

Coaching and training both involve learning.  However, a useful distinction made by John Whitmore, a pioneer in the field of coaching and leadership development, is that ‘Training is teaching – let me tell you what to do – while coaching is learning – let me ask you what you think.’ In other words, teaching is primarily focused on transferring knowledge and skills through instruction, whereas team and group coaching emphasises a collaborative approach to development, self-discovery, and accountability by facilitating discussion and reflection. This helps participants work together to achieve individual and team goals. In coaching the greater emphasis is on long-term behavioural change and growth rather than just acquiring information.

In either case, one-off sessions are not recommended as they do not build long-term sustainable impact.  So I always suggest a coaching programme or a hybrid programme of training supplemented by coaching to achieve long-term sustainable outcomes.

In terms of qualifications, I am a Senior Practitioner Coach, accredited by the EMCC, which means I adhere to their Global Code of Ethics and undergo regular supervision. I also have a MSc in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology so I understand the psychology of human behaviours and motivation.

In real-world experience I have had a successful 20+ year career in the City of London, working in-house roles at large finance and tech companies as well as running my own PR & Marketing agency, so I know first had the challenges of working in a high-pressured environment.  My PR & Marketing agency company operated without a fixed office location so I also have first-hand experience of managing and motivating a remote team and the challenges that presents.

I always offer a free consultation or initial meeting with a potential client to help determine our ‘chemistry’ in terms of style, approach, and understanding of personal and professional challenges. And I never chase the money – if I don’t think I can support you and help you achieve your goals, I have a wide network of coaches and professional trainers, and will happily recommend someone who I think may be more suitable for your needs.

Both individual and group coaching are typically conducted in sessions lasting 60–90 minutes, scheduled bi-weekly or monthly based on your preferences. I generally recommend a minimum of six sessions, although shorter or longer programmes are possible, depending on budget and needs. Between sessions, action items or reflections may be required; but these can be integrated into a daily routine without requiring significant additional time.

It can be unrealistic to view success in coaching and training solely as a metric, a “win” or the attainment of specific goals; in reality coaching success is a blend of personal growth, team development, improvements in inter-personal relationships and so much more beyond SMART objectives.  (I personally learned this through my Masters Research project which I undertook to measure the Ripple Effect of Executive Coaching on Employee Wellbeing – published by the British Psychological Society in June 2024)

However, I appreciate that when individuals or organisations invest in coaching or training, they feel they should see a return on their spend.  There a number of approaches I use for this:

  • Clear goal-setting at the outset of the programme with regular reviews of milestones and accomplishments
  • Pre- and post- programme diagnostic assessments tools to measure changes in mindset or behaviours such psychometric self-assessments or 360-degree feedback. Examples include confidence levels or self-awareness in individuals or psychological safety in teams
  • Subjective feedback from coachees or training participants and, where applicable or appropriate, stakeholders in your organisation. This might include improved quality of work, increased sales, more efficient project management etc
  • Personal reflection and increased confidence in handling challenges.

The content of every coaching session is always confidential – unless I feel that there are safeguarding issues that I need to take further.

When working in an organisational setting, I always ensure that everyone – the organisational sponsor, the coachee and myself as the coach – is in agreement as to the purpose and objectives of the coaching engagement. I also ensure that everyone understands the confidentiality of the coach-client relationship with respect to the individual being coached. As a Professionally Certified by the EMCC I completely adhere to their Global Code of Ethics and that means not disclosing any details of a coaching session.

Costs vary depending on the number of sessions, location and other resources required. Please get in touch to discuss your requirements and find out more.

I deliver all my services in a way that suits my clients’ needs best – and that varies from in-person, virtual or a hybrid approach.