executive coaching
Executive coaching works best when it goes straight at what’s actually happening: carrying a decision alone, weighing competing demands, sensing that an approach that used to work no longer fits. That’s the starting point here, not a leadership model borrowed from a corporate career I never had. My route into this work has been more than 25 years across psychology, psychotherapy, coaching, and supervision, as a Chartered Counselling Psychologist and EMCC Senior Practitioner Coach, which means I can work at real depth on what’s underneath a problem, while keeping the conversation firmly coaching: about you and where you’re heading, not treatment for difficulty.
why now
People usually come to executive coaching when something in their working life needs proper attention.
Perhaps you’ve taken on greater responsibility, moved into a more senior role, or find yourself carrying pressure that’s harder to set down. Perhaps you’re facing decisions that feel difficult to weigh alone, managing organisational change, or working through tension in an important professional relationship. Sometimes it’s subtler: a sense that established ways of working no longer quite fit, or a question about direction that won’t settle.
At senior levels, honest and reflective conversation can be surprisingly hard to find. Colleagues have their own perspectives and interests, your team looks to you for leadership, and people outside your working world may not fully grasp what you’re managing. Coaching gives you a confidential space to think openly about what’s happening and how you want to respond.
my approach
A lot of executive coaches come to the work by way of a corporate leadership career. I didn’t.
My background is as an EMCC Senior Practitioner Coach and Chartered Counselling Psychologist, and the more than 25 years behind that title were spent understanding how people think, decide, and carry responsibility, across coaching, psychology, psychotherapy, and supervision, not in a boardroom.
Every organisation has its own pressures and culture, but the difficulties that actually bring someone to executive coaching- carrying a decision alone, weighing competing demands, sensing that an established approach no longer fits- turn up in recognisably similar form regardless of sector.
That’s what lets me work at real depth on what’s underneath a problem, while keeping the conversation firmly coaching, about you and where you’re heading, not treatment for difficulty.
the work
Coaching gives you room to think about situations that are hard to think about while you're living through them.
Conversations often centre on leadership challenges, professional relationships, organisational complexity, competing priorities, or a decision that needs proper attention.
Sometimes the focus is one specific situation. At other times it’s a broader look at how you want to work, lead, and develop over time. I won’t hand you advice or a ready-made answer.
The value is in the process itself: examining assumptions, weighing perspectives you might not otherwise consider, and questioning what you’ve been taking for granted.
a good fit
This tends to suit people who value thoughtful conversation over technique, and who are carrying a level of responsibility where the decision genuinely sits with them, not a committee or a manager above them.
It works best for people looking for more than performance optimisation or formula-driven leadership models. You don’t need to be a chief executive or hold a corporate title to benefit.
Many of the people I coach are business owners, consultants, healthcare professionals, and academics, carrying real responsibility in their own fields.
Discovery Call
working with people, not job titles
Coaching here can be one conversation or work that continues over months. A single Focused Coaching Session usually suits a specific decision or situation you want to think through properly. Ongoing Psychologically Informed Coaching suits a longer period of change or responsibility.
A regular Thinking Space gives you a standing point in the diary to keep reflecting on what’s arising, month to month, at a senior level. All of this happens online via Zoom, so you can work with me wherever you’re based and choose on fit rather than geography.
Common Questions
What is executive coaching?
A dedicated space to think clearly about the decisions, relationships, and responsibilities that come with a senior role. The aim isn’t to hand you advice, but to create the conditions for genuinely clear thinking.
Do I need to be a chief executive to benefit?
No. Some people I work with hold senior leadership titles, but many are experienced professionals carrying real responsibility within their organisation, business, or field. It’s less about the title and more about what you’re managing.
What's the difference between coaching and therapy?
Coaching keeps its attention on where you are now and the decisions ahead of you. Therapy exists to work with psychological distress directly, which is a different remit. My background as a psychologist means I can hear what’s beneath a difficulty, but I hold the coaching line deliberately, so the conversation stays about your judgement and direction rather than drifting into treatment.
How many sessions will I need?
There’s no fixed number. Some people find a single Focused Coaching Session enough to think through one decision properly. Others prefer ongoing work over several months. It depends on what you’re facing and what feels useful to you.
A Discovery Call will make it clear.