If you’re wondering whether coaching is right for you, or what working with me actually looks like, this is the place to start.
If your question isn’t here, just get in touch. I would rather you asked than talked yourself out of something that might genuinely help.
Coaching is a structured, confidential process where I work alongside you to help you think more clearly, operate more effectively, and lead at the level you’re actually capable of. I am not there to tell you what to do, give you advice, or share my opinions about your organisation. I am there to help you work out what you already know, identify what’s getting in the way, and build the capability to do something about it.
Mentoring is different – a mentor shares their experience and offers guidance based on what worked for them. Consultancy is different again – a consultant diagnoses a problem and recommends a solution. Coaching does neither. It draws out what is already in you, sharpens how you think and lead, and builds something that lasts well beyond the sessions themselves.
No two sessions are the same, because no two clients are the same – and where you are one month is not where you’ll be the next. What every session has in common is that it belongs to you. You set the direction. I ask the questions most people around you won’t ask. We go somewhere useful.
A session is typically 90 minutes, conducted either over Zoom or in person. There is no flipchart. There are no slides. There is a lot of thinking, usually some discomfort in the best possible way, and almost always something you didn’t expect to uncover when you sat down.
They are different things with different purposes, and it is worth being clear about which one you need. Therapy tends to focus on the past, working through experiences, trauma, mental health, and emotional processing. Coaching focuses on the present and the future; where you are now, what you want to achieve, and how you operate more effectively to get there.
I hold a first-class degree in Psychology and my coaching draws on that background, but I am not a therapist and I do not provide therapeutic support. If something comes up in sessions that feels like it needs more than coaching can offer, I will say so and support you in finding the right help.
No. And this is probably the most important thing to say on this page.
The people I work with are not struggling. From the outside, things look fine, they are capable, well-regarded, and delivering results. The reason they come to coaching is that the inside of it doesn’t quite match the outside. Decisions get remade. Too much comes back to them. Under pressure, they revert to a version of themselves they don’t love. They know there is a higher level they should be operating at, but nobody has ever helped them get there.
Coaching is not remedial. It is a strategic investment in operating at the level you are actually capable of.
Generic leadership programmes give you theory. Away days give you a good afternoon, a flipchart full of ideas, and very little lasting change. Six weeks later, nothing has shifted, not because the content was bad, but because knowledge without application and accountability doesn’t stick.
Coaching is different because it is built entirely around you and your specific situation, your specific patterns, your specific blind spots. There is no generic framework being applied to your context. There is a structured, honest process that produces real, lasting change in how you think and operate.
Most of the people I work with have been on leadership programmes before. Almost all of them say the coaching did something those programmes never managed to.
No – and if a coach tells you that is what they do, I would treat that as a red flag.
Good coaching draws out what is already in you. My job is not to have the answers. It is to help you find yours, think through what is actually going on, and build the capability to handle it yourself going forward. If I just told you what to do, you would be dependent on me indefinitely and that is not the point.
What I will do is challenge your thinking, name what I see honestly, ask questions you have not thought to ask yourself, and not let you off the hook when you are staying smaller than you could be.
Quicker than most people expect. One of the things clients frequently say is that the speed of results surprised them. Within the first few sessions, most people describe something shifting; a different way of seeing a situation, a decision they made differently, a conversation they handled better.
The deeper work takes longer, changing how you habitually operate under pressure is not a quick fix. That is why the full programme runs over six months. By the end, you are not just thinking about things differently. You are operating differently. Consistently.
One client described it as feeling “entirely different in terms of speed of results and impact” compared to coaching she had experienced before. That is the aim.
The 1:1 programme runs over six months and is measured start to finish: a CliftonStrengths assessment, a full 360, and The Sharpened Leader® Baseline before we begin, with the 360 and Baseline repeated at the end. It includes a Strategic Operating Audit at the start (so we know exactly what we’re working on), coaching across all three lenses, a Leadership Insight session with Dr John Kirkby CBE, and a written Impact Report at the end. You also have WhatsApp and email access to me throughout for live decisions and moments that need a quick steer between sessions.
The 1:1 programme is entirely focused on you and your situation, your patterns, your goals. It goes deep and covers territory that would not be appropriate in a group setting. It is the right choice if you want a thorough, high-challenge, high-support engagement that is built from the ground up around where you are and where you need to get to.
The group programme is for business owners specifically. It runs over three months with three in-person sessions, one per month, each two and a half hours long. A small, carefully selected group works through the same framework together. The dynamic is different – there is something powerful about being in a room with other business owners who are wrestling with the same things you are. It is less bespoke but no less challenging.
If you are a senior leader within an organisation rather than a business owner, the 1:1 programme is the right fit.
The 1:1 Full Executive Engagement includes seven sessions over six months – starting with a two-hour Strategic Operating Audit and closing with a 90-minute Impact Review. In between, there are four 90-minute coaching sessions, a one-hour Leadership Insight session with Dr John Kirkby CBE, and a 90-minute Impact Review at the end.
The group programme includes three 2.5-hour in-person sessions over three months, one per month.
Both include structured pre-work before each session and support between sessions.
Both options are available for 1:1 coaching. I work with clients across the UK online, and in person for clients who are local to or within reasonable travelling distance of West Yorkshire. Both work well the quality and depth of the coaching is not determined by whether we are in the same room.
For workshops and speaking, I strongly prefer in person. There is a very good reason for this. A room of people fully present, away from their screens, is a completely different experience to a screen of faces who are also quietly checking their emails. I want people to actually get something from the sessions I deliver, and that requires being in the room together. If you are enquiring about a workshop, please bear that in mind.
More than most people expect. Between sessions in the 1:1 programme, you have access to me via WhatsApp or email for short questions and live decisions. This is not additional coaching, it is a thinking partner when something real comes up and you need a quick steer.
Most clients find that a significant amount of the actual work happens between sessions, applying what came up in the room, noticing patterns in real time, testing new ways of operating. The sessions create the insight and direction. The in-between is where it gets put into practice.
The best way to find out is to book a call. Not because it is a sales call, it is not. It is a genuine conversation about where you are, what you are trying to achieve, and whether working together makes sense. If I do not think I am the right fit for you, I will tell you that. I would rather you found the right support than work with someone who is not quite right.
What I would say is that coaching works best for people who are willing to be honest with themselves, open to being challenged, and prepared to do something with what comes up. If you are looking for someone to validate decisions you have already made, I am probably not the right coach for you. If you are looking for someone who will push you to operate at the level you are genuinely capable of, read on.
If you are a business owner and you are happy to work in a small group setting, the group programme is an excellent starting point, particularly if budget is a consideration. It covers the same framework and creates real, lasting change.
If you are a senior leader or director within an organisation, the 1:1 programme is the right choice. The group programme is designed specifically for business owners.
If you are a business owner who wants something more bespoke and deeper, or if there are areas you would not want to work through in a group, the 1:1 programme is the better fit.
If you genuinely are not sure, book a call and we will figure it out together.
Yes. Everything you say in sessions is completely confidential. I do not share content from sessions with anyone, including any organisation that has commissioned the coaching. The only exceptions are the legal ones that apply to all professional relationships: if you disclosed something that created a serious risk of harm, I would have a duty to act. In practice, in years of coaching, this has never arisen.
If your coaching is commissioned by your organisation, they will know you are being coached and may receive a high-level update on progress, but not the content of what you discuss. That is yours.
No. The content of coaching sessions is between you and me. Full stop.
Your organisation may commission the coaching and may receive confirmation that sessions are taking place and that the programme is progressing, but what you actually say, explore, and work through in sessions is confidential. That is not just good practice, it is fundamental to how coaching works. You cannot be honest in a session if you think it is going back to your line manager.
The framework I use across all my work is Know Yourself, Raise Your Standards, Lead at the Level You Need To. These three lenses are always worked together, and every engagement is structured around them.
Within that, my approach draws on my ILM Level 7 training, my first-class Psychology degree, and the behavioural and systemic coaching models I was trained in. I do not use one fixed model applied to every client, I use what is most useful for the specific person and situation in front of me.
What never changes: the sessions are honest, challenging, and focused on what actually needs to shift. Not just what is comfortable to look at.
I hold EMCC Senior Accreditation at EIA Senior Practitioner level awarded by the European Mentoring and Coaching Council, one of the world’s leading professional coaching bodies. I also hold an ILM Level 7 in Executive Coaching and Senior Level Mentoring, the postgraduate-level qualification in the field, and a first-class degree in Psychology.
Why does this matter? Because anyone can call themselves a coach. There is no regulation, no required qualification, no minimum standard. Some unqualified people are talented. Some are doing real damage. I have spent years and significant money earning the right to call myself a coach properly, because the people who trust me with their leadership deserve someone who has actually been trained to do this.
When you are considering working with a coach, always ask about their training and accreditation. If they cannot give you a clear, specific answer, that is important information.
The Sharpened Leader® 1:1 Full Executive Engagement is £5,500 for the full six-month programme. The Business Owner Group Programme is £1,500, with the next cohort starting in February 2027.
Workshops and speaking are priced separately; see the Speaking & Workshops page for full details.
For organisations commissioning coaching for multiple leaders, multi-leader discounts are available. Get in touch to discuss.
Coaching is an investment, and it is worth being clear-eyed about that. The ICF and PwC Global Coaching Client Study (2024) found that 86% of organisations that tracked coaching ROI reported positive returns, with a median return of five to seven times the initial investment. What shifts in your leaders ripples through every decision they make, every conversation they have, and every person they lead.
Start by booking an organisational enquiry call. We will have a straightforward conversation about who you are looking to develop, what you want to achieve, and whether this is the right fit. If it is, I will send a proposal outlining the programme, the investment, and what the engagement looks like from both sides.
The leader being coached usually also speaks with me before we start. Chemistry and fit matter, and I want to make sure it works for them as much as it works for the organisation.
Yes – and this is often where the impact is greatest. Once I am working with one leader in an organisation and the results are visible, conversations with the rest of the leadership team tend to follow naturally. I have worked my way around leadership teams in a number of organisations and the compounding effect of multiple leaders operating at a higher level simultaneously is significant.
Multi-leader discounts are available. Get in touch to discuss.
Yes. I deliver workshops and facilitated training sessions for teams and organisations on topics including effective communication, decision-making, boundaries, stress and energy management, leadership versus management, and productivity. Sessions range from one hour to a full day.
I deliver workshops in person. Full details and pricing are on the Speaking & Workshops page.
Because most away days produce a good afternoon and a flipchart full of ideas that nobody acts on six weeks later, and the reason is not the content. It is that inspiration without structure, accountability, and follow-through does not stick.
My workshops are designed differently. Everything is grounded in what people actually experience day to day. The tools and frameworks are practical and immediately applicable. And because I am in the room rather than behind a screen, I can read what is landing, what is not, and adjust accordingly.
The most common feedback I receive from workshop delegates is that they wished it had been longer. That is not nothing.
If you are looking for a one-day session where everyone feels motivated for a week and then goes back to exactly what they were doing before, I am probably not the right fit. If you want something that actually changes how your people work and lead, let’s talk.
Yes – and this is exactly what the Coaching Stats page is for. It brings together both the independent research on the ROI of executive coaching (including the ICF/PwC data) and the results from my own practice. You are welcome to share that page directly with decision-makers in your organisation.
If you need something more tailored for an internal proposal, get in touch and I can help you put that together.
Get in touch and ask. There is no such thing as a question that is too basic or too specific. I would rather answer it than have you wondering.
