Everyone has a unique combination of talents, personality traits, strengths, beliefs, likes and wants for their life. I’m here to help you harness the combination of what you bring.

I believe, from good conversations, intuition, creative challenge and sometimes making brave choices a persons’ uniqueness can thrive. If you take the time to listen and understand people and build good relationships with them, great things can happen.

I’m a professional coach and consultant, I’m here to help you connect the dots; choose your future and be at your best. This ethos is as relevant for individuals and businesses alike. It’s all about making intelligent choices.

A bit about my background and my career  

In everyone’s life there are defining experiences and points that shape you. These experiences have shaped who I am and explain how I work and why I love the work I do. Here are some of my guiding principles;

 1 – Trust your INTUITION, if something’s not right change it

I started my career as a commercial lawyer. It was hard work getting qualified and getting a job in one of the top law firms. When I got there, I realised it wasn’t the right fit for me in the long term. I took the brave decision to listen to my gut and use this insight and knowledge my training gave me for my next phase of my career. Learning how to listen to your gut in a helpful way takes practice and I have definitely got better at it over time.

2 – Play to your strengths and know yourself, do the work you love

I worked out when I was at my happiest and it was all about building relationships, trust, strategies and connecting the dots. I found a job recruiting lawyers and worked for Clifford Chance. This is when my world opened up. Strengths based coaching is at the core of how I work.

3 – Surround yourself with brilliant people doing brilliant things, soak it up!

I realised that if I was working with bright and talented people, I loved the work I was doing. This was often new and creative thinking, when I was pushed out of my comfort zone. One of my proudest moments was when my team won a national award for their work. This was not just down to our internal team but also the brilliant external experts we worked with and learnt from. That mix of different perspectives and experiences is important.

I have been lucky to work in some of the most progressive businesses who value people a handful of them recognised on the Sunday Times Best 100 Companies List.

Learning and adapting all the time is one of the most important aspects of life.

4 – Don’t pass up an opportunity even when it’s hard

I’ve had many tough points in my career. One of them was changing from being in recruitment to working in learning & development. I was petrified of standing up and speaking in front of a big room of lawyers and training them. I kept practising and it does become easier! After L&D I kept moving between specialisms and got experience in Talent Management, Organisational Development, Training & Competence, Employee Engagement & Diversity & Inclusion.

I also have moved between sectors and businesses from Clifford Chance, Addleshaw Goddard & Eversheds Sutherland (legal) to TD Direct Investing and TD Securities Investment Bank (banking), to Sky Betting & Gaming (tech unicorn). All very different businesses. The most recent step has been setting up my own business which brings a very different level of experience.

Each time I made a move it was a stretch, but I learnt from the experience and developed in confidence and skill. My return to work after having my kids was also challenging and maternity coaching was very helpful then. This is one of the life experiences that I draw upon when I coach.

5 – Juggling all the bits of life never seems to get easier

My husband and I are both Northerners and we want to live and raise our kids in the wonderful North. The challenge has been finding the right, interesting and stretching career options in the region. It has often meant that we have been travelling up and down to London each week. Finding the right job, that keeps your career going but also allows you to have a happy family life too is tough. I have been very fortunate to have employers who saw what I could offer, trusted me and let me work flexibly. They got my loyalty and hard work back in spades. I’ve also been very lucky having a supportive husband who has been at my side through all the change.

It’s hard working full time and keeping things going, you just have to dig in. The mistake I made was thinking there is a way of organising myself better so that life felt more manageable. The reality is that it’s all just about choice and knowing that the way you set yourself up at any time is about finding the most practical way of juggling things. There is no answer so don’t torture yourself trying to find it. If anyone does have the answer, please let me know!

6 – Find your ‘why’, align your thinking, how you work and what you do

There are two things that shape my ‘why’.

People
I love working with people, really listening and helping them work out who they are, what they want and how to get it. I build relationships, connections and trust. If we help individuals find their ‘why’ we will all have stronger and more successful businesses. Companies are just a collection of people working together behind a common goal. 

The North (I like other places too by the way)
I’m a co- founder of the Internal Coaches Network and Founder of the Northern Talent Exchange. I’m using my skills and network to help connect people with opportunities in the North to attract, develop and retain people here so they can live and work in this wonderful place.

If you’re looking for a coach or someone who is committed to listening and learning about you and your business and will think creatively to build the right people solutions, I would love to talk to you. I’m always interested in exploring opportunities so get in touch if you think it is worth a coffee.