Coaching
With over thirty years of wide ranging business experience, and a deep understanding of organisational dynamics and the professional services environment, Sue has supported leaders in a wide variety of situations.
Sue brings insight and empathy, having personal experience of building a business from start up, leading a national team, and of working for many years in senior leadership roles, including at Executive Board level of an international law firm.
Drawing on her own leadership and business experience, with an analytical mind, passionate belief in fairness and inclusion and occasional dose of gentle humour, Sue's straight-talking style helps clients to drive an enduring step change in themselves and their business performance.
Clients describe Sue as warm, intelligent and insightful and say that working with her helps to build their understanding of relationships and grows their confidence and resolve to step up and take hold of leadership opportunities.
Sue trained as an Executive Coach at Ashridge, consistently ranked amongst the best business schools in the world and recognised as a centre of excellence in executive coaching. Sue subscribes to the Ashridge Code of Conduct, Ethics and Principles for Executive Coaches and attends regular supervision as part of her commitment to ongoing learning and development. For further information please visit the Ashridge website.
A keen walker and lover of travel and all things outdoors, Sue is passionate about living life to the full and in as balanced a way as possible, whilst recognising, from her own experience as her career developed, how challenging that sometimes can be.
Sue is happy to connect potential clients with people and organisations who are familiar with her work.
Coaching scenarios and experience
Through one to one coaching, Sue helps business leaders, and those aspiring to lead, to step up to the challenge and responsibility of leading in a changing and complex environment.
Sue creates a safe, confidential and non judgmental space for reflection and an opportunity for clients to explore, debate, experiment and plan next steps. Sue helps leaders to identify the mark they intend to make and the footprint they wish to leave on their organisation. Sue has supported leaders in a wide range of situations:
Transitioning into and out of leadership roles- Strategic planning and business development
- Leading and reacting to change, restructures, mergers
- Addressing relationship dynamics and difficulties
- Adapting and flexing leadership style
- Enhancing inclusive language and behaviours
- Career dilemmas, crossroads and pre-retirement planning
- Enhancing personal impact, confidence and assertiveness
- Reintegration following parental leave or other long term absence
- Tackling work /life imbalance, delegation and sustainability
- Breaking patterns and cycles of behaviour
How it works
Set Up
To get the best results from coaching, clients need to feel comfortable speaking freely to and confiding in their coach. Sue holds an initial meeting, entirely free of obligation or charge, to enable the prospective client to test out the chemistry between them. If appointed, the scope, duration, fee structure and broad objectives of the assignment are agreed, sometimes involving third party stakeholders. Like most clients, Sue is outcome focussed so, whenever possible, will agree up front how and when the impact of the coaching will be reviewed and evaluated.
The Coaching Itself
Sue coaches in person or by video conferencing and sometimes by telephone. Some clients chose to combine their coaching conversations with walks in parks or in open countryside- Sue will happily head for the hills ! With bases in London and the North West, and always happy to travel, Sue is flexible about location, so long as the coaching space offers complete privacy. A session commonly lasts for 1.5 hours and each assignment typically comprises six to eight sessions. No two situations are the same, so the structure of each assignment is entirely flexible.
Review and Evaluation
At the end of the assignment, with a review half way, the impact of the coaching work will be evaluated against the objectives agreed at the outset and which have sometimes been re-negotiated en route as different or additional issues emerge.
Testimonials
What Sue's Clients Say
"Mediation is a flexible process conducted confidentially in which a neutral person (the mediator) assists parties in working towards a negotiated agreement of a dispute or difference, with the parties in ultimate control of the decision to settle and the terms of the resolution."
CEDR
Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution
"Now that I am aware of my own patterns of behaviour, and where they come from, I can spot the warning signs and approach my relationship with [X] with a different mindset."
Partner/Owner
Professional services firm
"I wanted to thank you - I got that [big job] I went for. I don’t think I would have had the confidence to do that without your support."
Accountant
International law firm
"I wanted to thank you - I got that [big job] I went for. I don't think I would have had the confidence to do that without your support."
Accountant
International law firm