Frequently asked  questions.

Executive coaching is a structured, forward-focused partnership that sharpens your skills, shifts your habits, and delivers measurable improvements in how you lead. It differs from mentoring because a mentor passes on the perspective of an industry insider, while a coach focuses entirely on you, your goals, and your challenges. It differs from therapy because it works on where you’re going, not on unpacking your past. You get tools, perspective, and accountability that lead to progress you can see and track.

You’re likely ready for a coach when you’ve hit a level where your expertise is no longer the thing holding you back, and the challenges in front of you are about influence, judgement, and how you operate rather than technical skill. Common signs: you’re stalling despite strong performance, you’re navigating politics or relationships you can’t quite read, you’ve stepped into a bigger role and the old approach isn’t working, or you’re making high-stakes decisions with no one objective to think them through with. Coaching isn’t for people who are failing; it’s for capable people who want to get better at the parts of leadership that experience alone doesn’t teach. If any of that sounds like where you are, a chemistry call is the simplest way to find out whether it’s the right moment.

Expect clearer thinking, sharper decisions, stronger self-awareness, and a leadership style that feels like your own. Most clients communicate more powerfully, hold their nerve under pressure, and influence people more effectively. Organisations often see measurable returns too, in team performance, engagement, and retention. The exact outcomes depend on what you bring and what you’re willing to change.

Coaching is developmental, not remedial, and most of my clients are already accomplished. They’ve simply reached the point where expertise alone no longer carries them, and they want to influence rather than just execute. As Marshall Goldsmith put it, “what got you here won’t get you there.” That shift, from being the most capable person in the room to being the most influential, is exactly what coaching works on.

Choose a coach with solid training, professional accreditation, and proven experience coaching leaders at your level, then find out in a chemistry call whether you feel challenged and understood by them. Beyond the credentials, the right coach asks sharp questions, listens closely, and isn’t afraid to push you. One thing worth weighing: coaching backgrounds differ. I spent fifteen years as a political strategist and lobbyist before I coached anyone, so I read organisational power and influence differently from a coach who has only worked inside companies. If your challenge is political as much as personal, that’s a reason to talk to me rather than someone else.

A coaching session is a focused, confidential conversation aimed at a real problem you’re facing, not a general chat. I ask the questions you’re not asking yourself, reflect back patterns you might not notice, and offer practical strategies when they help. One session might be big-picture, about your direction or your positioning; another might be how to handle tomorrow’s board meeting. You leave each one with sharper insight and clear next steps.

Most engagements run three to six months, with a session every two to four weeks. That’s long enough for real change and frequent enough to keep momentum. I also offer one-off “flashpoint” sessions when you need clarity on a single decision fast, and longer partnerships for clients working through a major transition.

The return depends on what you bring and what you’re willing to change, but clients typically report more influence, clearer thinking, stronger communication, and better relationships. Some get promoted, some change direction, others simply feel more in control of their work. For organisations, the return usually shows up in team performance, engagement, and retention. Coaching pays off when you come ready to act on it.

Yes. Coaching is one of the most effective ways to work through imposter syndrome because it addresses the specific situations where the self-doubt shows up rather than treating it as a fixed trait. Most capable people feel like a fraud at some point, usually just after a step up, when the gap between how they feel and how they’re perceived is widest. Coaching helps you see that gap clearly, separate the doubt from the reality of your track record, and build the confidence to act despite it. We work on the concrete moments where it bites, the meeting you dread, the decision you’re second-guessing, the room where you feel you don’t belong, and on the patterns underneath them. The goal isn’t to eliminate self-doubt entirely, but for it to stop driving your behaviour.

Coaching helps because expertise stops being the thing that sets you apart once everyone around you is also expert. At senior level, what carries you further is influence, presence, and composure under pressure, especially when you’re managing competing demands and high-stakes relationships. Coaching moves you from knowing to leading. It’s no longer about being the smartest person in the room; it’s about being the one others follow.

Yes, and many clients do. Position coaching to your employer as a strategic investment in your leadership, not a sign you’re struggling, and anchor the conversation in business outcomes: better communication, leading through change, running a team more effectively. Bring specifics about what you want to develop and why it matters to the organisation. I’m happy to provide a proposal or speak with your HR or L&D team if that helps.

What sets my coaching apart is my background: I spent fifteen years as a political strategist and lobbyist before becoming a coach, so I work on power, influence, and organisational politics from direct experience, not theory. Most executive coaches come from HR, psychology, or corporate leadership. That’s valuable, but it means the political and relational side of senior roles, like reading power, building coalitions, influencing people you don’t control- is often the part they understand least. It’s the part I know best. If the gap you’re trying to close is as much political as personal, that’s the reason to work with me rather than a more conventional coach.