Blog Posts

Coach - Consultant - Programme Designer

October 2, 2025

Yet another “genius” subject line arrives, uninvited, in my inbox: ‘Burnout is the new baseline – are you ready to coach it?’ 😐  What do I notice?  For a moment, I’m riled. Not … Continue Reading

‘Burnout is the New Baseline’. Really?

July 15, 2025

Many of us leave leadership programmes inspired, energised, and full of good intentions. But if we’re honest, how often does that inspiration turn into daily practice?That’s the question that sits … Continue Reading

From Skills to Habits: Making Leadership Stick

June 18, 2025

Have you ever found yourself saying yes to something and then wondering how exactly you got there? You didn’t explicitly agree, and yet… you’re doing the thing. That’s the power, and danger, … Continue Reading

The Subtle Art of Noticing Slippery Requests: A Leader’s Guide to Boundaries and Communication

June 12, 2025

You’ve built a great team. You value their commitment, trust their capability, and enjoy working together. But there’s a frustrating puzzle you keep coming back to:Why don’t things get done … Continue Reading

“Why Don’t They Just Do What I Asked?” (And What Did I Miss?)

May 5, 2025

Ever found yourself stuck, brimming with potential yet hesitant, or wondering why a team member just won’t engage? The answer may lie in the mood we’re bringing to our world.Alan … Continue Reading

What Jane Austen Can Teach Us About Mood, Meaning & Leadership

April 20, 2025

It was late on a Saturday afternoon in Hebden Bridge, post-walk, coffee in hand, quietly unwinding after a long hike to Stoodley Pike. At the next table, a young man … Continue Reading

Leading With Awareness in Uncertain Times

April 15, 2025

Ever had one of those moments where you thought you were perfectly clear, only to discover people came away with different ideas of what you meant?If this sounds familiar, you’re … Continue Reading

How Language Shapes Leadership: From Jane Austen to the Boardroom

March 25, 2025

Some of my most memorable (and let’s be honest, character-building) moments have happened when life veered wildly off script. 💼 A sudden change in government guidance meant my team of three … Continue Reading

When Things Don’t Go to Plan – How Disruptions Shape Our Leadership

March 17, 2025

One of the easiest mistakes any of us can make, especially as leaders, is believing we are right. Thinking we see the world objectively, free from bias, pride, and prejudice. The … Continue Reading

Leadership Blind Spots: When Our Assumptions Masquerade as Truth

March 4, 2025

Anyone who has spent time with young children knows their insatiable appetite for asking questions. Their curiosity is boundless, their desire to understand the world unfiltered by fear of judgment … Continue Reading

The Art of Curiosity: How the Questions We Ask Shape the Future

February 27, 2025

We often hear that positivity is the key to success: “Just think positive.” “Good vibes only.” “Everything will work out.” At the risk of sounding like the Queen of Hearts, … Continue Reading

Why “Just Think Positive” Misses the Point

February 11, 2025

Last week I received an unsolicited invitation to pay for a webinar on supporting coaching clients with ‘Imposter Syndrome.’ The promotional materials included a deliberately alarming list of its supposed … Continue Reading

The Myth of Imposter Syndrome: What if You’re Just Accurately Self-Aware?

November 26, 2024

One to one meetings are the foundation, the engine room of our business. If they’re led well we get to know our teams and what motivates them, show we care … Continue Reading

The Power of One-on-One Meetings: Building Communication and Productivity

July 26, 2023

I recently worked with a team of 30 first time leaders. They’re keen, energetic, all have good track records of being successful in previous roles and are now leading teams. … Continue Reading

Why learning to pause helps you be a more effective leader

July 26, 2023

Being a leader who listens  Leadership life is busy, really busy. We talk about our heads ‘buzzing’, ‘multi-tasking’ and ‘managing distractions’. We all know listening is important, but focusing on … Continue Reading

Why listening lies at the heart of impactful leadership

May 25, 2023

Cornish Flowers – Niall Woodward I recently read an interview with James Taylor where he talked about ‘the precarity of our emotional lives’. Nearly twelve months into a global pandemic we’re all … Continue Reading

Navigating Moods and Emotions and the Peril of Positivity

April 7, 2023

It was January and my new baby was four weeks old. I was besotted and so happy to be a mother of a beautiful baby boy. I’d started my MA … Continue Reading

Five things I wish I’d known before I started leading a team (and five things that helped me!)

March 10, 2023

I’ve had good reason to reflect today and gone back to a question I was asked a few years ago by a year 5 child at a school in Salford. … Continue Reading

Are you who you want to be?

January 27, 2023

Many of us with careers in education came into the work expecting we’d always be in teaching or education leadership. Our passion for teaching and learning, alongside the knowledge that … Continue Reading

Moving on from Headship: Where do you start?

January 10, 2023

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to one another.” John F. Kennedy neatly lands his point. Why? Well, because the success organisations and their ability to learn, adapt and grow is … Continue Reading

Leadership and learning are indispensable to one another