Executive Coaching with a Focus on Real Leadership
Note you haven’t introduced yourself yet I provide Executive Coaching, Mentoring and Leadership Development for executives and leaders who want to think more clearly, lead more effectively, and strengthen their leadership capability.
Being an executive leader today is more challenging than almost any period I’ve known. Pace, complexity and evolving human and AI workforce patterns require our best to make the biggest difference in our organisations.
At its core, the coaching approach I take is to work in partnership with you, to help you build on your strengths and see greater success.
My approach is to be outcome-focused - to work in line with your goals and those of your organisation to see tangible results in your performance, your development and in your organisation.
Leadership Starts With Leading Yourself
My belief is straightforward: leadership starts and ends with how you lead yourself.
That means:
Deepening your self-awareness and emotional intelligence
Strengthening your self-governance and balance
Developing your leadership strengths to be a self-learner
Strengthening your leadership is about reflecting and learning how you show up, perfecting your craft, understanding what your best looks like, and learning how o bring that more consistently each day.
This does not mean you will not encounter crises, problems, challenges or worries. Far from it, but it does mean that as you understand your strengths and vulnerabilities, you are better able to lead with your authentic self — articulating and role modelling the behaviours that create followership and enhance influence.
Success is not a straight line. Commit to being the best at getting better.
My Experience
It was 26 years ago when I became a partner in Forvis Mazars. I didn’t know then that I had leadership potential. I did not even have a clear view of what good leadership looked like.
But partners and leaders around me helped to develop my potential and saw strengths that could be built upon, despite the many challenges and hurdles along the way.
Significantly, two coaching interventions were highly instrumental in my personal development, and convinced me of the value of executive coaching:
Ian McMonagle – The Art of Leadership programme
This work helped me reflect on where I drew my true worth from, and the importance of asking myself the right questions. It accelerated my self-awareness and leadership development and remains a defining milestone of my professional and personal life.
Phil Wall – Executive Coach
Working with Phil before and after I became CEO reinforced a principle I still return to today: Self-governance before corporate governance. In other words, I learned to stay focused on my own leadership, my own balance, health and development as a core foundation for how I lead.
Alongside these, I’ve continued to learn by:
Observing the leaders around me and identifying what they do well and sometimes also get wrong (as we all do)
Seeking mentor feedback and candid peer feedback
Drawing on family and trusted individuals for perspective, encouragement and challenge
Reading around the subject to continue to gain insight, check perspectives and learn
Staying open and observant to the learning around us is vital.
A few things you should know about me
20+ years of executive leadership has shown me that leadership is a team game and a very individual
game - sometimes lonely — yet incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. Being a leader requires a great support
network around you, and coaching is a vital part of that network.
I am still learning — developing my leadership, honing my management skills and investing in the new skill
of executive coaching.
I build strong, supportive relationships based on trust and partnership. I listen well and take a genuine
interest in the leaders I work with.
I am genuinely invested in supporting you as a leader and in your development – I will passionately invest
in supporting you to achieve your goals.
What this work is about
My role is to be a companion and supporter in your leadership journey.
This includes supporting you to:
Unlock your potential
Overcome challenges and navigate difficult periods
Build resilience
Develop your leadership capability and toolkit
Strengthen your decision-making and influence
Become more selfreliant and selfbalancing
Leadership Development Perspective
Leadership is about:
Leading yourself
Building great teams
Creating successful organisations
Executing the right strategy
Articulating and storytelling a compelling vision
A guiding principle: “Don’t focus on being the best. Focus on being the best at getting better.”
The goal is continual progress in how you lead, think and perform.
A closing thought
If this resonates, you will probably already recognise the value of having a safe and confidential space to think,
reflect and challenge.
That is the purpose of my approach: a confidential partnership that helps you lead yourself well, so you can lead
others with even greater impact.
A short conversation is usually enough to decide whether this would be useful.