I believe every individual is truly unique and love spending time working with people to determine what their unique talents are and how they can put them into practice on a day to day basis. Most people are capable of so much more than they think they are but early life, education and sometimes workplaces have managed to knock that belief out of people. A big part of my role is to help people find that belief again and to develop their confidence. I find the results hugely inspiring!
In my opinion, too many people find themselves as leaders because they are technically good at their roles and prepared to take on responsibility. Rarely are they given the clarity about what is expected of them or the development to learn what it truly means to lead effectively to bring out the best in others. I love working with leaders to fill their skills gaps but also on a ‘one to one basis’ through executive coaching when we can explore real challenges they are facing, with no judgement – just genuine support and appropriate challenge.
Another large part of my work is helping teams to face up to their challenges and say the difficult things that nobody wants to say but done in the right way can make a massive difference to the way they operate. In particular, I specialise in working with Senior Leadership Teams as they are so critical to providing direction and creating the right culture where everyone working in that organisation can thrive and be their best selves each day they come to work.
I actually started my career in Hospitality Management but soon changed that to one where I was developing others on a full time basis as I had discovered that was where I had a real passion. I am a qualified coach, mentor and coach supervisor, a professional facilitator and expert in leadership development. Having started Azure with Sue in 2002, we have never looked back and I believe our success is down to the huge effort we put into building fantastic relationships with our clients, many of whom have become friends over the years. I class myself as privileged to have a job that I love so much.
Out of work, my husband and I love to walk, I find gardening really therapeutic and I’m a big ‘foodie’, both cooking lovely food and eating it in all the myriad of great restaurants we have around West and North Yorkshire and indeed abroad too. I am also a proud stepmother to an amazing young man who followed his dream to become a commercial pilot. (My coaching skills occasionally came in handy for him too!)
