You are leading people, not just systems.
The technical work has given way to stakeholder management and decisions that impact whole teams.
FOR INDIVIDUALS
1:1 executive coaching
For individual leaders. From a single diagnostic session to ongoing support, at your pace and on your agenda.
IS THIS YOU?
If any of these feel familiar, we should talk.
Maybe you’ve hit a ceiling. Maybe you’ve just landed the big role and you need direction. Maybe you’re weighing a decision you can’t talk through at work.
Whatever brought you here, you know something needs to shift.
You have been promoted past your comfort zone.
Being the sharpest technical mind in the room doesn't help much when the board wants you to show value.
Your team is brilliant: the business doesn't see it.
You know the function can deliver more. You can’t get the influence the work deserves.
There's no playbook.
There's no playbook for your role and the stakes keep rising.
You're running on empty.
Delivery, politics and people are outpacing your energy. You want to lead well without losing yourself in the process.
You're at a crossroads.
A bigger role, a new organisation, going independent, or wondering whether this is still the right seat. You want to decide deliberately, not drift.
THE BASICS
What is 1:1 coaching?
A confidential conversation between two equals, without judgement.
It’s time to think properly about the things the day job leaves no room for: the decision you keep putting off, the stakeholder you can’t move, the role that no longer fits. We work out where you want to get to, what’s in the way, and what you’ll do next. Then we check how it went.
And when my own experience might help, I’ll offer it and you decide what to do with it.
Most people say it’s the most useful hour of their month.
THE METHOD & THE RESULTS
What we'll work on
1:1 coaching is time to focus on how you want to show up and be seen as an leader in your field.
01
Where you are now
We start with an honest look at where you are: your context, the pressures, your strengths, and the blind spots that come with the job.
02
Where you want to get to
Together we define what success looks like in your terms, and turn it into goals with honest checkpoints.
03
Try it in the real world
Between sessions you put new approaches into practice. Each time we meet, we review what happened, sharpen the thinking behind it and adjust.
04
Standing on your own
The point is independence. The measure is whether you need me less, not more.
What tends to change
Coaching is an investment, so it should move something that matters. We work to your agenda, but questions might include:
- “Am I ready for the next step?” Weighing a promotion or a bigger role, and building a case for yourself as carefully as you’d build one for a project.
- “Why doesn’t this feel right any more?” When the job looks fine on paper and isn’t, and you want to understand why before you decide anything.
- “How do I get the board to listen?” Building credibility and influence without becoming someone you’re not.
- “What do I actually stand for?” Getting clear on the values and priorities that keep you steady when the pressure’s on.
- “Am I underselling myself?” Recognising the experience and judgement you already have, and using it with more confidence.
- “How do I lead this my way?” Finding a leadership style that works for the business and still feels like you.
MY APPROACH
How I coach
Most of the leaders I work with don’t need more advice. They need somewhere to think out loud without being judged, and a partner who'll hold them to what they decide.
You bring what’s on your mind: a decision, a relationship, a role that’s stopped fitting. I listen, ask questions, and point out where you might be stuck on an assumption rather than a fact. Occasionally I’ll offer something from my own time in the job, if it’s useful, and you decide what to do with it.
My coaching is shaped by my Henley training, and 25 years of building and leading data functions. I’ve sat through the budget rounds, the restructures and the board meetings where data was the last item on the agenda. I know how lonely the seat can be, and how rarely anyone asks how you’re doing in it.
You’ll leave with a clearer head and a next step.
HOW IT WORKS
Start with a conversation
Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute conversation. From there, we agree what fits:
A single session to get a clear picture of where you are and what to work on.
A focused programme over a few months, for a new role, a step up, or a decision that needs working through.
Ongoing coaching for leaders who want a regular sounding board who knows the seat.
Sessions last 60 to 90 minutes, usually every two to four weeks. Most are on video. If you’re near London, we can meet in person.
The gaps between sessions matter as much as the sessions. That’s when you try things in the real job, notice what works, and bring it back to look at together. Most programmes run for three to six months, and some people stay on for longer.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions people ask.
Start with a conversation.
Book a free discovery call. Thirty minutes, no obligation — just an honest conversation about where you are and what might help.
Book a call with James