ABOUT ME

A BIT ABOUT ME

It’s important that when you choose a coach or mentor to work with that you choose someone that you click with and that you feel really ‘gets you’ – the energy created by working with someone where there is that connection and trust can’t be replicated; that’s why I want to use this section to tell you enough about me that you’ll know whether I’m right for you.

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Before I started helping other women to find their purpose in life, I had to find my own. That purpose is being the catalyst for transformation for other women like me, and like you.

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I know that corporate careers often don’t serve women well – sometimes this is because of toxic cultures, the old boys club vibe (how is this STILL a thing?!) or a complete lack of understanding of what being a working parent involves.

 

Sometimes it’s simply that as women we tend to want more than just money – the drive for more sales, more profit, more money to the shareholders – well, we're just left wondering what the point is. What about impact on society? What about helping others? What about having an impact on the world beyond this exhausting chase for more and more growth irrespective of the consequences?

I believe that things could be different if our companies weren’t so biased towards a certain type of man dominating the senior management teams. I tried for two decades to change things from within but the glacial pace of change made me realise that I'm better placed to help from the outside if I want to make an impact in my lifetime!

I’m here to help you find alignment between your values, your dreams, your unique strengths and talents and the realities of the world. I am all about helping you figure out your dreams and finding a way to follow them, but if I think your hobby of knitting hats for kittens isn’t the thing that will pay your bills I will tell you and we will find something else that does.

The world of pretend perfection and insta-influencing isn’t for me, I’m all about authentic, genuine connections with my clients. Connections that come from the heart and not the desire to sell some slightly weird perfect world where my hair is always salon ready and I’m posing in unlikely scenarios near the Eiffel Tower.

 

I’m a normal person – I grew up in a single parent home in Stoke with a fabulous, gritty, lovely, slightly bonkers and very young Mum. I worked my arse off to claw my way into the high flying six figure management consulting world despite being a woman, having an obviously working-class accent and having bipolar disorder (sadly all of these things still matter).

Ultimately though, none of our working together is about me. It’s about you.

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I’m fully here to facilitate the transformation in your career and life that you are longing for. To notice and appreciate your unique character and story and tailor the coaching to give you just what you need to break through any obstacles and find the career, and life, that will give you purpose, meaning, impact and joy.

SIX REASONS NOT TO WORK WITH ME

While I'm good at what I do, I'm not for everybody so it seems only right that I give you the low down on reasons why I might not be right for you:

ONE

I don't have any 5 minute 'quick tips' to change your career and life. If you want to make big changes based off a 'top 10 tips to change your life' list then I will point you to a (dubious) women's magazine or a clickbait online article. That shit does not work. Our work together will be a safe place to dig deep into your values, your purpose and the beliefs you have about yourself that hold you back. It's wonderfully complex and messy and divinely, perfectly unique to you.



TWO

I will hold you accountable. If you say you're going to be doing something that I know will move you forward towards your dreams and goals, best be sure I'll be holding you to that. Trust me - I know how easy it is to set out to make big changes and then get sidetracked by daily life. I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen to you.



THREE

Our coaching sessions will involve guest appearances from my cats on a reasonably regular basis as they stroll past on Zoom or add their opinion to our conversation (they are surprisingly opinionated about careers given their lack of one). Some people might think that's highly unprofessional, but those people aren't my people.



FOUR

I swear. I swear in my writing and sometimes I swear in my coaching sessions. I'm exactly the same person when I'm coaching as I am when I'm with my friends at the weekend. There is no 'work' Sarah and 'home' Sarah, just Sarah. I want you to be able to be 100% yourself in your career without any weird 'appropriately corporate' mask and that's how I roll too.



FIVE

I'm unashamedly feminist. While I won't be burning my bra on our coaching sessions (my insurance wouldn't cover the fire risk) I don't leave my feminism at the door. Sometimes I'll say things like "Is that true, or is that some patriarchal bullshit that we've been sold?". Know that if I do this it's not to use my coaching to convert women to feminism but because we have been sold some patriarchal bullshit and I will call that out if it isn't serving you (...and without judgement, I'm not a 'perfect' feminist and call myself out on things like this too).



SIX

I will challenge your beliefs of what is possible because so many of us have outdated beliefs around careers and money that we picked up in our childhood or from society that simply aren't true. However I do work in reality, if you've got a mortgage and 2 kids I won't encourage you to give up your job to knit baby clothes from cat hair. You're not expected to pack everything in and live in a silent retreat to find yourself - it will be a journey of self-discovery but the changes will put you back in control of your life not require you to pack everything in and do an Eat Pray Love (unless you want to!).



PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

I am certified in Rapid Transformational Coaching and Neuro-Linguistic Programming; these qualifications are accredited by ACCPH (Accredited Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists & Hypnotherapists) & ANLP (the global Association for NLP).​

 

I have seven years of coaching experience across corporate and personal settings; in addition to this I bring seventeen years of experience delivering complex strategic change for some of the largest companies in the world.