About me
I am a mum of three, passionate student of human behaviour, and a continuous work in progress myself. I help people understand themselves and others better, to unlock their potential and get the most out of life at home and at work.
My Story
My first career was as a professional dancer. I trained at a conservatoire where I learned about discipline, commitment and performing under pressure.
After running two charities, I moved into the public sector, working in Change Management with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure continuity of services for vulnerable and disadvantaged children and young people, as well as working in the homelessness sector.
I now work as a Restorative Practice Lead in a large Local Authority, working with senior leadership to drive culture change. By meeting the social, biological, and psychological needs of the workforce, I support staff to build, maintain, and where necessary, repair relationships after conflict. Developing a “high health” culture, from which a high performance culture follow
My Approach
My approach is what really makes the difference. Inclusive, interactive and enlightening, it is particularly useful in developing self-reflection, improving communication and interpersonal skills.
With 20+ years experience in the voluntary and public sectors, particularly Children’s Services, Youth Work and the Homelessness sectors where people on the front line make the difference, and teams have to be creative, compassionate and able to pull together in challenging circumstances.
You have probably felt the difference in yourself when you are in a culture where you feel safe and can be yourself, versus one where you feel you need to ‘fit in’. Feedback may feel risky, mistakes are punished rather than used as learning opportunities, and blame shows up as people naturally get defensive.
We are hard wired to belong to the group and when we feel we don’t belong we use up valuable cognitive resources consciously and unconsciously scanning the environment for belonging cues. But when we meet people’s needs, evidence tells us again and again that teams are much more likely to collaborate effectively to achieve their goals. To quote Drucker, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”.
I have accumulated a wealth of experience in working with amazing people who do important, breakthrough work that can, unfortunately, carry challenges characterised by stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout if wellbeing and relationships are not prioritised and adequately supported.
My professional training draws from:
- Psychology
- Relational and Restorative Practice
- Restorative Justice
- Business & management
- Coaching
Together, my blend of learning and practice means I can adapt my approach in a range of settings, and has proven to be excellent in assisting positive personal and culture change at all organisational levels from leadership teams to frontline workers.
My formal qualifications include a blend of psychology, business and management, and Restorative Practice, as well as further training as a Master Practitioner of Neurolingluistic Programming (NLP), Clinical Hypnotherapy, Motivational Interviewing and Clinical Traumatology.
If you are interested to know more, you can read my CV here:
My professional memberships include:
- Chartered Manager with the Chartered Management Institute
- British Psychological Society
- Restorative justice Council
- Association of NLP
- Life Coach Directory
My Values
Effective and practical: I draw upon a range of evidence-based approaches and methodologies for rapid impact.
Safe, compassionate and non-judgemental: Co-creating a physically, emotionally and psychologically safe enough space to say what you need to say, and feel what you need to feel.
High challenge and high support: A belief in your/the team’s capability, working together for your empowerment and growth. Stretching ourselves is a healthy aspect of development, and you are never asked to do anything you don’t want to do.
Empowerment: Helping you make choices that align with what matters most to you.
Cultural humility: I cannot know what I haven’t lived and I approach coaching, training and facilitation from a position of curiosity, and consideration of the impact of cultural factors. I also prioritise training and supervision to check and challenge my own thinking and biases.
My Coaching Philosophy
Coaching and restorative practice is as much a part of who I am, as it is what I do.
Put simply, I coach because of the difference it can make in getting the best out of ourselves and others. I have yet to find a more effective approach to feel better, improve relationships, achieve your goals and make sustainable change.
It is a safe, trusting, reflective space where you can drop the masks we all wear from time to time, say what we need to say, remove barriers and take the action that really makes the difference.
My coaching philosophy is an extension of my values and is underpinned by a set of beliefs:
- You have all the resources you need and are capable of incredible change
- When you experience dedicated time in a safe space of trust and rapport, you can get underneath the problem, and clear away the barriers and blocks that are holding you back
- You have your own best answers (I never give advice)
- Curiosity, experimentation and action is how you get to where you want to be
- Coaching with a skilled professional who is unconnected, unbiased is the fastest way to get results
Coaching helps you to access what is already there, but maybe hidden by the interference of stressful modern living and the opinions of others. As an integrative Coach, I draw on a range of methodologies and give you the time and space to think for yourself, and focus your attention on what really matters, through insightful questions and exercises.
Success Stories
Leaders & Managers
[It] strengthened the leadership and management of the services [I am] responsible for, which impacts on outcomes for children.
Individuals
Sue is a superb coach. I have had a number of sessions with her and thoroughly enjoyed them all. It has been a personal voyage of discovery made possible by her ability to make me feel immediately at ease, being a great listener and ask insightful questions.As a result I have a much more positive appreciation for who I am and what I have to offer. I can’t thank her enough. 100% recommend!
Teams
Very specifically, one of the best training sessions in my working career
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