Working in Higher Education shouldn't be this discombobulating.

The work itself can be hard enough.

The sector is under enormous pressure. Things are changing. Resources are tight. Priorities compete with each other. The people around you are dealing with all of that in their own weird and wonderful ways too. 

Then there's your stuff.

The responsibilities you've picked up along the way. The things you think you should do. The conversations you'd rather not have. The decisions you keep changing your mind about. The unspoken rules you've somehow absorbed about what someone like you gets to say, do or ask for.

It's a lot.

So you do what capable, conscientious people tend to do.

You work harder. You think harder. You step in. You help. You fix. You try to keep everyone happy and squeeze the strategic thinking in around the edges.

Annoyingly, this can work rather well for quite a long time.

Being known as someone who gets shit done is also a remarkably effective way to acquire more shit to do.

And eventually, you might find yourself wondering why work is taking up quite this much space in your head.

That's where I come in.

I'm Fiona. I'm a coach and facilitator for Higher Education Professionals. 

I help thoughtful, capable people slow things down enough to hear themselves think, trust their judgement and work out what they're actually going to do.

Bring me the conversation you're avoiding. The decision you're second-guessing. The team problem driving you up the wall. The opportunity you're not sure you're ready for. The boss whose stress has somehow become your problem. Or simply the uncomfortable feeling that the way you're working isn't really working anymore.

We'll slow it down, untangle it and work out the right next step for you.

The circumstances don't necessarily become less messy.

But you can become much less tangled up in them.

Interested in my work but not ready for anything specific?

Come and have a nose around.

I've spent my career in and around Higher Education, first as a Professional Services manager and, for the last five years, as a coach. 

Along the way I've developed a lot of thoughts about why perfectly capable people end up overthinking, overworking, overgiving and generally making their working lives considerably harder than they need to be.

I share them quite freely:

1. Listen to Management Matters

My podcast about working life in Higher Education Professional Services. 

Management, leadership, careers, confidence, difficult conversations, weird institutional dynamics and whatever else I've been thinking about while walking around in the woods with my mini mic. 

Fair warning, there's sometimes random birds and noise in the background. 

This link takes you to the podcast page on my website but you can listen anywhere you get your regular podcasts. It's on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

2. Join my mailing list

No spam, I promise.

I'll let you know when new podcast episodes are ready to listen to and share thoughts, stories, things I've noticed and the occasional invitation to come and do something with me. 

When something resonates please to reply and let me know. I read everything and I love reading your thoughts and answering your questions.

3. Come to Strategy Hour

Feeling overwhelmed with how much there is to do? 

Strategy Hour is my free Monday morning session for HE professionals who need to stop for a minute, work out what actually matters this week and make a plan that gets you out of overwhelm and into action.

It happens every Monday during term time at 9:30 and it's completely free. Sign up once and you'll get a weekly reminder before the call starts. Just pop in when you can. 

I'm a coach, facilitator and enthusiastic untangler of knots.

Long before I did this professionally, I worked in a jewellery shop where my colleagues used to save the tangled necklaces for me because I was weirdly happy to sit there patiently working out what was caught on what. 

It turns out I've made a career out of basically the same thing.

These days the knots are more likely to involve people, work, decisions, careers and Higher Education politics, but the principle is surprisingly similar.

Don't yank harder.

Slow it down. Find out what's actually caught on what. Create a little space.

Then see what moves.

When you're ready for more, I'm here to support you.

Sometimes you don't need another article, framework, course or piece of well-meaning advice. 

You need to get out of your own head and talk the whole thing through with someone who gets the sector and can help you figure out what to do next.

Or maybe you're looking for support for your team.

I work with Professional Services teams and departments too. 

Sometimes that's an away day or strategy session. Sometimes it's Action Learning. Sometimes something has gone a bit wonky and you know you need to get people in a room together, but you're not entirely sure what needs to happen once they're there.

You don't need to diagnose the intervention before you contact me.

Tell me what's going on. I'll ask some questions and we'll work out what would actually be useful.

I've spent 13 years working inside Higher Education and another five coaching and facilitating within it, so you won't need to spend the first half hour explaining why the university is like that.