Coaching for Higher Education Professional Services managers who want to do great work, feel good doing it and still have energy left for their life outside of work.

If you're anything like the folks who usually enjoy working with me, you care about your work and the people impacted by it. You probably wouldn't still work in HE if you didn't. And you want to do a good job. You're willing to learn and do things differently to make that possible.

But you're doing all this in a sector where resources are stretched thin, the goalposts keep moving and doing a good job can sometimes feel ridiculously difficult.

And that's where I can help.

I'm Fiona, a coach and facilitator specialising in Higher Education Professional Services.

I work with thoughtful, capable managers and leaders who care about doing a good job and want to keep getting better but without losing parts of themselves in the process or become someone they don't like.

Together, we'll untangle what's actually going on, work out what needs to change and help you put the right steps into practice.

You don't need to come with a clear plan or coaching goals, just bring me the messy stuff of your day to day working life and we'll sort through it all together. 

I'm an enthusiastic untangler of knots.

Long before I did this professionally, I had a Saturday job in a jewellery shop where my colleagues used to save the tangled necklaces for me to sort out. I was the only one willing to sit there patiently teasing the knots apart, loosening tension  and easing the chains apart.

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 pull harder.

Instead, you need to slow it down. Find out where the threads cross inside the knot and then release some tension so you can create a little space. Then you'll see that things can start moving more easily again.

That's how I approach coaching, too.

Bring me the conversations 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 you're tying yourself up in knots.

We'll explore what's happening, what you're doing, what other people are doing and what the situation actually requires.

Sometimes you'll need a new skill or a different perspective. Sometimes we'll discover an assumption that's limiting your options. Sometimes you'll need to play with doing some things differently.

I'll listen, ask questions, challenge your thinking (gently) and help you work out what to do next.

Because understanding the problem is useful but being able to do something differently is where the change actually happens.

Ways to work with me

1:1 coaching for HE managers and leaders

Right now the main way to work with me is 1:1, inside The Grounded Manager.

We'll work together 1:1 for 10 weeks to untangle your work knots and find some balance in the busyness. 

I know it's really hard out there at the moment and like I said above, I know you're probably someone who cares deeply about your work. At the same time, I don't think most managers are adequately supported to do their jobs well, never mind be thriving and enjoying themselves. That's why I've developed The Grounded Manager as an intensive 10 week support package.

It's for managers just like you who want to feel more sturdy and grounded as you go about leading your team through this period of uncertainty in the sector.

Coaching, training and facilitation for institutions

I also work with Professional Services teams, departments and institutions to help managers and leaders become more effective.

Sometimes that's an away day or strategy session. Sometimes it's Action Learning, management development or an opportunity to practise difficult conversations.

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 the way it is. 

Visit The Tool Shed

Sometimes you just need a little bit of help to close the gap between what you know you should be doing and actually doing it. That's why I've put some of my best tools together into a shop for you.

You can just grab the thing you need for the moment you find yourself in.

Everything in there is either free or inclusive pricing. It's a bit like an honesty box on a farm gate. Just pop what you want to pay in the box at checkout.  

I'm building up the shop gradually so check it out and come back again in future. If there's a specific tool you'd like me to add, drop me an email at [email protected] and I'll see if I have anything in my archive that will help you. 

Interested in my work but not ready for anything specific?

Come and have a nose around.

I've spent years working with Higher Education Professional Services managers and leaders, and I've become increasingly interested in what it actually takes to become more effective at this work.

I don't just mean knowing the policies, understanding leadership theory or having the right qualifications.

I mean developing the judgement, confidence and courage to do the difficult things that management and leadership sometimes require.

Why do capable people sometimes avoid conversations they know they need to have? Why is it so hard to let go of responsibilities that no longer belong with us? Why do the habits that helped us become successful sometimes make the next stage of our careers more difficult?

And how do we distinguish between the things we need to change about ourselves and the things that genuinely need to change about the institutions we work in?

These are the sorts of questions I explore in my coaching, writing and podcast.

Here are three free ways to get to know my work:

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 on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

2. Join my mailing list

No spam, I promise.

I'll share new essays and podcast episodes, things I've noticed in my work, questions I'm exploring and the occasional invitation to come and do something with me.

When something resonates, please do reply and let me know. I read everything and love hearing 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. 

Check out my recent thinking

Essays, podcast episodes and observations about management, leadership and working life in Higher Education Professional Services.