Knowing what good leadership looks like isn't the same as being able to actually do it.

You can understand the importance of delegation and still struggle to let go.

You can believe in accountability and still avoid the conversation that might upset someone.

You can be strategically capable and still spend most of your week firefighting.

Sometimes that's because your institution has made your job incredibly difficult. Sometimes there's something about how you're approaching the work that needs to change. Often, it's a bit of both.

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 want to become more effective, navigate greater responsibility and find ways of leading that feel right for them.

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

I'm an 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 and create a little space. Then see what starts to move.

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 the way you're working isn't really working anymore.

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 find the courage to do something uncomfortable.

And sometimes the most useful discovery is that a problem isn't even yours to solve.

I'll listen, ask questions, challenge your thinking 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

Perhaps you're preparing to step into a more senior role and wondering what it really takes and if you're up to it.

Perhaps you've already made that move, but you're discovering that leading through other people is rather different from being the person who gets everything done yourself.

Or perhaps you're an experienced manager who's had enough of the same problems taking up so much of your time and headspace.

Whatever brings you to coaching, we'll work with the real situations you're facing.

You'll have space to think things through with someone who understands the sector, can help you see what's happening from a different perspective and won't shy away from challenging you.

The aim isn't to turn you into somebody else's idea of a good leader.

It's to help you develop the judgement, skills, confidence and self-trust to lead effectively in a way that feels like you.

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. 

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.