My “front story”
My CV – showing which companies I worked at and when.
The lessons I learned along the way that might resonate with you.
My front story
- 40 years experience in professional services
- Arthur Andersen, EY, Cap Gemini, PwC
- 20 years at partner level
- Deep experience of the challenges facing established global multi-nationals & public sector organizations
- Worked at senior levels across most industries
- Geographic experience across UK, Europe, the USA and Australia
- Focused on solving complex, time critical issues, often at scale
- Focused on the business change agenda
- Internally – held multiple roles including COO, P&L owner, Client Relationship Partner, Service Delivery Partner
My back story
Looking back over the past 40 years I’ve experienced the highs and lows of corporate life.
- Success and failure
- Winning and losing
- Promotion and derailment
- Leading and following
- Insider and outsider
- Sailing in “calm waters”, navigating stormy seas, and surviving a “shipwreck”.
On reflection there were many times when I put a mask on. To fit in with the expectations of corporate life. Many of us do it. And for much of the time it works.
But there were times when I lost sight of who I was. I became disconnected. From myself.
Yet I believe we all have an inner compass.
I have coached for the past six years.
I use my deep well of experience to help leaders navigate the challenges they will face. To help build awareness. To gain insight. To build resilience. To find more balance, meaning and purpose.
Why coach? I’ve always been interested in people. How we show up. Why we behave the way we do. What makes us tick. What drives us forward. What holds us back. How we succeed. How we recover from setbacks. What we reveal. What stays hidden from others and ourselves.
I am accredited with the Academy of Executive Coaching and with the International Coaching Federation. In addition to coaching I am also an accredited mediator with Regents College School of Counselling and Psychotherapy and a registered Healer with The Healing Trust.
Lessons learned
- Most of us have a “back story” lying under the surface which drives our behaviour
- The language we use tells us a lot about how we see the world.
- The older we get and the more we progress, the harder it can become to achieve balance (time, money, health, fulfilment), yet the more important balance becomes.
- We tolerate the intolerable for longer than is good for us.