I’m a qualified executive coach and business owner with two small boys and a very busy life. It works, most of the time! I work on behalf of businesses and organisations to coach and support the amazing women who make the choice to return to work, whether through desire or necessity, so that they can remember that they are bright, ambitious, successful people and so that they deliver the results you need.
I went back to work after having each of my children to remember who I was. Not a mother. Me. I also went back to work hoping for some peace! And now I’ve lived the pressure, tension, joy, nail-biting anxiety, tiredness and fulfilment that comes from juggling motherhood and work. Twice.
Through my coaching and facilitation work for organisations I’ve also deepened my understanding of the commercial and organisational needs for women to return to work successfully. It’s now known that organisations with women on the Board are more likely to be successful than those with fewer women in senior roles (McKinsey, 2020). Women are also more likely to get occupationally ‘stuck’ and only 29% of women return to full-time work in the first three years after maternity leave (University of Bristol, 2019), leaving a significant hole for organisations to fill. Helping women to return successfully to work retains knowledge and talent and also provides visible role models and mentors for younger women who in turn are more likely to return to work if they have children.
I started off my career in youth development, taking young people away on overseas expeditions as part of their learning and personal development. I loved the world of adventure but realised that I didn’t enjoy the stress of looking after other people’s children in risky environments! However, my curiosity about people’s behaviours led me into the world of learning and development and I have been running Farscape Development, a boutique people development consultancy, since 2006.
My work takes me into diverse businesses, running development programmes for senior leaders, exec teams and future talent. It was through this work that I discovered a love of coaching and completed an Advanced Certificate in Executive Coaching as well as an ILM Level 7 Certificate in Mentoring and Coaching.
Since becoming a mother I’ve realised what an enormous challenge it is to work and parent, and what a privilege it is to walk alongside mothers as they work out how to find the balance between being a professional working woman and a mother. I’ve also witnessed what a positive impact coaching returning women can have on the organisations they are part of and what a valuable role I can play working on behalf of organisations to offer this support.
I bring empathy, respect and experience to this unique form of coaching and am proud to help women find themselves again in the world of work.
