Consultant

Using my strong intuition and fresh eyes, I will help hold a mirror up to you and your team and support you to get to heart of the issues and challenges you face.

What I do

I am a thinking partner for senior leaders of organisations who want to be the architect of a turnaround story in terms of trust, momentum and results. I work as a consultant, teacher, facilitator and coach (usually all 4 interchangeably) alongside leaders who want to learn how to capture hearts and minds, anchored in truth not wishful thinking.

What I offer

• Insight that cuts through to the heart of the issue, to see what you sometimes cannot from the inside.
• Questioning and challenge to provoke depth of thinking and change in perspective for individuals and teams.
• Facilitation and coaching to empower choices, ideas and committed action through others.

How we work

I see my role as a consultant to help leaders see with fresh perspective. To get to the heart of who and what matters. To mine the areas of conflict being avoided. To say what often goes unsaid. To facilitate creative thinking and purposeful action. To provide feedback.

My role is not to tell leaders what to do. Or do it for them as this ultimately only serves to create dependency. My role is to provide an injection of energy. To design interventions which facilitate and empower leaders to think, do and be what is required, together.

The outcome

• You get clarity on the issue to solve: which ensure solutions, whether they be strategic or people related, solve the problem at hand.
• You get to own and live changes in direction as leaders, making the difficult but aligned decisions that success requires together.
• You learn and leverage the wisdom of the group which increases the confidence and capability of the team to work through any challenges the future holds in store.

What people say:

“When it comes to working with Senior Leaders and Senior Leadership Teams Nic is a genius. She has the ability to hold up mirrors, ask difficult questions, challenge dysfunctional relationships and negative thinking in such a positive way you can actually see lightbulbs ping and people grow and reflect and then take accountability for their actions. At the other end of the spectrum she can take high performing teams, and individuals, further by supporting them to keep building on their successes and help bring them even closer and more aligned. She is also good fun to work with and even in the most trying times can find the joy and laughter.”

Lindsay Shankland Director of HR and OD, St Helena Government

What people say:

“I worked with Nic in my roles as HRD at Essex County Fire and Rescue and Deputy CEO and Director of People and Culture at the East of England Ambulance service, bringing her in to work with the Executive and Senior Leadership teams. Nic came highly recommended and achieved fantastic results with the Leaders she worked with. I admire Nic’s no nonsense style, she gets straight to the heart of the issue and uses her insight to understand the context and underlying and often unspoken barriers which are holding teams back. She is never afraid to ‘hold up the mirror’ or challenge unhelpful behaviours and does so in a supportive and safe way that individuals can connect to and teams welcome. Nic can, in a short time, create clarity and shape results which leave Leadership teams stronger, more focused and drawing on collective skills and contribution to achieve strategic goals. Leaders who worked with Nic told me they enjoyed the workshop sessions and 1:1 coaching and that it helped them to resolve conflicts and challenges and to develop as an individual. I can personally vouch that Nic was a huge help to me in navigating how to support Executive team development and take organisations forward on their strategic journey and in helping me on my own professional development journey. I will definitely work with Nic again in future and have no hesitation in recommending her to others.”

Lindsey Stafford Scott Director of People Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

What people say:

“It has been a privilege and a pleasure to work with Nic who I have known for three years and who has supported me by conducting some challenging coaching interventions with a senior departmental head and his direct reports. Nic is extremely insightful, clearly articulates the issues she identifies whilst working with teams and individuals and proposes solutions with empathy and firmness. She has the courage to confront difficult issues whilst creating trust and possesses a range of effective interpersonal skills to offer alternative strategies to those she works with. I place high value on the discussions I have with Nic which cover HR related issues in our business and also my own development and direction of travel and I have no hesitation in recommending Nic to any senior leader who is trying to re-shape behaviours among peers and subordinate managers.”

Bob Page Chief Exec Hutchinson Ports Sweden

What people say:

“I worked with Nic whilst Chief Constable of Suffolk Constabulary. Her work in assisting both my development and that of the executive team was amazing. She has a great approach at getting everything on the table with real clarity and then developing the solutions to the issues raised. She is never afraid to highlight those areas that some would shy from and to ensure focus to develop vision clarity.”

Gareth Wilson COO MOD Police

What people say:

“Nicola has a very tenacious and compelling style of leading and as a result built up a strong followership within Molson Coors. A talented facilitator and developer of people, Nicola added real value to the business and was a driving force in how it has evolved. Her real talent I believe is getting into the root cause, identifying the kernel of the issue and getting the best out of people to drive for resolution.”

Jeremy Gibson, Head of Marketing Innocent Drinks

What people say:

“Nic is a passionate and enthusiastic leader and has a great ability to inspire those around her through her vision and enthusiasm. One of Nic’s rare gifts is the ability to step back and observe not only what needs to be done/changed but more importantly how we need to change with a real eye on the cultural dimension.”

Adrian Davey, MD