I work with founders, business owners and senior leaders who are carrying a lot — ideas, people, decisions, responsibility and, sometimes, the feeling that everyone expects them to know what to do next.

Often, they already have much of the answer. They need the time and space to think differently, test their assumptions and decide what really matters.

My mentoring brings together strategic thinking, emotional intelligence and more than 30 years' experience of leadership, organisational development and working with people. I've started and run businesses, led teams and services, supported organisations through change and worked alongside leaders facing the very real challenges of growth, people management and keeping everything moving when there never seem to be enough hours in the day.

I have mentored founders at different stages of business — from turning an idea into something sustainable, through growth and expansion, to the point where the founder needs to step away from doing everything themselves and become the leader their growing organisation needs.

My clients have developed new business models, rebranded and repositioned their organisations, built teams, secured significant contracts, explored new markets and made difficult decisions about people, structure and direction. Just as importantly, I've seen leaders move from overwhelm and self-doubt to greater clarity and confidence in their own judgement.

I'm not the mentor who arrives with a formula and tells you how to run your business. I'm curious. I listen — properly. I'll notice what isn't being said as much as what is, ask the question you may have been avoiding and gently challenge you when I think there's another way of looking at something.

My approach is warm, practical and grounded in the real world. There will usually be laughter somewhere along the way too. Business can be serious without every conversation having to be.

I hold an ILM Level 7 qualification in Executive Coaching and Mentoring and am a Fellow of the Association of Business Mentors (FABM). My work is underpinned by professional supervision, ongoing learning and a strong commitment to ethical practice.

Ultimately, I believe good mentoring provides something that can be surprisingly difficult to find when you are the person carrying the responsibility: a confidential space to think out loud, explore what is really happening and have the conversations you don’t always have anywhere else.