Leading can throw up many questions
Leading a team, growing a business or changing direction in your professional life can bring up many questions and feel quite lonely.
Perhaps you are doing great things at work, but inwardly asking yourself:
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"What do I need to change?"
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"I have this problem but what do I do about it?"
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"How can I feel more confident in my leadership?"
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"How do others approach this?"
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"How can I help other people step up?"
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"Is this still the direction I want to be travelling in?"
There may be few places to take those questions. You may not have access to formal leadership development, an experienced senior peer group or someone outside the situation with whom you can test your thinking.
I offer support five different forms of support to help you to explore your questions constructively.
You may recognise yourself here if you:
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Carry significant responsibility and have few places to think honestly about a challenge, an important decision or what comes next;
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Are part of a leadership team that needs greater alignment or to work through something challenging;
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Want intentional space to develop how you lead - and don't often get the chance to do so in your organisation;
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Lead a growing business and need your culture, team and ways of working to evolve with it;
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Are leading complex change across teams, organisations or systems and want to learn alongside people who understand the realities of the work;
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Miss genuine connection with other leaders or business owners and would value better conversations, shared experience, nature and movement.
What kind of support do you need?
1. Coaching for yourself or your team
Best for: working through leadership challenges, important decisions and deeper questions about direction, confidence and how you want to lead.
Coaching helps individuals, as well as teams, to explore leadership challenges, growth, confidence, change or professional direction.
2. Workshops to develop your leadership
Best for: structured self-development and to learn from other leaders.
Intentional Leadership is a leadership development workshop for founders and leaders in smaller organisations who rarely get meaningful space to work on how they lead. Run for groups of individuals or leadership teams.
4. Roundtables for people leading change
Best for: people who want to learn from and build relationship with others leading change.
The Real Work of Change is a roundtable for senior leaders responsible for culture, transformation and system change. Leave with new insight and stronger connections with peers who understand the complexity of the work.
5. Hiking community for business owners
Best for: business owners who love adventure and want to build community.
Explore More is a hiking group for established founders, small business owners and independent professionals based in and around South East London who want to get out, move, connect and build their professional community.
You're not alone in it
Leaders I work with share many of the same concerns and questions.
I work with many capable, thoughtful people growing businesses, supporting teams, leading change and trying to respond well to everything happening around them. At the same time, they are attempting to create space for the work that only they can do.
The details vary, but I hear many of the same questions, such as:
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"How do I bring people with me?"
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"Am I handling this well?"
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"How do I get my team to step up?"
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"How do I address this tension in the team?
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"Is the direction I’m heading in still right for me?"
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"How do I build in more space to my schedule?"
Often, there aren’t many people they can talk to honestly about any of it.
I know something of this from the inside, too. As the founder and director of my own company, I know what it is like to carry responsibility for its direction and make decisions without always having someone alongside you who fully understands what is at stake.
Sometimes what is needed is practical ideas, sometimes it's needing to hear from someone who has been there. Sometimes it's protected space with a coach who can help you find clarity and confidence in yourself. Sometimes the best thing is to simply get out of your head and into your body.
At the root of all my leadership support is an appreciation that much of the wisdom you need is already within you. My leadership offers are each designed, in different ways, to help it surface, and to bring questions, experience, ideas and constructive challenge that help you turn it into a clear way forward.
Recent work with leaders...
Leadership development • Leadership development workshop for founders • purpose-led leadership • peer learning • leadership facilitator London • group coaching for leaders
Developing leadership confidence and capability
Interactive leadership development for leaders of mission-driven organisations at The Foundry.
Leadership development • leadership coaching for founders • purpose-led leadership • social enterprise leadership • leadership facilitator London • business coaching • coaching
Growing the leader alongside the venture
Leadership development and one-to-one coaching for purpose-led entrepreneurs participating in BD Giving's GROW programme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are your services for?
I work with leaders, teams and organisations who know that something needs to change, but need help leading it well. You may be looking for clarity, assurance and practical support from someone you can trust.
Does the leadership need to be fully onboard with this before I approach you?
Though it helps if they are, they don’t need to be. Part of our service is helping you to obtain that buy-in from your leadership team and the wider organisation to ensure that the journey runs smoothly.
I have a small budget, is it worth me reaching out?
We bring big impact at competitive prices as a small organisation. We’re able to be flexible in how we design and price your project so you’re always getting the most competitive deal.
How long do your services take?
It depends on the size of your organisation and the service you need. Some programmes take as little as three weeks to complete. Larger, more comprehensive programmes may take a few months. Either way, we focus on bringing a sustainable impact from the word 'go'.
I'm worried you'll try to change us too much - is there a risk of that?
If some things are working really well, why change them? Everything we do is co-developed and keeps your best interests at its core. We’re all about building on your strengths.
Do you offer one-off workshops and away days?
Yes, we do deliver these. We provide short, sharp but high-impact offsites, workshops and events, bespoke for you.
Who will lead our project?
We match our consultant team to you to deliver your project most effectively. However, all projects are led by founder Lydia Paris.