You: balanced, confident and courageous
For leaders ready to grow, rise to the challenge and do the real work of leading with purpose and impact Book a complimentary discovery callContactIs this you?
- Feeling off balance, overwhelmed, stretched thin
- Battling self-doubt
- A subject matter expert recently promoted into a leadership role
- Struggling with new strategic and relational expectations
- Unsure how to lead your team
- Frustrated, stuck in a loop
- Waiting for that elusive promotion that never comes
- Lost on how to change careers
I get it. I’ve led through it too
In a complex world, connecting to self is crucial
We work in tremendously challenging times: our VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world is giving way to a BANI (brittle, anxious, non-linear and incomprehensible) world. Adding to that our limiting beliefs that keep us small and it’s no surprise many people are struggling in their leadership.
I’ve been there.
When I think back to the difficult and challenging times in my career, they all felt insurmountable when I was disconnected from myself. But, when I dug deep and really connected to my true self and my inner resources and what mattered most to me, I found my balance, connected to my strength, resilience and north star, and rose up.
In a world of chaos around us, what’s crucial is that you create space to pause and connect to your inner compass – when you do that you will find your balance, inner resilience and resourcefulness and the answers to your questions… also, new ways to inspire and motivate your team.
A new direction with clarity, confidence and empowerment.
Leadership coaching connects and empowers
Leadership coaching connects leaders to themselves. It gives space and tools to:
- Discover your balance, inner resilience and resourcefulness to face your challenges
- Be confident in your leadership
- Enhance your skills to inspire, connect with and motivate your team
- Find your way through
- Get that promotion
- Find your new fulfilling career
You’ll leave more fulfilled in work and happier in life.
That’s why I coach leaders.
Leaders I work with
My clients want to enhance their leadership skills and drive their careers forward. They are widely spread across the C-suite and senior leadership or are rising stars. Many are subject matter experts recently promoted into a leadership role struggling to meet a whole new world of relational and strategic expectations.
They are often in tech, media or design, but what unites them is their ambition and desire for change in their work.
I support them across various challenges in their work, but increasingly my clients’ challenges require more focused solutions: leadership development and leadership transitions.
And very often they are subject matter experts recently promoted into a leadership position and struggling with the new strategic and relational demands.
My approach to leadership coaching
In coaching individuals and leaders I draw on personality and leadership assessments, numerous leadership models and frameworks, books, TED Talks, specific stand-alone programmes; also exercises I’ve developed doing this work over the years, all the while bringing in my 20+ years in the corporate world. Not to mention my coaching skills.
And, as leadership happens in relationships, I also use Organisation and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) – a powerful, globally respected methodology for coaching teams – when working with leaders too.
With a systems-inspired leadership approach, we appreciate the importance of building good relationships with our team, peers, colleagues and bosses too. This is about creating the right environment for human beings and being more people-driven. It’s about seeing people and having them know that they matter. It’s about having a relationship-driven approach to your leadership.
So, when I coach individuals and leaders – yes, we focus on individuals and we also have a soft focus on the leader’s relationships.
Number and frequency of coaching sessions
When we have the complimentary discovery call amongst other things we’ll discuss the quantity and frequency of coaching sessions required. For example, this might be just a single session to debrief your LCP (see below) or it might be six sessions over six months to help you really own your leadership style. I will work around your needs and outcomes.
Leadership development
Most of my individual clients come to me for leadership coaching. Using a systemic leadership-inspired lens we will find your superpowers, create new empowering beliefs and a new narrative for you to self-author your leadership.
Typically we’ll kick off with the Leadership Circle Profile (LCP), a true breakthrough 360° assessment tool that very quickly answers the question: “How are my behaviors and mindset enabling or constraining my intended leadership impact and our business performance?” Truly, it’s a brilliant tool that has the leadership coaching hit the ground running.
I’ve done my LCP so I know how powerful it is: I learnt loads of incredibly helpful aspects about the impact of my leadership. I could see where deeply-rooted limited beliefs were holding me back. I could see that new, more powerful mindsets and behaviours would be needed if I was to take the next step in my career. It was very clear how I needed to change.
In my leadership coaching I tend to use many leadership models and frameworks which shed useful insights for my clients. Also, because leadership is done in relationships, I use models from Organisation and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC), a powerful, globally respected methodology for coaching teams, to help uncover productive ways to connect with colleagues and lead your team.
Leadership transitions
Leadership coaching supports leaders through pivotal transitions, for example into new roles or shifting organisational requirements – from responding to feedback with clarity and confidence, stepping into a new role and navigating the first 100 days, to identifying and stepping into a whole new career.
Responding to feedback
Sometimes feedback from appraisals or shifting organisational expectations can leave you feeling unsure of how to lead. Maybe you’re a subject matter expert recently promoted into a leadership role and are feeling unsure how to lead your team? Maybe you’re struggling to be more strategic? You may have been told to be more visible in the organisation – but what does that actually look like for you?
Together, we’ll unpack the feedback, make sense of what’s needed, and develop a leadership style that’s both effective and authentic. I’ve coached many leaders through transitions like this – and I bring insight, structure, and encouragement every step of the way.
And, as leadership is delivered through relationships, I will bring my relationship systems knowledge (ORSC) and team coaching experience to help you inspire, connect with and motivate your team.
First 100 days
Some of my clients have landed a new job and they want to pass the first 100 days with flying colours.
Using a well-honed programme, you will have clarity on how to approach your key stakeholders, build important relationships and take colleagues with you as you meet your milestones and exceed your objectives over those 100 days.
Career change
Some clients know they want a new career but don’t know where to start. That normal as this is difficult, especially if one is the main income earner in the household. Using a proven career-change programme, we will find your new career and you will leave with clarity, confidence and a plan on how to get there.
I’ve gone through it as a client so I get it: when I transitioned from the creative industries to coaching I went through this career-change programme myself so I know how it works and how best to deliver it
Contact
Drop me a message or book a complimentary discovery call. Let’s explore our fit and consider the optimum approach to get you where you want to be.
Clients
I’ve been trusted as a team coach, leadership coach or facilitator, either directly or through partnerships or associations by people at:
AB InBev, Axxon Media, Bedales School, Blu449, Capita, Cisco, DAN, Fibre , Fircroft Primary School, Glasswall, Grifols, Havas, Intercom, Iris, J&J, IKEA, Linamar, LinkedIn, Mars Petcare, Matillion, McCann, Nokia, PA Consulting Puma, Rothesay Life, Salesforce, Save the Children, SAP, St George’s University, The Trade Desk, Vilniaus, Volvo, Westminster Drug Project.
* Other clients request confidentiality and are absent from this list.
“The sessions with Duncan have been really beneficial and have allowed me to find out some really interesting things about myself. I have learned how I can adapt my approach and interactions to get the best out of me and other people, enabling me to become a more effective leader. He has helped me develop ways to deal with situations using my own knowledge and self-awareness. It’s been an enjoyable process and one which has challenged me.”
“I met Duncan at Conscious Leadership during 2017. He’s been my coach since. Duncan has more compassion and enthusiasm for his job and for people than almost anyone I’ve ever been with. It’s amazing how he is able to connect with you and help you during coaching sessions. I definitely recommend Duncan, a great talent everyone wants to work with.”