Executive Transitions

For senior leaders stepping into roles where the thinking, behaviour and tools that brought them here need to evolve for what's ahead.  

Combining developmental executive coaching, assessment and a trusted thinking-partner relationship, I provide the support, challenge and insight leaders need to adapt quickly and lead effectively at the next level.

    • From having the answers → to creating the conditions for better thinking and decision-making.

    • From leading your function → to influencing across a complex network of stakeholders.

    • From resolving tension → to knowing when and how to harness it productively.

    • From driving performance → to building the capability and engagement that sustains it.

    Making this transition means expanding your range as a leader — developing the judgement, self-awareness, confidence and leadership practices to respond effectively to a much wider set of situations.  

Leaders are being asked to do more, at pace, with less

Leadership gets tougher as complexity increases.  

Moving into a more senior leadership role is rarely about doing a bigger version of the job you were doing before. Expertise and intellect are no longer sufficient.

The scope changes. You become more visible. The stakeholder environment becomes more complex. Decisions carry greater consequences. You have less direct control over outcomes and increasingly you need to create results through the judgement, capability and leadership of others.

The very strengths that have made you successful may become constraints if they don't evolve with the role.

The world has plenty of clever leaders. At senior levels, clever isn't enough.

Increasingly, leadership becomes less about having the right answers yourself and more about creating the conditions in which others can think well, make good decisions and perform at their best.  

Space to think. Challenge to grow. 

I work with senior leaders as both a developmental coach and a thinking partner, creating the space to step outside the immediate demands of the role, make sense of what is changing and deliberately develop the leadership required for what's ahead.

The work is both transformative and grounded in the real-world challenges leaders are facing and the outcomes their organisations need. 

Liminal Space coaching programs combine challenge and reflection with practical application to the real issues you are facing - difficult decisions, stakeholder relationships, team performance, organisational change and the leadership habits that become most visible when the pressure is on.

FAQs

  • I work across sectors and industries with extensive experience supporting:

    • Executives moving into their first C-Suite or enterprise leadership role, where success requires a significant shift in perspective, influence and leadership range.

    • Leaders navigating their organisation through significant change – for example post restructuring or strategy pivot – who are committed to developing the potential of people in their organisations.

    • Leaders in PE-backed businesses, particularly through rapid growth, post-acquisition change or increasing performance expectations.

    • Partners in professional services firms, navigating the transition from individual expertise and client leadership to broader firm leadership.

    • Senior leaders in large and complex education organisations, balancing multiple stakeholder expectations while leading significant organisational change.

  • The work is shaped around your specific context and the changes you are experiencing

    No two leadership transitions are the same. We start with the context: what does this role require of you that your previous role didn't?

    From there, the work may include:

    • Recalibrating where you spend your time and attention

    • Developing the complexity of your thinking to match the complexity of your environment

    • Leading and influencing when you no longer have direct control

    • Building influence across Boards, owners, investors and other critical stakeholders

    • Developing and leading a high-performing senior team

    • Making sound decisions amid ambiguity and competing demands

    • Having the difficult conversations that greater responsibility requires

    • Recognising and changing leadership habits that no longer serve you

  • Where they add value.  Assessment and feedback tools provide additional insight. But the objective isn't greater self-awareness for its own sake. It's turning insight into more effective leadership where it matters

    I am experienced with a range of leadership and psychometric assessments, including Mindset28, The Leadership Circle, MBTI, and StrengthsFinder. We will agree at the outset whether an assessment would provide useful insight for your particular transition.

    Most experienced leaders already have considerable insight into what they need to do differently. 

    The harder part is changing established patterns of leadership — particularly when the pressure is on.

    That's where our work focuses.