A bit more about Liz
Coaching, Creativity & Connection
I'm quite nosy myself, if I land on someone's website I want to know who they actually are before I work with them. So here's a bit more of me than fits neatly on a homepage: the things that shape how I coach, why I believe what I believe, and why I do this work at all.
I believe curiosity changes everything
Growing up in Essex, my mum was an art teacher at my secondary school. I spent most of school trying to avoid being taught by her, but in my final year I couldn't escape it any longer, she taught me History of Art. She introduced me, almost by accident, to Frida Kahlo, Edvard Munch, David Hockney, and I was hooked. They opened my eyes to a world of pictures that helped me understand the world, make sense of how I was feeling, and gave me space to think. Galleries have been my solace ever since.
Since experimenting with coaching in galleries, I've learned that plenty of other people feel exactly the same in a creative environment. Visuals unlock new thoughts, help people get to the nub of a problem, and create space to work out what comes next, all perfect coaching ingredients.
"Being outside of the traditional four walls felt easier to talk freely, without the pressure to find the right words. The image still comes to mind at certain times, which has helped me gain more awareness of my feelings and response to certain situations." - Gallery Coaching client
→ This is the thinking behind Creative Coaching and Coaching in the Gallery.
I love going places people haven't gone before
In my twenties I taught English in a jungle in Ecuador, where the children would throw their pet monkey at me. I wrote for a newspaper (the Llama Express) in La Paz, Bolivia, worked on a ranch in the Australian outback, made jam at the Tiptree Jam Factory, was a children's party pirate at weekends, and sold advertising space for an accountancy magazine in London.
I work much closer to home these days, but that instinct to explore what's beyond the trees, or beneath the surface, has never really left me. I want to help people dream and believe that the life they actually want for themselves is possible. My own experiences shape the questions I ask, the kind challenges I offer, and my genuine belief that you can do it.
→ This is part of what shapes 1:1 Coaching.
Becoming a parent changed how I think about work, leadership and success
I'm a mum of two, living in Surrey, after years of saying I never would. I started this business just before lockdown, when my youngest was two. After a rough ride of restructuring, redundancy, a loss of identity and paying the passion tax, I quit to carve out something that actually fit me and my family, work that spoke to my values, my creativity and my sense of purpose.
I meet so many women, often in leadership positions, who feel the same: brilliant, talented, capable people who somehow lose sight of themselves while holding everything else together. I'm not shy about admitting I find parenting hard, and the juggle even harder. The world likes to present work and family as two neat little boxes, but life is rarely like that. It's blurry, messy, there's never quite enough time, yet ambition doesn't disappear, if anything, meaning and purpose become even more important.
I naturally gravitate towards working with women navigating exactly these questions. It's shaped my Career Coaching, and it's why workshops like #IamRemarkable matter so much to me, creating space to explore confidence alongside the systemic barriers women face.
I believe in asking for help
I'm fiercely independent, which is quite convenient when you're your own boss. But I also believe, wholeheartedly, in asking for help. I lost my mum thirteen years ago, aged twenty-nine, just after arriving home from Australia, jobless and directionless. It shook me to my core. I've never felt more lost or lonely, and I sought help. Having someone walk alongside me, offering impartial support, a space where every emotion was welcome, and someone who inspired real hope that things could get better, changed me and my approach to life.
Coaching is undeniably different to counselling, but they share one thing: the value of having someone firmly on your side. Someone who listens without judgement, gives you space to think, and helps you move forward with hope. That's the space I try to create for every client.
→ This sits at the heart of 1:1 Coaching.
I don't believe I have all the answers, it's about asking the questions that help you find your own
Oh, I wish I had the answers. I wish I had the magic wand people are hoping for when they get in touch, like some kind of fairy godmother. But I don't, and I know I don't, so I never pretend otherwise.
People often say, "can you just tell me what you think I should do?" But the research is clear that this doesn't actually work, it doesn't stick. We all know the feeling of someone crashing in with a well-meaning solution that simply doesn't fit, like being handed a gourmet meal when what you really needed was beans on toast.
That's why I stay true to my coaching training. I believe the magic lies in the questions, not the answers. Whether I'm working with individuals, teams or Action Learning Sets, I want people to leave with better questions, more trust in their own decisions, and practical tools they can keep coming back to long after we've finished working together.
→ This is exactly the approach behind workshops and Action Learning Sets for teams.
I love freedom within a framework
Contrary to popular belief, I genuinely love a spreadsheet. It's a common misconception that creative people don't enjoy data, but I love understanding the numbers, spotting patterns and habits, measuring impact, and figuring out the why. Good data doesn't stifle creativity, it gives it somewhere to grow.
Whether I'm exploring limiting beliefs in a coaching session, analysing how visitors move through a museum, or measuring the impact of a community project, I'm always looking for the meaning behind the numbers, not just the numbers themselves.
Whether I'm evaluating a project, facilitating a team or designing a workshop, I love creating enough structure for people to feel safe and be honest, while leaving enough freedom for curiosity, creativity and brilliant ideas to emerge.
→ This is at the core of how I approach Consultancy & Evaluation.