Who I work with
Executives, company owners, founders and senior professionals, and the people around them. Most of my clients are doing well on paper and know something isn’t right underneath.
What my clients have in common
The job titles differ. The situations are similar. People who carry a lot of responsibility often have nobody to think out loud with. They are good at solving other people’s problems and slow to solve their own. And they tend to put off getting help until the cost shows up somewhere it can’t be ignored: their health, their sleep, their marriage or their results.
I’ve worked with hundreds of professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners, creatives and corporate employees across the UK and abroad. The pages below describe what each group most often brings, and how coaching works around their diaries and their need for discretion.
Does this sound familiar?
- You are the person everyone brings problems to, and nobody asks how you are.
- Work comes home with you, in your head if not on your laptop.
- You have put off something personal because there is never a good time.
- You are doing well by every measure other people can see.
- You would rather nobody at work knew you were getting help.
- Your sleep, health or relationships are paying for your results.
What the work covers
Whatever your role, coaching tends to cover the same ground. The balance between these depends on what you bring.
- Confidence and presence. Speaking up, holding a room and handling challenge from people more senior or more experienced than you.
- Pressure and stress. Spotting the early signs and changing the routines that let pressure build.
- Decisions. Separating the facts from the fear when a big choice won’t settle.
- Relationships. Colleagues, co-founders, partners and family, and the conversations you’ve been avoiding.
- Habits. The drink after work, the late-night emails, the exercise that stopped. Small routines with large effects.
Coaching around a demanding life
Most of my clients have little spare time and good reasons to keep coaching private. The practical side is set up for that.
- Confidential by default. You book and pay directly unless you choose otherwise, and nothing goes on an HR file.
- Times that fit. Early, evening and weekend appointments by arrangement, at 1 Harley Street, in Edgbaston or online.
- Support between sessions. Email or text me when a hard week comes, rather than waiting for the next appointment.
- A clear end. Programmes run for five, eight or twelve sessions. There is no retainer to cancel.
Leaders and owners
People who carry the responsibility and often have nobody to think out loud with.
- CEOsThe decisions nobody else can make and the isolation that comes with them. Private sessions around a full diary.
- Company ownersWhen the business follows you home: long hours, cash-flow worry, delegation and what you want from the business now.
- ExecutivesSenior roles where results are expected and the pressure goes unspoken: confidence, presence, stress and balance.
- Senior leadersLeading other leaders: influence without control, managing upwards and staying steady through change.
- DirectorsConfidence at board level, accountability, and the step up from running a function to running a business.
- Women in leadershipConfidence, visibility and progression in senior roles, and balancing leadership with the rest of life.
Founders and entrepreneurs
For people building something, with all the uncertainty that brings.
- FoundersDelegation, co-founder relationships, investor pressure and keeping a life outside the company.
- EntrepreneursTurning ideas into progress: focus, follow-through and living with uncertainty.
- High-net-worth individualsPrivate, discreet coaching for people whose wealth brings its own pressures: purpose, family and trust.
Professionals
High standards, long days and work that rarely stays at the office.
- ProfessionalsLawyers, doctors, accountants and consultants: the perfectionism that once helped and now costs sleep, health and time.
- LawyersBillable hours, partnership tracks and adversarial work: stress, confidence and getting time back.
- DoctorsDemanding rotas and responsibility for others: stress, perfectionism and looking after yourself as well as your patients.
- Finance professionalsMarkets, targets and long hours: performance pressure, decisions and balance.
Living abroad
Coached online, in your time zone.
Questions
Do I have to be an executive to work with you?
No. Many clients are executives and owners, but I also work with people at a turning point in their lives, professionals early in their careers and anyone who wants to make a specific change.
Can my company pay?
Ask on the free call. Whoever pays, the sessions stay confidential between you and me.
Do you only coach senior people?
No. The pages here describe the groups who come to me most often, but the same approach works for anyone carrying a lot of responsibility, at any level. If your role isn’t listed, describe it on the free call and I’ll tell you honestly whether coaching fits.
Will anyone at work know I’m having coaching?
Only if you tell them. You book directly, appointments can sit outside working hours, and online sessions mean nobody sees you arrive anywhere. What you say in sessions stays private.
Can coaching help with personal issues as well as work?
Yes. Most people bring both, because pressure at work and problems at home feed each other. A programme can move between the two as needed, and many clients find the personal side is where the bigger change happens.
Do you coach people outside the UK?
Yes. I work online with clients across Europe, the Middle East, the USA and India. Sessions are booked in UK time, fees are in pounds sterling, and the structure is the same as a session at 1 Harley Street.
Can a partner or family member book for me?
They can ask questions on your behalf, but the free call needs to be with you. Coaching only works when you want to change something yourself, so I’ll talk to you directly before anything is booked.
Start with a free 30-minute call
You describe the problem. I tell you whether coaching is the right tool and how I’d approach it. If it isn’t, I’ll tell you that too. No obligation, and I reply within 24 hours.
- You send the formName, number and a line or two about what’s going on.
- I reply within 24 hoursBy phone or email, whichever you prefer, to book a time.
- A free 30-minute callYou decide afterwards. No obligation, no follow-up pressure.
Still deciding?
“I highly recommend Stuart. 10/10 experience. Right from the beginning he made me feel so comfortable and he seemed to genuinely care about what I had to say.”