Coach Mentor Trainer
Helping people think better, lead better and feel more confident doing it
Me & how I work
I’ve spent more than 40 years working with people - training, coaching, mentoring, leading teams and helping people understand themselves and each other a little better.
These days, self-awareness sits at the heart of almost everything I do. Understanding yourself is a bit like driving a car — the better you understand how it handles, what it responds to and what it needs, the more confidently you can navigate where you’re going.
Because when we understand what matters to us, what drives us, how we respond under pressure and what gets in our way, we have far more choice about what we do next.
I’m naturally curious about people and I don’t believe in pushing everyone through the same coaching model or programme. I work with the person or team in front of me, starting with what is actually happening and going from there.
My style is warm, straightforward and practical. There may be challenge, but there will also be humour, curiosity and absolutely no expectation that you have everything worked out before you arrive.
A little about my background
My career has taken me from British Airways and culture-change training, through leading teams and leadership, coaching and mentoring, to my current work delivering Crew Resource Management and Human Factors training within the offshore oil and gas industry.
But there’s another part of my background that matters just as much.
For a large part of my own life, I don’t think I really knew myself particularly well. I made decisions, followed paths and missed opportunities that, looking back, didn’t always fit who I was or what mattered to me. I didn’t have the language of values or self-awareness then. I just knew, occasionally, that something didn’t feel quite right.
It’s one reason I’m so interested in this work now.
Understanding yourself doesn’t mean having life completely sorted. It simply gives you a much better starting point from which to make decisions, build confidence and choose what feels right for you.
My career has taken me from British Airways, where I worked in training and cultural change, to coaching and mentoring individuals and leaders, and into the offshore oil and gas industry, where I now deliver Crew Resource Management and human factors training to teams from around the world.
On the surface, those worlds can look very different - they really aren’t.
Whether I’m working with a senior leader, someone stepping into management for the first time, a woman navigating a period of change, or an offshore crew making decisions in a high-risk environment, the fundamentals are remarkably similar.
How do we communicate?
How do we behave under pressure?
Do we trust ourselves and each other?
And what gets in the way of us performing at our best?
Those questions sit at the heart of everything I do.
Coaching and mentoring
I’m an ICF-accredited coach, trained through Animas, and have coached and mentored hundreds of people across different industries and stages of life.
Some people come to me because they want to become more confident. Others are dealing with a new role, difficult relationships at work, changing priorities, overwhelm or that uncomfortable feeling that something needs to change but they’re not quite sure what.
Quite often, the answer isn’t about becoming a completely different person. It’s about understanding yourself better, trusting yourself more and finding a way of working or living that feels more like you.
My coaching is person-centred, so there isn’t a standard programme that everybody gets pushed through. We start with what is happening for you and work from there.
If you’re here for your organisation or team
A significant part of my work is with leaders and teams. Through Crew Resource Management in the offshore industry, and my work with the Association of Business Mentors, I work with people in environments where communication, decision-making, teamwork and the confidence to speak up really matter.
It has reinforced something I’ve believed throughout my career: the best teams aren’t the ones where nobody makes mistakes. They’re the ones where people feel safe enough to question, challenge, admit they don’t know and speak up.
Good leadership starts with self-awareness. How a leader communicates, listens and responds when things go wrong has a huge influence on everyone around them.
Trust is central to that. When people feel psychologically safe, trusted and valued, they are more likely to contribute fully, want the team to succeed and stay with the organisation. That matters for performance, productivity and retaining good people.
The strongest teams aren’t led by people who have all the answers. They’re led by people who are curious, self-aware, willing to listen and able to create enough trust for others to do their best work.
Experience matters. So does staying curious.
I bring a lot of experience to my work, but I never want experience to turn into thinking I know everything.
I continue to learn and develop, with additional training and CPD in areas including Positive Intelligence, menopause and confidence, and coaching in neurodiversity.
I’m fascinated by people: why we behave as we do, why some environments bring out the best in us while others make us shrink, and why intelligent, capable people can sometimes lose confidence in themselves.
I’m equally interested in what helps us get it back.
And outside work…
I’m based in Rutland and, when I’m not coaching or heading off somewhere further afield to deliver training, you’ll often find me following Leicester Tigers rugby - helped by the fact that my nephew plays for them!
My happiest times are usually the simplest ones: being with family and friends, sharing good food, travelling, having great conversations and staying curious about the world.
I’ve also spent much of my life around neurodivergent family and friends, so I’m very comfortable with difference and with people who think, communicate and experience the world in all sorts of ways.
Why Redwood?
In our garden stand five beautiful Redwood trees, planted more than a century ago by a local explorer. They have become part of the identity behind Redwood Ellis.
Redwoods are remarkable trees. They represent qualities that resonate strongly with the work I do - strength, longevity, wisdom, connection, communication and safety. They also thrive through connection.
Their roots may not run particularly deep, but they intertwine with those of the trees around them, creating strength together. For me, that feels like a pretty good metaphor for people too. We are stronger when we feel connected, supported and able to be ourselves.
That is what I hope Redwood Ellis helps to create.
Shall we talk?
If you’re ready to explore what might be possible - for yourself, your team or your organisation - I’d love to hear from you.
It would be a privilege to work with you.
