coaching for scientists
You are ambitious and an expert in your field.
Management has been a roller coaster and not what you expected.
You are disappointed by the lack of a seat at the table.
You are struggling with the people part of your role.
You are demotivated and frustrated.
You want more impact but you have less time now for the science.
Developing meaningful relationships at work is important to you.
coaching for scientists
coaching for scientists
Does leading sometimes feel harder than the science itself?
You know your science. You’ve worked hard to develop your expertise and earn your place at the table.
But that doesn’t mean every leadership situation feels comfortable.
Perhaps you spend hours preparing for difficult meetings, trying to anticipate every question and make sure everything goes according to plan.
Then someone challenges your judgement, the conversation takes an unexpected turn, or you find yourself responding in a way you wish you hadn’t.
And afterwards, you replay it all, thinking about what you could have said or done differently.
Perhaps you’ve also received conflicting advice about how you should behave as a leader. Be more assertive. Be less defensive. Speak up more. Don’t come across as aggressive.
Trying to get it right can become exhausting.
And it doesn’t always stop when the working day ends. You might find yourself still thinking about a difficult conversation when you’d rather be enjoying time with family or friends, or lying awake rehearsing what you’ll say next time.
It takes up headspace, time and energy. Not just from the scientific work you care about, but sometimes from the rest of your life too.
It doesn’t have to feel this hard. And you don’t have to become someone else to find a different way forward.
Knowing what to do isn’t always enough.
When something isn’t going the way we’d like, it’s tempting to focus on what we need to do differently.
Be more assertive. Stop getting defensive. Speak with greater confidence. Prepare better.
But knowing how you’d like to behave doesn’t necessarily mean you can do it when the pressure is on.
That’s why my coaching begins with curiosity rather than a ready-made solution.
Together, we lift the lid and look beneath what’s happening.
We explore what makes certain situations difficult for you, what you’re thinking and feeling in those moments, and how your experiences may have shaped the way you respond.
Sometimes we uncover assumptions about what a good leader should be, or beliefs about what might happen if you speak up, disagree or make a mistake.
Understanding these patterns doesn’t mean they’ll disappear overnight. But it can help you recognise what’s happening, experiment with different responses and gradually develop greater choice in how you lead.
And that choice matters.
Because the goal isn’t to turn you into someone else’s idea of a successful leader.
It’s to give you the freedom to decide how you want to lead, in a way that reflects your values, your expertise and the contribution you want to make.
Curiosity before solutions.
We look beneath the surface, so you can make more conscious choices about how you lead.
Coaching that starts with understanding you.
You don’t need to have all the answers before we begin. We’ll explore what’s happening, what matters to you, and how you want to move forward.