Leading in Practice

Tag: ILM Level 7

  • Finding a New Professional Home

    Finding a New Professional Home

    I’ve spoken before about the unexpected feelings I experienced earlier this year after cancelling my nursing registration.

    After more than 20 years in nursing, it wasn’t about no longer paying an annual fee or removing my name from a register. Nursing had been such a significant part of my identity for so long that letting it go left me feeling a little bereft.

    I don’t regret the decision. My career has taken me in a different direction and I knew it was the right time.

    But it did make me realise that there’s real value in belonging to a professional community.

    Finding the right fit

    As my coaching journey has developed over the past year, I knew I wanted to become part of a professional body that reflected the way I want to practise.

    There are several excellent coaching organisations, each with their own strengths. After spending some time looking into them, I chose the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC).

    What drew me to the EMCC wasn’t just coaching.

    It was coaching and mentoring.

    The more I coach, the more I’ve come to appreciate that leadership development rarely sits neatly at one end of the spectrum. Sometimes people need the space to think their own way through a challenge. Sometimes they benefit from drawing on the experience and perspective of someone who’s been there or walked a similar path.

    Being able to move thoughtfully between coaching and mentoring, whilst being clear about which approach I’m taking and why, has become an important part of my own practice.

    That philosophy felt like a natural fit with the EMCC.

    Learning never stops

    Joining the EMCC has already been really beneficial beyond membership.

    I’ve attended webinars through both EMCC Scotland and EMCC UK, connected with other coaches and mentors, and continued to build my knowledge through ongoing professional development. I actually met someone on one of those calls who invited me on to her podcast which was really nice.

    One of the things I enjoy most about coaching is recognising that there is always something new to learn.

    Every coaching conversation is different and everyone brings different experiences.

    It’s definitely keeping my brain active!

    Accreditation

    Following my ILM Level 7 Diploma for Executive and Senior Level Coaches and Mentors, I was keen to pursue professional accreditation.

    Receiving the diploma demonstrated that I’d successfully completed the qualification.

    Accreditation felt like an important next step for me.

    For me, it represents a commitment to practising ethically, continuing to develop professionally and holding myself accountable to recognised standards.

    There are four levels of accreditation with EMCC Global and because my qualification aligns with the framework, I was able to apply for the third level – Senior Practitioner . It was reassuring to see that my years of leadership, supervision, mentoring and coaching experience were recognised alongside the formal qualification. The fourth and final level is Master Practitioner so who knows what the future might hold!

    I did discover, slightly too late, that I’d completed considerably more paperwork than I actually needed to…

    Typical.

    Still, I’d rather be over-prepared than under-prepared.

    The accreditation team were incredibly helpful throughout the process and it wasn’t long before I received the news that my application had been successful.

    What it means to me

    Receiving my accreditation isn’t the end of anything.

    If anything, it feels like another beginning.

    Just as my nursing registration represented a commitment to lifelong learning and professional standards, my EMCC accreditation feels like the next part of that journey.

    It gives people confidence that I’m committed to coaching ethically, engaging in regular supervision, maintaining my professional development and continually reflecting on my own practice.

    Those are things that really matter to me. Not because they’re requirements, but because they represent the kind of coach I want to be.

    Looking ahead

    Alongside receiving my accreditation, I’ve also been putting the finishing touches to my coaching website.

    The professional photographs are now in place (I’m pleased to report I’ve finally managed to look like someone who’s approachable rather than investigating a crime scene) and I’ve added more information about my coaching programmes and how people can work with me.

    Looking back over the past year, quite a lot has changed.

    From completing my coaching qualification, introducing coaching within my organisation, establishing Leading in Practice Coaching and Consultancy Ltd, and now achieving EMCC Senior Practitioner accreditation.

    Each step has reinforced something I’ve believed for a long time.

    Leadership is never finished. Neither is learning.

    Onwards we go, from registered nurse to accredited coach!

  • Taking the Next Step

    Taking the Next Step

    I’ve had a couple of exciting coaching milestones over the past few weeks.

    A qualification was only the beginning

    Last month I got the news that I’d successfully passed the ILM Level 7 Diploma in Executive and Senior Level Coaching and Mentoring. A few days ago my certificate arrived which meant I could finally submit my accreditation application to the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). I’ll share more about that once I’ve heard the outcome.

    Meanwhile, coaching has become a regular part of my role within the organisation I lead. I’m continuing to coach colleagues from across the staff team and it’s something I genuinely look forward to each week. Having the opportunity to create space for people to think, reflect and develop is a real privilege, and I’ve seen first-hand the difference coaching can make to confidence, leadership and the way people approach challenges.

    One of the things I’ve come to realise after completing the qualification is that I’m keen to continue developing my coaching beyond my own organisation. The more people I’ve coached, the more I’ve realised that coaching is a skill that can only be fine tuned the more you do it. Every conversation teaches me something new and every client brings a different perspective.

    Taking the next step

    With that in mind, I recently shared a Declaration of Interest with my Board outlining my intention to establish a small external coaching practice alongside my role as CEO. It was important to me that this was done openly and transparently, and that the Board were comfortable there would be no conflict with my existing role or impact on the organisation.

    I’m pleased to say that Leading in Practice Coaching and Consultancy Ltd is now officially registered.

    Learning a different side of business

    I have to admit, it’s been quite enjoyable learning about an entirely different side of running a business. Whilst I have experience of leading a charity and all that comes with that, setting up a company has brought its own learning curve. Corporation tax, business banking, allowable expenses, Companies House… it’s a whole thing.

    I’ve explored what Business Gateway offers, attended one of their excellent ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions with an accountant (armed with a list of questions that was probably longer than his agenda) and gradually worked my way through everything I needed to understand. For now, my practice will be small enough that I’m going to manage my own accounts and bookkeeping. I actually quite enjoy understanding how these things work before deciding whether I need additional systems or support.

    Starting small, intentionally

    One thing I have been really conscious of throughout this process is protecting the work-life balance I’ve worked so hard to create.

    It’s easy, particularly when you’ve found something you’re genuinely passionate about, to convince yourself that because it doesn’t feel like work you can just keep doing more and more.

    I’ve been there before.

    During the early years of my career, I probably threw myself into work a little too enthusiastically and eventually had to have a word with myself.

    I don’t want to repeat that pattern.

    So this coaching practice will begin exactly as I’d hoped it would: intentionally.

    I’ll be working with a very small number of executive and senior leaders, completely outside my working hours as CEO. That feels like the right balance. It allows me to continue developing as a coach whilst protecting the time and energy that’s equally important to me.

    Building Leading in Practice

    In the background, I’ve also been putting together my website pages, refining my coaching programmes and thinking carefully about how I want people to experience Leading in Practice.

    One of the more enjoyable jobs was organising a professional photo shoot. I never thought I’d say that but I guess when you find a photographer who is brilliant and completely puts you at ease you have a very different experience.

    Most people know me through my work in drugs policy, which understandably doesn’t lend itself to many smiling photographs. Much of what I speak about publicly involves preventable deaths, stigma and the human impact of policy decisions.

    Hugely important conversations.

    But only one part of who I am.

    I wanted these photographs to capture the other side of me too.

    The person who’s always happy to talk.

    Who believes some of the best conversations happen over a cup of tea.

    Who loves being outdoors and spending time in the garden.

    The dog also made a surprise appearance. Whether those photographs ever see the light of day remains to be seen!

    A new chapter

    This feels like the beginning of another chapter.

    Not because I’ve suddenly become a qualified coach – coaching has been part of how I’ve led for a long time – but because I’m now creating the space to develop that part of my professional life with the same care and intention I’ve tried to bring to everything else.

    I’m excited to see where it leads.

  • Why Stepping Away Helped Me Think More Clearly

    Why Stepping Away Helped Me Think More Clearly

    I’m just back from a lovely week in Croatia with my partner, his kids and his family.

    The family are from Slovakia, so it’s fair to say there’s a bit of a language barrier, although I’ve been doing my best to learn some of the basics over the past few years! Building relationships in this way is definitely a challenge, and it’s prompted me (again) to re-subscribe to a language learning app with renewed determination to improve my Slovak.

    It’s reminded me that relationships don’t depend on getting every word right. Patience, curiosity and a willingness to keep trying count for a lot.

    Another first this holiday was that I didn’t take my work phone with me.

    For some people, that probably doesn’t sound particularly remarkable.

    For me, it is.

    Previously, I’d have been checking it constantly, responding to emails and occasionally even taking work calls. Even with my out-of-office switched on, it wasn’t unusual for someone to receive the notification that I was on leave and then message me through social media because something felt urgent to them.

    Looking back, I realise all of that blurred the boundary between work and personal time. It interrupted my thoughts, stopped me fully switching off and made it much harder to properly recharge.

    I think we all have a responsibility to respect other people’s time off.

    The reason I was able to leave my phone behind so confidently this year was because I have a hugely trusted team around me.

    They have my personal number should something genuinely urgent arise, and I trust their judgement completely about when that would be appropriate.

    As it turned out, I didn’t hear from anyone.

    Which probably tells me everything I needed to know.

    Creating space to think

    That isn’t to say I didn’t think about work.

    I did.

    But it felt different.

    There were quiet moments in the morning, sitting on the balcony with a cup of tea, wondering how my Scottish skin was going to cope with another day of 34-degree heat, where my mind naturally drifted towards ideas rather than tasks.

    I’ve noticed this pattern for years.

    Colleagues who know me well often joke that whenever I come back from annual leave, I’ll arrive with a notebook full of new ideas and things I’d like to explore.

    They’re usually right.

    It got me thinking about why that happens.

    Why does stepping away make it easier to think creatively?

    I don’t think it’s because holidays magically make us more innovative.

    I think it’s because they give our brains the space they’ve been craving.

    Busy isn’t always productive

    Over the past year, I’ve deliberately blocked out time in my diary every week for strategic thinking.

    Protecting that time has been one of the best habits I’ve introduced because it creates space to focus on the bigger picture rather than simply responding to what’s immediately in front of me.

    Recently though, I’ve noticed that space starting to disappear.

    My diary has gradually filled up with more operational meetings and day-to-day activity.

    From the outside, it probably looks like I’m incredibly productive.

    If I’m honest with myself, there are weeks where I finish feeling like I’ve been busy every minute of every day but haven’t really moved anything important forward.

    I’m sure many leaders will recognise that feeling.

    Being busy and creating value aren’t always the same thing.

    When we’re constantly immersed in operational work, we lose some of our ability to spot opportunities, notice patterns and think strategically about what’s coming next.

    Those are some of the things leaders are there to do.

    Not because we’re more important than anyone else, but because it’s much harder to see the bigger picture when you’re standing in the middle of it.

    Sometimes stepping back is part of the job.

    A timely reminder

    This holiday reminded me that if I want to do my best work, I need to create the conditions that allow it to happen.

    That means protecting thinking time just as deliberately as I protect meeting time.

    It means trusting other people.

    It means recognising that constantly being available isn’t the same as being effective.

    And sometimes it simply means giving myself permission to step away.

    I’ve still got another week of annual leave before heading back to work.

    Alongside the inevitable post-holiday washing mountain, catching up with family, tackling the garden and celebrating a couple of birthdays, I’ll also be investing some time in my own development. I’m fully immersed in my coaching journey just now, so there’ll be plenty of reading and a few webinars on the agenda too.

    I will admit to one small lapse.

    I couldn’t resist a sneaky look at my work phone.

    There was one condition… I wasn’t allowed to respond.

    Over 500 unopened emails later…

    I very quickly decided I wouldn’t be checking it again until I’m back.

    That said, the sneaky peek wasn’t entirely without reward. Buried amongst the emails was confirmation that I’d passed another few parts of my ILM Level 7 Executive Coaching and Mentoring Diploma. With only a small part left to complete, the end is finally in sight – and that was definitely worth opening the inbox for!

    d’akujem za prečitanie!

    (thanks for reading! 🇸🇰)

  • Building a Coaching Culture in Practice

    Building a Coaching Culture in Practice

    One of the reasons I decided to undertake a coaching qualification was because I wanted to have a better structure and clearer focus on how I support people to grow and develop.

    During the course I also began thinking about the wider culture of the organisation and how coaching might contribute to the positive changes we’d already been implementing.

    When I first started the ILM Level 7 Executive and Senior Level Coaching and Mentoring Diploma, the coaching hours required for the qualification needed to be completed with people operating at that level. Naturally, that led me to work with members of our leadership team as well as a number of external colleagues.

    But something didn’t sit quite right with me.

    Whilst I understood the rationale for the qualification requirements, I didn’t want coaching to become something that was only available to people in senior positions in my place of work.

    If I genuinely believed in the value of coaching, then surely the opportunity to benefit from it shouldn’t be determined by where someone sits within the organisational structure.

    So I put out a note of interest to staff across the organisation to understand whether coaching was something people might find useful and I also wanted to gauge whether being coached by me would be a bit off-putting given my position. Not that I asked that explicitly from the outset but people were informed the coach would be me, as the reality was that outsourcing coaching for everyone was unlikely to be financially possible.

    The response was encouraging.

    Around half of our staff team expressed an initial interest.

    People were looking for opportunities to reflect, develop and think differently about their work. Most people had never experienced coaching before but were importantly intrigued by the suggestion that it would be something they could access.

    The challenge then became how to make that happen in a way that felt meaningful, sustainable and aligned with the culture we were already trying to build.

    Coaching as part of the bigger picture

    One thing I was clear about from the outset was that I didn’t want coaching to become a standalone initiative sitting alongside everything else we were doing, or some secret conversations you had with the CEO that undermined managers.

    Over the past few years, we’ve made deliberate changes to how we approach supervision, appraisals and staff development.

    We’ve worked hard to make conversations more reflective and developmental, moving away from purely performance-focused discussions towards approaches that encouraged learning, growth and self-awareness.

    Creating a coaching offer that operated completely separately from those developments and supportive line management relationships felt like a missed opportunity. 

    Instead, I wanted coaching to complement and strengthen the wider culture we were trying to create.

    Designing a three-way coaching model

    After discussions with my own coaching supervisor, alongside a fair amount of reading and research, I became interested in three-way coaching models.

    The model we’ve developed is relatively simple.

    People who are interested in coaching initially meet with me for an informal conversation about what coaching is, what it isn’t, and what participation would involve.

    This has been particularly important given my role as CEO.

    It’s allowed us to have open conversations about boundaries, confidentiality and expectations before anyone decides whether coaching feels right for them.

    Following that conversation, people discuss their interest with their line manager and, if everyone agrees that coaching would be beneficial, we move into a three-way coaching agreement meeting.

    That conversation involves the person being coached, their line manager and me.

    Together, we explore what the individual hopes to achieve through coaching, any development areas they would like to focus on and how this connects to their wider role and aspirations.

    The emphasis throughout is on development rather than performance.

    The coaching goals belong to the individual and are aligned with what has been discussed previously through supervision and appraisal.

    The line manager’s role is to contribute context, support the process and understand what success might look like.

    Following this, the coaching itself takes place through a series of one-to-one monthly sessions.

    These conversations remain confidential.

    Nothing from those sessions is fed back to the manager unless the coachee chooses to share it themselves.

    At the end of the process, we will come back together for a final three-way conversation to reflect on progress, learning and what support may be helpful going forward.

    Early stages

    We’re still in the very early stages of this new venture, but there are already things that I’m really enjoying seeing.

    One is the enthusiasm people have shown for investing time in their own development.

    Another is how powerful it can be simply to create dedicated space for reflection.

    In busy organisations, it’s easy for development to become something we talk about rather than something we actively create time for.

    Coaching creates that space.

    It gives people permission to pause, think differently and explore challenges that they may otherwise continue carrying around without ever fully exploring.

    It’s been really nice to hear staff talking about noticing positive changes in the way people are working following others taking part in coaching and that being filtered through the organisation.

    Colleagues have commented on seeing differences in how people approach situations, how they lead and how they engage or communicate with others.

    It’s encouraging because that was the vision I had in mind at the beginning with the goal to support people’s growth.

    Culture experienced in practice

    In last week’s blog, I wrote that culture isn’t what you say… it’s what people experience.

    I still believe that it’s created through the everyday experiences people have when they come to work.

    It’s shaped by whether people feel listened to, trusted, invested in and supported to develop.

    For me, introducing coaching isn’t really only about coaching.

    It’s about creating another way of demonstrating that people matter and acknowledging that they are our main strength.

    It’s about investing in people’s potential and creating opportunities for growth.

    And ultimately, it’s about helping to build the kind of culture where learning, reflection and development are part of everyday practice rather than some kind of once a year event.

    So it’s a bit of a test to see if this model will work for us and if so, how we can improve it as we go if it looks like it’s here to stay.

    My thinking is that if coaching can help people grow, and if people help shape culture, then investing time in one may ultimately strengthen the other.

  • Finishing my ILM Level 7 Diploma for Executive and Senior Level Coaches & Mentors

    Finishing my ILM Level 7 Diploma for Executive and Senior Level Coaches & Mentors

    Last week felt like a significant milestone… I submitted the final parts of my portfolio of evidence and assignments for the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Level 7 Diploma for Executive and Senior Level Coaches and Mentors.

    Everything is currently being marked, so I’m fully expecting there may still be bits to revisit, but it finally feels like the end is in sight.

    I’ve actually genuinely enjoyed the process.

    I started the course in August 2025 and, at the time, I remember actively looking for honest reflections from people who had completed it. I wanted to know what it was  actually  like beyond the course description – the workload, the coaching hours, the written assignments, the balance alongside full-time leadership roles and, realistically, whether it was manageable.

    So this is my attempt at offering that perspective for anyone considering doing it themselves.

    Choosing a provider

    The experience of the qualification will vary depending on who delivers it. I chose to complete mine through Stirling Enterprise HR (STEP HR) after coming across them online and having an initial conversation with the course leader.

    One of the biggest advantages for me was that they were local and delivered the workshops face-to-face, which was appealing to me. Coaching is relational by nature and I liked the idea of learning and practising in person rather than entirely online.

    The group itself was small and made up of people from very different backgrounds and organisations, which added a lot to the experience. Some people were completing the Level 5 qualification and others the Level 7, with the main differences being the number of workshops, depth of the written assignments, number of coaching hours required and types of coachees (executive or senior leaders for the Level 7).

    The workshops

    The workshops took place once a month and were full-day sessions.

    They were interactive and practical rather than overly academic, which suited me well. There was some presentation-based learning and theory, but most of the time involved discussions, reflective exercises and breaking into smaller groups to coach each other.

    That was probably one of the most valuable parts of the course for me – actually practising repeatedly and experiencing both sides of the coaching relationship.

    It also quickly became apparent that true, non-directive coaching is much harder than it looks.

    Listening well sounds simple in theory until you realise how quickly your brain wants to jump into problem-solving, advice-giving or trying to ‘help’ too quickly.

    The assignments

    If I’m honest, the written assignments were probably my least favourite part of the course.

    The first assignment was in 3 parts and involved a significant amount of theory and required learning the style of academic and reflective writing expected by ILM. It wasn’t that they were asking anything particularly difficult, it was more the style expectations that took a bit of adjustment.

    I much preferred the actual coaching itself.

    And if I’m going to write, I’d generally rather it’s a blog than an academic assignment.

    That said, the written work did force me to think much more critically about ethics, boundaries, reflective practice and my own approach to coaching, which was valuable in itself.

    The coaching hours

    One thing I definitely underestimated was the amount of time involved in completing the coaching practice element.

    The recommendation was to work with around 6–9 coachees across the qualification. I got a bit overenthusiastic and ended up coaching 11 people, including members of my own leadership team and several external colleagues.

    In hindsight, I probably wouldn’t recommend taking that approach.

    The actual coaching sessions were manageable, but it was the preparation, reflection and paperwork surrounding them that became substantial. Every session required records, reflective notes, evaluations and ongoing documentation, and it added up very quickly alongside a full-time CEO role.

    The qualification required 60 hours of coaching overall and, if I was doing it again, I’d probably space sessions out more and work with fewer people. Part of the problem I gave myself was that, despite having 3 years to complete the course, I set myself a target of completing within the first year.

    Although saying that, throwing myself into it did accelerate my learning significantly. So pros and cons!

    Having regular coaching conversations week after week forced me to develop confidence quickly, sharpen my listening skills and stay fully engaged with the process.

    The portfolio and paperwork

    Assignment two involved a huge amount of portfolio evidence.

    This included:

    • coaching records
    • reflective diaries
    • signed contracts and agreements
    • coaching needs analyses
    • evaluations
    • supervision records
    • observed coaching documentation
    • summaries

    At times it genuinely felt never-ending.

    One thing that helped massively was creating systems early on to keep everything organised. I built a coaching tracker spreadsheet to manage sessions, hours, supervisions and paperwork and had a well oiled machine of storing all the reflective diaries in secure folders. The spreadsheet tracker has actually become something I’ll continue using beyond the qualification itself and I’m happy to share it for others doing the course or just looking for a simple tool – there’s a link at the end of this post for you to download it.

    Assignment three focused more heavily on reflection, self-assessment and future development, including a SWOT analysis and CPD planning for the next 12 months. Again, a significant amount of effort but very practical and useful beyond the course which I enjoyed.

    Learning beyond the classroom

    A huge amount of the learning for me happened outside the workshops themselves.

    I spent (and still do spend) a lot of time reading, listening to podcasts and watching coaching-related content because I genuinely wanted to be the best coach I could be for the people who had trusted me with their time and openness throughout the process.

    The qualification also made me reflect much more deeply on how I show up in leadership conversations generally – particularly around listening, creating space, resisting the urge to jump into solutions and understanding the difference between mentoring, advising and coaching.

    Looking back on the experience

    Looking back, I probably did approach the qualification in the same way I approach a lot of things – by jumping in fully and figuring it out as I went.

    Balancing the coaching hours, written assignments and portfolio requirements alongside an executive leadership role was definitely challenging at times.

    But despite the workload, I’m genuinely glad I did it.

    Not just because of the qualification itself, but because of how much it has changed the way I think about leadership, support and development.

    It’s made me more reflective, more intentional and much more aware of the importance of creating space for people to think openly and work through challenges in their own way.

    And ultimately, that feels like something worth investing in.

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  • Letting go of my nursing registration

    Letting go of my nursing registration

    I’ve been contemplating whether to retain my nursing registration for a few years now and, finally, last week I took the plunge and cancelled it – on International Nurses Day.

    Completely unintentionally, I should add.

    Probably not the wisest timing, considering I’ll now be reminded every year that I’m no longer a registered mental health nurse.

    It also happened to be Mental Health Awareness Week, where the theme this year was ‘action’. So I’ve either actioned a move I may eventually regret, or I’ve made a decision that allows me to focus more intentionally on the direction my leadership and coaching development is taking.

    At the moment, I’m still not entirely sure which one it is.

    What I do know is that I felt unexpectedly emotional afterwards.

    The email from the Nursing and Midwifery Council probably didn’t help:

    “Your career as a registered professional has made a big difference to the lives of others and we hope you feel proud of the important contribution you’ve made.”

    I read it about ten times and it left me feeling a bit bereft if I’m honest.

    In reality, I haven’t needed to be on the register since leaving the NHS in 2012. But I think there was always something about the security of keeping it there – a sense that I still *could* go back if I wanted to. More than that, though, I think nursing became part of how I saw myself.

    Even writing ‘former mental health nurse’ feels strange. Although I feel like you remain a mental health nurse for life regardless of whether or not you’re officially registered.

    There were points over the years where I thought I might use the registration again. During COVID, I briefly joined the nurse bank to support vaccination delivery. I’d also held onto an ambition for a long time of potentially working within Scotland’s first safer consumption facility when (not if) it opened.

    But as the years passed, my career continued to move in a different direction.

    And if I’m honest with myself, I think I’d started holding onto the registration more because of what it represented than because I genuinely believed I’d return to nursing practice.

    Trusting my instinct

    I qualified from Napier University in 2006 and, until starting my coaching qualification recently, I hadn’t undertaken any formal study since then.

    My first role was within an acute mental health ward, and that was really where my interest in supporting people who use substances began. I became increasingly drawn towards the complexities surrounding substance use, mental health, stigma and trauma, and after a few years an opportunity came up within the community addictions team.

    At the time, permanent NHS jobs were difficult to come by, and I remember having to choose between staying in a secure permanent post or moving into an 18-month fixed-term addictions role.

    Some people thought I was making the wrong decision.

    But something about the role felt right to me, even though it came with uncertainty. So I followed that instinct.

    That decision shaped the rest of my career.

    Choosing purpose over security

    I spent three years within that team, progressing first into a senior nurse role and then team leader. During that time, I was given opportunities that challenged and stretched me, including leading our local naloxone programme – something that became a real turning point professionally.

    When an opportunity later came up to work nationally on Scotland’s naloxone programme (again on a one-year fixed-term contract), I made a similar decision all over again. At the same time, a permanent NHS team leader role was on the horizon, but I chose the uncertainty again because I felt strongly drawn towards the work.

    Looking back, I can see a pattern in a lot of my career decisions.

    I’ve often chosen purpose over security.

    That level of uncertainty isn’t for everyone, and I completely understand why. Stability matters, particularly in professions where people already carry a huge amount emotionally and financially. But I also know that fear of insecurity can stop people from pursuing opportunities that genuinely align with who they are and what they care about.

    For me, some of the biggest opportunities in my life have come from taking those risks.

    And I’ve never really looked back.

    Beyond the NHS

    Over the years, I’ve also had conversations with nurses who feel their experience or career options need to remain within the NHS. But I don’t believe that at all.

    The third sector is full of incredibly skilled, compassionate and values-driven professionals, and nursing skills translate powerfully into those environments. In many ways, my nursing background shaped the leader I became.

    It taught me how to communicate under pressure, build relationships quickly, support people through difficult moments and hold compassion alongside accountability.

    I don’t think those things ever really leave you.

    Which is maybe why letting go of the registration itself feels more emotional than I expected.

    Because although I may no longer be a registered nurse, nursing will always be part of how I lead, support people and understand the world.

    Recognising where I am now

    My next revalidation wasn’t due until February 2027, so there was no immediate pressure to make a decision. But over the last year especially, I’ve felt my interests and energy shifting more towards leadership development, coaching and mentoring.

    Completing the ILM Level 7 Coaching and Mentoring Diploma has reignited something in me academically and professionally. It’s challenged me to think differently about how I support others, how I listen, and how I create space for reflection and growth within leadership.

    More than anything, it’s made me realise that this is where I want to continue developing.

    So whilst cancelling my registration initially felt like closing a door, I’m starting to see it differently.

    Maybe it’s less about leaving something behind and more about acknowledging where I am now.

    My plan going forward is to focus my CPD activity more intentionally around leadership and coaching – strengthening the skills and approaches that support me in my role as a CEO and in how I support the people around me.

    In many ways, that still feels strongly connected to why I became a nurse in the first place.

  • Why I decided to do a coaching qualification as a CEO

    Why I decided to do a coaching qualification as a CEO

    It’s International Coaching Week so I’ve decided to write about why I decided to do a coaching qualification alongside my role as a CEO. How I found the time, well… more on that in a future episode!

    The honest answer is that my decision came from a few different experiences over time that gradually made me realise I wanted a more structured and intentional way of supporting people.

    Working from instinct

    A big part of it started through conversations with an external colleague and ally who was moving into a national role. He asked if I would provide some supervision and space for reflection as he stepped into the position, and I was honoured to be asked so happily agreed.

    Those discussions were really interesting, and he was kind enough to say he found them helpful. But throughout the sessions I was definitely thinking: surely there’s a way I could be more useful here.

    A lot of what I was doing came naturally through experience as a mental health nurse providing support and supervision, leadership and years of working closely with people, but I became increasingly aware that I was relying heavily on instinct. The conversations often leaned towards mentoring – sharing perspective, advice and reflections from my own experience – and whilst that absolutely has value, it also made me curious about how I could support people in a more intentional and skilled way.

    Being coached as a leader

    At the same time, I’d had coaching and mentoring myself during my first year in post as a CEO through the Charity Leadership Scotland programme, as well as some group coaching through Kate Waterfall Hill’s leadership accelerator programme.

    I found both experiences genuinely beneficial.

    It wasn’t about somebody giving me answers, although that would have been nice at times! In fact, it was often the opposite. It was having space to think, reflect and properly work things through with someone who listened differently and asked better questions than I was perhaps asking myself.

    It challenged me in a positive way and made me reflect on how powerful good coaching can be – particularly in leadership roles, where there can often be pressure to appear certain, capable and clear all the time.

    I started to realise that coaching wasn’t just about performance or development in a formal sense. It was also about creating space for people to think more honestly, build confidence in themselves and work through challenges in a way that felt constructive rather than overwhelming.

    Wanting to do it well

    The more I reflected on all of this, the more I knew I wanted to learn properly.

    I started researching coaching qualifications and looking at different providers before eventually finding a course locally that felt like the right fit for me. I was also very lucky to have support from my Board who understood the value of my vision.

    Part of the decision was definitely about wanting to strengthen how I support others individually. But it was also more than that.

    A lot of my thinking on this is about the environments people work in – particularly purpose-driven environments where people care deeply about what they do and the people they support.

    I’m increasingly interested in what helps people perform at their best in these settings, and what role leadership, reflection and coaching can play in that.

    I also wanted to think more about what a coaching culture could look like within organisations, and whether there are ways to create more space for reflection, development and supportive challenge in day-to-day work. That’s something I’m still working on, and something I’ll definitely write more about in future.

    Listening differently

    What I know so far is that doing the qualification has already made me think differently.

    About listening.
    About resisting the urge to jump straight into solutions.
    About how often people already hold the answers they need, but rarely get the space to properly work through them.

    And, maybe most importantly, it’s made me reflect more on my own behaviours and how I show up myself. Not just as a leader, but as someone who genuinely wants to support people well.

  • Why I’ve Started ‘Leading in Practice’

    Why I’ve Started ‘Leading in Practice’

    Firstly, if you’ve taken the time to click on this post, thank you for being interested in what I’m going to be talking about. I hope you’ll return again in the future. 

    I’ve been spending a fair bit of time thinking about what it really means to lead well.

    Not in theory (eugh, not really my thing), not in books (although love a good read – especially if I’m in the sun) or frameworks – but in the reality of work. In the day-to-day moments where things get done, conversations happen, and people rely on you to do things well.

    For me, leadership isn’t about position, role or rank.

    It can be in the quieter, more subtle things…

    In someone taking the time to recognise a good piece of work (by actually verbalising it, not just thinking it!)
    In offering support or advice when it’s needed.
    In creating opportunities for others.
    In leading by example, even when no one is really noticing. 

    And when others aren’t leading well, it becomes even more important to take responsibility for how you show up and be the example you want to see.

    It’s not always the loudest voice in the room. In fact, often it isn’t.

    It’s the small, consistent actions that have an impact on how people experience their work – and I think everyone is leading in some way, whether they realise it or not.

    Hence the name… “Leading in Practice”.

    Purpose in practice

    All of the work I’ve been part of has been ‘purpose-driven’. When I talk about purpose-driven work, I mean being connected to the reason behind what you do – knowing that your work matters to someone, and letting that shape how you do what you do. 

    When you’re connected to a cause, people really care about what they do. They want to make a difference. There’s a strong sense of responsibility – not just to the work, but to the people who rely on it.

    Throughout my career I’ve seen (and been on the receiving end of) how often people aren’t fully supported or empowered to work at their best.

    There’s a gap between what people are capable of and what they’re able to do in practice. And when that gap exists, it doesn’t just affect individuals – it affects the quality of care, support and outcomes for others.

    That’s an area I definitely want to explore more.

    Why now

    I’ve almost completed the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Level 7 Coaching and Mentoring Diploma, so this felt like the right time to create a space to reflect on that alongside my leadership role.

    Not as someone with all the answers, heck no, but as someone learning.

    I’ll share my experience of the course – what it involves, what I’m learning, and what it’s actually like to go through it. I looked for something similar before I started the course and couldn’t find a lot of personal experiences to read, which would have helped me understand what I was signing up for. 

    I’m also interested in what it means to bring coaching into an organisation and I’ll be reflecting on my own experience of trying to influence and build a coaching culture in practice.

    What this will be

    This will be a space to explore what leadership and coaching mean to me.

    It definitely won’t be perfect, and it won’t always be everyone’s perspective – but it will be honest.

    I’ll be writing about:

    • what I’m learning through coaching
    • what I’m noticing in leadership
    • the challenges of trying to do your best
    • and how all of that affects the people we work with and support

    Mostly it’s about understanding how we can perform at our best in the work – not just for ourselves, but for others.

    A space to connect

    A big part of why I’ve got to this point is because of other people.

    Over the years, I’ve reached out to many people for advice, support and perspective – and those conversations have made a real difference to me.

    I’d like this to be a space where that continues.

    If anything I write resonates, I’d really value hearing from people – whether that’s sharing your own experiences, offering a different perspective, or just connecting.

    A starting point

    My background as a mental health nurse, and the time I’ve spent mentoring and supporting others, has always been about helping people.

    This feels like an extension of that.

    A way of supporting people who help others – and continuing to learn along the way.

    I don’t have a fixed plan for where this will go, but at the moment it’s satisfying my need to write things and I hope it can be something useful for you too!