Questions
The things people ask before they start
Most of these come up on the intro call anyway. Here they are in advance, answered plainly.
the coaching itself
How the work actually goes
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What's the difference between coaching and mentoring?
Coaching is space and questioning to help you find your own answer. Mentoring is the perspective of someone who has navigated similar terrain and will tell you how they'd think about it.
I do both and we agree at the start which you want. Some people want pure coaching and would find advice intrusive. Others specifically want the mentoring, because the commercial experience is the reason they came. Most want a blend, with coaching as the core mode and mentoring available when it's more useful than another question.
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Do I need to know what I want to work on?
No. A lot of people arrive knowing something isn't right without being able to name it, and working that out is the first piece of value.
We set goals in the first session — two or three, in plain language, so we both know what this is for. From there, each session starts with whatever is most alive for you that week, and we come back to the goals when it's useful to do so.
There's no fixed agenda and no curriculum. That's deliberate: the goals give the work direction, and the sessions stay flexible enough to be about your actual week.
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What actually happens in a session?
We spend an hour together on video. You bring what's live — the decision you keep revisiting, the conversation you've been putting off, the part of the role that isn't working yet. We think it through properly, without the agenda every other conversation in your week carries.
Sometimes that means difficult questions. Sometimes it means challenging an assumption you hadn't noticed you were making. Sometimes it just means enough space for the answer to become obvious.
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Will you tell me what to do?
Not usually. My role as a coach is to help you think through the situation, challenge your assumptions and arrive at your own decision. I won't give you an answer simply because I have one.
But I'm also a mentor, and my commercial experience is part of the value I bring. If you want my perspective, I'll give it to you. I'll be clear when I'm speaking as a mentor and sharing how I might approach something, rather than coaching you towards your own answer.
You remain responsible for the decision.
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What if it isn't working?
Tell me, and we'll change it or stop. Chemistry matters more than credentials in this work, and there's no version of it that succeeds while you're being polite about it.
That's also why nobody starts without an honest fit call. If I don't think I'm the right person, I'll say so then rather than take the engagement.
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Can you guarantee a promotion or a particular outcome?
No, and I'd be suspicious of anyone who does. Coaching changes how you think and how you show up; it doesn't control your organisation's decisions.
What I will guarantee is that I'll be honest with you about what I'm seeing, including when it isn't comfortable.
If your business is paying
Sponsored engagements
Most of my engagements are funded by an employer. These are the questions sponsors ask, and the ones leaders ask before they raise it with their manager.
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How does sponsorship work?
The organisation contracts and pays for the coaching, while the coaching relationship remains directly between me and the leader. We agree what the coaching is intended to support at the outset, usually with the leader and their sponsor involved.
Where useful, we can have three-way conversations at the beginning, midpoint and end of the engagement to align on objectives and reflect on progress. These are agreed case by case.
The leader's individual coaching sessions are completely confidential and unrecorded. Their sponsor will know what we're working towards and can discuss progress with us in the agreed check-ins, but what is said in the coaching room stays between the leader and me.
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Who decides what the coaching is for?
Usually, we agree this together. The organisation may have a particular reason for investing in coaching, while the leader will have their own priorities and challenges. We establish the broad purpose of the engagement together at the outset, then the leader brings what is most relevant to each session.
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What will the organisation know about the coaching?
You'll know the purpose of the engagement and any objectives we have agreed together, and where three-way check-ins are included, you'll have the opportunity to discuss progress with us.
You won't receive notes or reports from individual sessions, and I won't share what your leader tells me in confidence. That privacy is an important part of creating a space where they can think honestly and work through difficult issues.
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Can coaching address a specific business or leadership issue?
Yes. Coaching can be particularly useful around a significant transition, a step into a bigger role, difficult relationships, influence, delegation, decision-making or other challenges that are affecting how a leader is operating.
The coaching remains tailored to the individual rather than following a prescribed programme.
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How do you measure whether the coaching is working?
We agree what a useful outcome looks like at the beginning of the engagement. This might relate to a particular challenge, a change in behaviour, greater confidence or clarity, stronger relationships, better delegation or the ability to operate more effectively at the next level.
Where appropriate, progress can be discussed in the agreed three-way check-ins, while keeping the individual coaching relationship confidential.
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How involved should the sponsor be?
Usually, enough to provide context, align on the purpose of the coaching and reflect on progress, without becoming part of the coaching relationship itself. Some engagements benefit from more regular sponsor involvement; others work better with greater distance. We agree what makes sense at the outset and can adjust it if circumstances change
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I'd like my employer to fund it. How do I ask?
Most leaders assume the answer is no and never ask. In my experience it's yes more often than people expect — particularly when it arrives as a business case rather than a favour.
You don't have to build that case yourself. Raise it on the intro call and I'll put it in writing: what the business is being asked to fund, what it gets, and how the confidentiality works. Something you can forward rather than have to compose.
If it would help, I'll also join a conversation with your sponsor directly.
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What happens if the leader leaves the business partway through?
We'd talk about it. Usually the engagement continues, either funded by the leader or by agreement with the sponsor — the work is with the person, and a transition is often exactly when it's most useful.
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Do you invoice the organisation directly?
Yes. Sponsored engagements are invoiced to the business, with a purchase order if that's how you work. There's a separate proposal and price for employer-funded engagements.
Practical
Logistics, money and timing
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How much does it cost?
Both six and twelve-month engagements are priced on application, depending on the scope and inclusions. We can talk through the options and investment when we have an initial conversation.
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Where are you based, and does that matter?
I work remotely across Australia and Bali, and I coach leaders in both hemispheres. Sessions are on video.
The research on this is reassuringly clear: coaching delivered remotely performs comparably to face to face. What matters is the relationship, not the room.
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How often are sessions, and can I move them?
Roughly every four weeks, flexible to your diary. Life at your level is unpredictable and I'd rather move a session than have you arrive at one distracted.
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Can I reach you between sessions?
Yes. WhatsApp or email throughout the engagement, with a 48-hour reply window. That window is deliberate — it means you get a considered response rather than a reflexive one, and it keeps the whole thing sustainable.
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Do you only work with people in retail and FMCG?
No. That's where my own experience sits and it's why leaders in those sectors often find the shorthand useful, but the work applies to any fast-moving commercial environment.
What matters more than sector is level. If your leadership is being copied by other leaders, we'll have plenty to work with.
about me
Credentials and background
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Are you accredited?
Yes - I’m an Accredited Associate Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and an IECL Accredited Organisational Coach.
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What's your actual leadership background?
Twenty years at ALDI across the UK and Australia, finishing as Managing Director of ALDI Western Australia — a $450 million business with more than 850 people, fifty stores, a distribution centre and a transport fleet. Before that, national buying responsibility for over a billion dollars of retail sales.
I'm also a Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary on a not-for-profit board. More about me →
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Have you been coached yourself?
Several times, at different points in my career, and it's a large part of why I do this. I've also had my own experience of imposter syndrome and burnout. I'm not coaching from the outside.
Still have a question?
Ask it. Thirty minutes, no obligation, and no pressure at the end of it — if it's not the right fit, I'll say so honestly.
Better leadership starts with better thinking.
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