This weekend, I enjoyed the magic of a little serendipity — a happy and unexpected event. Friday afternoon I received a text from a cellist I’ve played with before, asking if I were free on Saturday to practice a trio. As it happened, I could arrange it, and we met and played together for a […]

The last couple of months I’ve been working flat out, doing everything I could to get ahead. Always thinking I could handle just one more thing. And yet, despite all this effort, I never seemed to get the important things done. You know the ones, those critical — often boring — tasks that keep getting […]

When I sat down to play my cello yesterday morning, I picked up my bow to tighten it — and couldn’t. The thread had worn on the screw. No bow, no practice. It meant this precious time I set aside for my music was scuppered. All I could do was pluck the strings. I couldn’t […]

As women leaders driving organisational change, we often focus on external challenges – the scepticism, the unconscious biases, the resistance to our initiatives. Yet sometimes, our most formidable obstacles come from within. Just when we need to be at our most confident and decisive, those internal voices grow louder. The Perfectionist insists every detail must […]

I remember standing in that boardroom,  feeling nervous and more than a little exposed. I took a deep breath and began to present my proposed change initiative to the executive team. As the only woman in the room — when was it ever different as a woman in tech? — I looked around the room […]

I had an interesting conversation with a client recently that gave an ‘aha moment’, challenging everything I felt I knew about work-life balance. Like many women leaders I work with, Sarah was struggling to “find balance” – that elusive state where career ambitions and family life somehow perfectly align. But here’s what struck me: every […]

Ever notice how success can sometimes feel like it’s working against you? I’ve been reflecting on this lately as my calendar fills up with exciting opportunities — speaking engagements, collaboration requests, and potential partnerships. All stemming from the consistent thought leadership work I’ve done over the past many months. While these opportunities are exactly what […]

Have you ever noticed how different the energy feels when someone truly listens to you? I experienced this at a conference not long ago, when I had the opportunity to compare and contrast the approaches two leaders took. In one, a brilliant woman leader shared innovative solutions, only to have her ideas glossed over. Tragic. […]

Starting a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle over Christmas seemed like the perfect holiday activity. A chance to unwind, I thought, as I opened the box and spread hundreds of pieces across my dining room table. Little did I know this puzzle would teach me a profound lesson about leadership and making sense of complexity. As I […]

A little over a week ago, Elon Musk had a go at a couple of political figures here in the UK. It spread like wildfire on social media, then throughout the UK press. What interests me about this is the media storm it created and the nature of that coverage. How does a woman leader […]