Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

Sole director with responsibility for strategy, business development, finances and delivery of all the above services.

The great thing about my role is the huge variety and flexibility. Some days I work from my office at home and might combine some time catching up with invoicing and submitting VAT return with some career coaching in my local community.
Other days I may be away from home tutoring or coaching on leadership development at Henley Business School or doing one to one executive coaching or small group development for leaders and managers in one of several businesses in the City of London. It is really important to keep in touch with clients and I regularly make time to meet with them informally over lunch or coffee. It is also important to keep learning and I regularly invest time and money in my own development. My work can be quite intense and I balance work commitments with playing tennis, swimming, Pilates and regular walking to make sure I remain healthy and resilient.

Independence and control, constructive contact with people, making a difference, learning new things.

People can be challenging, but that's also the reward! Diary management can be frustrating. I have to be quite self- contained and highly organised and motivated. It wouldn't suit people who need others to motivate them.

I am fascinated by what makes people tick and by the complexities of organisations (I have 20 years experience of working in commercial and HR roles). My work helps people build self awareness, recognise their talents and navigate through the complexities of organisations, relationships at work and often broader aspects of their life and career.

Relationship building skills, coaching skills (questioning, feedback, observation key). My approach is to make sense of complexity for people so seeing the big picture, being able to stand back and bring a degree of empathetic detachment is important. Organisational skills are very important in running the business behind the scenes.

Coaching specific qualifications and accreditation are supplemented by investment in short courses and seminars on regular basis to maintain my learning - e.g. in neuroscience, psychodynamic approaches, supervision.

10 years Barclays Bank graduate programme, management and HR roles

10 years Linklaters (global law firm) Head of Graduate Recruitment and Development followed by Director of Learning and Development
Embarked on MEd at Sheffield university during this period (distance learning and in own time)

2002 - set up AMC Consulting Limited
2004 - Certificate in Coaching at Henley Business school
Practice development continuing and ongoing

Continuing as Coach and Supervisor working with business schools and professional services organisations. I hope to build a bigger local coaching and supervision practice.
I am currently going through accreditation with APECS (Association for Professional Executive Coaching & Supervision) to be a Supervisor (already accredited as an executive coach).

All organisational experience is valuable and develop a heightened sense of reflection to learn from all experience. Follow what really interests you and be curious rather than critical or judgmental about people and organisations. Never stop learning or believe learning is ever finished!