If you’re looking for motivation, quick wins, or generic career advice, I’m probably not the right coach. But if you’re ready to think honestly about where you are, we might be a good fit.
I work with experienced creatives who have reached a point in their career where something no longer fits, even if, from the outside, everything looks fine.
I know this territory intimately.
I’ve spent over 30 years in the creative industry, most of it in advertising and all of it connected to respected and ground-breaking spaces for innovative ideas. I’ve worked inside creative businesses and led them. I’ve been the only female copywriter in the creative department (well it was the 80s) and pushed on to become a Creative Director and founding partner in a successful agency. I’ve lead marketing teams. I’ve helped diverse creative talent find jobs. And now, I coach.
Those are the career highlights. The not so good bits in between might add a bit of colour, but nothing to read here.
What matters more is what I understand from the inside.
I understand the pressure to stay sharp, the impact of ageism, and the identity loss that can come with senior creative roles
I know what being stuck feels like and the loneliness that comes with it. That place where the thought of change feels impossible and no amount of helpful advice can persuade you otherwise. The pressure of weighing up the practicalities against an intuitive yearning. Or worse still, feeling paralysed because you don’t want to rock the boat.
That’s why I don’t offer neat answers. People are not neat and nor should we strive to be so. BUT that doesn’t mean we have to put up with narratives about ourselves that aren’t true.
I resisted the calling to be a coach for years. I didn’t feel I fitted the profile, I didn’t like the way the books were written, every website left me cold. I see what that was now - it was fear of change. fear of breaking the mould and owning my own way of doing things I’d lost a lot of confidence. (That’s years of working in a competitive, critical environment for you.) Coaching gave me the space to really see and hear myself. It wasn’t pretty and I hated the sky level anxiety that came with every opportunity to speak up. But bit by shaky bit I started to steady myself - reclaim my creativity and let go of the stuff I’d borrowed over the years, that didn’t fit.
What stayed with me, and what now underpins my work, is how vital it is to work at maintaining and protecting creative energy.
And that applies to all of us, regardless of whether creativity is in your title / job description, or not. To deplete your creativity is to deny what makes you human, curious and able to thrive.
My why is to support creativity; build confidence, champion unconventional thinking and help to get stuff done. (And let’s not tiptoe around money. Living well is non-negotiable.) I look to science, but make room for magic and that’s why I am proud to call myself, the Shapeshifter.
If you fancy a chat, book a free 30 minute chemistry call.
Accredited Member of theInternational Authority of Professional Coaching & Mentoring, the only professional accreditation body for the coaching & mentoring industry to be approved by the British Industry Ombudsman
Certified practitioner of the ICF approved Collage Coaching Technique™
Listed in the The Life Coach Directory https://www.lifecoach-directory.org.uk/lifecoaches/the-shapeshifter
FRSAFellow Royal Society of Arts
Beating Imposter Syndrome one meeting at a time.