Hey, I'm Jay

From a challenging upbringing with my dad in prison during most of my childhood and my mum raising five kids as a single parent below the poverty line, to losing my mom to breast cancer at the age of 25, my early life was marked by numerous hurdles. These experiences had a lasting impact on my adult life, leading me to spend a decade grappling with the coping mechanisms I developed to survive.

Upon entering the corporate world, I faced further difficulties. Despite receiving praise for my hard work, I consistently missed out on promotions and pay raises during appraisal time. This frustration compelled me to set up my coaching practice out of sheer necessity! No matter how tirelessly I worked, often pushing myself to the brink of burnout, I felt overlooked.

Fuelled by a desire for change and armed with sheer determination to understand the intricacies of success, I embarked on a decade-long journey delving into psychology, human behaviour, neuroscience, leadership, business, personal and professional development, social studies, inequality, and spirituality. This exploration proved transformative, rekindling my fire!

As I navigated the path of self-discovery, I trained as a Corporate & Executive Coach, sharing the knowledge I gained along the way. Gradually, people began inquiring about working with me, and I realised that I wasn't alone in my experiences. I discovered common themes resonating with many of the women I coached, which became the foundation of my practice.

For a long time, I felt shame and suffocation about my backstory until I learned to harness it to serve my goals. Now, my primary focus is on creating a more diverse pipeline of women in leadership positions and advocating for social mobility. I strongly believe that decision-makers should represent the people they serve, and I am dedicated to making a positive impact in these areas.

You can find more about my story below, and I am excited to continue this journey of growth and empowerment with those I work with.

My Story

My Existential Crisis

About 10 years ago, after losing my mum to breast cancer and after a gruelling restructure at work, I'd just been hit with another disappointing turnout at my end-of-year appraisal where I didn't get the promotion or the pay rise.

I felt like I'd exhausted all possible avenues: working longer hours, taking on more projects, pushing harder (sound familiar?).

I was forced to consider if I was on the right path.

The Way Back Up (Finding Myself Again)

I realised I'd been altering myself for so long to fit in and conform to what was expected in the corporate jungle that I had lost myself.

I didn't really know what I wanted or what I was really capable of.

So I began to explore!

I got clear about who I wanted to be and what I wanted to achieve.

I started taking ownership of my career, uncovering what was important to me, what my value was and what I really wanted from my life.

Gradually I started to feel less frustrated about work and realised that I could accomplish my goals exactly where I was.

But I had to drastically adjust my approach.

I began talking to others about their experiences and became more and more aware of other women who had experienced similar problems.

Women who were stuck in a cycle of high-pressure environments where they must continue to battle with working more to prove themselves, sometimes with few other choices but to leave.

It's no wonder that few women make it to the top.

Getting Strategic About My Career

I began to learn strategies for successfully navigating my career through constant change and influencing upward.

I was taking on roles at work that involved leading people through uncertainty and people began seeking me out for guidance.

I stopped asking for promotions and pay raises and instead started building a network of influential people who were advocating for me - the promotions and pay raises finally came my way!

Managing my company's transformational change strategy, I was coaching senior executives to lead change with a people focus.

As this snowballed, I got invited to speak at events, I put on workshops, and was coaching women outside of work on a 121 basis.

And having successfully reached my career goals, I decided it was time to follow my lifelong pipe dream to travel the world, leaving my corporate job behind and setting up my own coaching practice.

Ready For Your Career Turning Point?

If you’re feeling stuck at a crossroads, uncertain about how to move forward, I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to settle and you also don’t have to sacrifice everything.

Your ability to forge ahead, despite the many things standing in your way....

Well, that all comes down to your mindset!

And the uncomfortable truth is that change doesn’t happen inside your comfort zone.

I know it can feel soooo uncertain and scary and uncomfortable, but that discomfort is necessary!

Ten years on from having a complete existential crisis, I now have my own coaching practice working with women across media, construction, education, healthcare, and a host of other industries to craft careers that have them excited to get up in the morning!

In supporting the succession planning of aspiring women leaders in business, I help them to own their natural talents, gain clarity in their career direction and claim their leadership potential through 121 coaching, group workshops and personal development programmes.

And through my 121 coaching programme (The Explorers Journey) and by cultivating new connections in my group coaching programme (The Navigation Project ) more and more women are realising it’s possible to exceed in their careers, sustainably.

And have more fun!

I also support organisational leaders in guiding their people through an ever-changing business environment, helping to deliver enterprise-wide change programmes utilising years of experience in change management, project management and corporate & executive coaching.

My Professional Background if you really wanna know...

Experienced facilitator, having worked with organisations including Imperial College London, the NHS & England & Wales Cricket Board
The Coaching Academy certified Corporate & Executive Coach
Accredited Change Management Practitioner with ProSci
Certified DISC Practitioner, running team development workshops
Certified Prince2 Project Management Professional and Scrum Master
Winner of the Back Her Business Competition with Natwest

If you're interested in learning more about how you can retune your story from being a source of shame and suffocation to serving you and your dreams, get in touch!

Or, if you're a leader about to embark on big changes and want to bring your people along the journey, give me a call and I'll be happy to chat about my approach.

Accreditations

Academic Qualifications, Professional Certifications and Memberships