Hi, I'm Fiona!

I've always been interested in people.

When I was little my friends always used to introduce me as 'The is Fi, she's The Sensible One'. And I can see why. I used to be the one hosting mini mediations on the school playground and looking after everyone.

I went on to study Sociology at uni and eventually fell into working in Higher Education. ... didn't we all?

I was lucky enough to land my first proper job working at the University of Edinburgh organising transferable skills programmes for PhD students. It was a great job and it was an amazing place to start in HE. I learned all sorts of things about professional development and training and I even studied Counselling part time while I was still in that job.

Then various life twists and turns happened and I moved to London. I got a job at London Business School which, on reflection was not a great fit for me. Then, after a short time thinking I would become a Funeral Celebrant (I got qualified and everything), I joined the University of Greenwich.

Across my 13 year career in HE I gather all sorts of interesting skills and experience: everything from admin and business operations to managing,  mediation (in teams, not just on the playground), coaching and away day facilitation.

For the longest time I thought that as an introvert and as ‘the sensible one’ I was only good in support.

Don't get me wrong, I mean exceptional support.

I have excellent anticipation skills and I see group dynamics like no one else I know. I can understand what's going on between people so well that I've been known by colleagues as 'The Vibe Manager'.

I've used that superpower to drive staff engagement and build positive workplace cultures everywhere I’ve worked. I've developed teams and written a professional development framework. 

Then in 2021 I started my own business.

And now, I'm on a mission

to support Higher Education professionals to find that healthy, grounded, calm place inside themselves so they can untangle their thinking, get unstuck, and manage and lead in more courageous ways.

In my programmes and one-to-one coaching, I support my clients to put their fears and worries into perspective so that they can be brave, take different actions and build fresh evidence of what they're capable of.

What makes me different as a coach is that I know HE. I know the tensions that exist between academics and professional services; revenue generating and service provision teams; central and faculty/college. And yet, I feel very fond of the sector and the types of people it attracts to work in it.

I also know that for you to thrive you first have to believe in yourself. I'm a trauma-informed self-belief specialist Coach, Mentor and Workplace Mediator and I work at the centre of the Venn diagram that is people, process and action to get you lasting results. And I do it all with a playful, warm and heart centred approach.

I love what I do and I know I'm making a bigger impact on the sector by working in this way.