Research
I usually have a research project on the go. These feed my curiosity, allow me to chat to different people and enrich my coaching work. Three examples:
In 2024 I did a piece of research into ‘shifting attitudes to work and the changing nature and demands on leaders and leadership’. Thank you to the almost 200 people who completed the survey and further 120 people who got involved in roundtables. You’ll find some key points in the Thoughts section of the website. I am discussing the full findings report at various events and will be undertaking the research again in 2026 so please get in touch if you would like to know more.
Coaches On The Couch is the podcast I co-host with my Step Up co-coach and colleague, Louise Rodgers. Set up in the first lock down in 2020, this is an ongoing inquiry into progressive leadership across the built environment.
To listen see here or find us on all the usual platforms.
Evolution of practice. Over the course of about 12 months in 2019-2020, brand strategist and writer, Emma Keyte and I interviewed over 50 practices about the different stages of their evolution. This created insights around how to arrive, stay relevant, mature, survive disruption and of course how to navigate succession. Find out more and read the four articles we were commissioned to write for RIBA Journal here: Emerging; Maturing; Succession; Disruption
The articles were illustrated by the brilliant McCloy Muchemwa with whom I also collaborated to illustrate the coaching process.
The Listening Post Project. In an uncertain world new ideas are needed. How do we make sure we recognise and hear them?
There have been numerous creative initiatives to amplify under-heard voices in architecture, but very little attention has been given to our ability to listen. And that creates echo chambers, free of voices that challenge our existing thinking.
Introducing the listening post project…
Brand strategist Emma Keyte of Free-Projects and launched this project as part of the London Festival of Architecture 2025. It’s an exploration into listening.
Emma and I listen a lot in our work, Emma asks incisive questions, listening carefully to tease out the essence of a practice’s identity and as a coach, I help leaders increase their effectiveness and confidence – listening deeply and actively to ask the right questions to create new thinking and ideas and help them become better leaders.
We are gathering conversations between people with good ideas who might not normally get the chance to listen to each other, because their circles or views are so divergent. We’re bringing together professionals who listen in different contexts who might be able to help us listen better, even when it’s really hard.
We are bringing this together as a series of podcasts and occasional events so please look out for the next one of those, likely to be towards the end of 2025.