top of page
Performance Coaching
A confidential thinking partner for leaders carrying real weight
Commercially grounded executive coaching. Challenge & support in equal measure
The higher you go, the quieter it gets
Leadership at senior level is inherently lonely. As the stakes of your decisions rise, the supply of honest, unvarnished feedback falls. People tell you what they think you want to hear. The politics get denser. And the one thing you need most — a place to think out loud without consequence — disappears.
Most executive coaching doesn't solve this. It offers generic support and borrowed models when what you actually need is a partner who understands the commercial stakes: someone who has sat where you sit, and who will tell you the truth.
A blindspot at your level isn't a personal hurdle.
It's a commercial risk.
When you are accountable for a P&L, a transformation, or a leadership team under pressure, the quality of your thinking is the business's most leveraged asset. That is what this coaching sharpens.
A critical friend is not a cheerleader.
This is a confidential, retained partnership built on two commitments that most coaching only makes one of:
Challenge. I will stress-test your thinking, name the elephant in the room, and ask the questions your team can't. Over a 35-year career I've run strategy at Barclaycard, a £24m marketing function at the Open University, and complex global transformation programmes. I've spent that career working in and around the boardroom — presenting, running a Board Secretariat, and carrying the targets they set. I know the scrutiny you're under, because I've been under it.
Support. Coaching only works when you can think honestly — and honesty needs safety. Everything we discuss is confidential. The space is yours: personalised to your context, adapted to how you think, and judgement-free. Clients consistently describe the experience as demanding and safe. That combination is the point.
"Mark helped me discover solutions I couldn't have reached alone — and made me feel safe doing it." — Executive coaching client
How we start
We start with a proper contract.
Not a legal one — a coaching one. Before any work begins, we agree what you want from this, what "good" looks like, how we'll work together, what's confidential and what isn't, and how we'll know it's working. If your organisation is sponsoring the engagement, we agree the three-way boundaries explicitly: what the sponsor sees, and what stays between us. It is the single biggest predictor of whether coaching delivers anything at all — and it's the step most coaching skips.
Where evidence helps, we use it. For many clients I recommend the EBW Business EQ Profile — a structured, evidence-based psychometric that maps your decision-making style, stress responses, and influence patterns at work. It gives us an objective starting point: where your strengths compound, where pressure distorts your judgement, and where your "leadership shadow" lands differently than you intend.
It isn't compulsory. Some engagements need it; others are better served by 360 feedback, or by getting straight to the work. We decide together, during contracting.
Where the work focuses
Your programme is built around your reality, not a syllabus. Most engagements draw on three areas
The Sounding Board | Strategic Clarity
Regular sessions focused on your live challenges: landing a difficult message with the Board, resetting a struggling team, navigating a crisis, making the call you keep deferring. You gain a confidential space to stress-test your thinking before it meets boardroom reality.
Political Navigation | Influence & Impact
Decoding the real power structures of your organisation. We map who holds influence, where the deadlock lives, and how to move it — so you secure the resources and alignment you need without burning bridges.
Leadership Presence | High-Stakes Perform
Optional live shadowing: I observe you in a real board meeting or critical negotiation and give you direct, immediate feedback on your impact in the room. An objective lens most leaders never get.
Who I work with
Senior leaders carrying significant accountability: C-suite executives, newly appointed Directors finding their feet, functional leaders navigating major change, and high-potentials preparing to step up. Some clients are sponsored by their organisation; others invest personally. Both are welcome — the confidentiality is identical.
The credentials behind the conversation
-
Fellow of the Institute of Leadership
-
ILM Level 7 Certificate for Executive and Senior Level Coaches and Mentors
-
Advanced Certificate in Executive Coaching (UWE)
-
EBW-accredited Business Emotional Intelligence assessor
-
NLP Master Practitioner
-
MBA (Distinction) — Warwick Business School
-
35+ years in commercial, strategy, marketing, and transformation roles at Barclaycard, the Open University, and in global maritime
Start with a conversation, not a contract
The right coach is partly about credentials — and mostly about chemistry. So the first step is a free, no-obligation chemistry session: 45 minutes to explore what you're facing, how I work, and whether we're the right fit. No pitch. No pressure. If I'm not the right coach for you, I'll say so.
bottom of page