Leadership & Career Coaching

So…what do you do?

I love experimenting with how I explain what coaching is (and what coaching is with ME).

Right now, this is my answer. 👉

Coaching High-Performing Leaders

Brand-Photos-Joy-Poole-Gatto-5123.jpg

I work with a diversity of successful leaders, but they all have something in common when we first meet. They all have a sneaking suspicion (or maybe a certainty!) that something is missing.

Most of my clients are in business leadership roles and asking themselves one of two BIG questions:

  • What’s missing? Something’s not working anymore - at least not as well as it used to - but I’m not sure what that is.

    OR

  • I know what I want (or want more of), but how do I get it?

FACT: Left unexplored, It is 100% natural for these questions to cause feelings of anxiety, worry and overwhelm.

It’s also true that these feelings can cause us to have even less clarity of the opportunities available to us and the steps we want to take. That’s a vicious circle right there. And when we get caught in it, it can be empowering to get some completely unbiased, fully-present and fearlessly curious help to get us out of that trap and back onto the path we are meant to be on. That’s where I come in.

Why I coach.

My journey to becoming a coach started when I found myself at a point in my career where I was achieving a lot of success and progression at work - I was recently promoted and getting lots of positive feedback from senior stakeholders and clients alike. However, the moments where I was feeling truly satisfied, fulfilled or joyful about my professional life - and how it aligned with the rest of my life - were fleeting at best. 

When I took a closer look, I realised that there was one aspect of my work that I could consistently count on to deliver joy and meaning for me.  The act of helping others to tap into the answers and potential already residing within them would light me up, every time.  

Coaching is helping people to identify and remove blocks to the thinking that clarifies our goals, priorities, values and the paths available to move toward them. More simply put, I came to understand that it’s helping people to step into who they truly are. And as it turns out, when I’m supporting others to step into their truth, I feel like I am stepping into mine.

What is coaching with Joy like?

The approach and methodologies I use in coaching help people to see how they see the world and how their thoughts and beliefs may be shaping their current experience. 

 To put a finer point on it, coaching with me is:

  • A thought-provoking and creative process aimed at maximising your potential by unlocking previously untapped sources of curiosity, creativity and leadership.

  • A professional partnership that helps to produce extraordinary results by bridging the gap between where you are now and where you want to be.

  • A whole-life proposition. I like to say that I enter through the front door of professional goals/challenges/opportunities. And often the primary focus remains here. But the best coaching - no matter the specialty or entry point - is whole-life coaching because it’s all connected!

On the flipside, coaching with me is NOT:

  • Therapy or counselling - While therapy and counselling have important roles to play in many situations, these modalities are typically focused on healing wounds of the past.  By contrast, in a coaching partnership, we’ll be focused primarily on the future.

  • Mentorship - Again, it can sometimes be useful to have someone who can say “Been there, done that,” and give you advice on what to do next. The thing is, you are the only expert on your life. I’ll help you to trust that again so that you can take the action needed to create and leverage the opportunities you want.

  • ‘Taskmastering’ -  We’ll discuss how you like to be held accountable to any action plans or objectives that you set, but it will never be my job to nag you into submission to your goals.

What can I expect as a result of coaching with Joy?

Please note, I do not guarantee specific results (please be wary of any coach that does), as what you get out of a coaching partnership will depend on what you put into it, however I can make three promises:

  • I will be fully present, hold space and foster radical curiosity for you.

  • I will have zero judgement.

  • I will maintain 100% confidentiality.

Clients who show up fully and open to experimenting with new perspectives can expect:

  • Short-term: Feeling lighter about opportunities/changes ahead and clearer about the next steps you want to take.

  • Medium-to-Long-term:

    • Success - however they define it.

    • Transformation. From a baseline of anxiety/worry/feeling a need to control, to a sense of clarity, calmness, trust and confidence.

Some Important Policies

  • Cancellation Policy - there isn’t one. I want to make sure that each time you are turning up to a coaching session, you are able to direct your full energy to our conversation. So, if something comes up that isn’t going to allow for that, cancel.  Even if it’s 5 minutes before, I’d rather you cancel than to show up physically, but mentally be somewhere else.  No ‘lost session’ penalty or anything like that.  We’ll simply rebook.  And in turn, I promise the same to you.  If life happens and I’m not going to be able to be fully present for our session, I will rebook. This policy works because I only work with clients who are fully committed to the coaching process.

  • Payment Policy - Again with the energy…I don’t ever want a client’s energy to be stuck on the cost of the coaching.  We’ve got bigger fish to fry!  So while I used to require the full engagement fee up front, I’m now open to any (reasonable) payment plan that suits you.

What Clients Are Saying

“I get so much energy after every time we speak. I want everyone to come to you for coaching. The word that always comes to mind is transformational.”

Kate, Senior Leader @ Global FMCG Brand

“Working with Joy was transformative for me. I came away from each session with an understanding of the limiting beliefs that were destabilising and distracting me from seeing the bigger picture. This was all thanks to Joy’s active listening and thought-provoking questioning. As a result, I was able to identify and embrace the real opportunities in front of me.”

Sarah @ Meta

“Joy was absolutely incredible - I honestly found so much value in talking to her. Her patience, compassion, understanding has been invaluable. She has completely listened to me and made me feel like I can achieve all the things I want/need to do. She really is a brilliant coach!”

Client Partner @ TikTok

“Joy has led my coaching sessions with so much intentionality, commitment, and genuineness that made me want to do more, better, and bigger things for myself. I looked forward to our sessions and found myself often excited to share my progress with her.”

Director @ TikTok

“Coaching sessions with Joy have helped me to grow as a leader. I can be completely open and my most vulnerable self with her. This is where growth happens for me and I couldn't do this without Joy's commitment.”

Anni, Director @ Meta

“Joy is a fantastic coach and I had a truly transformational experience. I was able to trust and feel comfortable with Joy straight away, this was so important to me.”

Manager @ TikTok

“She listens, she's empathetic, she keeps you on track and holds you accountable and she pushes you out of your comfort zone to reach your goals. I now have more confidence in me, my story, my experiences and how I can be of value to others.”

Senior Director @ The Trade Desk

Joy has incredible empathy and EQ and combines that with laser-focussed insight that together will help you get to real, tangible ways of improving your journey, whatever that might look like.  Within just a few sessions, I’m feeling more aware of what I have to offer, what my story is and how that translates into value for others – be they job opportunities or just engaging with my network.

Jess, Director of Marketing & Communications @ Emergence Partners

“Joy gets to the root cause of what is holding you back and that surprises you!  All of our sessions are hugely impactful and I always come away feeling uplifted.”

Maureen, Managing Director & VP International @ VoucherCodes

Let’s chat.

If you want to find more joy, meaning and success in the next chapter of life and work, we should connect.

I can whole-heartedly promise that no selling or convincing will be involved in this conversation. We’ll simply use this time to get curious about your biggest goals and what you might need to address in order to achieve them. If (and only if) after that, we are both feeling a meaningful connection, we can discuss any potential for a coaching partnership.