As the Founder of BeTheCultureChange™ my purpose is to embolden people at work to reshape their relationships, enhance their influence, shift ingrained power dynamics and discover radical new ways to lead change, with liberating effect.

I choose to work independently - alongside yet not entangled by established “systems” of power, and without any role of formal authority. This provides me with the freedom to offer refreshingly candid, independent insights, which are welcomed by some, and not so much by others!

Through three decades of research and specialist consulting, I have supported tens of thousands of leaders, managers and team members, from executive boardrooms to community prefabs. I have personal experience of the devastating consequences when whistle-blowing becomes the only ethical option in the workplace. Combined with high-profile tragedies and injustices linked to harmful misuses of power, this energised me to develop the suite of H.U.M.A.N. culture change, leadership and team coaching programmes and to write The Culture Trap.

Early in my career, I worked in some teams where we felt anything was possible, enjoyed our work and got great results! In other teams, I approached my work with barely-disguised dread, trying to keep my head down and survive from one week to the next. What makes that difference? Back then, my instinctive “hunch” was that leadership skills, effective relationships and team culture were critical ingredients for success and fulfilment at work.

Research since then across all sectors has proven this to be true. I now use my 30+ years of learning, academic research, experimenting and consulting experience to show business owners, entrepreneurs, managers and leaders how to create and develop healthy, innovative and fulfilling team and work culture.

I worked for several years as an operational, project and general manager in the UK NHS, Siemens in Germany and a health promotion and social marketing agency in Brussels. I specialised early on in Organisation Development, which was - at that time - still an emerging area of research and practice. I later moved to an academic role at the University of Birmingham, heading up leadership and management development nationally and internationally. I combined this with consultancy and post-graduate teaching, then completed a PhD at Warwick Medical School.

Based in Sheffield, I have run my consultancy business since 2004. Over the years, I’ve been a visiting specialist faculty member with several universities and have a network of valued associates. I work with companies and organisations of all sizes, from small businesses and not-for-profit teams, to public sector organisations employing 1000s of people.

I have 3 grown-up children, 1 spaniel, 4 bikes, 1 well-worn pair of hiking boots and several pairs of shoes for the dancefloor. I’m a volunteer and supporter of MumsUnited Sheffield charity - a multi-cultural and socio-economically diverse group of people tackling youth violence and child drug and gang exploitation. I’ve been learning stand-up comedy and Improv to release my inner joker .. but so far all it’s released is some pent-up stress and a bit of trapped wind :-)

Recent bucket-list?
2023: performed a charity stand-up comedy gig at iconic venue The Leadmill in Sheffield, celebrating the power of being a 52-year-old woman.
2024: wrote The Culture Trap, to share what leaders and managers want to know, but what MBAs, leadership programmes and business school courses don’t tend to tell you.
2025: as an “empty-nester”, to discover what’s possible in teams, organisations and society when we release even more of our power to be H.U.M.A.N.
Join me in this discovery!