Executive Mentoring & Coaching
Some situations call for more than process and more than a conventional coaching programme. They call for someone who has operated at the highest levels of complex organisations, who understands both the commercial and human dimensions of what is at stake, and who brings the depth of experience to support senior leaders when there is no playbook to follow.
Esther Crew has held HR Director and Group HR Director roles at large organisations including Morrisons Supermarkets and Connells Group. She has spent decades working alongside boards, executive teams and senior leaders, navigating the situations that do not come with an instruction manual and supporting the leaders who carry the most responsibility and the most risk.
Her senior advisory work with individuals is developed from real experience of what leaders at this level actually need and what genuinely makes the difference.
The Promotion Conversation
For senior leaders and C-suite candidates who have the capability for the next level but have not yet found the version of themselves that lands when it matters most. Esther brings the perspective of someone who has been the decision maker in the room, helping your leader understand precisely how they are landing and building a preparation approach that is entirely and authentically theirs.
The Resolve
For valued leaders and teams at war at work, where the dynamic between senior individuals is affecting performance, teams and the wider organisation, and where what is needed goes beyond anything a conventional process can provide. Esther works with the people involved at a depth that process cannot reach, creating the conditions for something most of them believed was no longer possible.
Reverse Mentoring and Allyship Programme©
Seeing the organisation through someone else’s eyes. Some of the most useful learning a senior leader can have comes from the people whose experience of the organisation is least like their own. Our reverse mentoring programme pairs leaders with colleagues from different backgrounds, roles and parts of the business, so leaders understand at first-hand what it takes to build a career as someone whose path through the organisation looks nothing like their own.
It’s designed to lead somewhere, not just to raise awareness. Over the programme, leaders develop a sharper understanding of how inclusive their organisation really is, build genuine relationships across teams and identities they’d rarely otherwise meet, and turn that insight into the everyday behaviours of an active and credible ally. The learning runs both ways and continues beyond the formal pairing, and it’s built to be practical: delivered in person where that works and over Microsoft Teams where it doesn’t.
We’ve set up and run these programmes for years, and what makes them work is the honesty of the relationships they create. Bridge the gap between lived experiences and inclusion stops being a policy and starts being something leaders carry into how they lead.
“I wanted to express my appreciation and gratitude for the impact you have had on my professional growth over the last 12 months of working together. Your guidance and support have been critical in the successful transition into my current role. You have really helped me identify my strengths and encouraged me to value them and capitalise on their impact.”
UK Operations Director,
Global Consulting
“Work with Esther if you want impactful, empathetic and lasting Exec. Coaching results. Having worked with Esther for a number of years, I trust her to quickly dial into the cultural dynamic and personal needs of each coaching situation. She builds rapport quickly, is fun to work with and lands the messages that cause people to think. Couldn’t speak highly enough of her results.”
Managing Director, Global Design,
Engineering and Consulting
“Esther has helped me personally navigate a very difficult situation with care, kindness and wisdom. Her coaching and mentoring style has helped me, and everyone involved, self-reflect and be able to find a positive way forward, which no-one really thought would be possible”
Managing Director,
Environmental Infrastructure Consulting
“Esther is an outstanding executive coach. I’ve benefitted from her depth and range of experience as she has helped me take control of my development. Thoroughly recommend”
Investment Manager,
Life Insurance, Pensions and Asset Management
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Senior leaders and executive board members carrying real responsibility and real risk, in organisations of every size, in the UK and globally. It suits leaders stepping up, leading through change or pressure, or facing a situation that doesn’t come with a playbook and wanting someone who has operated at that level to think it through with them.
We don’t hand over a framework or solve the problem for you. We see behind the presented problem, challenge the assumption underneath it, and coach you to recognise where you’ve already succeeded, building real confidence and commitment to act. A capability you reach yourself holds; one you’re talked into doesn’t. It’s grounded in decades of operating at the most senior levels rather than methodology alone.
The line is less important than what the leader needs. Coaching draws the answer out of you; mentoring brings the perspective of someone who has particular expertise in leadership and inclusion. Which the situation calls for is something we define together before the work begins.
It pairs senior leaders with colleagues whose experience of the organisation is least like their own, so leaders understand at first hand what it takes to build a career from a different starting point. It builds genuine relationships across the business and turns that insight into the everyday behaviours of an active, credible ally. The learning runs both ways and continues beyond the formal pairing.
Both. Senior coaching and mentoring often benefit from being in the room together, and we work in person where that matters and virtually where it’s more practical.
Get in touch for a confidential conversation about the leader and the situation. We’ll talk it through and shape the right kind of support around it.