Here is a sense of who I typically work with, and what I bring to every engagement.
Who I work with
I usually work alongside leaders at pivotal moments - including:
First-time CEOs stepping into a demanding role who want an experienced, trusted partner alongside them.
Established leaders navigating a period of challenge, crisis or significant change and needing honest, experienced support.
Organisations at a strategic inflection point — whether that’s growth, review, merger or transition.
Boards and leadership teams that want to work more effectively together and lead with greater impact.
What I bring to every to every engagement
The work looks different for every leader and every organisation. But six things clients consistently tell me make the difference:
Experience that is practical
I’ve led organisations through growth, financial restructure, leadership transition and transformational change. I’ve also supported over 25 charities and social impact organisations in my consultancy. When you bring a challenge to me, I’m drawing on what has actually worked — and what hasn’t — across a wide range of contexts and organisations.
A genuinely relational way of working
Every engagement starts with listening — to what you’re navigating, what your organisation needs, and what would actually make the biggest difference. I take time to build a real understanding of your specific context, and that understanding deepens over time. I work at pace with busy leaders, hold complexity well, and I’m personally invested in the people I work with and the outcomes they’re working toward.
Honest challenge, with genuine care
I’m honest and direct, and work hard to create a space that feels genuinely safe and reflective where the harder questions can be asked and the more difficult observations can land — always with genuine care and your best interests at the centre. Leaders tell me they value this more than almost anything else.
Thinking and acting strategically
Part of what I bring is a consistent strategic lens — helping you stay connected to the bigger picture, the direction of travel, and the impact you’re working toward, alongside whatever you’re navigating right now. That wider view often changes how immediate challenges look, and what the right solutions are.
Focused on results
Whether we’re navigating something difficult or building something new, you’ll end up with something concrete: a clear direction, a decision made, a strategy people are genuinely committed to. I bring structure and rigour to every engagement.
Creative and generative
Some of the best thinking and the biggest step changes come from making space for creativity. I bring experienced facilitation and a range of tools and techniques to create that space — and bring genuine curiosity to finding the question that reframes everything, the idea that shifts the room, or the strategy that people feel genuinely excited to deliver.
“Emma brings a wealth of lived experience and personal insight to her work as a consultant. She applies this thoughtfully and with care in assisting organisations to navigate the complexities of charity leadership. Her clear thinking but sensitive and flexible approach has provided our charity partners with highly valued support.”
Paul Fenton, Partnership and Learning Lead, Paul Hamlyn Foundation Youth Strategic Investment Fund