Executive Coaching
that calls the brilliance of your thoughts into action
Clarity
Rushlight recalls the oldest
candles; reeds dipped in fat,
casting a modest
but constant light.
They were used by everyone across the centuries, not showy or flash. My coaching approach is the same. I create a well-lit space but the blinding inspiration comes from my clients as they challenge and reshape the status quo, watching the world snap into sharper focus.
An uncommon space
Candid
Honest, discreet, and down to earth: we look at what is really there, even if that means facing what is difficult.
Compassionate
Listening without the impulse to interrupt; a true supporter, connecting with an open heart and mind.
Constructive
Focused and clear, each session uses tools and techniques that fit your story in the moment, not some pre-ordained process.
How it works
I coach in lots of different ways with lots of different people and organisations.
Corporate
Corporate clients tend to prefer longer-term engagements as we plot and respond to relationships and challenges over time.
Private
Private clients get in touch when they need a set of sessions over three or six months to find a new job, develop a personal brand book, manage a difficult decision, or restore certainty – or as an ad hoc single session troubleshoot.
Group
I work with a couple of trusted colleagues to tailor workshops for leadership teams; these often tackle cultural static or organisational change.
Pro-bono
I run a pro-bono programme working primarily with artists, authors and designers.
A few things stay the same
We meet for 90 minutes. This can be online or in person. We begin with an initial meeting to test fit. From there we make a plan, including as much follow-up and support between sessions as you find useful. We keep our eyes peeled as we go along so you never lose sight of what brought you to coaching in the first place.
A few things stay the same
We meet for 90 minutes. This can be online or in person. We begin with an initial meeting to test fit. From there we make a plan, including as much follow-up and support between sessions as you find useful. We keep our eyes peeled as we go along so you never lose sight of what brought you to coaching in the first place.
Kind words
“Claire’s help came just when I needed it…
…I was made redundant after eleven years. Devastated, doesn’t come close to covering it. Claire cut through the shock and disorientation and helped me negotiate a more dignified and useful exit with people I would otherwise have struggled to be civil to. It had been over a decade since I had been on the job market, and she brought skills out and coached me through securing a better paid and higher-level position.”
Charity Leader – Bolt out of the blue redundancy
Claire’s background in brand, media and reputation management makes her ideal if you're seeking to unpick knotty professional issues, realise long-held ambitions and renew your personal brand.
Claire Davies
I started out as a journalist, armed with a history degree from the University of Oxford (Balliol) and an early digital camera. After four years chasing stories and celebrities, I moved to NYC to find my fortune in marketing and events.
Returning to the UK in 2006, I spent most of the next 14 years leading communications and marketing for private equity and venture capital firms investing across Asia, Africa & Europe. In these roles, I was lucky to work across a very broad brief - providing crisis comms to portfolio companies in tricky markets; refreshing, rebranding and crafting corporate identities from scratch; running global marketing campaigns; and devising research projects. I also worked with a succession of leaders on their internal comms and external profile-building including speechwriting, media and investor relations.
My most recent role was as Head of Communications & Marketing for Fidelity-backed VC, Eight Roads, where I sat as part of the global leadership team.
I completed my coaching qualification with world-renowned coaching trainer, Meyler Campbell. I was drawn to its year-long training after working with an outstanding executive coach myself.
I continue to provide strategic comms advice and also work as an editor, primarily on memoir and social history projects. At the moment, I have one foot in my home city of London and the other in northern Portugal.