I'm a coach, facilitator and inclusion & belonging specialist. I help people get clear on what matters to them, make intentional choices and build a good life that feels genuinely their own.
I also help organisations to be more inclusive in their work, because that’s part of my purpose.
I'm interested in the big questions that sit underneath our everyday decisions: What do I actually want? What kind of work is worth doing? What does success mean to me? How do I make a difference without burning myself out? And how do I build a life around who I really am, rather than who I've learned I should be?
I don't think there are universal answers to those questions. A good life looks different for everyone. My job as a coach is to give you somewhere to think properly, ask good questions, challenge you when it's useful and help you turn what you discover into action.
How I coach
My style is warm, direct and practical. There's room for uncertainty, humour, changing your mind and admitting that you haven't got a clue.
I believe people are naturally resourceful and capable of finding their own answers. I'm not here to tell you how to live your life. I'll help you understand yourself better, see things from different angles and make choices you can stand behind.
People come to me with questions about careers, confidence, leadership, identity, relationships with work, purpose and what they want from the next part of their lives. Sometimes there's a very specific problem to solve. Sometimes there's just a feeling that something needs to change.
Clients often describe me as a trusted thinking partner: someone who creates space for honest reflection while also offering challenge and helping them move forward.
Hi, I'm Ailish.
I know that talent isn't always the whole story
As a trans, neurodivergent person, I know something about what it's like to be capable and ambitious but not always find the environments around you easy to navigate.
I've experienced the extra thinking that can come with being different at work: working out how much of yourself to bring, trying to understand unwritten rules, finding ways of working that actually suit you, and figuring out what progression and success should look like when the usual blueprint doesn't quite fit.
That experience is part of why I particularly enjoy coaching people from marginalised and underrepresented backgrounds. I understand that confidence, progression and performance don't exist in a vacuum. Who we are, the systems we work within and whether we feel able to be ourselves all matter.
I also work with organisations that want to better support and develop underrepresented talent — through 1:1 coaching, group coaching and development programmes for employee networks, talent cohorts and emerging leaders.
My career journey
I've spent most of my career working with people and organisations trying, in different ways, to make things better.
I started out working in policy and equality, including roles in UK Government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. I've worked on LGBTQ+ policy, human rights and inclusion, and later moved into organisational inclusion, coaching and leadership development.
Today I'm an ICF-accredited coach with more than 300 hours of coaching experience. I've coached over 100 people and designed and delivered leadership development for organisations including Rolls-Royce, Henkel, Beiersdorf, Tekla, Patagonia, Ericsson and Zalando.
I'm currently part of the coaching and leadership development team at Shape Talent and also work independently and as an associate coach.
Alongside this, I founded Queer Out Here, an LGBTQ+ outdoor community bringing people together through walking, adventure and time outside. It's probably a good indication of the things I care about: community, belonging, being outdoors and creating spaces where people can be themselves.
Working with organisations
My organisational work has the same philosophy at its heart.
I particularly enjoy working with charities, public sector organisations, social enterprises and other organisations doing purposeful work.
I coach leaders and teams and design leadership development that helps people understand themselves, lead with confidence, navigate complexity and do good work sustainably.
My experience spans one-to-one coaching, group coaching, workshops, facilitation and longer leadership development programmes.
The thread through all of it
I've spent my career thinking about people, identity, work, power, belonging and what helps us thrive.
These days I'm increasingly interested in a simple question:
How do we make good use of the lives we've got?
That's what sits underneath my coaching — whether I'm working with someone reconsidering their career, a new leader working out how they want to lead, or an organisation trying to develop its people without losing sight of its purpose.
If you're asking some of those questions too, I'd love to work with you.