Lucy James

Professional Certified Coach - International Coaching Federation

I work with senior leaders globally and have over a decade of experience coaching 200+ leaders from diverse cultures. 

Empowerment is at the heart of my work, and I believe that when individuals feel capable, they can navigate challenges more effectively and approach decision-making with greater clarity.

Clients often describe my approach as a blend of support and healthy challenge. I’m genuinely passionate about creating a safe space where leaders can explore and grow. Through constructive challenge and thoughtful examination of behavioural patterns, we work together to gain real clarity. This process leads to new behaviours, skills, and mindsets, enabling leaders to perform at their best, both professionally and personally.  

I enjoy working with clients across various levels—from emerging leaders and middle management to senior executives. Whilst coaching goals are unique to each individual, topics that I regularly support clients with include: communicating with impact, assertiveness skills, managing stress and building resilience, leadership transitions, self-confidence, effective delegation, and parental-transition coaching

Professional Background:

I began my career at Barclays Bank on the Business Leadership Development Programme. During my time in Financial Services, I managed a range of high-profile online marketing campaigns in pressurised, target-driven environments.

Keen to move my learning around high performance and leadership development in a new direction, I swapped Canary Wharf for a socially deprived part of London, helping to transform a failing secondary school. This ignited my passion for creating organisational change and led me to a career as an Executive Coach.

Recent Assignments:

  • One-to-One coaching with a female leader looking to build confidence and increase her assertiveness as she prepared to step into more senior role.

  • One-to-One coaching for over 70 Directors and Associate Directors considered ‘top talent’ on a leadership programme for a leading UK Market Research company.

  • Facilitated workshops across an international technology company, using Insights to explore personality types and how to adapt communication style.

  • One-to-one coaching and teamwork with the board of a media company. The CEO fed back that the team became more open with each other, communication improved significantly, and the team worked more cohesively.

Accreditation and Training:

  • Professional Certified Coach, International Coaching Federation

  • Accredited Insights® Discovery Practitioner

  • Accredited workplace mediator

  • MSc in Management

  • BSc in Psychology from Loughborough University