About Me
I’ve never been very good at staying in one lane.
Over the years I’ve been a community worker, nonprofit leader, consultant, coach, radio host, lecturer, researcher, storyteller, writer, and occasional professional detour-taker.
From the outside, it might look like an unusual career. From the inside, it has always felt like the same journey.
I’ve simply spent my life following questions.
Questions about people. Questions about leadership. Questions about learning. Questions about why some stories shape us while others set us free.
Those questions have taken me into prisons, homeless shelters, schools, community organisations, boardrooms, radio studios, university classrooms, and more coffee shops than I can reasonably justify.
They’ve also taken me across three countries, through more career changes than most career advisors would recommend, and into conversations with remarkable people whose experiences continue to shape how I see the world.
Along the way, I’ve discovered that what interests me most is rarely found in the spotlight.
The narratives people carry about themselves. The assumptions we rarely question. The experiences that shape how we lead, learn, connect, and make sense of our lives.
Today, my work is rooted in a lifelong interest in stories and meaning-making.
And the questions keep coming. That’s exactly how I like it.
What I do
My Work
Story Work
Stories have been at the heart of my work for as long as I can remember. Not just the stories we tell, but the stories we live by. Through workshops, speaking, facilitation, coaching, and conversation, I help people explore the narratives that have shaped them — and consider what new possibilities might emerge when those narratives are examined more closely.
Research
My research explores the stories people carry about leadership and how those narratives influence the decisions they make, the identities they construct, and the futures they imagine. I am particularly interested in the stories we rarely question — the ones that feel so familiar we mistake them for truth.
Writing
Through books, essays, newsletters, and field notes, I explore themes of leadership, identity, belonging, learning, and what it means to live a thoughtful life. Writing is one of the ways I make sense of the world. Occasionally, it helps others make sense of theirs too.
Teaching & Learning
As a university lecturer, I help students develop the confidence, capabilities, and self-awareness they need to navigate an increasingly complex world. At its best, teaching is simply another form of story work — creating opportunities for people to encounter new ideas, challenge old assumptions, and imagine different possibilities for themselves.
“The stories we carry matter. They influence what we notice, what we value, and who we become.”
Underlying all of my work is this simple belief.
Over the years, I’ve come to realise that I am both a wonderer and a wanderer.
I wander through places, ideas, books, conversations, and experiences. I wonder about what they mean. Most of my work is simply an attempt to make sense of what I find there.
I live in the English countryside with my son and two dogs.
I spend a lot of time wandering.
I suspect I always will be.
The wanderer
“Those questions have taken me into prisons, homeless shelters, schools, boardrooms, radio studios, university classrooms, and more coffee shops than I can reasonably justify.”
The wonderer
“I’m drawn to what sits underneath. The narratives people carry about themselves. The assumptions we rarely question.”
The belief
“Most of my work is simply an attempt to make sense of what I find there.”
Want to know more or work together?
Whether you’d like to explore my work, follow along with my writing, or have a conversation about a project, I’d love to hear from you.