part0018

Theatre 4 Business, the platform that has shaped so much of my work, was co-founded with my long-time collaborator Josie Sutcliffe, along with Mary Lidgate and Didi Hopkins. All we knew at the time, seventeen years ago, was that there was something incredible to be explored in the meeting ground between the arts and business. All of us came from theatre backgrounds and all of us believed that theatre offers a lens through which performance on the business stage can be experienced and leveraged for great results. These beliefs have strengthened through practice and evidence over the years.

My gratitude to Josie Sutcliffe is ongoing and profound. From our first encounter twenty years ago to our most recent work, we’ve been creative collaborators and friends, mutually igniting and inspiring and having each other’s backs. This book began as a collaboration, springing from the deep, fertile ground of so many rich conversations we’ve had about theatre, coaching and leadership. We’ve enjoyed fantastically productive moments of dissonance and creative explosion. Consensus has always taken a back seat on our metaphorical road trips. Long may our sparks fly, Josie.

To Professor Sue Vinnicombe at Cranfield University, a huge thanks for your generous reading and review time of the final manuscript. To the women who committed time from their incredibly full days to give me their feedback when this book was in its draft stages, my gratitude shall hover around you like a friendly spirit always: Sarah Rayner, Kate Jones, Julianne Antrobus, Autumn Le Fevre, Jo Palmer, Sarah Fennell and Josefin Holmberg. Sarah, thanks also for saying you wish you could have me in your pocket as your coach, which inspired the idea for the Coach in Your Pocket Pointers at the end of each chapter. Josefin, on another note, hearing you sing so magnificently once upon a time, during a women’s program, reawakened my lifelong yearning to sing. I’m happy to say I’ve been singing ever since, with love and thanks to the extra-ordinary voice coach Claude Stein. I truly believe there is a magical relationship between singing and writing. It certainly gave me more expression in both voices.

To the immensely creative and accomplished Didi Hopkins, my colleague and friend, many years of thanks for all that I’ve learned from your distinctive voice as a coach and artist. Alison Temperley, author of Inside Knowledge: How Women Can Thrive in Professional Service Firms , thank you for your support and encouragement, practical advice and proof-reading assistance. Marty Boroson, author of The One Moment Master: Stillness for people on the go , thanks for being my ‘go to’ resource for provocative conversations and asker of rigorous questions.

To Helen Chadwick and Rona Lee, beautiful artists and allies, my big thanks for all your input in our co-coaching circle. Liz Norris, in Dublin, thank you for inviting me into your space to share our practices, and for such uplifting discussions. To my friends in ‘the gals writing group’, Lily Susan Todd and Mary Lucas, deep thanks not only for endowing our group with such profound attention and love of language, but also for your steadfast encouragement to keep writing. To my dear friend Basia Irland, thanks for all your support and sanctuary when I started this journey and for being a constant source of inspiration.

To my former co-founders at Boardwalk Leadership, Lady (Kitty) Chisholm and Dr Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj, incredibly smart women and authors of Championing Women Leaders: Beyond Sponsorship , my thanks to you is rooted in our special history as creative collaborators.

To grow your performance, you need opportunities to practise. Over the years, the Cranfield School of Management has given me a home in which to cultivate my voice and methodology. I thank all my very special colleagues there for your support and the great experience of working with you. Colin Funk introduced me to the Banff Centre over a decade ago and helped set my course for a long and rich association there. Johanne Lavoie, partner at McKinsey, Calgary, shared her Centered Leadership practice with me and introduced me to the transformational community Mobius Executive Leadership; I have gained so much from you both, thank you.

Cynthia Morris at Original Impulse is the inspiring coach who got me back to writing again after I’d repeated the same old story to myself too many times: ‘I’d love to but I don’t have the time, blah, blah, blah.’ Thank you, Cynthia – you rock! Thanks to Mindy Gibbons-Klein, The Book Midwife who taught me invaluable processes about getting a book to the delivery room!

The biggest driver of this book was love. The love of my family gives me strength and joy every day. My sons, Justin and Toban, and daughters-in-law, Kate and Ann, all lean in together and live and perform beautifully. They make life’s endeavours meaningful for me. Cole, Paige, Leo, Ember and Ari most definitely keep the girl in me awakened !

My husband, Arno, gets top billing in my thanks. I can hear him say (Groucho-Marx style), ‘So why am I at the bottom of the page?’ My answer is ‘Because it’s the final thing I want everyone to remember.’ Thank you for your steadfast love and support. You are my rock. And thank you for giving me the best room in the house for my office.