These reflections come from senior leaders and organisations I have worked with in recent years, often during periods of pressure, transition, or strategic uncertainty.
They do not describe motivation or inspiration, but changes in how people thought, made decisions, and led.
When leadership judgement is under pressure
Senior leadership rarely fails because of a lack of intelligence or experience. It fails when emotion, politics, habit, and unexamined assumptions quietly shape decisions at critical moments.
The reflections below come from executives and senior leaders operating in complex, high-stakes environments, who used coaching not for motivation, but to think more clearly about how they were leading and deciding.
“Leadership can be a fickle thing, especially in high-powered executive positions in a political environment. Mike helped me get out of my own way. He probed to the heart of the matter and challenged me to examine my goals, my biases, my strengths, and the obstacles in front of me, some of which were of my own making. He is a professional of the first order.”
JD Polk
Chief Health & Medical Officer, NASA
“Sometimes you come across someone who has a profound impact on your career. It was a privilege to be coached by Mike as part of the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme. His insight, humour, and ability to see the person behind the risk manager made a significant contribution to how I developed as a leader.”
Jan Lubbe
Chief Risk Officer, Momentum Group
“I was leading my organisation through a challenging and complicated restructuring. Mike helped me navigate the emotional and psychological minefield that comes with this kind of responsibility. His support reassured me at moments where judgement really mattered, and his ability to combine psychological insight with practical thinking made a material difference to how I led during that period.”
Chris van den Hooven
Senior Vice President, Americas, Cathay Pacific Airways
“During our work together, Mike confronted me with the reasons behind some of my unconscious ways of working. He shared insights that consistently led to deeper reflection about the leadership challenges I was facing. The impact was not only professional, but personal, and it changed how I approach responsibility and pressure.”
Augusto Muench
CEO, Boehringer Ingelheim Mexico, Central America and Caribbean
“Mike brings psychological depth without losing practicality. His work with leaders and managers around mental health, resilience, and performance is grounded, credible, and immediately applicable. He is both a serious specialist and someone it is simply good to work with.”
Dr Kai Hass
Head of Occupational Health & Wellbeing, Airbus
“Mike understands the issues that arise for people operating at board level. His approach is pragmatic and insightful. He helped me resolve several complex leadership issues and equipped me with skills that improved my performance and effectiveness at executive level.”
Alison Tennant
Chief Pharmacist, Birmingham Women’s & Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
These themes are explored further in my current writing and advisory work on leadership, emotion, and decision-making under pressure.
Executive transitions, restructures, and moments that matter
Career transitions, restructures, and periods of organisational upheaval expose aspects of leadership that are easy to hide when things are stable. Role, authority, confidence, and identity all come under strain at the same time.
The reflections below come from leaders who worked with me during periods of significant change, when the cost of poor judgement or emotional reactivity would have been high.
“Mike was appointed as my coach during the Oxford Advanced Management and Leadership Programme. He facilitated our sessions extremely well and enabled me to recognise clearly the areas I needed to improve, with positive and lasting results.”
Alice Pettigrew
Chief Executive Officer, Eastland Group
“Mike helped me develop my leadership skills and the confidence to lead teams with diverse backgrounds. His background in psychology allowed us to go deep into real situations I was facing. He helped me understand when I needed to remain true to myself and when adaptation was necessary to be effective in a senior role.”
Justin Chang
Country Manager, Italy & Spain, Cathay Pacific Airways
“When I was promoted into a senior position, I was initially doubtful that coaching would be of any benefit. Mike became a sounding board who helped me clarify goals, improve self-awareness, and make bolder decisions. I developed greater confidence in my judgement and in how I wanted to lead.”
Shabita Sumaraj
Business Resilience & Crisis Management, Cathay Pacific Airways
“I have worked with Mike through circumstances of extreme adversity and stress. His approach was challenging without being judgemental. He helped me address both the immediate pressure I was under and the underlying causes. I emerged stronger and more capable as a result of his work.”
Nick Pond
Head of Finance Operations, CMS UK
“Mike helped us in a very difficult situation, which resulted in a senior member of our team being able to return to work after a long period of absence. Without his expert help and assistance, this outcome would not have been possible.”
Tim Cogan
Managing Partner, Tinsdills Solicitors
Much of my current work focuses on leaders at these inflection points, where progress depends less on pushing harder and more on understanding the emotional and psychological forces shaping judgement and behaviour.
Working with organisations, leadership teams, and systems
Many organisational problems are described as skills gaps, communication failures, or resilience issues, when in reality they are expressions of deeper emotional and relational dynamics within the system.
The reflections below come from organisations that engaged my work not only with individuals, but across teams, functions, and leadership populations, often during periods of strain, uncertainty, or cultural change.
“At Novartis we have engaged Mike over a number of years for coaching and education across the organisation, particularly in relation to burnout and psychological strain. His technical knowledge combined with his down-to-earth style allowed him to connect effectively with people at all levels. The impact of his workshops and coaching was consistently strong.”
Ryan Wynch
Global Head of Occupational Health, Novartis
“During my time at Sony PlayStation, Mike was one of the most popular coaches we brought in as part of a structured executive coaching residency. He received excellent feedback from across the organisation, and our partnership was particularly valuable during a period of sustained pressure and change.”
Simon Devereux
Director, Global Talent Development, Framestore
Director and Founder, ACCESS:VFX
“I first saw Mike present at a CIMA event and subsequently asked him to lead a session for a cohort of emerging leaders at Marshalls. He worked closely with me beforehand to shape the session so that the time was used well. The feedback from participants was very positive, but what stood out was that each person took something different from the session.
Mike then volunteered to run a detailed debrief, drawing on his experience to surface insights that would have been missed by an untrained eye. His impact was felt both by the group and by me personally.”
Nick Haigh ACMA CGMA
Finance Director, Marshall plc
“Mike has supported Cathay Pacific over several years as an executive coach, working with country leaders and department heads as part of their Senior Transition Programme. Feedback has been consistently positive. He is trusted, client-centric, and willing to go beyond the contracted work when pressure is high. He stands out as a partner rather than a supplier.”
Nick Deal
Director, Global Learning & Organisation Development, RBIS at Avery Dennison
“Mike delivered a webinar for our people managers on the psychology of remote working. He addressed issues such as motivation, self-care, and avoiding burnout in a way that felt immediately relevant. The feedback from managers was overwhelmingly positive.”
Victoria Love
People and Engagement Project Manager, Save the Children UK
“Mike has delivered a wide range of sessions at events I’ve organised over many years. He consistently receives excellent feedback for the quality of thinking he brings and for how practical and engaging his sessions are. Delegates regularly discuss how they plan to use what they learned with their own teams.”
Sue Hurrell
Specialist, Events Planning, AICPA & CIMA
“I have attended Mike’s training and was struck by his ability to combine empathy, challenge, and psychological depth. He understood the emotional realities of the work and created a space that was both supportive and stretching. I would highly recommend his work to organisations operating in emotionally demanding environments.”
Linda Steggles
Chief Executive, Beechwood Cancer Centre
“Mike delivered training for managers on recognising early signs of stress and psychological imbalance at work. The mix of theory, practical exercises, and discussion was well judged, and participant feedback was consistently positive.”
Brigitte Eigenmann
Head of Human Resources, Zurich International School
Much of my current work focuses on leaders at these inflection points, where progress depends less on pushing harder and more on understanding the emotional and psychological forces shaping judgement and behaviour.