Journal
These short articles reflect my interests. They are geared to a wide audience so my language is soft, inclusive, and relational. I also share bits and pieces about me.

Pause for thought: three reasons why identifying our values is a worthwhile investment of time
May 3, 2022If identity and purpose were a map, values would stand as signposts at the junctions of who we are and what we do. Core values are unique to the individual, the group, or the organisation, but they are also always relational, informing where we go and how we interact with others. Identifying what we value … Read More

Career coaching case study: Sarah* (lecturer)
March 15, 2022I worked with Sarah, a lecturer in higher education, for just over a year. Our coaching sessions focussed on her career. We worked together strategically, and in her words, “plan[ning] for a future with financial security and holistic wellbeing in mind.” Sarah’s endorsement is below followed by an explanation of how our sessions worked. When … Read More

Beatrix Potter. One inspirational woman
March 9, 2022“Pick a woman that has inspired you.” We were asked to do this yesterday at a Highland Business Women event nicely coincided with International Women’s Day (it was very nice!). I went for Beatrix Potter: For being a woman in a man’s world; for writing simple and beautiful stories; for loving and losing (she lost … Read More

A bookshelf or a self-portrait?
February 14, 2022We change (grow, realign, evolve) and so do our books. I’d be telling untruths if I said I’d read all of these books from front to back but I bought every one of them for a reason. They’re like little parts of my story bought at different points in time when I was interested or … Read More

Hope. A small but mighty word
December 17, 2021Hope changes the structures by which and around which we live. Hope is a small but mighty word. What is hope? Where does it come from? Who brings it? And how might it take practical shape in our lives? A little thought I’ve been thinking over recently is this: Figures who bring hope to others are … Read More

The land past the lamppost
November 26, 2021Darkness to light. Constriction to freedom. Moving from narrow places to wide open spaces. I run down this path sometimes and especially when I want to remind myself of some of these themes. The path itself is lovely but dark because it’s all covered by trees. It’s not that scary, just a bit dark and … Read More

Leadership as a state of being
November 25, 2021“Values cross the boundaries of professional disciples, cultures, and religious traditions. They have this incredible capacity to unite otherwise diverse people around similar connecting points.” It’s been International Leadership Week this week and here I am reflecting on leadership as a state of being that resides in a person or amongst a group of people … Read More

Digging deep and building strong
October 22, 2021I’m delighted to have been awarded an Associate Certified Coach credential by the International Coaching Federation. This ACC credential (the first of three credentialing standards set by the ICF) represents 18 months of hard, stretching, but equally rewarding and fulfilling work training as a professional coach and then establishing my business, HM Coaching and Development. … Read More

Through and beyond restriction
September 2, 2021When you stop and think about your professional life, are there things that you feel confined and restricted by? Do you know what they are? Sometimes we can have some sort of sense that something is there but we can’t articulate much more beyond this. That’s okay. Don’t push it. If you want to though, … Read More

Vision and forgiveness
August 29, 2021Forgiveness can be the hardest thing, especially when people have done hurtful or horrible things to us or those we love. More often than not, forgiveness is not a one-off action but a process we have to work at. Unforgiveness distorts how we see, especially in those areas where we have been hurt If we … Read More

Mugs and unconscious bias
July 14, 2021Social media knows me well. It suggested I buy this mug, and I… well, I thought this was a great idea! This helpful advertising suggestion followed some interesting conversations I have been having recently (both on-and-off-line) about unconscious bias. The context of these conversations was women in academia but as with most good conversations, this topic has stayed … Read More

How is your harmony and what is your movement?
May 10, 2021Commitment to a harmonious relationship between thoughts, feelings, and actions is central to my coaching ethos and is drawn from my research work. As I work with clients, I implicitly think about these three areas and how they are showing up in and with that person.

Professional identity wrestle
April 26, 2021I have had two lovely encouragements recently. I received a book award last month and I gained a coaching diploma last week.
These encouragements represent two very different parts of my professional life. This last year has been a massive struggle trying to chart my way through them. We might call this my professional identity wrestle.

Sarah Everard: an uncomfortable question?
March 20, 2021omething has been troubling me over the last week of media coverage about Sarah Everard’s death. I wanted to write something here just to raise a question and offer a perspective really. This is not intended as a criticism of any person or any organisation, but the question that has been troubling me is this: if Sarah Everard had been a woman of colour, would there have been the same level of public outcry and media coverage as there has been?

Identity and pandemic bookshelves
March 5, 2021om meeting backdrops have become fashionable! The pandemic got us all into Zoom and then suddenly our backgrounds became interesting. At least I think they did. I do not mean virtual background here (although they are also intriguing), I mean what is present and on view in someone’s room behind them.

Battersea Bridge moment: part two
November 5, 2020In part one of this article, I shared a question my friend Tara asked me recently. She wanted to know if I could personally pinpoint a day or moment that signalled transformational change in my life. If you would like to know my answer to her question, read part one. I call it my ‘Battersea bridge moment.’

Battersea Bridge moment: part one
November 2, 2020“Do you have a day when everything changed for you?”
My friend Tara asked me this question over a Zoom coffee catch-up recently. There was a day earlier this year when so much changed for Tara. She did not realize it then.

My professional journey
October 29, 2020Commitment to a harmonious relationship between thoughts, feelings, and actions is central to my coaching ethos and is drawn from my research work. As I work with clients, I implicitly think about these three areas and how they are showing up in and with that person.
CONTACT
Work with Hannah
Please feel free to contact me if you think you might like to work with me.
If your interest is private coaching, I offer complimentary one-to-one coaching conversations where we can get to know each other and talk about this more. This half-hour, no obligations conversation will help you to establish if I am the right person to work with.