I help people leaders and managers scale their impact while personally thriving
My approach centres around the belief that both leadership and management are made up of skills that can be learned.
Rather than see management as a burden or position of superiority, I encourage people to think of management as a craft. It has its own skills and learning curve. It can be taught and practised and genuinely enjoyed.
Whatever position of leaderhip or management you're in, I coach people to look after themselves as a priority. Yes, scaling your impact requires new skills, but struggle and burnout are optional.
Leading designers?
I offer specialist coaching for product design leaders where we dive deep into into strategies for boosting design impact.
The most enduring, cost effective way to build your career is to invest in yourself
I’ve spent my career growing and leading teams in high performance, collaborative companies, including 10 years at Atlassian. I know from direct experience that leadership and management are a set of learnable skills and techniques, not a personality attribute.
Some areas I can help you cultivate:
Collective environment
- Building a culture of trust and safety
- Modelling self-care
- Leading with a growth mindset
Team engagement
- Delivering actionable feedback
- Running effective 1-1s
- Setting expectations
- Holding people accountable
- Fostering intrinsic motivation
- Growing team member skills
- Performance management
Comms
- Clear, concise communication
- Comms styles and planning
Personal planning
- Goal setting and focus
- Prioritisation techniques
- Defining healthy boundaries
Team direction
- Setting a vision
- Problem framing
- Standards and quality expectations
- Measuring impact
Organisational influence
- Engaging stakeholders and senior leaders
- Building trust with cross-functional peers
- Influencing without authority
- Managing up
Team design
- Team structure and capabilities
- Sharing authority with non-management leaders
- Interviewing and hiring
All crafts and industries welcome
Whatever type of team you lead, whatever industry you work in, the skills of effective leadership and management can be learned to make you more effective.
Coaching brings real benefits
I see the positive effects over and over in the people I work with. But it's not just me saying this. Studies consistently show that coaching improves leadership effectiveness, wellbeing and retention.[ref]
- People managers who receive coaching perform better, are more productive and are happier at work.
- Staff reporting to managers who effectively support them also deliver better results.
This isn’t surprising. It’s commonplace to train people in specific professions, competencies, or crafts (e.g. engineering, accountancy, design). Management is a craft in its own right, with skills and techniques that need to be learned through practice and training.
The tailored guidance and short feedback loops provided by 1-1 coaching directly enhance managers’ on-the-job decision making, skill growth and behaviours.
In an a fast-moving market that's continually changing through advances in AI and other technology, managers provide the competitive difference between accelerating teams or having them fall behind.
So it's clear that investing in coaching for people leaders provides business returns.
My coaching approach delivers on this by:
- Meeting you where you're at - I address your actual challenges and opportunities, rather than following a generic formula
- Focusing on practical skill development, with techniques, frameworks and resources that can be immediately applied, so you don’t have to make it up as you go
- Bringing extensive management experience that I can draw on to provide real world examples and guidance
- Including science-backed self-care practices to boost resilience, reduce stress and emphasise inner worth
Ready to grow your leadership career?
- Coaching for all experience levels, from first time people leaders to those managing teams of teams
- Practical guidance, frameworks and feedback
- Fresh perspective and ways to scale without burnout
- Build skills, effectiveness and balance
What to expect
I offer a free 30 min intro call to discuss where you’re at and how I can support you through coaching.
Coaching calls are 1 hour long and held via Zoom, with a flexibile schedule. I coach people all around the world, so I work in a remote-first manner.
- Most people invest in a number of sessions to work towards a goal and develop specific skills.
- If you just need one session to gain some fresh perspective, or discuss a few techniques to get unstuck, that's fine too.
Have questions or aren’t sure what you need? Reach out and I can help you work out the most effective approach.
Testimonials
What people say about my impact
In a difficult time in my career, Judd provided frameworks, stories, resources and strategies. But more than that, he offered compassion and clarity on the sometimes solitary path of leadership.
Tash, Head of Design
Judd brings a rare mix of empathy, global perspective, and practical wisdom to every conversation - its never been prescriptive, but always purposeful. Whether it was navigating career crossroads, refining my narrative, or just having a safe space to talk things through, his guidance made a real impact.
Sneha, People & Talent Lead
Working with Judd has been truly transformative. His guidance helped me navigate a pivotal career transition and land a role that aligns deeply with my values and strengths.
Karine, Design Manager
Judd is an amazing leader and coach, and I believe I’m a confident leader today because of his guidance. He has been personally invested in my growth as a design leader, and has helped me gain a whole different perspective on leadership that spans design, business, and people.
Soo, Design Director
Judd goes the extra mile to create a safe space for coaching with his friendly and supportive approach. As a senior IC who transitioned into a management role, Judd's guidance for first-time managers & regular coaching helped me make the transition with confidence & ease.
Mannu, Design Manager
Accelerate your leadership impact by building management craft skills
FAQ
Can you coach leaders in my team?
Absolutely. I can work with individual leaders, or use a blend of 1-1 coaching, skill development workshops and besopke team effectiveness training.
How frequently are coaching sessions scheduled? Do you offer flexible times?
You set the frequency based on what you need. I find most people benefit from regular sessions either weekly or fortnightly. It's common for people to change this up based on their work situation (e.g. scheduling sessions more frequently when starting a new role). My approach is to offer remote-first coaching so I can provide signficant flexibility on times.
I’m new to leadership and/or people management - is coaching worthwhile at this stage?
Yes, it’s hugely beneficial. Some of the fastest growth comes from good foundations. Stumbling through every mistake yourself isn’t necessary. With the right skills and support you can bypass the uncertainty, act with confidence and accelerate your career.
I’m aiming to move into management but I’m not doing the role yet - can you still coach me?
Sure thing. I’ve coached many people over the years specifically to help them transition into management roles.
I'm aiming to get a new role as a manager - can you coach me through this?
Yes, I've helped a number of people frame their experience and do interview prep for management roles.
Have more questions? Get in touch
References for studies on coaching effectiveness
Cannon-Bowers JA, Bowers CA, Carlson CE, Doherty SL, Evans J, Hall J. Workplace coaching: a meta-analysis and recommendations for advancing the science of coaching. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1204166/full
Burt D, Talati Z The unsolved value of executive coaching: A meta-analysis of outcomes using randomised control trial studies https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/file/dc2f4853-cfd3-4279-a9db-2de594a8847b/1/15-2-2%20-%20Burt%20and%20Talati.pdf
Jones RJ, Woods SA, Guillaume YRF The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/74522/1/Jones%20et%20al%202016_JOOP.pdf
Nyfoudi M, Shipton H, Theodorakopoulos N, Budhwar P Managerial coaching skill and team performance: How does the relationship work and under what conditions? https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1748-8583.12443