Zoë Thompson

I help organisations develop leaders at all levels to build confident, self-sufficient, high-performing teams so that performance improves, burnout reduces, and the organisation retains the leaders it has invested in.

About

When leaders are constantly reacting to what is urgent rather than focusing on what is important, the signs show up quickly. Missed strategic priorities. Teams that cannot make decisions without running everything through one person. Leaders working evenings and weekends just to keep up. Burnout risk increasing. Talent starting to look elsewhere.

This is reactive leadership, and it is one of the most common and costly patterns in organisations today. The good news is it is not a capability problem. It is a habits, behaviours and identity problem. And it is exactly what I work on.

I’m Zoë Thompson, Leadership and Performance Coach, Trainer and Speaker with Phoenix Life and Wellbeing Coaching Ltd, specialising in helping organisations develop intentional leaders and self-sufficient, high-performing teams across the UK and Europe.

My background and training combined means I am well suited to work with leaders in demanding environments. I spent 20 years in the Police Service, 17 in leadership roles, progressing to senior manager at the age of 30 in the regional Major Crime Investigation Team. I am an Accredited Master Coach, Accredited Executive Coach, and NLP Master Practitioner. I am registered with the Association for Coaching, and have full professional insurance. I am also a trusted provider through third-party training organisations. Having led in one of the most high-pressure environments there is, I bring a level of credibility and real-world understanding to this work that leaders recognise immediately.

I work with organisations who want a proper, sustainable shift in how their leaders lead. Every programme is different because every organisation is different. I combine practical frameworks, strategies and tools that leaders can implement immediately, with the mindset and identity work that creates lasting behaviour change. That blend of coaching, training and confidence building is what makes the results sustainable long after the programme ends. I pride myself on long term results and relationships with my clients.

How do I know if my leaders need development support?

Most organisations rely on staff surveys or qualitative data that only tells part of the story. I partner with Tensense.ai to give organisations a clear, data-informed picture of how their teams are actually functioning, measuring the real dynamics, communication patterns and pressure points that surveys miss. That insight means we start your leadership development in the right place, focused on what is actually happening rather than what we think is happening. As the work progresses, Tensense.ai continues to measure, identifying emerging challenges early and showing exactly how your leaders and teams are developing over time. The result is leadership development with a before and after, focused investment, faster results, and impact you can see and report on, not just feel.

I deliver through bespoke online and in-person leadership development programmes, group and individual coaching, facilitated leadership workshops and training, and speaker services for leadership events and conferences.

Current clients include Breast Cancer UK, where I am delivering a 12-month blended leadership development programme, BKR EMEA, where I am about to begin the second cohort of a two-year pan-EMEA leadership programme with 20 participants, and Climalife, where I am supporting the management team with coaching and self-development training for all staff. Other clients include the NHS, Ministry of Justice, Avon Fire and Rescue, HM Prison Service, Universities of Bristol and Bath, and Muller UK and Ireland.

Clients say:

“Our MD has seen a marked difference in how we tackle issues and how we pull together as a team in times of difficulty.”

“I was in a cycle of back-to-back meetings, dealing with relentless crises and constantly reacting. I wanted to think more like a senior leader. Now I have time back and I am more conscious and deliberate about my time. I have discussed what I am doing with my team and I am seeing how they have already started to adapt their approaches too.”

If you are responsible for leadership development, people performance, or organisational effectiveness and want your leaders to be more efficient, more effective, and building stronger, more self-sufficient teams, I would love to hear from you. Please use the contact form below.

Reactive leadership leads to dependent teams, slower decision-making, higher risk of burnout, increased absence, and leaders that are busy, overwhelmed and unable to work at the strategic level that moves the organisation forward. The issue is not their capability. It is the habits, behaviours, and ways of working they are leading with, and those patterns have a direct commercial cost. I help leaders develop how they lead so that they develop the people around them, make faster and more confident decisions, and increase self-sufficiency and autonomy across the organisation.

I work with organisations who want a proper, sustainable shift in how their leaders lead. Every programme is different because every organisation is different. I combine practical frameworks, strategies and tools that leaders can implement immediately, with the mindset and identity work that creates lasting behaviour change. That blend of coaching, training and confidence building is what makes the results sustainable long after the programme ends. I pride myself on long term results and relationships with my clients.

How do I know if my leaders need development support?

Most organisations rely on staff surveys or qualitative data that only tells part of the story. I partner with Tensense.ai to give organisations a clear, data-informed picture of how their teams are actually functioning, measuring the real dynamics, communication patterns and pressure points that surveys miss. That insight means we start your leadership development in the right place, focused on what is actually happening rather than what we think is happening. As the work progresses, Tensense.ai continues to measure, identifying emerging challenges early and showing exactly how your leaders and teams are developing over time. The result is leadership development with a before and after, focused investment, faster results, and impact you can see and report on, not just feel.

I deliver through bespoke online and in-person leadership development programmes, group and individual coaching, facilitated leadership workshops and training, and speaker services for leadership events and conferences.

Current clients include Breast Cancer UK, where I am delivering a 12-month blended leadership development programme, BKR EMEA, where I am about to begin the second cohort of a two-year pan-EMEA leadership programme with 20 participants, and Climalife, where I am supporting the management team with coaching and self-development training for all staff. Other clients include the NHS, Ministry of Justice, Avon Fire and Rescue, HM Prison Service, Universities of Bristol and Bath, and Muller UK and Ireland.

Clients say:

“Our MD has seen a marked difference in how we tackle issues and how we pull together as a team in times of difficulty.”

“I was in a cycle of back-to-back meetings, dealing with relentless crises and constantly reacting. I wanted to think more like a senior leader. Now I have time back and I am more conscious and deliberate about my time. I have discussed what I am doing with my team and I am seeing how they have already started to adapt their approaches too.”

If you are responsible for leadership development, people performance, or organisational effectiveness and want your leaders to be more efficient, more effective, and building stronger, more self-sufficient teams, I would love to hear from you.