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

I’m Zoë Thompson, Leadership and Performance Coach, Trainer and Speaker with Phoenix Life and Wellbeing Coaching Ltd. I help organisations prepare and develop leaders to be more efficient, more effective, and deliver better results by building teams that are confident, self-sufficient, and capable of working without constant management oversight, with a direct impact on performance, retention, and the organisation’s ability to grow.

I have spent the last 8 years working with organisations to develop leaders to be more efficient, more effective, and more confident in their roles, creating sustainable high performance so that teams become self-sufficient, results improve, and the organisation retains the leaders it has invested in.

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 competed internationally in the sport of strongwoman while building a successful business and raising a family. 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 am teaching what I have lived, tested, and seen work.

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 HR Directors, People Leaders, and L&D professionals 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. My tailored approach creates long term results and I pride myself on the relationships I have with the organisations I work with, often returning year on year to support continued development as the business and its people grow.

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.  In the past 12 months I have also delivered webinars for the NHS, Ministry of Justice, Avon Fire & Rescue, HM Prison Service and the Prison Officer Association, Universities (Bristol and Bath) and Muller UK & 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.