The Natural Leadership Coach
About Me
I’m Lianne Mellor; Natural Leadership Coach, Allotment Custodian and creator of The Coaching Garden.
I’m a fully accredited, multi-skilled coach with 200+ hours of formal training in a number of methodologies. I have 15 years of experience nurturing, growing and coaching others. The variety of my training and experiences means I can creatively combine tools and techniques to suit the unique challenges clients bring to coaching. As a client you benefit from my creative, flexible approach with the confidence that my techniques are grounded in robust theory, research and experience.
I have a masters-level diploma (ILM 7) in Senior & Executive Level Coaching alongside Emotions Coaching with In Good Company. I am also a certified Constellations Coach (Part 1) and Systems Coach.
Accreditation at Senior level with the EMCC (European Mentoring and Coaching Council) means you can rest assured in the level of my experience, quality of coaching and ethical practices.
What sets my coaching apart
I bring my pragmatic, logical approach and combine it with creativity and emotions to deliver deep, transformative and focused sessions shaped by you and the world you operate in.
During our sessions we might have a discussion, sketch something on paper, use creative writing, go through a guided visualisation, move around the room, reference visuals or models, create a constellation (map) using objects, use breathwork techniques or even get some tarot cards out. We work collaboratively to uncover your potential, grow your strengths, weed out your unhelpful beliefs and nurture a sense of grounded confidence.
The Tools in my Shed
I have a collection of tools that I can pull out of my metaphorical shed during our sessions. Some of them have been formally taught, others have been informally acquired, and some are created or combined in the moment in response to your needs.
Below are descriptions of some of the tools which shape my approach and may appear in our sessions.
Emotions Coaching Emotions underpin every coaching conversation, whether you acknowledge them or not - They are there. * Altering your behaviour to avoid discomfort, even if it means missing out? * Feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, misunderstood or disrespected at work? * Fear or anxiety preventing you from applying for the role you deserve? * Managing or hiding your true feelings during work for fear of appearing unprofessional? * Struggling to name the emotions you experience at all? Emotions play an enormous role in the definition and achievement of coaching goals. They form part of your human experience yet many coaches (and clients) will avoid bringing emotions into coaching conversations, which misses the opportunity for holistic sessions filled with insight. Emotions Coaching works with 6 principles; 1. Emotions are Neither Good or Bad 2. You are Not Your Emotions 3. Emotions are Unmet Needs 4. Emotions aren’t Always Authentic 5. Emotions are Interlinked 6. You Can Choose Your Emotions As a trained Emotions Coach with In Good Company, I have the skills to work effectively, professionally and ethically with emotions. I have a suite of tools and models connected to each of the 6 principles which, when combined, create deeply transformative and empowering sessions.
Constellations Coaching When you’re ‘up close’ to the challenge, it can be difficult to get perspective on what’s really going on and what options are available to you. By mapping your system out, constellations coaching gives visibility of the elements affecting your goal and the conscious or unconscious impacts of them. Once you’ve mapped your system, possibilities emerge and options suddenly appear to support you with your next, best move.
Systems Thinking and Coaching Organisations and the people that work in them face complex problems but often lack the tools to tackle them effectively. Systems Coaching provides tools and models to get unstuck, understand challenging behaviours, make difficult decisions and embed lasting change. The focus is on revealing and coaching the relationships between the elements of the system, rather than the individuals within it. These techniques are usually used in group or team coaching sessions where all members of the ‘system’ play their part in revealing it, and defining what happens next.
Tarot Coaching Often people already know deep inside what they really want or need to do, but somewhere along the way they’ve lost connection with their intuition or gut instinct. Coaching with tarot cards is a fun, creative way to reconnect you with your inner knowledge and explore the signals or messages you might be ignoring or discounting. Choosing the graphic cards at random, you’ll be guided through the interpretation of the images in your own unique way. There is no right or wrong, just new insights waiting to be heard.
My Background
When it comes to Natural Leadership and squiggly careers, I know my onions!
Natural Leadership As a leader, I honed my skills in supporting others to play to their strengths, develop new capabilities and discover what gives them career satisfaction and purpose. I prided myself on cultivating the environment for others to thrive by creating opportunity and nurturing an enabling, supportive culture. I lead the only way I knew how - intuitively and authentically. I tried things out, worked in the open, created the things I felt were missing, and grew genuine connections. It wasn’t until I left my most recent role that I realised the impact my leadership had on those around me.
Squiggly career I'm no stranger to big career changes - I've been an entrepreneur and creative business founder, worked in business development in the built environment, became an agile delivery manager and a senior leader in the digital sector. Most recently I was the Head of Profession for Delivery Management in a large government department where I lead a community of 120 people - the definition of a squiggly career. It doesn't make those big life changes feel any easier, but each big shift got me exactly where I needed to be.
Connection to nature I’ve been the custodian of an allotment for 9 years, receiving it in a state of neglect and slowly bringing it into a place of bounty. Throughout that time I’ve learnt many lessons that not only apply to the nurturing of nature but also to the nurturing of humans. As a coach, I put these lessons into practice to support people in unearthing and tending their life purpose and sense of self. Humans are nature, and nature is rich with metaphors, language and lessons that can deepen insights and awareness through a coaching process. I write about this in The Coaching Garden.