I can give Nikki no better recommendation than to say that following a long period of uncertainty and indecision working with her has given me the confidence to make bold choices and step into a position of leadership as a young female lawyer. Nikki’s direct but understanding approach, coupled with practical tips that really work, has made me progress personally and professionally in a way that I couldn’t have achieved on my own. Thank you Nikki!
Nikki is fantastic. After returning to work following a career break, Nikki was a huge support in helping me understand the challenges that I was facing and how I could set meaningful goals to grow my skills and progress my career. I’ve learnt so much from Nikki and I’m incredibly grateful for her coaching!
I would highly recommend speaking to Nikki if you are returning to work from maternity leave. She gave me the space to think about what I want my new working mum life to look like, including personal and career goals, provided me with guidance and tools on how to achieve those goals, and provided a safe space to speak at an overwhelming time. Nikki was very adaptable in each session and made sure I got what I needed out of the session, even if we hadn’t planned something. Nikki doesn’t do a one size fits all method, but instead really gets to know you and identifies what personal guidance you need from a coach to help with your short-term and long-term goals. Nikki made a great coach for me as whilst she was professional, she was also very personable.
Online Course – Return & Rise™
Invaluable toolkit for female professionals
Comment: Fantastic training and resources for returners and all professionals seeking to establish career and life goals and – crucially – to set a path to achieving them. Highly recommended.
Online Course – Return & Rise™
Purposeful and Practical
I found this course incredibly useful. Even when dealing with intangible things such as feelings around returning to work, it is linked back to practical steps and advice. It is pragmatic too, touching on time management, effective networking and career progression, to name a few examples. Every topic is supported with a pdf of key points, making it easy to digest information and look back on what was learnt. Incredibly engaging delivery and tasks that require individual reflection keep you involved and accountable. Highly recommend.
I wanted to thank you for planting the seed [of promotion] last year when I returned from maternity leave. I never thought upon my return that I would get promoted in the year. You were somebody that believed in me from the start. I really appreciated your encouragement and support. It just shows what you can achieve if you put mind to it!
I wasn’t properly prepared for…how the [career] break could throw me off-course in terms of what I wanted career-wise, both short and long term. There was a definite feeling of being all at sea and under-confident in my abilities when I returned to work after a year out. I wish I had access then to Nikki’s Career Break Return course which acknowledges these challenges and includes a number of practical exercises that can be done while on maternity leave, as well as some valuable tips, recommendations and personal insights, to make the transition back to work easier. I am glad that I stayed in the game after having my daughter and, with Nikki’s guidance, I am working from a much more informed and confident starting point as I look forward to taking maternity leave for a second time round.
The 999 coaching session was simply fantastic and invaluable. I am so impressed we got through so much in one single session. As the name suggests it is the perfect session for a complete re-evaluation and focus on making a positive career move when you are up against time. It got me to where I needed to be within 4 weeks and I am in such a better frame of mind for having it. So positive and empowering.
I sought help when a big career move (leaving the independent Bar for a role in a law firm) didn’t work out the way I had hoped. I felt lost and low; I had made a huge gamble and it hadn’t paid off. Nikki showed me that I had so many more options than I realised, and helped me untangle them and choose the best one for me, through a process of discovering my own values and priorities. She also helped me find the courage to pursue my own interests, and to set boundaries to protect that time. I found her approach to be pitch perfect: empowering, empathetic and encouraging. As a result, I am now in a role I enjoy, working with people I respect, and making time for my personal life. I can’t recommend Nikki highly enough.
I started working with Nikki shortly after I returned to work from maternity leave. I had a lot of worries when I returned to work, in particular about how I was going to succeed as a working parent and regain my confidence. I found it really useful and comforting to have someone as a ‘sounding board’ to discuss my thoughts and feelings with. Nikki helped me identify areas that I wanted to work on and she has worked with me to set small, tangible objectives to help me achieve my short and long term goals. Nikki has helped smooth my transition back into working life and I am very grateful for all of her help.
I have greatly valued the opportunity to work with Nikki and have been very grateful for her guidance and advice through out the process.
Nikki has helped me identify my goals and ambitions and provided me with tools and strategies to help me realise them. She was very good at probing to the heart of the issue and then holding me to account for the actions that need to be taken towards creating positive solutions rather than allowing me to let the issues slide. Going forward, she has equipped me with the techniques to continue the positive momentum on my own and the importance of setting myself targets and holding myself accountable
Without a doubt my 5 coaching sessions with Nikki has been a transformative experience!! After reading Nikki’s book, Raising the Bar, and my first session, I appreciated the 32 years of bad habits I had acquired as self-employed Counsel had to change and boundaries be established as I am not indispensable.
Now my work life balance has shifted and instead of looking for an escape route to leave the Bar I am embracing the career I have built, and I also have the confidence to widen my horizons and have been interviewed for Freelance Teaching. Instead of feeling burnt out, I now feel I have so much to give. THANK YOU Nikki.
Through creative exercises and an empathetic and insightful ear, Nikki helped me to realise what I want from work and how I might get there. I’d highly recommend her to anyone looking to get their career on track and build confidence.
After working with Nikki for 3 sessions I was amazed at the change that I experienced even over a short time in my approach to my career. Nikki’s personality is super infectious and her guiding approach to coaching make her a perfect ally as she assists you to navigate through discovering challenges to overcome and how to see your goals as simply a collection of very small steps. I highly recommend Nikki to those considering a coach in the legal sphere!
I have found Nikki’s coaching really valuable. She has helped me to become more strategic in the way I work and to take more ownership of my career direction and skillset.
Nikki has been a great sounding board over the past months and has offered some great resources and perspectives on areas that I have been thinking through.
I feel that my time with Nikki has helped me to not only return to work confidently, but to make lasting changes that will enable me to have a more rewarding career.
I wanted to thank you for planting the seed [of promotion] last year when I returned from maternity leave.
I never thought upon my return that I would get promoted in the year. You were somebody that believed in me from the start.
I really appreciated your encouragement and support. It just shows what you can achieve if you put mind to it!
I have just finished six sessions of coaching with Nikki. I could not recommend her highly enough. Her experience as a female in the profession has been invaluable and she has effortlessly encouraged and guided me to define and solidify my career ambitions. Thank you Nikki for all your time and patience, I look forward to working with you again in the future.
I would highly recommend working with Nikki. I had been feeling stuck and uncertain about the next steps in my career for a long time. Nikki helped me to focus on exploring my options with specific, manageable steps and thereby enabled me to move forward and to reach a decision I am happy with. I now have a concrete action plan and am looking forward to getting stuck into the next phase of my career!
I had a tough decision to make and came to the conclusion that some outside support would be helpful. I knew Nikki through LinkedIn, and also a webinar I had attended. I reached out and she was kind enough to slot me in quickly for an “emergency session”. Nikki knew the right questions to ask, the right things to consider (my vision for the future, my values and so on), and the right way to support me to know what was right for me. All of this was done in the single session – although I may well be back for more depending on what happens next!
Thank you so much for your support over the past few weeks which I feel has really propelled me forward into a different head space. I have greater clarity as to what I want to do and achieve, the steps to get there, and also have been able to understand better what is important (and what is not!). It has been invaluable.
I can wholeheartedly recommend Nikki as a coach. She helped me to focus on the areas which I needed help with and then together we worked on a strategy for each. Nikki was kind and supportive, which meant a great deal when I was having a challenging time running a business through Covid-19. Nikki’s support was invaluable in helping me to turn around my mindset to one which is well-equipped to face the future with confidence and positivity. Thank you so much Nikki!
Nikki is brilliant. I’ve done 6 sessions of coaching with her and she has taken me on quite a journey! Nikki got me to do things to progress my career which I’ve been meaning to do for years. She really helped me identify my goals and the steps I need to get there. She is a fantastic confidence builder and also made much needed suggestions as to how I might improve my work life balance. She offered constructive feedback and recommended me lots of helpful books and resources. Her experience at the Bar means that she just ‘gets’ the issues that we as women lawyers face. She’s also a really lovely woman, who disarmingly puts you at ease, I always looked forward to my sessions!
I first discovered Nikki, after a colleague in Chambers recommended her book ‘Raising The Bar’ and thereafter, during the first Lockdown, her delivery of a fabulous interactive wellbeing webinar to all members, including the staff of chambers.
Throughout my career at the Bar, I have been hampered by the dreaded Imposter Syndrome, which I realised was stopping me from ‘playing big’ blocking any further progress in the profession I love.
Through my sessions with Nikki, she has guided me to be able to challenge the negative mindset I had created, which in turn has begun to realise much more self-confidence in me and a determination to break down the barriers that I had built internally that were holding me back.
I cannot recommend Nikki’s coaching methods highly enough – challenging yet supportive, thought provoking and energising, such that having concluded our sessions for now, I am left with a clear sense that I am the author or my own destiny and in fact the world (at the Bar and outside it) are my oyster!
I found Nikki via LinkedIn and have just completed the last of four coaching sessions with her. She has really helped me build my confidence and break out of the negative and self-critical thought patterns which I have often found myself sinking into in my career to date, to find a much more positive and empowering mindset. Nikki is kind and empathetic and understands the legal profession, and I looked forward to each of my sessions with her.
I came across Nikki through LinkedIn… Having spent many years absolutely loving my career, I found myself at a crossroads – unhappy in my current position but unsure exactly what I wanted. Being very busy at work, I had also struggled to devote any quality time to the idea of how best to progress my career. Nikki took the time, over a couple of telephone calls and without any pressure, to discuss what coaching entailed and how it could assist me. Having explained how the process works, I embarked on a series of sessions, still not entirely sure what to expect.
Quite simply, the coaching has been transformative! Nikki has gently guided me to a better understanding of how I work most effectively and helped me focus on what it is I want out of my career and how best to go about getting it. She has provided me with some simple tools to break down my goals into bite-sized, achievable objectives and to avoid a sense of overwhelm. From the very first session, I have felt like a new woman – enthused, optimistic, efficient and effective. I have recovered the positive mind-set I lost some time ago and now feel excited about the possibilities open to me
I met Nikki when she gave a coaching session to the Women in Criminal Law network. Nikki’s journey to coaching was inspiring and her approach was friendly and positive. As a result I contacted Nikki to arrange some personal coaching sessions. Nikki was immediately responsive, supportive and flexible to my needs. I found the coaching sessions thought provoking. The key thing for me was Nikki’s ability to help me break down challenges into bite sized tasks, which made them feel less daunting. Nikki encouraged me to think outside the box and look at the issues I was facing in a different way. Nikki is very easy to talk to, she is an excellent listener and gives helpful, constructive feedback. Nikki is a pleasure to work with and I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for professional coaching.
I first met Nikki about a year ago and since doing so have been very impressed with her authenticity and drive for empowering and supporting women in the legal sector. As a business, we have enlisted her support with a coaching programme for our ‘maternity returners’ and all my colleagues, without exception, have been full of praise for her role in supporting their development and confidence building upon returning to work. Nikki ensures the coaching she offers is bespoke to their individual needs, spending quality time with them and delivering measurable outcomes, whilst remaining congruent with the aims of the business. Nikki’s personal style means she is approachable and builds trust and rapport quickly and the fact that she has a legal background herself is a bonus, bringing empathy to the support she provides. I have also heard her present at networking events and she is equally as impressive in that environment too. Nikki is also very organised and flexible and is a real pleasure to work with. I would have no hesitation in recommending her
Working with Nikki really helped me refine and clarify my goals, and to identify any necessary changes needed to reach them. She was very clear and I found the sessions incredibly helpful in taking a step back and looking at things from a different perspective, which is hard to do by yourself when things are very busy! Shortly after our course an opportunity came up, which I was well placed to take up, thanks to working through our sessions. If you need a bit of time to focus, or work through a transition period I highly recommend working with Nikki
My coaching sessions with Nikki have been extremely worthwhile. A couple of years after obtaining tenancy, I felt like I was lacking a clear goal and vision for how I wanted my practice to look. Nikki helped me with a practical framework for how to consider and identify my goals and align these with my values. Previously, I found thinking about these topics difficult. Nikki made it manageable. This was a really empowering experience. The fact that Nikki has spent 19 years at the Bar meant that the sessions were really tailored and insightful.
I would highly recommend Nikki, not only for more established practitioners, but as a very junior practitioner, Nikki has helped to give me the frameworks to shape my future career progression.
Nikki is an excellent coach. I can highly recommend her to anyone who is looking for some support in deciding how to progress their career. I really liked Nikki’s warm and personable approach. She gently but very effectively guided my thinking process so as to help me distill it down to what really mattered and what I wanted to achieve and why, both in the short, medium and long term. Her support was very practical and useful, for example helping me set some clear, achievable action points at the end of each session.
I wasn’t properly prepared for…how the [career] break could throw me off-course in terms of what I wanted career-wise, both short and long term. There was a definite feeling of being all at sea and under-confident in my abilities when I returned to work after a year out. I wish I had access then to Nikki’s Career Break Return course which acknowledges these challenges and includes a number of practical exercises that can be done while on maternity leave, as well as some valuable tips, recommendations and personal insights, to make the transition back to work easier. I am glad that I stayed in the game after having my daughter and, with Nikki’s guidance, I am working from a much more informed and confident starting point as I look forward to taking maternity leave for a second time round.
Nikki’s coaching helped me to gain a greater sense of power and control over my professional situation and work-related stress. The sessions also enabled me to see my direction of travel with increased clarity through refining my core values and objectives. Coaching with Nikki was a valuable investment in myself and my career
Nikki was an invaluable source of advice, motivation and guidance. She effectively identified my strengths and helped me to establish a personal brand and value proposition: two tools that gave me the confidence to assert my worth. Flexible. Intuitive. Responsive. Caring. From our first coaching session together, Nikki helped me clarify my thoughts and identify what I needed to do to move forward. She helped me see the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ by breaking down the steps I needed to take into bite-sized actions. Her follow-through is remarkable, as is her steadfast positive attitude. I would definitely work with her again!
Nikki has an amazing attention to detail and is extremely thorough in her analysis of the issues which you are working through by helping you to see them in a different, positive light. I have already seen the benefit of Nikki’s sessions by reflecting on the first session I had with Nikki to where I am now; Nikki has boosted my confidence, drive and motivation since day one. Nikki meticulously follows up the sessions and is tenacious in her approach. I can vouch that Nikki is certainly making waves!
I found coaching thought provoking and a chance to reflect on achievements as well as look at areas that I wanted to change. Sometimes busy business owners who are required to work in the business as well as on the business can find it difficult to tease out of themselves how they can achieve their goals. Nikki prompts you with the correct questions, allowing you to focus on where you are heading and how you want to get there. Highly recommend having a session with Nikki.
I really enjoyed my coaching sessions with Nikki- a much needed confidence boost following my return to work after maternity leave number 2. Nikki really took the time to understand my needs, I found her helpful, empathetic and inspiring. Through her coaching sessions and book recommendations, Nikki has helped me unlock the tools I already had to be my own life coach, be my own mentor, and strive for the career progression and work life balance that’s right for me. Thank you, Nikki
Nikki is a wonderful coach! She is kind, passionate and compassionate. She has great coaching tools and skills to help you hone in on which goals you truly want to accomplish. Nikki helps set you up for success and is a powerful motivator. I am truly appreciative and blessed to have had her support in my pursuit of continuing my legal career. I highly recommend her as a coach.
I would highly recommend Nikki… Our sessions were focussed on the challenges I faced returning to work following maternity leave… I found the sessions very useful and thought-provoking and gave me an opportunity to truly reflect on what I wanted from my career and how I could set a strategy to achieve that. She is very friendly and a great listener. She took the time to really understand my needs and provided helpful and supportive guidance. As a result of the coaching sessions, I have become more disciplined in completing tasks and getting things done. She challenged me to act in ways beyond my comfort zone which has helped rebuild my confidence following my return to work.
The sessions with Nikki have… really made me reflect on existing habits and how I can change these to improve my working day and become more efficient. Nikki is really easy to talk to, not judgemental … I liked that the sessions were tailored to me and what I wanted to achieve
Nikki helped me to identify my short and long term goals and break down my journey to realistically achieving those goals. Nikki helped me to “dig deep” to find solutions myself and her approach to self-accountability focuses the mind on achieving and not letting things drift. Nikki understands the legal profession and challenges that all lawyers (male and female) face. I think that insight provides an invaluable angle to her coaching style.
I have just finished a course of [career break returner] coaching. I learnt a lot…and it has made a huge difference to my confidence and motivation since returning to work after maternity leave. I have come out of the sessions having a clear career goal and will continue to check back at the goals I set myself in the short and long term to ensure I am progressing as I would like. Nikki motivated and inspired me throughout and hit the nail on the head each and every session.
I would definitely recommend Nikki’s services to others who have had some time out of work and are looking for focus and guidance.
Through a series of very powerful sessions with Nikki, she helped me break down what I needed to do [to change career] and helped me commit to doing it. Nikki was so effective because she was entirely flexible with me, listened to what I said and adapted her Coaching accordingly. Nikki is very approachable and friendly, an excellent listener and a very kind, non-judgemental person. Excellent coaching by Nikki which was much appreciated and has been very effective even to the present day.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the [targeted] session, but Nikki was a true professional in dissecting my aims and giving me clear goals to focus upon. Not only that, I was able to clearly identify my strengths and weaknesses and then plan strategies to realise my goals. The confidence and assurance I now feel in realising my objectives has been an eye opening journey. I cannot thank Nikki enough.
The coaching sessions I have had with Nikki have made me more enthusiastic about my career. Nikki’s coaching has helped to give me a forward-thinking approach to my current job, my future career and the progression that is required to achieve those goals. I found Nikki’s knowledge of my sector invaluable and a really useful tool in guiding me through the complexities of progressing in the legal field. Nikki’s method is geared towards getting you to think about what you are doing, where you want to go, and how you are going to get there. I found Nikki to be approachable, a clear communicator and a good motivator.
Nikki is a highly skilled coach and adept at bringing out the best in people. She has huge passion for what she does and genuine insight into the skills needed to further careers in the legal profession. Her background as a criminal barrister means she understands the challenges faced and therefore offer realistic and invaluable guidance and support. I would not hesitate to recommend her.