James A

James is a qualified and accredited executive coach with 25 years’ experience of working in business and the public sector. He helps clients find meaning, motivation and success in their careers.

Experience

Over his 25 year career, James has developed extensive experience in both the public and private sectors in strategy, management, and leadership.  He has worked for world-leading companies, including McKinsey, Accenture and IQVIA and has also held senior and board level roles in the English National Health Service.

In recent years, James has refocused his career on his passion: working with people.  He currently divides his professional life between training, leadership development, and coaching.

Expertise

James is a qualified and accredited coach.  He has a Master’s degree in Existential Coaching and is accredited at Practitioner level by the European Mentoring and Coaching Council.

In his coaching, James helps clients with a range of challenges – from practical skills development to the big questions of finding meaning in life and work.  In particular, James has helped many individuals plan and navigate career progression, or even radical career change.

Coaching style

Rather than using a lot of frameworks or tools, James tailors his approach to clients' individual needs and situations.  Through dialogue, he encourages clients to think deeply about their values, the range of options that they have to fulfil these values, and also consider the constraints (both real and imagined) that might be holding them back.

Qualifications

• MA in Existential Coaching, New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling
• M. Phil. in History and Philosophy of Science, Cambridge University
• MA in Natural Science, Cambridge University

Coaching philosophy

James’s coaching is based on "existential" principles - drawing on a long philosophical and therapeutic tradition that stresses the importance of facing up to our own freedom and taking responsibility for living our lives in a way that is true to ourselves.  He has studied existential philosophers, including Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Friedrich Nietzsche, and written about the relevance of their writing for our lives today.