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Advisory and coaching

Advice for the leadership decisions before, and after, a search.

Independent, discreet counsel for CEOs and boards, and one-to-one coaching for the leaders they appoint.

Discuss a leadership question Read my perspective on leadership risk

Private advisory

Counsel, in confidence.

Two armchairs before a tall window, mist beyond the glass, in black and white.

Standing, confidential counsel for chief executives, chairs and principals: an independent perspective on the decisions that rest with them alone.

Private advisory is a relationship rather than a project. I offer a considered view on the questions that are hardest to raise within an organisation, given candidly and held in the strictest confidence. I have no stake in the outcome other than your success.

  • A sounding board on people, structure and succession, before a decision is shared more widely.
  • A candid assessment of the leadership team, including when that assessment is unwelcome.
  • Counsel through periods of scrutiny, transition or crisis.
  • A discreet view of the wider leadership market, without signalling intent.

I accept a small number of private advisory clients, by arrangement.

A CONVENTIONAL ADVISER PROJECT PROJECT PROJECT PANACEA PRIVATE ADVISORY A SUCCESSION QUESTION A DIFFICULT APPOINTMENT NOT ENGAGEDA CRISIS A NEW MARKET

The moments that matter rarely arrive on a project timetable.

Peer counsel

Counsel from those who have been there.

Some moments call for more than advice. They call for a conversation with someone who has stood exactly where you stand: a leader who has steered a Fortune 100 turnaround, taken a company through a landmark IPO, rebuilt the culture of a global organisation, or scaled a start-up into a unicorn and beyond.

Their counsel is not theoretical. It comes from having made the same decisions, under the same scrutiny, with the same consequences.

Over two decades I have worked alongside chief executives, chairs and senior leaders of some of the world's most demanding organisations. Where the situation warrants it, I arrange a private introduction to a leader from that network who has faced the challenge you now face, and come through it.

  1. A confidential briefYou describe the situation to me alone. Nothing is shared without your agreement.
  2. A considered introductionFrom leaders already within my network, I identify the one or two whose experience is most relevant, and approach them discreetly on your behalf.
  3. A private conversationLeader to leader, in strict confidence, and at the pace the situation demands.
IN CONFIDENCE TURNAROUND CULTURALTRANSFORMATION HYPER-GROWTH IPO CRISIS MANAGEMENT YOUR SITUATION
20+years working alongside leaders at the top of organisations
8,000+senior executives assessed and interviewed
2,000+senior executives advised globally
45countries in which I have appointed leaders

Introductions are made only with the consent of both parties, and every conversation is held in strict confidence. Neither the client nor the adviser is named to anyone else.

Arrange a confidential conversation

For CEOs and boards

Board and leadership advisory

An outside view on the leadership questions that are hardest to raise inside the organisation.

  • Leadership gaps and risks at CEO and board level.
  • Succession planning and leadership continuity.
  • The capability and dynamics of the leadership team.
  • Support through transformation, crisis or rapid growth.
  • An independent view to test assumptions and bring stakeholders together.

For senior leaders

Executive coaching

One-to-one coaching for CEOs and senior executives working under pressure and scrutiny.

  • Decisions under pressure and ambiguity.
  • Presence, influence and leadership effectiveness.
  • The first 180 days in a new role.
  • Aligning personal performance with what the organisation needs.

Leadership risk check

How exposed is your leadership?

Eight questions a board would ask. Answer them candidly for an indicative view of where your leadership risk sits.

This runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you select is stored or sent anywhere. It is an indicative view, not an assessment.

There is a named successor for the CEO and each critical C-suite role.

The leadership team has been assessed against the strategy you are executing now, not the last one.

No critical role has been vacant, or held on an interim basis, for more than three months.

Your two most recent senior appointments are performing as the board expected.

The board has an outside view of the leadership market for its most critical roles.

Internal candidates have been benchmarked against external leaders.

The organisation would function well if any single executive left tomorrow.

You could make a well-informed senior appointment within weeks, not months, if you had to.

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Search sits inside advice, not beside it.

Many searches start as an advisory question: is this the right role, the right moment, the right internal candidate? And many appointments go better with coaching through the first six months. I work across all three, so nothing is lost between them.

"I love the fact I can be completely open with Andrew. I've been let down so many times before, I don't think I would be having these open conversations if Andrew were one of the regular search firms in New York."
CHRO, US Fortune 100 insurance company

A question you'd rather not raise internally?

Start with a confidential conversation.

Discuss a leadership question