Why do clients reach out to me?
Every summer since I created Wise Sherpa, I have taken time out to regroup, recharge, and reflect. When I started my business, I set out on an adventure with some ideas based on my 25 years plus experience, interest and sense of purpose of where I could add value to potential impact-focused clients. On the journey so far, the business and I (as with so many entrepreneurs) have weathered a tumultuous period of change which is most definitely reflected in how we’ve developed and evolved. – individual business coaching
To get some clarity on what those changes look like for the business and me as the owner. And crucially, how I can succinctly and powerfully articulate and communicate this to my clients, I’ve been reflecting during my time out on the question:
“Why do clients reach out to me at Wise Sherpa?”
I like to say I work with individuals and teams on key moments of transition – it’s the messy, complex stuff where individuals and teams get stuck. These transitions facing clients are typically anchored in the truly “swampy” issues of work and life where there’s not necessarily any clear or well-trodden path to follow.
As I mulled over the above question, I took time to speak to and seek feedback from a range of my clients and stakeholders. Based on their input and my own reflections, I’ve concluded that broadly clients reach out to me at Wise Sherpa for individual business coaching as follows:
- “As a business leader, I am facing some key transitions for myself and/or the business, and I crave some safe space to reflect on what I’m facing.”
- “I’m feeling stuck in my career and/or life and I don’t know how to navigate this transition(s). I could really do with carving out some time and space to work this through.”
- “As a leadership team, we are facing major transition(s). We need to take some time together to work on ourselves as a team and what we’re up against.”
The organisational clients with whom I collaborate range widely from established financial and professional services businesses, educational institutions, governmental bodies and Non-Governmental Organisations to start-ups and scale-ups, particularly in the medtech, biotech and femtech space, as well as funders. All of these organisations are facing key transitions where one-to-one leadership and leadership team coaching and facilitation can make a real difference – this is where Wise Sherpa and I come in.
The private clients who connect with me through Wise Sherpa are frequently in mid to later career but not exclusively, and many are women but again not exclusively (hardly surprising given my background in women’s economic empowerment and female-led entrepreneurship). Often, they are business founders/owners, part of a leadership team growing a business rapidly or they have been asked/hired to grow a new part of a business. The element that they all have in common is that they are leaders in transition. Many are individuals who have had non-linear career paths but are keen to progress through their work with impact and purpose.
Anchored in this greater sense of clarity gained from my reflections, I find the place that I have reached in my journey as founder and owner of Wise Sherpa fills me with a quiet confidence, a sense of achievement and even a chink of delight. The business and I have weathered some of the most challenging commercial environments and are here to tell the tale (many are not)! And hearing back from clients what they value and why they ultimately call me, has given me a renewed sense of energy and focus to take the business forward grounded in my expertise around transitions. As I look to the future, there are many exciting projects with clients old and new!
If you’re curious to know more about any of the above, I’d be delighted to talk to you about individual business coaching so please do get in touch at rebecca@wise.sherpa.co.uk or www.wisesherpa.co.uk. Or to learn what my clients say about me, please either check out my LinkedIn profile and/or my website testimonials page.
Rebecca Hill,
Founder, Wise Sherpa
A bit more about the author –
Rebecca Hill, founder at Wise Sherpa, is an experienced respected, trusted, sought after and award winning coach, consultant, facilitator and mentor.
Her passion is working with purpose led and impact focused leaders, professionals and organisations (including start ups and scale ups) in London and internationally in a thoughtful, collaborative and considered way guiding them to successfully realise their aspirations and achieve their goals. Rebecca’s approach is highly personalised and tailored to the needs of each client which is why clients report strong outcomes and she is considered one of the best leadership coaches and consultants.
Rebecca is also an author and speaker. She speaks on a range of issues including mid-life to later life transitions into fulfilling encores, navigating major life stages from a career perspective and women’s economic empowerment to name a few.
She holds an MSc in Coaching and Consulting from HEC Paris (in association with Said Business School, University of Oxford), as well as being a Chartered Marketer and qualified coach. She has lived and worked in several countries including France, US and Switzerland and speaks several languages. In her spare time, she also sits on a number of boards and committees.
