Executive & Leadership Coaching
One-to-one, bespoke executive coaching for senior leaders and established business owners.
You know what kind of leader you want to be.
Strategic. Visionary. Making decisions that move the business forward.
Inspiring your team to operate at their best. Building stakeholder and client relationships that earn you a seat at this table and the next. Known for making a difference, inside the organisation and across your industry.
You also know that’s not how it’s going right now.
Your day starts in your inbox and ends with a list of things you didn’t get to. You’re back-to-back, full calendar, spending too much time in the weeds. The strategic, long-term work you were brought in to do keeps getting pushed.
Even at home, you can’t switch off, enjoy your success, or be fully present with your family.
If this sounds familiar, I have good news for you.
Effective leadership is a skill. Like any skill, it can be learned.
You need a leadership coach you can trust to tell you the hard truths.
Sometimes, that might not be what you want to hear at that moment.
But I’ll back you all the way while you do the work to change it.
How can an executive coach help you?
The right executive coach helps you become the leader your career or business now demands. Here’s what that looks like in practice.
- Day to day, you stop reacting to other people’s urgency.
- You’re no longer overwhelmed and exhausted.
- You have the space to be strategic in your thinking and thoughtful in your decision-making.
- You enjoy work again.
- You’re prioritising your health and wellbeing, and spending time with the people you love.
- You think, “Why didn’t I do this before?”
If you’re a senior leader
Your team performs at the level the business needs them to, taking care of the day-to-day so you don’t have to.
Stakeholder, board and client relationships are strong and growing.
You become the leader people gravitate to because they trust you.
If you’re a founder
You’re working on the business, not in it. The team you built to free you up is finally freeing you up.
You can focus on long-term strategy, the next big idea, the impact you want to make.
The business is growing beyond the ceiling of your bandwidth.
You can’t tell from a website if I’m the right coach for you. That’s what a Clarity Call is for. We’ll talk through where you are, the challenges you’re facing, and what you want to change. If it’s a fit, we’ll talk about next steps.
The Strategic Leader Programme: Executive Business Coaching for Senior Leaders and Established Business Owners
A 90-minute review of 36 traits that drive performance, so we know exactly where to focus from day one.
Together, we’ll define and align your coaching objectives with your business goals, ensuring they target the most critical areas for leadership development and performance improvement.
A deep-dive on the whole business: people, revenue, sales, mission, vision. You leave with a clear short, mid, and long-term strategy.
Regular sessions tailored to your objectives, where the deep work happens: changing how you think, respond, and lead.
Real-time sessions to tackle urgent leadership challenges as they come up. One issue, one resolution.
WhatsApp access between sessions for quick questions and the smaller stuff that can’t wait.
A comprehensive guide to applying the 5 Principles of Strategic Leadership in your role, with the theories, tools, and techniques. Yours to keep and refer back to long after we finish.
Built-in progress reviews to make sure the OKRs and the work are still hitting where they need to.
Awards & Accreditations
“I had recently been appointed member of the board with a new team of direct reports and difficult business challenges. Sue’s coaching led to significant improvement in my leadership.“
Rodolphe Plouvier
Head of Distribution, Generali
“By working with Sue, I have progressed significantly in a short amount of time — moving from ‘doing’ to ‘reviewing’, leading a team of 30+ all whilst a £1bn construction project relentlessly moves on. Working with Sue has helped me believe that I ‘belong’ in this leap of my career.“
Craig Message
Commercial Director, Kier Infrastructure
“Sue is a do-er, she doesn’t just talk the theory, she makes you do it, in the room with her. The impact is immediate.“
Lisa Marie R
Senior Director of Content, Getty Images
“I’ve felt a ridiculous difference within the 12 months of working with Sue. Deciding to work with Sue is the best career decision you can make.“
Peter Tosland
Commercial Director in Infrastructure, M Group Services
How to get started
Hi, I’m Sue Belton, award winning Leadership Coach
and best-selling Author
I’m Sue Belton, PCC, a certified coach credentialed by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). I’ve been coaching senior leaders, senior executives, managing directors, established founders, and C-suite executives since 2008.
My clients include senior leaders and founders at Virgin Wines, Getty Images, Curtis Brown, Costain, Generali, and other multinationals and growing businesses. I was named Best Coach, Coach of the Year and Female Entrepreneur of the Year. I’m also the best-selling author of Screw Meditation! and Change Your Life in 5.
Before coaching, I spent 15 years as a BBC documentary producer. That work taught me how to hold space for people in their most difficult moments. It’s the foundation of how I coach.
My approach is direct, neuroscience-backed, and built for type-A leaders who already know that working harder isn’t the answer.
I’ll tell you the hard truths.
I’ll show you how the patterns that got you here are the same ones standing in your way.
And I’ll back you while you do the work to change them.
When leaders invest in their own development, everyone feels it. Stronger teams, happier clients, better results for the business.
If you’re ready to stop firefighting and become the leader you know you can be, book a Strategic Leader Clarity Call and let’s see if we’re a fit.
For L&D and HR Directors
If you have senior leaders who are too operational, stretched thin, and heading for burnout, you need someone you can trust to develop them. The right support at this level protects your most valuable people and strengthens the leadership your organisation depends on.
The Strategic Leader Programme is available as bespoke one-to-one coaching or delivered as a group programme, in person or online, for your senior leaders. Group and organisation-wide programmes are delivered by me alongside my hand-picked team of ICF-accredited associate coaches, working to the same framework and standards as everything I do.
To explore what would work best for your team, book a no-obligation 30-minute Leadership Development Consultation.
Who is the Strategic Leader Programme For?
The Strategic Leader Programme is for senior leaders and founders who know they’re at the ceiling of what they can do alone, and want to lead at the level their career or business now demands
Strategic Leader graduates include:
- CEOs, COOs, CTOs
- CFOs, including those moving into CEO roles
- Managing Directors
- Senior Vice Presidents
- Executive Directors
- Founders
- Entrepreneurs
- Board Members
- Senior Partners
The programme is also commissioned by L&D and HR Directors investing in their highest-potential leaders.
If you are a mid-manager or new leader, please go to Emerging Leader Programme.
What you’ll walk away with
What you and your organisation will gain
Investing in yourself as a senior leader can lead to significant benefits not only for you, but for your organisation too, including:
18%
Higher profitability.
Companies with strong, strategic leaders are an average of 18% more profitable than those without. (Source: McKinsey & Company)
25%
Increased performance.
A strong leadership development programme can increase organisational performance by 25%. (Source: Harvard Business Review)
20%
Improved efficiency.
Leaders who undergo specialised training build more productive teams, with up to 20% increase in efficiency and output in the first year. (Source: Center for Creative Leadership)
50%
Stronger long-term returns.
Companies that consistently invest in leadership development outperform their peers by up to 50% over a five-year period. (Source: McKinsey & Company)
This is not just an investment in you. It is an investment in everyone who works with you, for you, and after you.
When you lead at this level, your team performs at this level. The leaders coming up behind you have a blueprint. The business gets the strategic thinking it brought you in for. And you are more likely to stay, because you can see what is possible from here.
The work you do on yourself sets the tone for your whole organisation.
Strategic Leaders Follow These 5 Principles
The Strategic Leader Programme is a one-to-one, bespoke executive leadership coaching experience. It’s built on the 5 Principles of Effective Leadership I’ve developed over two decades of coaching.
You intimately understand your strengths, weaknesses, and what drives your behaviours. You tackle your blind spots head-on. You take full ownership of your actions, instead of blaming others or outside forces. You project clarity, self-assurance, and gravitas to everyone around you.
You understand that prioritising your mental and physical health is paramount to performing at your peak. You start your day intentionally, dedicating time to self-reflection and planning your top priorities. You exercise to flood your body with key ‘success hormones’. You take regular time out to rest, play, and connect with loved ones.
You recognise that people are your greatest asset, and you prioritise them at the heart of everything you do. You communicate your vision adeptly, skillfully navigate difficult conversations, and demonstrate empathy and great listening skills. You rally your team, clients, and stakeholders toward shared success, inspiring and motivating them to contribute their best efforts.
You operate with intention from morning till night, and you plan the week ahead so strategic thinking becomes a habit. Grounded in neuroscience, you build new ways of thinking and responding into how you work, practising until they hold under pressure. This is where insight becomes action. You drive results for yourself, your team, your clients, and the business.
Your actions carry weight. You, your team, and the business collectively make a tangible difference. You align your efforts with the vision and mission of the business, embodying your principles in every action. Your reputation precedes you as someone who leaves a mark, both within your organisation and across your industry. You spend more time shaping the future.
Your actions carry weight. You, your team, and the business collectively make a tangible difference. You align your efforts with the vision and mission of the business, embodying your principles in every action. Your reputation precedes you as someone who leaves a mark, both within your organisation and across your industry. You spend more time shaping the future.
I work with senior leaders, executives and founders in person from my Central London coaching rooms, on-site at your organisation, or online throughout the UK and worldwide.
An approach backed by neuroscience
When leaders first start working with me, they’ve been leading this way for so long, they’re often worried it’s too late to change. That you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. They believe, deep down, this is just who they are.
The truth is, with the right help, you can change your leadership style.
Every pattern you operate from has a neural pathway in your brain. The patterns that have shaped your leadership for years are well-trodden paths, worn deep. The brain takes them by default because that’s the route it knows.
To change a pattern, we build a new pathway alongside the old one.
How that works in practice: in session, we design the new response. Take a breath. Ask a question. Think about how you want to show up.
We rehearse it until it becomes second nature. Then you take it into your week, apply it under real conditions, and we refine what worked and what didn’t in the next coaching session.
The science behind this is neuroplasticity. The principle is simple: what fires together wires together. The more you use the new pathway, the firmer it gets and the old pathway dies back. Within months, what felt impossible feels automatic.
So yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks.
The dog just has to keep getting back on the new path when it falls off.
What clients say
“Sue challenges you in a way that feels good. I am now six months into a portfolio life, working across a range of clients and now aiming to go beyond my previous areas of expertise. I am now much more in control of how I spend my time, and I have a balance which I have rarely achieved.“
Alex Atherton
“Sue is a leader in her field and has a high degree of professionalism when conducting meetings and trainings. She managed to bring out the best in the team especially with on the spot coaching during sessions. It comes naturally to her and that is reflected in her work. I would recommend Sue as a coach and a trainer to any individual or company for larger group sessions, she can adapt easily and accommodate your needs.”
Nicola Smith
VP Talent Acquisition at Visual Concepts
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Sue during the last year and she’s had a huge impact on both my professional and personal life. She’s a wonderful coach and mentor — great at listening and incredibly empathetic. She’s certainly taken me out of my comfort zone, but in a good way, leading to real improvements in my approach to leadership and my own coaching style.“
Neil Moorcroft
Director, Business Operations UK, Zuhlke Group
“What can you say, Sue is someone who is top of her game. Sue has all the tools to help you improve your performance and help you get that right balance at work. It’s been amazing having Sue help me improve and I’ve felt a ridiculous difference within the 12 months of working with Sue. If you ever wondered if you should have a coach / mentor then I can tell you deciding to take that leap and work with Sue is the best career decision you can make. Thank you Sue for absolutely everything.”
Peter Tosland
Commercial Director in Infrastructure, M Group Services
“Working with Sue is powerful, demanding, fast, and enjoyable. She is an outstanding coach, she really listens very carefully and understands immediately what you need to do, then she gets straight to the point with practical tools and solutions. When I started working with Sue I had recently been appointed member of the board, with a new team of direct reports, and difficult challenges in terms of business. The coaching was particularly efficient at dealing with these challenges, and lead to significant improvements in my leadership. Sue is really adaptive. She is easy to work with and at the same time stretched and challenged me to my limits. The coaching felt very ‘safe’ and was extremely rich in terms of approaches, methodologies and concepts. It is a real gift if you are committed to developing and improving your leadership skills and behaviours.”
Rodolphe Plouvier
Head of Distribution, Generali
“Sue is an incredibly astute, insightful and pragmatic coach. Within three months, I gained new skills to deal with challenging situations on my own terms.“
Rebecca Fowler
Head of Customer Success, Semaphore
“I now feel that I am absolutely delivering what my leadership and business want, rather than speculating and just doing the best I can. Sue has brought a sense of mindfulness, self reflection and belief to my thinking that never would have existed unless we met. That’s quite something.”
Owen Jarman
Commercial Director, EKFB
“Sue helped me to structure my life better and to not lose focus about what’s important to me. Through Sue’s coaching I feel much better equipped for handling uncertainty. I am also less judgemental with myself, and I protect my priorities much better.“
Meik Reimer
Managing Director Technology & Member of the Executive Committee, Zuhlke Engineering Ltd
“I’ve had the pleasure to work with a few coaches over the years, and Sue is simply at the forefront of her field. Sue and I have worked together for 6 months and in that time she’s used her insight, skill, understanding and empathy to help me understand how to use my voice and to better appreciate and articulate myself as a leader. Sue’s coaching methodology supports one in finding their personal path to leadership. Having one’s own style and authentic way of being is critical to sustainable leadership and I understand that now after my time with Sue. I feel that not only am I a better leader now, 6 months later, but I know how to continue to grow into the leader I want to be because of the foundational work Sue and I have done.“
Maurice Roach
Head of Financial Services, Zuhlke
“Sue is incredible and has had a dramatic impact on my life — professionally and personally! She helped me to clearly articulate and write down long term goals and achievable ways of meeting them. She taught me exercises to deal with anxiety or doubt and tools which enabled me to better coach a team and grow them as leaders. She helped me feel more in control of my day (aka life) and celebrate successes. I’ve worked with her for a few years now, and she consistently helps me look at things differently.”
Katie Lewis
Vice President, TransPerfect Life Sciences
“Sue is a breath of fresh air! Her honest and challenging approach has given me the confidence I needed. Sue has given me a number of really great leadership techniques that I now use on a daily basis. I can’t recommend Sue enough — she has a fabulous way of making you self-aware and enabling you to grow as an individual as well as a leader. Thank you Sue.”
Mark Womersley
Managing Director at Burgess Pet Care
“Sue has been coaching me for 6 months and it has been a positive, challenging and enjoyable experience for me. What I have enjoyed the most about Sue is she is a do-er, she doesn’t just talk the theory she makes you do it, in the room with her, sitting in the uncomfortable or the grey. The impact is immediate and this spurs you on the journey to reach your goals. She also drives clarity from you, she holds the space for you to work it out and the best bit – celebrate it. I couldn’t recommend Sue enough for anyone who may need to change course, re-learn or re-build certain aspects of themselves or their teams.”
Lisa Marie R
Senior Director of Content, Getty Images
“The last 14 months of working with Sue have been a wonderful and transformative experience, personally for me and for my organisation. Sue is an amazing mentor, coach and person — she doesn’t shy away from taking you out of your comfort zone, asking powerful questions and prompt the kind of thinking that we don’t all do in our routine day-to-day, which is the space where growth happens. She has had a great impact on me personally and professionally and I’m excited for the rest of the journey in growing as a leader, as well as our future business collaborations with her!”
Ina V. Hristova
Head of People, Zuhlke
“Sue is a brilliant coach that will relentlessly hold you to account in everything you do. I’ve really enjoyed my time with her and recommend that you too get some Sue in your life.”
Trenton Moss
Founder and CEO, Webcredible
“Sue has always delivered exceptional coaching engagements for senior staff. She was ahead of the trend for a focus on neuroscience and wellbeing and continues strongly in this area. I’ve worked with Sue in two very different sectors and she has delivered great work. I’ve no hesitation in recommending Sue.”
Ross Bartlett
Group Head of L&D, Ogilvy
“Sue is a fantastic operator and coach. She is incredibly skilled in listening and asking the right questions at the right time. She helped me gain real clarity, challenge old patterns, and move forward with confidence. I’d highly recommend Sue to anyone looking to grow personally and professionally.”
Jack Coxall
Co-Founder, Fitness Lab
Not ready to book a call?
Have a read or listen of my book, Screw Meditation! How to Switch Off a Busy Brain, Be More Productive and Enjoy Life.
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Is the Strategic Leader Programme a fit for you?
Book a 60-minute Clarity Call. We'll talk through your leadership style, the challenges you're facing, and the results you want. If we're a fit, I'll walk you through the four programme options and you'll choose the one that's right for you.
