About

Bio:
A kaleidoscope of perspectives

Catherine’s 25 years’ career path has included roles as diverse as User Experience Designer, Change Manager & Project Manager and Strategy Analyst. She has worked in/with large corporates, SMEs, the public sector, the third sector and academia, including Doosan Babcock R&D, BCS/Torex Health, Scottish Enterprise and Glasgow University.

Catherine has a multidisciplinary background:

• PhD in Engineering from Ghent University (Belgium)
• Business degree (MBA) from Strathclyde University (UK)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Mediation, Conflict Resolution and Negotiation from Strathclyde University.

She is an accredited mediator and a trained workplace coach and facilitator. She is also qualified and accredited as a good relations practitioner (by the Centre for Good Relations). She is a lay member of the Consumer Law Sub-Committee of the Law Society of Scotland.

As a consultant Catherine has worked with organisations and teams in the private, public and third sector: Inksters law firm, Jones & Whyte, NHS South Yorkshire, ACOSVO, Macroberts Arts Centre, the Compass Centre (Rape Crisis Shetland), Scottish Women’s Aid, Historic Environment Scotland, Scottish Mediation, Mediation Hertfordshire, Relationships Scotland. Catherine’s clients appreciate how she helps them see clarity in complex situations and guides them to develop pragmatic actions to realise their vision for success.

Catherine is driven by helping people feel fulfilled and achieve more impact in what they do.

Story:
I believe in the magic that happens when people and organizations reach their potential

I have been inspired by how people and organisations aspire to make a big difference in the world but are often missing opportunities to do so. I want to be an enabler and guide who helps people and organisations be more impactful.

The different strands of my business are all related to perspective taking.

Before I even knew the word “strategy”, I noticed how I naturally saw structure and patterns, and the big picture. When I felt my career was at a dead end, I made the (scary) jump and enrolled in a full-time MBA programme. There the pieces started to fit together and I specialised in strategy, which led to a Strategy position in a major engineering firm and later in the public sector.

When my career path took me to the role of public sector Project Manager, I experienced the challenge of bringing stakeholders with very different organisational perspectives together to deliver high impact projects. I was attracted by the transferrable skills of a postgraduate course in Mediation, Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. So I embarked on a seven-month journey to sharpen my skills in facilitating productive working relationships in challenging situations.

Colleagues started to seek me out — both for my strategy skills and my ability to help stakeholders find common ground — to coach them or facilitate stakeholder workshops.

During the pandemic I used the extra time to scratch an itch I had had for a long time: to write a book to help businesses improve their customer experience (view my book). This was born out of my frustrating experiences as a consumer and my love of User Experience design.

My consultancy work has come from a desire to bring these strands of experience together to help people and organisations reach their full potential and achieve more impact in the world.

• Impact focused: I am sharply focused on impact. The impact I create for you and your clients. The impact you create for your clients and the world.
• Pragmatic & Creative: Pragmatism is at the heart of what I do - making the most of time and people to design solutions to complex problems. I use creative approaches to gain powerful insights from different voices.
• Challenging & Encouraging: I challenge you to take a different perspective and to set an ambitious vision. I guide and encourage you along your journey as you turn your vision into reality.
• Evidence-driven: Evidence drives what I do. I help you make informed decisions that lead to impact.
• Inclusive (people) & Selective (orgs): I work with people in a way that is inclusive, safe and accessible. I am selective in the organisations I work with because I care about people and the planet.

Values

Collaborator: Amanda Heenan, LLM

Amanda Heenan is an experienced coach, facilitator and consultant. She is passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion.

Amanda holds a Law Masters (LLM) in employment and equality law and is qualified and accredited as a good relations practitioner. Amanda has particular expertise in bringing the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion to life through collaboration and engagement. She has extensive experience in the third and public sector, including the NHS.

Amanda is the founder of Arc of Inclusion.