Stop lying to yourself.
‘Staying Positive’ Won’t Fix a Career
That Makes You Feel Dead Inside...
And the gloomy part is that if you don’t change
something now, it only gets worse.
Because one day, the music stops, and that’s it. Game over.
And it’s just you, your pension and too many “what ifs”...
But what if there was a way to take back control and make sure you’re climbing the right mountain?
One where you can be yourself and have real impact?
And what if there was a process that has consistently worked for leaders who (formerly) felt lost to finally regain clarity, purpose & professional freedom - before it's too late?
From Fine on Paper to Really Actually Fine.
You’ve got the title, the team, the office, the back-to-back calls, the house, the pension. And yet, you lie awake at 4am with a pit in your stomach and a voice in your head asking, “Is this it?”
You did it. So why does it feel like this?
Fine on Paper is a sharp, guided programme designed to help you find clarity, energy and a plan for your career that actually feels like you.
Even if you think it’s too late (it’s not), you’re exhausted, time-poor and currently allergic to anything that looks like “networking”.
Every decision that matters is painful.
If it wasn’t, you’d already have made the decision and you wouldn't be reading this.
So the question is, what kind of pain do you choose?
The pain of staying stuck in a version of success that no longer feels good?
Or the pain of working towards the much better place you need to find?
This programme is for anyone who doesn’t want to hit this time next year feeling the way they do right now.
It is for anyone who wants to wake up and feel in control,
in the psychological place they want to be and doing the work that excites them.
Here’s a look at each course module:
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Module 1: Welcome to the (slightly) weird top
You’re where you should be. On paper. Yet it’s not what you hoped. In this session, we’ll break the circus mirrors of external success. Distil what’s important to you. What is and isn’t working. What a better future holds. What it will take to get there.
Format: Live/ Virtual (recorded for on-demand)
Length: 60 mins -
Module 2: Forget titles: Find energy
Remember that feeling of total focus. When time stops. In this session, we’ll identify what that looks like for you to narrow down the best ways to spend your time at work. This will inform the start of mapping your focus, impact and strengths.
Format: Live/ Virtual (recorded for on-demand)
Length: 60 mins -
Module 3: Your 10 year plan
There is no point in investing in an area in decline. So this session will reveal the work trends and in-demand skills of the future. Alongside the advantages of longer-term planning. And why your personal brand will only become more important.
Format: Live/ Virtual (recorded for on-demand)
Length: 60 mins -
Module 4: Riding more than one horse
We’ll confront the bit we often ignore. The risk of staying still too long. Instead we’ll curate a list of micro-experiments that unlock safe change. Allowing you to explore and learn without huge risks. It’s action, not thoughts, that unlocks progress.
Format: Live/ Virtual (recorded for on-demand)
Length: 60 mins -
Module 5: Find your people, the ones you like
Networking is what you do after you’ve lost your job and feel desperate. This is completely different. It’s making friends and sharing thinking with people in your world. Putting a bit of time into making sure you have warm connections that open up ideas and opportunities.
Format: Live/ Virtual (recorded for on-demand)
Length: 60 mins -
Module 6: Launch
You’ve spent time identifying what gives you energy, what detracts from it, what you really want. Now, it’s time to take all that and launch your plan towards the best version of your career. Voicing what you hope for and sharing it with the people who can help you get there.
This session will include an invitation to a live event with me next year.
Format: Live/ Virtual (recorded for on-demand)
Length: 60 mins -
Masterclass: How to have a family and career and stay sane(ish)
Wisdom. Strategy. Swearing.
Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, and I in conversation sharing every insight we’ve gleaned from interviewing hundreds of parents and experts, reading every parenting book (including our own) and raising five kids.
Format: Live/ Virtual (recorded for on-demand)
Length: 55 mins -
Masterclass: Build your personal brand
You-in-a-box. Positioning. Status.
Filip Matous is a B2B rebrander and my go-to for building a personal brand that cuts through in a roller-coaster tech world. He has an uncanny (frankly annoying) ability to spot what’s coming next and to help you position yourself for it. My only regrets with Filip? Not acting sooner on his advice. Don’t expect his session to be relaxing.
Format: Live/ Virtual (recorded for on-demand)
Length: 55 mins -
Masterclass: Shine on LinkedIn
Be findable.
Rachel Schofield, LinkedIn and Career coach, and I discuss how to build a strong brand on LinkedIn, engage your audience and grow your professional network. Deeply practical, it demands zero requirement for bragging about what you ate for breakfast. #noavacadotoastever
Format: Live/ Virtual (recorded for on-demand)
Length: 55 mins -
Masterclass: Brilliant job search and recruiting
Talent. Relationships. Game Plan.
For 18 years, Alex has run her own specialist search firm: she knows all the secrets of the senior jobs market. In this session, she’ll share her three-pronged strategy for how to ‘go to market’ making sure you get the very best out of today’s recruitment landscape, whether you’re hiring, exploring your next moves or doing both.
Format: Live/ Virtual (recorded for on-demand)
Length: 55 mins
“It gave me space to think properly. I don’t get that anywhere else.”
”I left feeling clearer, more confident and ready to take action”
”It helped me realise it doesn’t have to be a big thing - small steps can give you energy again.”
Let’s Make This Happen For You
Our next cohort starts on the 5th of January 2026, with live (virtual) sessions at
4pm on Friday afternoons (recorded if you can’t make it).
If you’d like to join you’ll need to secure your place by Monday 22nd December.
The course fee is £3,000 + VAT
We’re currently experimenting with formats to make this the best possible experience so we’re keeping the first cohort a very small, safe, carefully curated group
— a maximum of 10 people.
And if you’d like your company to cover it, we have everything you need to make that an easy “yes”.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This is about closing the gap between how you look on paper and your real life.
By the end of the course, you’ll:
Have identified what a great future looks like for you.
No more staggering through every day, hoping to survive. This is about defining a world in which you can thrive and identifying all the ways you can make it your reality.Have a sharper, more distinctive professional story
You’ll shape your narrative so people remember you, what you stand for, what you bring, and why you’re worth listening to.Grow your network strategically
We’ll work out who you should be talking to and how to do it naturally, without feeling like you want to run away and hide.Stand out on LinkedIn and beyond
Your profile, banner and bio will finally sound like you (at your best), not like an HR form or someone else’s template.Build momentum for the next stage of your career
You’ll finish with a plan to help you attract the right kind of opportunities (rather than being hidden under years of good work that only your own colleagues know about).
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We understand, no one wants to spill their career guts in front of strangers.
That’s why we keep each cohort small, carefully selected and never include two people from the same organisation.
We build a trusted, respectful group where everyone is going through something similar and where nothing shared leaves the (virtual) room.
We take your privacy seriously, so you can speak honestly and get what you came for: perspective, clarity and a bit of relief that you’re not the only one feeling this way. -
All live sessions are recorded and shared privately with your cohort, so you can catch up in your own time.
You’ll still have access to all the exercises, tools and discussion notes and you’ll be invited to the next live Q&A to ask anything you missed.
We’ve built this course for people with full calendars and complex lives. We make sure missing a session doesn’t mean missing out.
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The core work is an hour a week… but to get the best out of this process, we recommend that you allow at least 90 minutes a week to read, review and think more deeply about the exercises.
We also suggest that you make time to connect with other course attendees between sessions to collaborate if that is a way of working that suits you.
As with any process, the more focus you give this process, the greater chance of it being transformative.
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Yes (and in many cases, they should).
We can provide a short note or summary to help you position it as professional development: think leadership energy, future readiness and employee advocacy.
The course helps you build networks, improve focus and develop the kind of visibility and confidence every organisation benefits from.
If your company has a personal development or training budget, this fits neatly within it and we’ll happily supply any documentation they need. -
This course has been created as a small, supportive space for people who are in work and want to rediscover their energy and enthusiasm. Because it's highly personalised, it does sit at a higher price point.
If you are going through redundancy, have recently left a role or are feeling financial pressure, we're putting together a more accessible option that will follow the same spirit but be less bespoke.
If you would like to be kept informed about that version, just let Elaine know and she will add you to the interest list.
“I loved that it wasn’t fluffy — it was based on real research and experience.”