About Me
My practice has grown through listening, coaching, mediation, psychotherapy (where I am in training), facilitation, organisational development, peacebuilding, learning design, and systems support. Rather than products on a menu — these are strands of my practice, combined carefully for each circumstance, moment to moment and backed by an experienced, well researched and thoroughly trained understanding of how and why these capabilities must combine when working in complex systems.
Into The Work
I specialise in supporting processes through enabling relationships to be personal, complex, systemic and in service of what matters.
Early formation
Before the language of facilitation, consultancy, mediation, or systems work, my central practice is learning to stay with what people were actually communicating through all their channels of communication - words, behaviours, body language, choices, track records, relationship dynamics, eyebrow movements and beautiful cultural specificities.
Relationships are the cornerstone of my work
Experience of what happens when relationships are not invested in has sharpened my understanding of the importance of pace, consent, trust, conflict, repair, and the conditions in which people can become more connected and honest with each other - thereby nourishing the soil of fruitful relationship.
Through practice, the way forward becomes clearer. I am not only a consultant / coach / facilitator / mediator - I am in a leadership position within an organisation working systemically day-to-day both on a civic, leadership and business level and also in direct delivery with communities facing hardship. Therefore, I am teaching, coaching and mentoring from a place of existing and developing real-world practice. Not from a place of regurgitating secondhand theory or nice-sounding ideas.
Groups, people and conflict
Facilitation, applied group process design, and organisational support is all peacebuilding work, if it is bringing people together to be in fruitful and functional relationships where communication is flowing and conflicts are navigated with curiosity and an open heart and a will to learn. Working both alone and in partnership, I have brought the work of relationship building for deep personal and operational change into many many organisations and settings. Often complex, always human focussed and many times bravely iterative - we do not always know precisely where we are going, but we are deeply committed to how we want to travel there - together.
Systems, organisations, and learning
Designing interesting systems for recording and sharing knowledge increases the chance that people will engage with the learning and use it to inform their decision making. This is so vital for the dedicated work of meeting, planning and designing to take flight and have impact on our systems and structures in the world. Sharing the fruits of people's efforts reinforces the gratitude in people's efforts and reinvigorates their willingness to contribute more - that spins the cycle of participation and strengthens the relationships we have between each other because the work we have done is then guiding the decisions we are making for our shared future. This is restorative work.
Now
Over the last twenty years I have built experience across deep listening, coaching, mediation, facilitation, organisational development, peacebuilding, relationship-building infrastructure, learning infrastructure, systems support and an emerging love of psychotherapy. At first these developed as distinct strands. As ever, I am mindful of the right approach for the right time, combined carefully and applied purposefully, in relationship with others who can mentor me, supervise my work and support the evolution of my own practice.
All this, the cycling, living, reinforcing wheel of practice, reflection, supervision, mentorship, experimentation, learning and ongoing development underpins my work with the complex realities and relationships we are all living in.
At the centre is a commitment to people and what we can do together if our relationships are healthy and communication is flowing well with our own self and with others.
Cultural Foundations
I hail from Belfast and am thoroughly Irish, and I am living in Leeds, Yorkshire, UK. My cultural foundations are rooted in both places, with my day-to-day nourished by Yorkshire — in its towns, its rivers, its voluntary and community organisations, and in the long, unglamorous work of showing up for the same place over years rather than one project at a time. My soul is also nourished by regular returns to my homeland, all my family are still there and I love the irreplaceable feeling of being in the place where I grew up, and the strikingly uncomfortable tension of what it means to live one's day-to-day in a place where I was not, complete with all the dynamics of being an irishman living in the UK in this day and age.
I also love the traditions that I carry in my heart - music, poetry, writing, story, song, theatre, the arts, manufacturing and making things which are both useful and beautiful, eating good food with friends and trying to make trips to visit the people who I love who seem to disperse themselves ever and ever more widely around the globe.
I am also deeply grateful to the international communities of practice whom have informed, inspired and held me over time in my learning each of them bigger than any one region, including The global community of practitioners of The Art of Hosting and Harvesting conversations that Matter (and to the constant reminder to place what matters at the middle and have a good conversation about it), the international process oriented psychology community for whom I have much gratitude and still a lot to learn and experience, to the global community of coaches and mentors and facilitators who share the thread of the same garment (all striving for finding ways that we can be together in a meaningful way) and to the communities of place, identity, action, culture and inspiration whom I have worked with and been part of over the many many years of my life; circus, festivals, literature, community arts, business, community development, peacebuilding, and on and on and on - everywhere there is someone who cares about bringing people together around a shared purpose that they can act on together, if I have been privileged enough to be part of that for a long or short time, thank you.
From all of these experiences, I have a heartfelt conviction that if we include everyone influenced by something in the process to find the solution about it, and we remember to put what matters in the middle and have a good conversation about it - whilst keeping our awareness of self and each other switched on and finely tuned in.... We will find a way forward together.
Collaborators
Most of my work happens in partnership - at least with my clients themselves, and often with other fantastic colleagues and partners who bring their own unique flavour and experience to the challenges we are exploring together. Through the years this has included working with business, local and national government, universities, the NHS, community development and third sector infrastructure organisations and many many more people curious about how we can solve challenging problems together. Alongside this, I have worked extensively with leadership in discreet and confidential processes to support transitions, resolutions and positive outcomes during seemingly intractable times.
Credentials. CEDR Accredited Mediator (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution) · Art of Hosting practitioner · Psychotherapist in training — Processwork UK, Diploma in Process-Oriented Psychology.
Everything starts with an invitation, or a conversation. This is my invitation for us to connect
See the work · Working with me — the practical detail · Read a sample