How we work
You know the relationships, history and pressures around the work. We bring questions, experience and independent judgement. Together we examine what is happening, including the difficult parts, and agree a process that gives the right people a meaningful role.
A leadership difficulty may also be a problem of authority, workload, resources or incentives. We connect people’s experience with those conditions and ask which changes are within their control, and which need a different decision.
Feminist practice asks whose knowledge counts, who decides and who carries the consequences. Those questions shape the brief and the choices it produces. National organisations’ involvement should be considered alongside their authority, access to resources and ability to challenge a decision.
Agree who shapes the questions and interprets the findings, what decisions they can affect and who owns the outputs. Discuss language, time, access and payment early. Be honest about what is fixed and what participants can change.
Trauma-aware practice means paying attention to stress, choice, pacing and boundaries. We do not require people to disclose personal experiences. Coaching and facilitated learning are distinct from therapy.
Start with the situation and what you need to decide or change. Identify who else needs to be part of the conversation.
Set a scope, roles, budget and timescale. Agree confidentiality, participation, ownership of outputs and how we will review progress.
Work with the agreed practitioners, bring evidence and differences into the discussion, and adjust the approach as the situation becomes clearer.
Record the decisions, responsibilities and unresolved questions. Agree how you will use the outputs and what follow-up would show whether they have helped.
Research and practice
A leader can gain clarity and still be unable to act if authority, workload or resources remain unchanged. Part of our work is to recognise when the next step belongs with the individual, the team or the organisation.
Qualitative MA research undertaken by a member of our network examined coaching and process consultancy in the HLA–AFNS Capacity Surge Pilot in Syria. It explored how the support met organisational needs, including differences in expectations, language and the role of supervision. This research concerns work through a former organisation, and informs the questions we bring to our practice.
The practical starting point is to agree what kind of help is wanted. Coaching, advice and organisational review serve different purposes. We revisit that agreement as the work develops, and make space for reflection and supervision.
Research context: Leeds Beckett University, 2024. Reimagining Humanitarian Leadership: Embracing Process Consultancy and Coaching in Syria. The HLA–AFNS pilot is previous organisational experience, rather than an HLC programme.
A starting point
These questions can help shape a useful first conversation.
Name the decision, who currently holds authority and who lives with its consequences. If consultation cannot change the decision, be clear about that before inviting people into it.
Consider time, language, access, care responsibilities and payment. Ask people what they need, and agree what the budget can support.
Choose a few signs that matter to the work. An end-of-session response tells us about that moment; a later conversation may reveal whether practice has changed.
For coaching, we agree confidentiality and its limits with the participant and commissioner before work starts. Any reporting arrangements are made explicit. Individual coaching content is not treated as a performance report.
Talk through your context