Nicola Pye

Making work better one brave conversation at a time. I empower CEOs and leadership teams to find new ways forward to make positive change.

The Leadership Coach & People Person

Pilotlight

Pilotlight is an award-winning social enterprise that supports other charities tackling disadvantage in the UK. Through the Pilotlight Programme, I coach and mentor charity leaders and their boards to become more efficient, effective and sustainable

Pilotlighter

Global Talent Director - Strategy and Transactions

Providing coaching to build confidence, connection and creativity for professionals, leaders, returners from parental leave and teams across EY.

Executive Coach

Learning Leader - UK&I

Senior Manager in our Talent Development team, specialise in development of our emerging talent, through leadership of our Student induction programme, our 'Routes to Success' personal development programmes and our career coaching service.

Senior Learning and Development Manager

Learning and Development manager delivering a wide variety of talent management and personal devleopment programmes. Keen area of interest in diversity leadership development and management of our Career Watch programme for women and black or ethnic minority professionals looking to progress their careers.

L&D Manager

IT & Finance training manager

Finance trainer delivering a variety of finance training programmes and systems training courses for client facing staff across EY.

Finance trainer

Focus Central London

Contract Manager, Training

Leadership coach, talent leader and change-maker. More than 20 years’ experience making business work better, enabling leaders to positively impact their people, clients and society. Clear-sighted, bringing purpose into focus and making it real. Good questioner and great listener, challenging old patterns of thinking and finding new ways forward. People are my buzz: working together to develop strengths and solutions – unlocking each individual’s unique route to effective, rewarding leadership and meaningful, lasting results.

If I could go back three years, to the moment I decided to leave EY, I’d tell myself to breathe.

This time three years ago, something was building. But looking back at this photo of me I feel like I was holding my breath…

I’d had the conversation with Nick, my husband.
It didn’t quite go to plan, because I couldn’t exactly say what or why… and I thought that made it weaker.

I’d had this glint in my eye for a while.

I knew I wanted to turn that glint into something…

A business that worked for me and for my family. And a business that mattered.

But I didn’t know how.
And I thought I had to figure it all out before I lost my nerve.

It scared the cr*p out of me.

Back then, I believed purpose was something you had to nail before you could begin.

That if I didn’t have it perfectly defined… my “why”, my plan, my path then I’d screw it up.

But what I know now is that figuring it out is the good stuff.
That’s where my energy comes from.
It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning.

Three years on, I’m still figuring it out.
Still learning but if there’s one thing I know for sure it’s that when I step towards what energises me, the impact I want to have and take the unique skills and experience only I can bring then good stuff has happened. Really good stuff tbh.

And that, I’ve realised, is exactly the point.
Because purpose isn’t a destination.
It’s the thing that keeps you trying.

The Leadership Coach & People Person | Igniting Purpose, Leadership, and Culture | 1-1 Coaching | Leadership Team Development | Building Purpose-Led, Values-Driven Organisations

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I’ve made a brave decision this week. One that feels right it’s letting my values take control…

From today, The Purpose Papers are fully open access.

No email sign-ups. No barriers. 

Just available for anyone who wants to read them. (Link in comments)

It feels good.

I massively believe in this work and I want it to be easy to find, easy to share, and easy to talk about.

I’ve been blown away by the conversations these papers have already sparked from purpose-led CEOs to leadership teams trying to find their balance. 

The feedback I’ve had has been incredible - 

“I really do think what you are doing is very special and distinctive.” 

“Wow, this is something really powerful,this makes purpose real, tangible and applicable to business success and personal growth.” 
 
The research has shaped my thinking in ways I couldn’t have predicted, and I’m more excited than ever about what’s coming next (and yes, there’s more to come)

For now, if you’ve ever wondered what it really looks like to lead with purpose, not as a slogan, but as a source of energy and clarity, you can now download all three papers (link in comments)

If something in them resonates, pass it on. Purpose is definitely not a solo sport.

It’s World Values Day. Something we talk about lots but maybe don’t know the power of them as much as we might think. 

Honestly, understanding my own values – and helping others do the same – has been one of the most fun, worthwhile and uplifting experiences of my life.

Through this work I’ve learned what energises me, what drains me, how values quietly shape every decision I make, why some people rub me up the wrong way and I do the same to them….

I’ve explored my clients’ values – watching them use this insight to make life-changing decisions, reclaim their power, and re-energise both their work and their personal lives.

And, just for fun, and marital harmony ?!?! me and Nick Smith  
recently explored our shared values too…
Turns out we share four of our top ten values. A pleasant surprise as we do like to think we are very different creatures! 

Values are the invisible threads that connect us – they’re where energy, alignment and purpose begin.

Huge thanks to Dr Jackie Le Fèvre , Alan Williams and Charles Fowler for championing the power of values - especially to Jackie the hugest amount of generosity in sharing her wisdom.
And to Lisa Nunn, who’s joined me on this journey – thank you for making it even more joyful.

#WorldValuesDay #ValuesForTheFuture

There’s something in the air… in the last couple of weeks I’ve seen lots of brilliant people stepping out of corporate life to build something of their own.

If that’s you, huge respect.

When I left corporate two and a half years ago, I didn’t have it all figured out. But I’d told myself my purpose had to be crystal clear before I could begin.

Newsflash: It doesn’t. Purpose grows and evolves as you do.

If you’re just taking the plunge, here’s what I wish someone had told me:

🚦Don’t wait until it’s perfect… just start.

🏆Know your value and your values, and stick to them like glue.

🧳 Bring your past with you. The skills, experience and relationships you’ve built aren’t your past life… they’re your foundation.

💳Especially the relationships, they are your gold card. Your network will constantly surprise you with its wisdom and kindness.

💪🏻Back yourself. You know more than you think, and you’ll always find a way.

↩️Stay open to new possibilities and pivots. Purpose has a way of revealing itself when you’re moving, not standing still.

Solopreneuring is a rollercoaster. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. Not having all the answers, not  knowing when the next £££s are coming in, not knowing how on earth you even raise an invoice can keep you up at night.

But I promise you the highs are worth it. 

If I can help anyone in my network, even just as a sounding board, drop me a message.

You’ve got this.

OK, Friday teenager venting time.
It’s the end of week one of half term (yes, there are now two weeks, as if one wasn’t punishing enough).

And my overriding feeling is that I am completely confused.
I know I was one once, but 14-year-olds baffle me.

One minute their bedrooms are tidy and the very next second it’s like a tornado swept through.

The item of clothing they JUST HAVE TO wear is always in the wash, normally wet.

They constantly tell you that you don’t understand. Even if not with their words, their faces tell you (with judgement) that YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. Yet they cannot see the irony that their texts and made-up words (laing, nerfing etc) are completely incomprehensible.

They want to be heard… oh so much, like their life depends on it when they want to make their point of view known. Yet they will continually try to talk to you through their closed bedroom door.

Every single pick-up time arranged is plus or minus 2.5, you never know which.

Happy to go out in pyjamas, yesterday’s clothes even, but not without the eyelashes and lip gloss.

In all other ways, I completely, utterly adore having a 14-year-old.





Actually, that’s a lie.

I used to think good leaders were fast problem solvers.
Spot the issue. Fix it. Move on.
 
But the best leaders, and the best teams, do something braver… They stay in the problem.
 
It’s not comfortable work when you slow down but it's there that you start to see what’s really going on.
 
The assumptions. The blind spots. The contradictions that get lost when everyone’s rushing to fix.
 
That’s why I every leadership team programme I run starts with a diagnostic phase - staying in the problem.
I speak one to one with every member of the team, not just the CEO, to understand what it feels like to be in that system.
 
It’s about capturing insights and data that surface truth of what’s happening - the highlights, the frustrations, the achievements and the work that's left to do.
I look for the tensions. The patterns. The moments where energy is getting lost.
 
You can’t fix what you haven’t really seen.
 
My role isn’t to provide the quick answer. It’s to hold the mirror steady long enough for the team to see the whole picture.
When that happens, the answers come from the team itself.
 
If your leadership team keeps circling the same issues, try staying in the problem a little longer.
Slow down. Look wider. Listen harder.
 
I’ve shared eight ways to help your team do that in today’s carousel.
Simple shifts that help you move from firefighting to real understanding.
 
That’s where the breakthroughs happen.
 
#LeadershipDevelopment #TeamCoaching #PurposefulLeadership #CultureChange

Staying in the problem

I won't lie I struggled during the first COVID lock down. The anxiety of what if I got COVID, being only a couple of months into a huge new role meant massive pressure and an absence of the huge support network I'd previously had. Add to that home schooling, working 'global' hours, separation from my mum and sister (we normally unashamedly live in each other's pockets), possibly some perimenopause anxiety too.
 
It was a lot.
 
And I thought I was going to break.
 
That was a shock for me, even in the darkest times with previous health issues, or personal struggles I'd managed to retain most of my optimism.
 
I called up my mum and we hatched a plan. A secret rendez-vous in the middle of the woods (sue me Boris). We hugged, I cried. We talked for an hour and then both had to go in opposite directions to our cars and back home.
 
I'll always be grateful that I had someone to call. And it never escapes me that there are people who feel they have no one. Not one single person they can get support from.
 
It's one of the reasons it's an absolute privilege to be working with Mind and to have spoken at Mind's national leadership conference back in July… that and the fact that they were the kindest, most tenacious and passionate audiences I've ever experienced. I believe them when they say they won't give up until everyone experiencing mental health challenges gets support and respect.
 
Lovely Pip Lawrence impromptu took these pictures of me - so that I knew what it looked like from the back of the room. Never met her before, didn't ask her to, just a random act of kindness. It doesn't stop there, she's running a barefoot half marathon soon too. You can sponsor her for West Kent Mind and help even more people get the support they need. West Kent Mind https://lnkd.in/esux4qHj

#WorldMentalHealthDay

Does leadership always require subtlety?

Leaders often pride themselves on being subtle, measured, diplomatic, composed.

But sometimes subtle is just another word for unclear.

Here are five moments when subtlety is not called for:

1️⃣ When someone’s underperforming but acting like they’re next-in-line for CEO.
If you don’t name the gap, you can’t close it. Clarity creates focus for them and for you.

2️⃣ When decisions are being unmade in corridor conversations.
Say the thing, in the room and name what’s really getting in the way. That’s how you earn trust, commit as a team and move forward together.

3️⃣ When values are getting chucked under the bus nearly as quickly as colleagues are.
If you let it slide, everyone lets it slide. Protecting culture sometimes means making it uncomfortable.

4️⃣ When your leadership team have each made up their own version of success.
It’s not visionary if no one’s facing the same direction. Get the story straight, together.

5️⃣ When “I’m fine” sounds more like “I’m one question away from combusting.”
Be the leader who notices and gets curious. That one conversation might just be the thing that helps them breathe again.

Sometimes leadership calls for the unsubtle.
Bold. Brave. Clear. Not brash though, no offense metalic pink McLaren owner.

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