Authentic Living — Executive Coaching
Leadership that is
radically human.
Executive coaching for senior leaders at the threshold of something new.
About
I've spent over two decades with the people everyone else looks to.
I've worked with senior leaders at some of the world's most demanding organisations — across banking, finance, consulting, pharmaceuticals, the built environment, the arts, and beyond. Before that, I led teams myself.
I know what it's like to be the person everyone looks to. I know the loneliness of leadership and the fear of leading into the unknown. And how when it comes down to it, it's all relational.
My approach is called radically human coaching. It combines the rigour of depth psychology with the reality of senior leadership. Not tips, not frameworks — the real work. The kind that gets beneath the surface and actually changes something.
I hold the MCC — the highest credential the International Coaching Federation awards, held by fewer than 4% of coaches worldwide and work with a small number of senior leaders each year.
Jesus College Cambridge ·London Business School ·University of Edinburgh ·Chicago Booth ·Obama Foundation
Who I Work With
You are very good at what you do.
You've made it to a level most people aspire to. From the outside, it looks like things are working. And in many ways, they are.
But something is asking for your attention. Maybe it's a role you've grown into without fully inhabiting. Maybe it's a transition — into a board seat, a CEO chair, a new venture, or out of one. Maybe it's the slow recognition that the way you've been leading isn't going to take you where you need to go next.
The people I work with don't need another framework. They need somewhere to think honestly — with someone who isn't afraid of the complexity and isn't going to flinch.
What brings people to me
A new role that feels bigger than the one before it. A board dynamic that's become impossible. A team that isn't following. A version of yourself you've outgrown but haven't replaced. A decision you've been circling for months. A sense that the next chapter wants to be written but hasn't yet revealed itself.
What we work on
The presenting question is rarely the actual question. We work with what's underneath — the patterns, the assumptions, the inherited ways of leading that no longer serve. We work with the person, not just the problem.
"I didn't want someone to give me a framework. I needed someone to actually help me think."
What changes
Decisions come more easily — not because the answers are simpler, but because the person making them is clearer. Difficult conversations stop being avoided. Relationships that mattered get repaired or released.
The leaders I work with don't become different people. They become more themselves — and more useful to the people around them as a result.
They stop performing. They start leading.
The Work
We go where the real work is.
The approach
This is not coaching that stays at the surface. Drawing on depth psychology, IFS, Psychosynthesis, and Constellations, we work with the whole person — the leader you are, and the one you are becoming.
The structure
A six-month engagement. Six 90-minute sessions. Access to me between sessions. No rigid agenda — we follow what the work asks for.
The result
Leaders who can hold complexity, navigate difficult relationships, and feel genuinely like themselves in the room. Less performing. More leading.
Tips & Insights
Short thoughts on leading well.
Radically Human
Why our humanity makes leadership difficult but also transformational.
The fear no one admits to
The higher you get, the more alone you are with it.
What's in the mirror
Most people don't really want to know. Some do.
What Clients Say
The conversations that changed everything.
"Lee helped me have true and honest conversations with myself about my values, my goals, my dreams — and why I hadn't achieved them yet. One of those life-changing experiences."
Patrik M.
CEO, Banking
"Head and shoulders above her colleagues in all aspects of coaching. Her style, innovative approach, and fearlessness make her an absolute pleasure to work with — and she will really challenge you in a way you'll hardly notice."
Rodger H.
Managing Director, Consulting
"Frankly, Lee changed my life. She helped me discover myself, both personally and professionally — and gave me the ability to think outside of myself and reflect on my impact."
Abby D.
SVP, Finance
“Lee Chalmers, one of Britain's foremost personal development coaches.”
Guy Browning
The Guardian
Trusted by leading organisations
The Investment
A six-month engagement.
A year that changes things.
A six-month coaching engagement is £8,500. A full year is £16,000 — and it's what I usually recommend. A year gives us a full cycle together: enough time to get beneath the surface, enough trust to do the real work, enough space for it to actually land.
For extended programmes, retained work, or engagements involving multiple leaders within an organisation, I'm happy to have a conversation about what's right.
If you're being sponsored by your organisation, I can provide everything your L&D or finance team needs.
Get in Touch
Let's have a conversation.
If anything you've read resonates, the best next step is simply to get in touch. There's no pitch, no hard sell — just a chance to explore whether working together makes sense.
Or write directly: lee@authenticliving.co.uk
Things people ask
If something isn't answered here, the discovery call is the right place to start.
Coaching is future-focused and action-oriented. We start from the assumption that you're functioning well — probably better than most — and we work together to unlock a different quality of leadership, thinking, and presence. Therapy tends to look back; coaching looks forward. That said, I bring a background in depth psychology to my work, which means we can go beneath the surface when that's where the real insight lives. The distinction that matters most to my clients is this: you leave sessions clearer, more energised, and ready to act — not analysed.
Completely. Everything discussed in our sessions belongs to you. I hold the ICF Master Certified Coach credential, and client confidentiality is a cornerstone of the ethical code I work to. This holds even if your organisation is commissioning the coaching — your employer does not have access to the content of our conversations. What you choose to share with them is entirely your decision. If we're working in a three-way contracting arrangement with your organisation, I'll make the confidentiality boundaries explicit from the start, so everyone is clear.
My core engagement runs for six months. In my experience, that's the minimum time needed for real, lasting change — long enough to move through the initial insights and into the harder, more rewarding work of actually shifting how you lead. Some clients choose to continue beyond six months, particularly when they're navigating a significant transition or want ongoing support through a longer arc of change. The investment for a six-month engagement is £8,500.
We usually meet fortnightly, with sessions of 60 to 90 minutes — by video or, where geography allows, in person. Between sessions, there's often reflection work: not homework in any formal sense, but the kind of quiet noticing that makes the next conversation richer. I'm also available by message between sessions if something significant comes up and you want to think it through. The first session is always about establishing the coaching relationship and understanding where you are and where you want to go — there's no prescribed agenda beyond that.
The clients I work with are rarely in crisis. They're highly capable people — often at the top of their field — who sense that the way they've been leading has taken them as far as it can, and that something different is needed. If you find yourself asking questions about meaning, contribution, or the kind of leader you actually want to be — not just the effective one you've already become — that's usually a good signal. If you're unsure, the best thing to do is have a conversation. The discovery call is free, and you'll know fairly quickly whether this is the right moment.
I'm not a set of processes. I've spent years working with senior leaders across sectors — from law and finance to higher education and the public sphere — and I bring genuine experience of what it means to lead at that level. I hold an MCC, the highest credential awarded by the International Coaching Federation, and I draw on depth psychology — including Internal Family Systems, Psychosynthesis, and Systemic Constellations — without making our work feel therapeutic. What clients most often say is that I feel like a real person in the room with them, not a methodology. The Times described it as 'more wise friend than guru.' That's probably as close as I can get.
Yes — a significant part of my work is commissioned by organisations for their executives, partners, and senior leadership teams. If you're in an HR, talent, or board role and you're considering coaching for a leader in your organisation, I'm happy to talk through how that typically works, including how we structure the three-way contracting process to protect the individual's confidentiality while meeting the organisation's development goals. Get in touch directly and we can have that conversation.