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Coaching for one leader
First 100 Days
A six-month programme for directors and heads of department in their first year. A thinking partner outside your reporting line, and one small next step after every session.
From £4,800 including VAT · six months · near Farringdon or by video
What it costs
| Fee excluding VAT, from | £4,000 |
|---|---|
| VAT at 20% | £800 |
| Total including VAT, from | £4,800 |
Example price for this fictional demo. The written proposal confirms scope and the final fee. Nothing can be bought on this site and no deposit is taken.
One 90-minute kick-off and twelve 75-minute sessions add up to 16.5 contact hours. Short weekly written check-ins are included too. Preparation and running the practice sit around those hours, so the fee is not an hourly rate.
Included
- A free first call of about 30 minutes
- A written proposal with fee, dates and confidentiality terms
- One 90-minute kick-off and twelve 75-minute sessions
- Short weekly written check-ins
- A midpoint reset and a closing session
Not included
- Room hire outside the usual rooms near Farringdon
- Psychometric tests or 360 feedback, unless quoted
- Therapy, legal or financial advice
- Reports to your employer beyond what the proposal names
Who it is for
- You have been promoted or hired into a director, head of department or equivalent role in the last few months, or you start soon.
- You now lead people who used to be your peers, or functions you have not run before.
- You want a thinking partner outside your reporting line, with no stake in your politics.
How it runs
- Free call. About 30 minutes to hear about the role. I say whether I am the right fit. There is no obligation.
- Written proposal. The fee, dates, how sessions run and the confidentiality terms. If your employer pays, it also says what, if anything, is shared with them.
- Kick-off. 90 minutes to map the role, the people who matter and the three or four things you most want to work on.
- Twelve sessions. 75 minutes every two weeks. Each starts with what happened since the last one and ends with a small, specific next step.
- Between sessions. A short written check-in each week, and a reply within two working days if something urgent comes up.
- Midpoint and close. At about three months you reset the focus. In the last session you write down what you will keep doing without a coach.
A session room, and the folded week used in sessions. Illustrative, AI-generated.
Try a week
Where would two hours of thinking fit?
Pick a sample week: the planner moves four meeting hours to async or to someone else and shows where a two-hour thinking block lands.
2 h of thinking fits this 40-hour week
- Meeting-related work remaining16 h
- People work outside meetings8 h
- Other baseline work12 h
- Thinking time2 h
- Unallocated2 h
16 h of meeting-related work remains and 2 h stays free for you to place. A sample week, not a promise of time saved.
An example first month
A fictional head of finance, three months into the role, brings a 50-hour week with 20 hours of meetings. At the kick-off she lists what still depends on her from her old job. By the third session she has handed over two hours of meetings, moved two to async updates, and holds a two-hour thinking block on Thursday mornings. The other two released hours stay free for her to place. Pick the 50-hour week above to see her sample.
Read more: What should a new director focus on in the first 90 days? About Tessa
★★★★★
I came with a crowded week. By the second session I knew which meeting to raise with my manager, and how to ask.
★★★★☆
Tessa asked what still depended on me from my old role. The list was longer than I liked. We worked through it one item at a time.
Reviews on this demo are written by Vulpesco.
If your employer pays
What you say in sessions stays between you and me, except where there is a risk of serious harm or a legal duty to disclose. The proposal states in advance what your employer sees, usually only that sessions took place and the goals you agreed.
What coaching is not
Coaching is not therapy, counselling or treatment, and it is not legal or sector advice. If a new role is affecting your health or mood, your GP or NHS Talking Therapies is the right place to start. Coaching can run alongside that.
Questions
Why “First 100 Days” if it lasts six months?
The first hundred days are when most new leaders set their patterns, so the programme starts there. The remaining months give time to check that what you set up is working.
I started a while ago. Is it too late?
Not necessarily. Many people come three to nine months in, when the first rush has passed. If the role is more than a year old, I will say on the call whether another approach would suit you better.
Can my employer pay?
Yes. The proposal sets out what is shared with your employer before you start, usually attendance and the goals you agreed.
What does a session look like?
You bring a decision, a conversation or a question about your time. I ask questions, offer a framework when it helps and do not tell you what to do. You leave with a small next step.
