Lesley was a trusted colleague's word of mouth recommendation to me when we found ourselves without a CPO for extended period of time.... and I look back at that recco & can't thank him enough. Working with Lesley is something I can unequivocally vouch for.

Whether it's interactions with a board- both exec & non exec members, private equity groups themselves, a leadership team or Exco, through to team member, head office teams etc. Lesley flexes her style and carries weight with them all. She is full of non-nonsense, thought provoking, logical answers and questions too. She listens as effectively as she speaks and her radar and strong intuition backed by heaps of experience means that she judges' situations 'spot-on' leaving both the human and commercial side in a great place.

Lesley has been a brilliant 'CPO-Plug- in' for nearly a year... taking this on even at a time when I knew she didn't really want or need the responsibility that comes with leading & caring for a team. She has been a much-needed counsel 360 degrees around her... whilst always selflessly leading from a place of helping the individual find the answer themselves, as all the best coaches too.

She has been a big asset to PizzaExpress at a time where there was noticeable change in the People team and across the business and has acted as a sounding board to numerous individuals and teams across the business... during a period of intense drive for results, change coupled with the big duty of care that is being a large service-led customer & people business.

I would have no hesitation in recommending Lesley to any organisation; you will get actionable solutions, pragmatic advice, clear & accountable follow up & follow through. A natural with people and a trusted confidante too, Lesley will add value from conversation one and you will be lucky that you had her touch your business & organisation in any way you so choose.

Working with Lesley was transformative in my journey to becoming a CIO and growing into an executive role. Her unique blend of challenge and empathy pushed me to develop my technical, strategic and leadership skills while also feeling supported. Because of this I have been able to expand my comfort zone and tackle problems and opportunities with confidence.

My personal career journey had brought me to a place where I was involved in various businesses as an investor, board advisor, c-suite executive and non-exec director.

My time was limited and I needed to bring my best to each of these roles including a busy family life. Lesley managed to peel back to what was important to me and through her expertise of the Hogan assessment helped me to understand how my personal traits impacted those around me for the best (and at times the not so good).

Through her deep appreciation of human nature and passion to see people reach their full potential we have put in place a reflective programme where I am seeing tangible results and feeling more energised in each of my commitments.

I cannot recommend Lesley highly enough as someone who is professional, thorough, holds me to account and a pleasure to deal with.

I have worked with a couple of Executive Coaches over the course of my career and have enjoyed the process on both occasions. However, I did not feel fully understood or heard.

I met with Lesley fairly recently and had an instant rapport with her. I knew she was the “one”. She has a wonderfully warm, engaging personality and approach which instantly put me at ease. She is also no- nonsense and I thoroughly enjoy and indeed respect, how she holds me to account and challenges my language, patterns and responses I am already noticing a shift in my leadership and life, both personally and professionally.

She seems to have an uncanny knack of drilling into an issue, behaviour or pattern very quickly and is then able to guide me to the “solution”. I find our sessions utterly invaluable and she has guided me through a tricky internal process recently and was my confidant throughout. I also particularly appreciate the counsel she provides me outside of our sessions. I could not speak highly enough of her.

We have worked with Lesley for over 12 months, focusing on a number of key projects with our C-Suite, our senior leadership teams and then moving on to an assessment of the organisation structure, areas for people development as well as the recruitment of a permanent HRD. Lesley has proven to be an enormously valuable service provider across all People and OD parts of the Jollyes business, as we move through a period of accelerated company growth in both revenue and new store openings she has been able to provide a structured and coherent external view on specific areas of focus and priority..

Lesley brings a very pragmatic, sleeves up, down to earth approach to developing people and organisations, the Jollyes team has really enjoyed working with her and for sure Lesley has been an integral part of the success we are currently achieving. .

I would have no hesitation in recommending Lesley to any organisation.... you will get a ‘Real World’ approach to the task of developing people and structure which will add immediate value

Having worked with Lesley for over 18 months across three workstreams, I can see the value that she has created. All the Jollyes C-Suite has become more empathetic, more dynamic and more thoughtful, resulting in a more professional operating model.

Firstly, she has continually challenged my thinking as a new CEO and has proved herself to be an extremely capable critical friend.

Secondly, her work with the Jollyes C-Suite, through several workshops, has helped us to understand each other far better on a far more personal level and has galvanized us as a team.

Thirdly, Lesley has shown herself to be an extremely capable strategic People leader through her work on specific, discrete projects. She assisted me greatly with a highly complex people matter and provided a very high calibre holistic diagnostic to a Private Equity Board on the Jollyes People function. She was clear about the links between a strong People function in a customer-facing business, and her narrative made discussions with my shareholders far easier.

I would highly recommend Lesley to any CEOs or C-Suites who think they may benefit from having an independent view on how they operate both as a team and as individuals. We are now undoubtedly a higher performing, more cohesive, C-suite unit thanks to her support and challenge.

I engaged Lesley to support Executive development and team building. Lesley’s professional and focused feedback and coaching got to the heart of the challenges quickly and effectively in a highly empathetic way.

Lesley followed through in terms of ensuring the interventions had been implemented and had the desired result. These have resulted in a long term sustained impact and therefore I would recommend her highly.

Lesley supported me as I transitioned from the Commercial Director of P&O Ferries to the role of Chief Executive, a planned succession with several orchestrated role moves as part of a business succession plan.

Lesley took on the role of my internal coach working with me to develop the inner confidence and self-belief in readiness of stepping up to the lead role. Lesley brings a unique style and blend of attributes to coaching; part strategist, part thought provoker and because of just who she is, part cheerleader.

Through working with Lesley, I valued her honesty, integrity and her very own brand of “tough love”, but most importantly Lesley brings real insight to the relationship - she has that rare talent that helped me to discover and get comfortable with those things that were so obvious to others but such a blind spot to me.

As a result of the work we did, when the call to step up to the new role came at very short notice, I made the transition with confidence and belief which underpinned those critical first 100 days in role and beyond.

I started working with Lesley relatively early into my tenure as Managing Director, whilst facing huge transition across our senior leadership team.

Through Lesley’s curious and challenging style she very quickly helped me confront some inner demons and grow my self-confidence.

Anyone working with Lesley will find her very personable and supportive. While I knew I had to invest time in the process outside of our 1-2-1 sessions, Lesley did the same, helping me to navigate some unexpected hurdles throughout.

My leadership style continues to evolve as a result of Lesley’s support, leading to more growth opportunities for me, my team and our business.

Lesley has coached a number of my team to support them through transition into senior roles and this has yielded great development for the team and has had a material impact on our success.

I would recommend her as a coach, particularly in a new team building environment. She is a pleasure to work with.

Lesley has recently provided exceptional consultancy services to American Golf. She has a wealth of expertise, and exhibited professionalism, and discretion. A diligent consultant who kept all parties informed throughout the stages of the process and she provided a thorough feedback session upon conclusion.

During 2022/2023 Lesley Cotton provided expert advice to support the development of the Trinity House Corporation's approach to pay and reward for its general Lighthouse Authority.

Lesley's specialist knowledge and experience as a senior leader in the maritime sector, together with her proactive engagement with stakeholders at board level, helped the Authority to lay the foundations for the establishment of a clear pay policy, which was an important component of our emerging people strategy.

After interviewing half a dozen executive coaches, I engaged Lesley as I prepared to transition into a new CHRO role. Her flexibility on approach and her ability to tailor her offerings to my needs were what initially attracted me to her, particularly as I was keen to work with someone who could perform the role of mentor and coach. Lesley intuitively manages this balance.

Lesley's unique insights, style and her ability to challenge with a perfect mix of empathy and logic have been invaluable as I have navigated my first PLC CHRO role. Lesley has been more than willing to reach into her deep network in support for me.

It’s been a pleasure to work with her and I look forward to her continuing support as I navigate the coming years.