Table Of Content‘Rachel Ellison is pioneering in relation to coaching a lovely tradition that has
been highly valued in the field of psychotherapy – describing real cases in a per-
sonal way, complete with rich details and intricacies of coaching practice. The
reader can follow the narrative of each case through the eyes of both the client and
the coach, with additional insights provided by the psychoanalytically oriented
supervision group. The stories offer a deep questioning of the “good practice”
imperatives of the field and challenge many traditional interpretations of how the
coaching process should proceed. It is not a book with “how to” strategies for
being a coach or a coaching client. It offers something much more important – a
glimpse into the real struggles and delights of the coaching encounter.’
Tatiana Bachkirova, Professor of Coaching Psychology
and Director of the International Centre for Coaching
and Mentoring Studies at Oxford Brookes University
‘From her position of trust coaching leaders in some of the most challenging
situations and her own personal experience, Rachel Ellison offers a wealth of
insight which is relevant to leaders in all walks of life. Her observations of the
psychological importance of space and environment in a neonatal intensive care
unit, mirror some of the challenges faced by businesses seeking to reconcile the
spiraling costs of city-based property and a desire felt by many employees to work
more flexibly outside the office. In the supermarket chapter, we meet a World
Foods buyer who is truly trying to embrace and harness the power of diversity (a
word too often used to refer only to matters of gender or race) to create commer-
cial as well as cultural successes, experiences that can be applied by us all. Packed
with reflective learning, this is a book I keep going back to and every time I do, I
find something new to think about.’
Jenny Hearn, Director PWC
‘Rachel Ellison’s book speaks to everyone who has leadership responsibilities
and teams to manage. Her meticulously researched case studies shed light on the
issues leaders face across a fascinating range of organisations and cultures. By
focusing on individuals and how they respond to very specific personal challenges
in settings from prison to Paralympics, Rachel draws lessons which apply across
large and small organisations. She shows how leaders grow through awareness of
their own background and motives; and how important it is to engage honestly
with others, respecting their culture and outlook. This book will be invaluable for
everyone who wants to connect with those they lead, and to understand what real
leadership means in a global context.’
Sir Martin Donnelly, KCB, CMG, former Permanent
Secretary for the Department for International Trade
and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills
‘In the well-populated field of leadership coaching books this one is different.
It demonstrates how leadership takes many different guises but the qualities it
requires are the same and the questions a Coach needs to explore are as relevant
in times of cultural change as in active conflict zones as in board rooms. This
thought provoking account of the writer’s experiences provides insights about
how a Coach can enable the navigation of different leadership situations by con-
sidering the hidden story as well as the presenting facts. And a bonus for the
reader is the stimulus questions at the end of each chapter – particularly valuable
for Coach Supervision groups!’
Liz Macann, former Head of Coaching, BBC
‘Diversity is key to this engaging discussion of what leadership means. Ellison
has a unique ability to plot psychological learning against a backdrop of real
human theatre. The canvas moves from Afghanistan to Jerusalem, from cycling
to salami, from the authenticity of leadership to the authenticity of gherkins. The
world has needed someone to come out and say authoritatively that diversity will
help your organisation thrive more successfully and do your job better. What Elli-
son is telling us is that diversity is not a tick box exercise but a vital tool and in
fact a requirement of effective leadership. Ellison says you win trust by learning
and listening, and she doesn’t shrink from the big questions, such as what leader-
ship teaches us about ourselves and about those around us?
I loved this book and the idea that leaders are leaders, all over the world and in
every walk of life. Buy a copy of this book if you want to learn about diversity of
teams, how women are empowered when they join together and how commercial
success and collaboration in business can be a shared cow.’
Rebecca Hilsenrath, Chief Executive,
Equality and Human Rights Commission
‘Rachel’s deep and diverse insights are brilliantly brought to life through a num-
ber of fascinating case studies in this valuable contribution to the literature of
leadership. Covering an extremely broad spectrum, from the deeply personal
account of the experiences inside a neonatal intensive care unit, to the powerful
story of NGO leadership in a war zone, Rachel shows that whilst the situations
may differ the fundamental challenges of leadership are universal. This book is
a great resource for anyone wanting to explore leadership: accessibly written,
thought-provoking and universally applicable.’
Andrew Hodgson, Head of Finance Northern Europe, Uber
‘I often find it difficult to find a business book that stimulates my thinking and
emotions. Rachel Ellison’s book clearly does this. I felt a personal connection and
empathy with the leaders sharing their stories and could relate to the challenges
they face. The real-life, non-corporate situations create powerful perspectives
that are thought provoking and inspirational. It is a reminder to business leaders,
sports coaches and parents of their responsibilities to care for their teams and
families, as a collective of individuals with their own needs and to be a catalyst
for each person to achieve their aspirations. The book challenges traditional ways
of thinking with humility and in a non-arrogant style.’
Geoff Ranson, Senior Director, Internal Audit Asda Wal-Mart
‘This highly accessible book challenges us in an understanding of leadership that
extends far beyond the more commonly defined competencies of envisioning the
future and inspiring followers. It invites us to explore the critical effect of the emo-
tional labour of work on the individual, the group and the organisation. Through
the range of evocative narratives, we are invited to tolerate, feel and think about
deeper, usually covert, dynamics of organisational life. The book offers a gift of
insight to leaders.’
Wendy Harding, PhD, CEO and Director of Academic Programs,
National Institute of Organisation Dynamics, Australia
‘Every day leaders in all fields wrestle with stressful situations, but not many of
us work in war zones or face life and death situations. This book draws vivid les-
sons from the experience of those courageous people who do. It analyses different
responses to acute stress. It points the way to positive, life-enhancing solutions to
extreme demands. I recommend the stories Rachel Ellison tells so well to anyone
looking for inspiration for their own leadership role.’
Alan Bookbinder, former Director, Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts
‘This book presents us with diverse and deeply personal stories. It challenges us
to embed the powerful lessons within them into our professional lives. As an edu-
cator, the text encouraged me to find vital learning about our work environment,
space and boundaries, even from the most extreme and distressing circumstances.
I was engrossed by the leader’s stories but really appreciated how the author sum-
marised each chapter by directing the reader to reflect on their own thinking and
learning. Ellison’s insight, pace and clarity makes for a thought provoking read with
lasting impact.’
Niki Jackson, Director of Education NNLS/Youth Education Director
‘Rachel draws on the varied and fascinating experiences that coaching has exposed
her to, creating a book that is colourful, thought-provoking and hard to put down.
I especially liked the story of Fatima in Somalia and the near-impossible leader-
ship choices she has to make. Rachel’s analysis goes beyond the obvious and
looks at upbringing, culture and personal drivers to help both leaders and coaches
untangle complex issues at work. I loved it. Deeply enjoyable.’
Anthony Ryland, former Learning & Development Director,
Samsung Electronics
‘We lead in a very different world today where so many rules are being rewrit-
ten in all organisations – private, public, NGO. Coaching is one essential tool
which will allow us to lead effectively in such a changed world. Rachel Elli-
son’s fresh and provocative book challenges us in powerful ways as to how as
leaders and coaches we must raise our game to remain relevant and excellent
in this new world.’
Alan Smith, Senior Executive at a global financial services organisation
‘This fascinating, insightful book takes the reader on a journey of others’ leader-
ship experiences and coaching challenges, from the hot, dangerous war zones of
Afghanistan and Syria to the mosaic tiled floors of the National Gallery, London.
In each of its chapters, the author skillfully blends a personal human story with
deeper more psychoanalytical insights, which can only leave us thinking harder
about our leadership and interactions with colleagues. Equally skillfully the book
draws out reflections for both leaders and coaches, the two complementary per-
spectives making it a particularly useful tool for each.’
Tim Stew, British High Commissioner to Trinidad & Tobago,
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
‘Rachel thoughtfully examines the essential importance of investing time in rela-
tionship building with your suppliers, and of really getting to know your team and
nurture it. The international supermarket chapter skillfully raises questions about
FMCG food retail in 21st century Britain, the deeper meaning and role of food in
the lives of communities around the world, the type of food we buy and why. If
only most consumers had the chance to read this chapter and build an understand-
ing of the unique supply chains giving them access to wonderful produce. A must
read for leaders, coaches and consumers.’
Jane Steward, Managing Director, Eastgate Larder
‘This book provides a fascinating insight into both the art and the science of lead-
ership coaching. The case studies are compelling and (sometimes uncomfortably)
honest. The insight into how a coach picks up on signals, chooses what to name
and how to frame questions will make me more self-aware as well as more obser-
vant of the unspoken, and perhaps even subconscious, queues from those who
work with and for me. This book can help on the journey to becoming a transfor-
mational and not just a transactional leader.’
Emma Squire, Director of Arts, Heritage and Tourism,
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
‘Rachel Ellison’s book about leadership and coaching is incomparably fresh.
Instead of shop worn theories of coaching pummeled by tired ideas, we are
brought into the life space of her clients as they live and breathe their leadership
challenges and dilemmas. From a refugee camp to neonatal intensive care, to
elite high-performance para sport, this is a book about leadership as it is lived in
the raw and about a coach who meets her clients where their experience, intellect
and emotions converge. You the reader are invited to inhabit Ellison’s world and
to learn along with her what it is like to help leaders achieve programmatic and
moral excellence.’
Dr Larry Hirschhorn, Director, Centre for Applied Research,
Philadelphia, USA; Chair Bridger Memorial Award Committee, ISPSO
Global Leadership & Coaching
Global Leadership & Coaching: Flourishing Under Intense Pressure at Work
is a unique and personal look at coaching, leading and working internationally,
bringing together inspiring, original and dramatic stories of leadership from
around the world. From war zones to refugee camps, prisons to hospitals, elite
sport to supermarkets, each case study draws on psychoanalytic below-the-surface
thinking to analyse, interpret and understand a leaders’ decisions, motivations
and fears.
Rachel Ellison’s inter-cultural approach takes us to Afghanistan, Syria and
Iraq, Sudan, Somalia and the Central African Republic, to Honduras, the Czech
Republic, the USA and the UK. Global Leadership & Coaching presents a series
of individual case studies from Ellison’s own experiences working with senior
commercial, public and third sector leaders across 35 different countries, cultures
and organisational contexts. Compellingly written, this book explores a diverse
range of themes to consider when managing risk, danger and extreme emotional
stress in some of the most hazardous and challenging work environments.
Throughout the text, leaders share their stories of learning how to lead and
develop others.
Accessible, engaging and original research, Global Leadership & Coaching:
Flourishing Under Intense Pressure at Work is essential reading for today’s
leaders and aspiring leaders looking to develop themselves personally and
professionally. This book is also a resource for coaches and coach supervisors.
Global Leadership & Coaching provides contemporary, practical and applicable
examples of excellence in leadership, for individuals and organisations seeking to
develop a high performance, reflective and reflexive corporate learning culture,
which enables employees to successfully navigate challenge, increase productivity
and find joy in coming to work.
Rachel Ellison, MBE, is a former BBC news correspondent and international
development aid programme director. She is now an executive leadership coach
based in London, UK.
Global Leadership
& Coaching
Flourishing Under Intense
Pressure at Work
Rachel Ellison
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 Rachel Ellison
The right of Rachel Ellison to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Ellison, Rachel, author.
Title: Global leadership and coaching : flourishing under intense
pressure at work / Rachel Ellison.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. |
Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018034965 (print) | LCCN 2018037811 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781351346207 (Abode Reader) | ISBN 9781351346191 (Epub) |
ISBN 9781351346184 (Mobipocket) | ISBN 9781138564947 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781138564961 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315122717 (master ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Leadership. | Executive coaching | Employees—Coaching of.
Classification: LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | LCC HD57.7 .E4176 2019 (print) |
DDC 658.4/092—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018034965
ISBN: 978-1-138-56494-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-56496-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-12271-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To Etan and Jacob, two joyous gifts of learning.
