For senior leaders driving transformation

Drive the change.
Without all the answers.

You built it.
Now lead it your way.

I help senior leaders get clear on what matters, make the hard decisions, get people moving in the same direction and work out how they need to lead through the change.

Book a Clarity Call

Companies I've worked with:

Change is hard

You know something needs to change. But one or more of these may feel familiar:

No shared direction.

Everyone agrees change is needed. But leaders have different assumptions about what matters.

Execution keeps stalling.

The strategy exists, but progress is stuck between teams, functions and competing priorities.

Old ways persist.

The organisation needs to work differently, but people haven’t yet built the capabilities the change requires.

Leadership is changing.

The work is changing. So is where you add value - and how you need to lead.

Who I help

I work with senior leaders responsible for making significant change happen across an organisation.

That might mean:

leading an AI or digital transformation
moving from projects to products
becoming more customer-centred
changing an operating model or organisational structure
taking on a broader leadership role while the business itself is changing

You might be a CEO, business-unit leader, CPO, CTO, COO or transformation leader.

The title matters less than the responsibility: you need to create direction, bring people with you and turn change into something that actually happens.

What this looks like in practice

A Series A CEO and his leadership team were stuck on direction. We worked together to clarify where they were going and how to make decisions as a team. They moved forward with clarity and conviction.
A Series C CEO clarified strategy and unblocked a critical bottleneck his team had been stuck on for months. They found a scalable solution in weeks. The company went on to raise a successful Series D.
A Series A CEO was making every decision himself and slowing everything down. We rebuilt his management approach around clear delegation and rapid decision-making. He went from bottleneck to leading a scalable organisation.
A Series C VP Engineering had the capability but not the confidence to shape company strategy. He started bringing technical insights into business decisions, found new product opportunities nobody else had seen, and is now CTO.
A Series C Director of Product was at risk of being fired. He transformed from defending his team against the CEO to becoming a true partner with his peers. He's now one of the strongest members of the leadership team.

More Results

What they say

Hessam Lavi
CEO & Co-Founder, Climatiq
Shared direction, real action.
"Richard helped us get clear and move forward, both as a leadership team and as individuals. His strategy facilitation gave us a shared direction, and his coaching turned that into real decisions and action."
Rob van den Heuvel
CEO & Co-Founder, Sendcloud
From mess to efficient execution.
"Richard helped us bring clarity and structure to a messy operating system. His advice was practical, easy to apply, and led to a real boost in how efficiently we operate... I couldn’t recommend him more highly to any team needing clarity and structure."
Bella Bardswell
Senior Director, Sage
Stepping up to a new level.
"The conversation I had with Richard got me to an insight I definitely wouldn’t have reached on my own. It’s going to shape how I show up and the impact I make as I step into this new role... I recommend him extremely highly."
Alberto Grazi
Engineering Leader, Google
He's someone who actually listens.
"Richard skips the buzzwords, and helps you see things from an angle you hadn’t considered... A conversation with him always leaves you with clarity you didn’t have an hour earlier."

Hessam Lavi
CEO & Co-Founder, Climatiq
Shared direction, real action.
"Richard helped us get clear and move forward, both as a leadership team and as individuals. His strategy facilitation gave us a shared direction, and his coaching turned that into real decisions and action."
Rob van den Heuvel
CEO & Co-Founder, Sendcloud
From mess to efficient execution.
"Richard helped us bring clarity and structure to a messy operating system. His advice was practical, easy to apply, and led to a real boost in how efficiently we operate... I couldn’t recommend him more highly to any team needing clarity and structure."
Bella Bardswell
Senior Director, Sage
Stepping up to a new level.
"The conversation I had with Richard got me to an insight I definitely wouldn’t have reached on my own. It’s going to shape how I show up and the impact I make as I step into this new role... I recommend him extremely highly."
Alberto Grazi
Engineering Leader, Google
He's someone who actually listens.
"Richard skips the buzzwords, and helps you see things from an angle you hadn’t considered... A conversation with him always leaves you with clarity you didn’t have an hour earlier."

Ways to work together

The right format depends on what you want to achieve.

1:1 executive coaching

For senior leaders who need space to think, make difficult decisions, or work out how they need to lead through change.

You get clearer on what matters, make the hard calls, and find a way forward that you can lead.

Team facilitation

Remote or in-person workshops for strategy, vision, priorities, goals/OKRs, kick-offs, or a difficult question that needs the right people in the room.

We leave with a clear outcome and shared commitment.

Team training

For teams that need practical capabilities to work differently - becoming more customer-centred or product-led, and earning greater trust across the business.

The outcome is what people do differently afterwards.

How I work

Start with the real problem.

We start with what needs to change, what is happening now, and what is getting in the way.

Sometimes the problem is a decision. Sometimes it’s alignment. Sometimes people need new capabilities. And sometimes the way you need to lead has changed.

My job is to help you work out which is which — then turn that into something people actually do differently.

I've been there

I spent six years at Google and two at Amazon, including leading a 100-person organisation with over $1B in revenue impact. Since then I’ve worked with senior executives and leadership teams in tech and larger organisations.

I know what it’s like to make difficult decisions with incomplete information, lead people smarter than me, and work in environments where the expectations are high and the answers are not obvious.

I’ve also worked as an operator, executive and consultant, so I understand that transformation is not just a leadership exercise. Strategy, incentives, structures, capabilities and politics all matter.

Today I bring that experience into my work as an ICF-accredited professional coach.

More about me

I've been there

I know what it’s like to make difficult decisions with incomplete information, lead people smarter than me, and work in environments where the expectations are high and the answers are not obvious.

Today I bring that experience into my work as an ICF-accredited professional coach.

More about me

I've been there

I know what it’s like to make difficult decisions with incomplete information, lead people smarter than me, and work in environments where the expectations are high and the answers are not obvious.

Today I bring that experience into my work as an ICF-accredited professional coach.

More about me

Next steps

You Book

A short conversation about what you’re responsible for and what isn’t working. No preparation needed.

We Talk

We get clear on the challenge, where the problem really sits, and what kind of support would help.

We Start

That might be 1:1 coaching, facilitation or training - shaped around the change you need to make.

Book a Clarity Call

Frequently asked questions

That’s fine. AI is increasingly part of the context, but the work also covers product, digital, and broader organisational transformation.

Both, depending on where the problem sits.

I bring coaching, facilitation, training, and consulting, backed by operating experience. We use the approach that best fits the problem and the result you need.

No, I don't offer hands-on AI or technical training.

No, I don't offer technical implementation consulting.

No. You’re better placed to make those decisions. I can help you think through the trade-offs and make the call if it's something you're stuck on.

Yes. Most companies pay for executive coaching for leaders, as it's an investment in your performance. If you prefer to pay privately, let's talk.

Still have questions?Send me an email. I read and answer every email myself. No bots. No VA.

richard@richardrussell.co

That’s fine. AI is increasingly part of the context, but the work also covers product, digital, and broader organisational transformation.

Both, depending on where the problem sits.

I bring coaching, facilitation, training, and consulting, backed by operating experience. We use the approach that best fits the problem and the result you need.

No, I don't offer hands-on AI or technical training.

No, I don't offer technical implementation consulting.

No. You’re better placed to make those decisions. I can help you think through the trade-offs and make the call if it's something you're stuck on.

Yes. Most companies pay for executive coaching for leaders, as it's an investment in your performance. If you prefer to pay privately, let's talk.

Still have questions?Send me an email. I read and answer every email myself. No bots. No VA.

richard@richardrussell.co

Not quite your situation?

I also work with founders and startup leadership teams (Startups), successful people working out what they want next (What’s next?), and capable people who find the easy stuff strangely hard (ADHD).

In the meantime…

Get Unstuck

Download The Unstuckifier, my guide to getting unstuck as a leader: where clarity, energy, and commitment break down, and how to get each one back.

Sixteen tools you can use today. Free.