Thinking out loud.

I've spent over 10 years working in service design (20 in digital!), mapping complexity, working across systems, helping organisations see what's really going on. Alongside that, I've trained and worked as a coach, supporting 100+ people to think clearly, make decisions, and change how they show up.

From the outside, they can look like very different disciplines. One strategic and organisational, the other more personal and relational. But to me, they feel incredibly similar. I often find myself using coaching skills inside service design work, and service design thinking inside coaching conversations. They're not separate worlds – they're different lenses on the same kind of change.

Both start with listening, not solutions

At their best, coaching and service design are not about having the answers. They're about creating the conditions for the right answers to emerge.

In coaching, that means listening beyond the words. Paying attention to patterns, energy shifts, contradictions – what's said and what isn't. Holding back your own answers and asking questions that help someone hear themselves more clearly.

In service design, it's the same skill applied differently. Listening to users, staff, systems, data, and constraints. Understanding real pain points and not jumping straight to ideas or features. Letting the real shape of the problem surface before trying to change it.

What I love – and find hard – about both is the willingness to sit in uncertainty, waiting for clarity to emerge.

Both work with complexity, not linear problems

People are complex. Organisations are complex. Systems are messy, political, emotional, and rarely rational.

In coaching, a single issue someone brings is often connected to identity, values, fears, relationships, history, and context. You pull one thread and five more appear. In service design, you see the same thing. A "small" service issue turns out to be tied to incentives, legacy technology, leadership decisions, culture, and unspoken assumptions.

Both disciplines respect complexity. They don't try to flatten it too quickly. They help make it visible, workable, and less overwhelming – without pretending it can be fully controlled.

Both embrace problems and possibilities

Coaching and service design both work with problems and possibilities. They don't just focus on what's wrong – they also explore what could be.

In coaching, a challenge isn't just something to fix. It's an opportunity to notice patterns, make different choices, and find new ways of being. In service design, a problem isn't just something to remove. It's a starting point for better ideas and a chance to reimagine experiences and systems.

I love that both encourage curiosity and experimentation. They turn uncertainty into invitation.

Both are about behaviour change and insight

Insight – just one new thought – can be a huge catalyst for change. But insight alone doesn't change much.

In coaching, awareness is only useful if it leads to different choices, conversations, and actions. In service design, research is only valuable if it leads to changes in how services are designed, delivered, or supported. In both, the real work is helping people move from knowing to doing.

That might look like creating safe enough conditions for experimentation, supporting a leader to show up differently in a team, helping an organisation stop designing for how it wishes things worked, or challenging patterns that keep repeating because they feel familiar.

Both rely on facilitation, not authority

Neither role works well from a position of "the expert knows best." You can't force transformation in either.

In coaching, you're not there to tell someone how to live their life. You're there to help them think, feel, and choose more consciously. In service design, you rarely make the final call. You influence through facilitation, framing, evidence, and helping others see differently.

In both cases, you need to ask good questions, create psychological safety, and make the invisible visible. This is one of the things I love most – and also one of the hardest parts. There's nowhere to hide behind deliverables or certainty. You have to trust the process and yourself.

What I love about coaching

I love the depth. The privilege of being trusted with someone's inner world. The moments where something clicks. The quiet shifts that don't look dramatic from the outside but change everything on the inside.

I love that coaching honours autonomy. That it doesn't try to mould people into something else, but helps them come home to themselves – with more clarity and choice. I love how much it asks of me too. Presence. Self-awareness. Humility.

What I love about service design

I love the reach. The ability to improve experiences for thousands of people, or more. The way small design decisions can reduce friction, stress, or exclusion at scale.

I love working at the intersection of strategy and reality – where you have to translate values into actual systems, processes, and tools. I love the collaborative nature of it. Working across disciplines. Holding multiple perspectives. Designing with people rather than for them.

Why being a generalist is hard (and joyful)

The world likes neat labels. Coach or designer. Specialist or generalist. But my brain doesn't work like that. I'm drawn to the through-line – understanding people, systems, and change – rather than to a single method or role.

Being a generalist means seeing connections and patterns on different levels, moving comfortably between them, and adapting tools to the situation rather than forcing a rigid framework. It also means feeling like you don't fully belong in any one box, being asked to be narrow when your value is broad, and having to constantly explain what you do.

Where I've landed (for now)

I'm no longer trying to choose. Instead, I'm being more honest about the kind of work I'm drawn to: work with people who want to create a positive impact, work that navigates uncertainty, work that deals with complexity, work that respects people's agency, and work that aims to make systems – internal or external – more human.

Sometimes that looks like coaching. Sometimes it looks like service design. Often it looks like something in between. And that's okay.

Not everything valuable fits neatly into a job title. Sometimes the work is the through-line.

Ever wonder why taking action feels so hard sometimes? Our cognitive biases might be getting in the way. Here's how our minds can trick us into not taking action.

The biases that hold us back

Status quo bias – we prefer things as they are, even when change would benefit us. That's why staying in a job you've outgrown feels safer than going after a new opportunity.

Loss aversion – we feel losses almost twice as strongly as gains, making us overly cautious and risk-averse while undervaluing potential rewards.

Planning fallacy – we underestimate how long tasks will take, leading to overwhelm and paralysis when facing big goals.

The sneaky ones

Confirmation bias – we seek information that confirms our existing beliefs, making it hard to see new possibilities beyond what we already know.

Sunk cost fallacy – we keep investing in situations that aren't serving us because we've already put so much time or energy in.

Fear of regret – we often choose inaction over action to avoid potential regret, forgetting that not acting is itself a choice we're making.

Breaking free

Breaking free of our thinking starts with awareness. If you're feeling stuck, see if you notice these patterns at play, and ask yourself: is this a real barrier, or is my mind playing tricks on me?

Your brain is designed for survival after all – and growth takes us out of our comfort zone.

A note for the generalists out there who think they should be specialists. (Specialists, you're important too.)

I know you've heard that saying Jack of all trades, master of none, and felt a pang of shame that you're not good enough, or you'll never know enough, or why can't you just stay interested in one thing. Well, in a world that mostly celebrates specialists, I want to remind you why being a generalist is actually a hidden superpower – and nothing to be ashamed of.

What makes generalists powerful

Your spiderweb curiosity means you can see the bigger picture when others get lost in the details. You naturally connect dots across different domains that specialists might miss. You're great at untangling messy, complex problems that require knowledge from other disciplines.

Your strengths as a generalist

Your ability to adapt quickly to changing environments and new challenges. Your natural talent for bridging gaps between different teams and specialities. Your skill in translating complex ideas across disciplines and audiences.

Why this matters now more than ever

Today's biggest challenges require systems thinking, not just deep expertise. Innovation usually happens at the intersection of different fields and technologies. Leadership roles need the ability to see and connect multiple perspectives.

Being a generalist doesn't mean you need to know everything – it's about seeing how everything connects. That's not just valuable, it's essential.

After years of working with and coaching leaders across different industries, here are a few key insights that keep showing up:

The biggest breakthroughs come from simpler questions. Sometimes asking "What matters most?" creates more clarity than a 20-page strategy deck.

Success and isolation often go hand in hand. Many entrepreneurs and senior leaders struggle with finding genuine connections where they can be vulnerable and honest about their challenges.

The higher you climb, the more critical self-awareness becomes. Leaders who invest in understanding themselves and their impact create stronger relationships.

The best leaders know when to speed up and when to slow down. Creating space for reflection often leads to better decisions in the long run and avoids burnout from constant – sometimes meaningless – action.

Imposter syndrome doesn't disappear with success – it just changes form. Even the most accomplished leaders need reminding of their capabilities and innate resources.

Leadership is an ongoing journey of growth and transformation. It isn't just about reaching goals – it's about building authentic connections, self-awareness, and resilience.

Outside, great leadership looks clear, bold and empowering. But inside, it can feel intense, uncertain and very messy. It's lovely to see leaders embrace the courage to be both vulnerable and authentic.

One of the toughest parts of leadership is figuring out how to balance giving clear direction while also empowering your team to find their own way. Then there's the emotional weight of being everyone's go-to support while still taking care of yourself. As well as the pressure of making decisions – often with incomplete information – knowing that your team is looking to you for clarity.

It can be frustrating and overwhelming.

It's also not about having all the answers. It's about creating the space for others to find them. It's pretty uncomfortable trying to get comfortable with uncertainty. And self-awareness and vulnerability are far more powerful than trying to be perfect all the time.

But perhaps the biggest challenge of leadership? Learning to lead in a way that feels true to you, while managing other people's expectations.

Leadership isn't just about the tasks you do – it's about who you are being along the way.

In the world of business and entrepreneurship, we often hear that action is everything. But what I've learned working with founders is: clarity + action = results. Without clarity, action can become expensive, busy work.

Why clarity matters

Having a clear mind means there's no contaminated thinking getting in the way of your ideas. Clarity helps you distinguish between opportunities and distractions. It enables faster, more confident decision-making. It attracts the right clients and partners who resonate with your vision. And it prevents burnout by ensuring your energy goes to what truly matters.

Think of clarity as your business GPS. Without it, you might be moving fast but in the wrong direction, wasting your time and energy. With it, every step takes you closer to your destination.

Where clarity starts

Clarity isn't just about business strategy. It starts with having a clear mind and getting clear about your own purpose, values, and the impact you want to create.

I'd recommend Jamie Smart's wonderful book Clarity for anyone wanting to dig deeper into the value of a clear mind.

Lauren Currie said it to me once and it stuck: "Aimee speaks two languages and comes from two worlds. She is the bridge between logic and emotion." At the time I took it as a compliment. Now I think it's actually a job description.

In service design, you're constantly translating. Research findings into strategy. User pain into business cases. Operational complexity into something a team can act on. The work isn't just analytical – it's emotional. You're asking people to change how they work, what they believe, and sometimes who they think they are.

What coaching taught me about design

Training as a coach changed how I design. Not because coaching is a secret weapon, but because it gave me a framework for something I was already doing instinctively – holding space for discomfort while people figure things out.

In a co-design workshop, that looks like not rushing to solutions. In a stakeholder meeting, it looks like asking the question nobody wants to ask. In a discovery sprint, it looks like sitting with ambiguity long enough for the real problem to surface.

The bridge between logic and emotion isn't about being nice. It's about being honest in a way people can hear.

The Product Design Career Workbook is a handbook of exercises for UX designers written by Artiom Dashinsky, a product designer, author and maker. I contributed to the book with a couple of exercises on defining personal goals and commitments, as well as how to measure your own energy mapping.

The book has 39 exercises in total and is a brilliant tool for designers looking to reflect on and develop their career. It's designed to help you think more clearly, become more self-aware, make better decisions, and grow your career with clear goals and actionable plans.

Why journalling matters for designers

Journalling can be a great way to help with decision-making, conflict resolution, and identifying assumptions and opportunities. Working through thoughts in a structured way can help to break down big ideas and distil some of the overthinking that often leads to overwhelm.

Using a workbook like this – one that's tuned into your career as a designer – is a good resource to get started and take control of your personal development.

In work and life, we wear many hats. Working in teams, I often see people wearing hats like the facilitator, the beginner, the expert, the mentor, the organiser, the leader, the liminal thinker, the visualiser, the fixer, the futurist, the pragmatist, the strategist, the systems thinker, the listener, the space holder, the explorer, the storyteller, the connector, the risk taker.

The invisible hats

Sometimes people are wearing hats that are invisible and hidden from view. They might be the imposter, the empty vessel, the rejector, the burned out, the blamer, the bored, the confused, the quiet one, or the loud one.

You are not a hat

Sometimes we get stuck wearing the same hat for too long, and we form an identity with it. Sometimes that's helpful, and sometimes it's not.

This is your reminder that you can take off the hat you're wearing at any time. You don't need to glue it on if it no longer fits. You are not a hat.

In today's world, companies are always looking for ways to stay ahead. One of the most powerful yet underrated strategies is investing in executive and leadership coaching. Research and real-world success stories show that coaching delivers major benefits, from stronger leadership to better financial results.

How coaching pays off

The ROI of coaching isn't just about money – it's about productivity, engagement, better decision-making, and a stronger company culture. According to a study by the International Coach Federation (ICF), coaching brings an average return of seven times the initial investment, with some businesses seeing even higher gains.

Better leadership skills

Great leadership is key to any successful business. Coaching helps leaders build self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking – essential skills for making good decisions and leading strong teams.

More engaged and loyal employees

When employees are engaged, they're more productive, creative, and committed to their company. Coaching teaches leaders how to build trust, communicate effectively, and motivate their teams. Research from Gallup shows that highly engaged teams boost company profitability by 21%. Coaching helps create a workplace where people feel valued and inspired to do their best.

Smarter decision-making

Executives often have to make tough calls under pressure. Coaching sharpens their critical thinking skills and helps them consider different viewpoints, leading to smarter, more strategic decisions. This means fewer costly mistakes and better business outcomes.

Why it matters beyond the numbers

At its core, leadership coaching isn't just about business outcomes – it's about people. When leaders grow, they inspire those around them, creating a culture where employees feel supported, valued, and motivated. Coaching helps leaders navigate challenges with confidence, build meaningful relationships, and create environments where people thrive.

When leaders grow, businesses thrive.

It's an investment in human potential – making work more fulfilling and purpose-driven for everyone involved.

Mentoring

Mentoring is helpful if you're looking to develop your craft or skillset from someone who has trodden a similar path. It helps to deepen a specialism, usually in a professional development space. Mentors give advice and share experiences and insights that can support another person's journey.

Coaching

A coach holds someone as capable and creative, and works with them to find their own path. Coaching supports someone in new ways of being and doing. It's a collaborative process where you explore a broader range of areas across life: career, health, relationships. It can involve challenging and powerful questions, reframing perspectives, and is driven towards transformation and change.

Therapy

Coaching can delve into areas of mental health and bring up strong emotions. While working with emotions is integral to coaching and it provides a supportive safe space, ethical coaches know when their client would be better placed in therapy – when deeper trauma needs to be worked through rather than feelings being processed.

Consulting

Mentors, coaches and therapists are not there as problem solvers. Whilst some may offer advice, they don't tell you what to do. Consultants are strategists, problem solvers, opportunity seekers and experts in their field. Consultants are useful if you need to fix something or design something innovative.

Wearing different hats

I can wear different hats when I work as a Coach, Design Coach, Mentor or Strategic Consultant. When I start working with a client, we discuss what is needed and expected from our relationship from the start. It's important that we're both clear on roles and purpose.

Understanding the difference between conscious culture and default culture can help you create a high-performing work environment.

Default culture

Default culture refers to traditional, hierarchical organisations where decision-making is centralised and power dynamics are rigid. This culture often focuses on control and structure, stifling creativity and innovation. Mistakes are met with blame rather than learning opportunities, and employees may feel disengaged and hesitant to speak up.

Conscious culture

In contrast, conscious culture is intentionally built on values like trust, collaboration, and transparency. Organisations promoting this culture encourage innovation, employee ownership, and continuous learning. Mistakes are viewed as opportunities to grow, and open communication is prioritised.

Key differences

Innovation: Default cultures resist change, while conscious cultures encourage creativity and experimentation. Employee engagement: In default cultures, employees may feel stuck, but in conscious cultures, they are motivated and empowered. Communication: Default cultures have top-down communication, while conscious cultures promote openness. Leadership: Default cultures rely on hierarchy, while conscious cultures distribute leadership and emphasise shared responsibility.

Building a conscious culture

Start by clearly articulating your core values and aligning actions with them. Build an environment where feedback is welcomed. Give employees the autonomy to make decisions and take ownership of their work. Encourage continuous development and learning from mistakes, pivots and failures. And most importantly – leaders should model the behaviour they want to see in their teams. Show, don't tell.

Organisations with a conscious culture are better positioned to innovate, engage employees, and succeed in the long run.

Our clients understand the value of making their customers' lives simpler, better and smarter. The world is becoming more complex, customer behaviour is changing, and businesses need to transform to keep up.

By identifying new opportunities that de-risk change and support the design of smarter services and products, organisations can increase profit and innovate to open up new revenue streams.

Understanding the whole system

It's hard for big companies to change rapidly. To improve the current customer experience, it's vital to consider the interactions and systems within the business. New technologies, disrupters and legacy systems can affect both operations internally and interactions externally.

Using a design toolkit, we look at the way businesses interact and connect their services with customers – allowing us to understand the broader relationships between customers and providers of services in detail.

The service blueprint

The relationships between people inside and outside the organisation can be mapped in a Service Blueprint. This tool describes and visualises the critical touchpoints of a service, showing the high-level interaction between customer experience and business operations in an end-to-end process. It's a visual reference that helps align teams and share a complete view of any business, service or experience.

How it works

Mapping starts with insight. Customer and stakeholder interviews and workshops lead to a low-fidelity sketch of the interactions. More knowledge, understanding and collaboration enables the blueprint to exist as an end-to-end visualisation displayed in the open for teams to see and inform their work.

The blueprint helps visualise pain points for clients and customers and offers a contextualised consideration of the business implications of design. It can show stakeholders how new KPIs – such as increasing customer happiness – can lead to higher revenue and profit margins.

Maps are not going to change your business. They are there to guide and set direction into the next phase of transformation.

Service design and innovation go hand in hand. It's amazing to see more in-house teams building design capability and starting to adopt service design methods. By understanding the things that are broken, we can fix the basics and prioritise opportunities to innovate along the way.

No matter what size the organisation or what the problem to solve is, a design sprint is a good way to mitigate big spending and quickly test a concept with users to see if it's viable before building anything concrete.

Why try a design sprint?

This process adds value at speed. The idea of the sprint – developed by Jake Knapp of Google Ventures – gives a time constraint to focus on a particular area or feature without distraction. Doing strategic design means we don't just make pretty things or things pretty. We use design to create relevant and useful products and services that are feasible, viable and desirable to people and businesses.

How to sprint

We start every sprint with a day of understanding. The starting point involves pre-sprint preparation and a clear brief of the problem we're looking to solve. Research helps inform and clarify what the goals are, map out journeys, understand how we might solve the problem and where the focus needs to lie.

Once the team have understood the problem and barriers, we begin exploring opportunities and identifying potential solutions. We generate lots of ideas and then narrow them down fast. There are no sales pitches in sprints – the facilitator describes each idea unbiasedly, so more introverted personalities don't miss out on having an idea heard.

What I've learned about sprints

Don't be too broad – sprints are good for focus but don't work for reimagining a huge topic. Don't sprint if you're 99% sure something will work – sprints are for testing problems that carry risk. Research is necessary – customer insight and interviews are needed before starting. Client teams need to be part of it – co-creating builds shared understanding and vision. Sprints are great at project kick-off – they build momentum, validate direction and set the course. Culture matters – expectation setting, collaboration and communication are vital.

The power and value of this approach comes from getting something into the hands of users and out of the door.

Over the years I've experimented with team sizes, multi-disciplinary roles, sprint durations and tools. We've solved problems in both physical and digital spaces, prototyped and tested in one week and in one day, and ultimately had a lot of fun. Design sprints have proven to be a valuable approach to solving client and partner problems.

What agile looks like

Being agile means setting clear goals, breaking work into manageable chunks, and adjusting as you go. It's about staying flexible, solving problems quickly, and keeping everyone on the same page. Agile focuses on creating the most value for users by constantly learning and improving – build, test, tweak, repeat.

How design thinking fits

Design thinking is all about understanding people's needs and creating solutions that work for them. Instead of following rigid steps, it's an adaptable approach where ideas flow, evolve, and improve over time. Models like the Double Diamond – Discover, Define, Develop, Deliver – help keep things organised while leaving room for creativity.

Collaboration is key

Great ideas don't happen in isolation. By focusing on empathy and collaboration, we co-design with people, not just for them, to make sure the end result truly meets their needs. Bringing together people with different skills creates solutions that are practical and user-friendly.

Turning ideas into reality

The journey from idea to finished product isn't always straightforward, but the design process keeps things moving. Through research, brainstorming, prototyping, and testing, we help clients adapt to change and embrace new ways of thinking. It's not just about solving today's problems – it's about building a mindset that prepares businesses for the future.

Working remotely is great

…when it means not commuting on crowded transport. When the temperature is adjustable. When it can be as loud or as quiet as you like. When you're not interrupted every five minutes – it takes 23 minutes to get back on track after being distracted. When digital becomes a real enabler for bringing more diversity into teams, whether that's hiring someone from another country or a different background.

Working remotely is not so great

…when it means homeschooling children and working at the same time. When you don't have the space for a working-only area. When you're forced into remote working and you're not sure how to – or don't want to – do it.

The real problem

Not knowing how to work remotely creates painful experiences for teams who haven't defined what communication should be async or face-to-face, or what rhythms and rituals are important for the team to feel a sense of connection to each other and the organisation.

Physical workplaces have mostly been designed for extroverts, even though there are probably as many introverts and ambiverts in the world. Getting together with teams is great when you want to get to know each other and increase psychological safety. But this seems more about learning to be together rather than having to work in front of a computer together.

Working out how we like to work is a useful way to figure out how to work smarter, but not necessarily harder, to be more productive.

Ed Catmull, founder of Pixar and author of Creativity Inc., says that getting the right people and the right chemistry is more important than getting the right idea in a creative environment – and getting the team right creates more chances of finding the right ideas.

Having studied at Hyper Island, a world-leading educator in digital communication and business transformation, I not only discovered a passion for experience design but strongly believe in one of their principles – Team is Everything. Without the ability to work together, great ideas never get made and creativity stagnates.

People matter most

Tim Brown of IDEO believes that an essential component of design thinking and creative innovation is the collaboration of teams of T-shaped people. T-shaped people have depth of skill that allows them to contribute to the creative process, and a disposition for collaboration across disciplines. They are characterised as empathetic, collaborative, and enjoy working with others – the key elements to working in a creative environment.

This doesn't mean you have to be an extrovert – just guided by the ability to share, actively listen and empathise with others to collaborate, learn and ultimately innovate successfully.

The prime source of competitive advantage consists of creating a strong culture where people are empowered to do their best work and be themselves.

Building a potent mix of depth and interdisciplinary skills contributes to finding solutions and opportunities to difficult problems. Whilst strategies matter, it's culture that makes the real difference.

To me, facilitation is a great tool to help people get the best out of themselves and each other – in either the capacity of being facilitated or through doing facilitation.

Why facilitation matters

It's people that make a group. It's people that create things. It's people in a company that run a business. It's people that matter. Put humans first, and help them learn and grow. They are the glue to building better and smarter teams and stronger organisations.

Today we're working in a world where people are individualists, and more workers expect to be their own leaders. We're moving from a mechanical approach of commanding and controlling people to a place of liberation and experimentation. With this comes more emphasis on designing culture and understanding people.

The role of a facilitator

The role of facilitation is to make an action or process easier. Similar to how I see the role of a designer – it is our job to make a very complex set of methodologies and principles simple and seamless for everyone else. Whilst the designer understands and interjects insight and content, the facilitator interweaves the process to keep direction and momentum going.

Trusting the process

When I was in Brazil years ago I decided to push some personal boundaries and paraglide off the hillside in Rio. The instructor turned to me and said "run as fast as you can off the side, if you don't we're going down…" Not exactly what I expected, but it was what I needed to hear. I trusted his process and understanding.

What I learned from that experience – in the moment after when I was flying through the air full of adrenaline and a simultaneous zen-like state – was to trust the process.

Designing the session

To facilitate a session effectively, we need to understand context, competencies, and methods. Designing the process includes planning around the objective and goal, the programme and activities, the method for the group, roles and space design. A good facilitator is often like an invisible hand – the Leader Behind – guiding the group or individual without pushing them.

There are a lot of plates to spin, and with facilitation, it's important to keep all the plates spinning together and make sure that none falls and cracks.

At Well Pharmacy, I walked into an organisation that was early in its digital transformation. The stakeholders were smart, experienced, and cautious. They'd seen consultants come and go. They were not waiting for someone to tell them what service design was.

So I didn't. I showed them.

1. Start with what they already know

Every organisation has people who understand their service deeply, they just don't call it service design. Pharmacists who've invented workarounds. Call centre staff who've memorised the failure points. Prison officers who know which processes actually keep people safe. Start there. Name what they already do as design, and you've got allies instead of sceptics.

2. Make the invisible visible

A service blueprint on the wall does more than any presentation. When people can see the whole system, and find themselves in it, the conversation changes. They stop defending their piece and start seeing the connections.

3. Deliver something small, fast

Confidence comes from seeing something work, not from being told it will. Find the smallest meaningful improvement you can deliver in the first few weeks. At Well, that was simplifying a single communication flow. Small change, visible impact, earned trust.

The fastest path to "we should do more of this" is a tangible improvement that someone didn't have to fight for.

Transformation doesn't start with strategy. It starts with a room full of people who've just seen something work differently.

We are all listening to ourselves and each other every day in different ways, and the quality of how we're listening and being listened to affects us all. We can be caught up in our thoughts and not really be listening to someone else. Or we are listening to give an answer, an opinion, or solve a problem – but not truly being with them.

What I love about coaching is listening at a deep level. Actively listening to what a person is saying, as well as the in-between and underneath of what is not being said.

Level one – listening to yourself

When we listen to our thoughts – who we are inside ourselves. The focus is on you, so the impact of listening is on you. Level one is great when you are reflecting, exploring self-awareness, or being coached. It's the place to understand yourself, your values, and your thinking, and see what's getting in your way.

Level two – listening for content

When you listen to what people are saying for things. You're aware of the voice in your head, but you can look beyond it and focus on something else like solving a problem or giving an opinion. This level works well when you're consulting, problem-solving, or with friends, feeding off each other. Its impact makes people feel seen and heard.

Level three – being fully present

This goes beyond the first two levels – being completely with someone in the moment. Much like being in a state of flow, you are mindful and mindless at once. This level is really valuable as a coach during sessions; its impact becomes transformative. It is being with someone without agenda or bias.

It takes practice to listen at this level and it's not needed all of the time, but I sometimes wonder what would happen if we all spent more time really listening to each other and not waiting to talk.

Tom Kelley's book The Ten Faces of Innovation is full of stories of how a myriad of businesses have used design and innovation to transform customer experiences whilst nurturing an internal culture of innovation. Kelley describes his ten faces by categorising them as three distinct types of personas.

Learning personas

The learning personas help the team keep from being too internally focused and question their worldview daily by generating unique new insights. The Anthropologist loves stepping into the field to observe how people interact with services, experiences and products – they see with an open mind, are empathetic and intuitive. The Experimenter loves the process of testing and retesting potential scenarios, making ideas tangible and efficiently reaching a solution. The Cross-Pollinator finds connections between seemingly unrelated ideas and concepts, curious with a passion for learning.

Organising personas

The organising personas are intuitive to how organisations move concepts and ideas forward through a complex game of time, budget and resource. The Hurdler is a problem solver who loves a big challenge with constant positive determinism. The Collaborator truly values the team over the individual, coaxing people from their work silos to form multidisciplinary teams. The Director has a clear understanding of the bigger picture, sets the stage and brings out the best in people.

Building personas

The building personas apply insights from the learning roles and channel empowerment from the organising faces to make innovation happen. The Experience Architect is relentlessly focused on creating distinctive individual experiences. The Set-Designer promotes energetic, inspired cultures through work environments. The Storyteller provides imaginative narratives, going beyond traditional medium to engage and inspire. The Caregiver is the foundation of innovation through human-centred design.

When it comes to creating ideas that add value, it's important to understand how different minds help to see things from different perspectives.

It would be dull if we all thought alike and agreed with everything, always. If innovation is all about people, then understanding these faces of innovation helps us distinguish the roles people play in teams and the hats they might put on.