Background
Helma holds an MSc in Business Psychology and has a professional background spanning executive coaching, commercial business environments and higher education. Earlier in her career, she worked at Gartner, the global technology research and advisory firm, gaining valuable insight into the challenges faced by organisations operating in competitive and rapidly changing environments.
Alongside her coaching experience, Helma is a Project Management Course Leader at a University, where she teaches subject such as leadership, team dynamics, organisational change and project management. She is also undertaking doctoral research into conflict and conflict resolution in software startups, further developing her expertise in organisational dynamics and the challenges associated with growth and change.
Helma has supported professionals and leaders across financial services, legal, technology, education and the charity sector. She also brings experience of organisational governance and voluntary leadership, having served as Chair of Governors at a London primary school for six years. This breadth of experience gives her an appreciation of the different pressures, responsibilities and stakeholder relationships leaders must navigate.
Coaching Style
Helma's coaching style is warm, curious and appropriately challenging. She creates a supportive and confidential space where clients can explore difficult situations openly, question established assumptions and discover new perspectives.
She particularly enjoys working with clients who feel stuck, overwhelmed or uncertain about their next steps. Drawing on business psychology, systemic coaching and solution-focused approaches, Helma helps clients reframe challenges, recognise their strengths and identify possibilities that may previously have seemed out of reach.
Her approach combines thoughtful reflection with practical action, helping clients move beyond immediate difficulties towards a more positive and achievable future. Rather than offering ready-made answers, she encourages clients to develop their own insights, build confidence in their decisions and take ownership of meaningful change.
Her background in mediation brings additional depth to her work with interpersonal challenges, helping clients navigate difficult conversations, understand different perspectives and manage workplace relationships more constructively.
Special Interests
- Leadership development and effectiveness
- Navigating adversity, uncertainty and professional challenges
- Conflict resolution and difficult conversations
- Career development and professional transitions
- Building confidence, resilience and self-awareness
- Organisational change and transformation
- Team dynamics and workplace relationships
- Parental transitions and returning to work
Training & Qualifications
- MSc Business Psychology
- Certified Civil and Commercial Mediator
- Principal Practitioner, Association for Business Psychology (ABP)
- Diploma in Coaching, Institute of Counselling
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- PhD researcher – Conflict and Conflict Resolution in Software Startups
Current Clients
Helma works with clients in the UK and Germany and has experience supporting professionals and leaders across financial services, professional services, legal, technology, education and the charity sector. Her coaching includes leadership development, career and parental transitions, navigating challenging workplace relationships, managing conflict and supporting individuals through periods of significant professional change.
