Meet the team! – Claire Goodman, executive coach & facilitator

Claire Goodman is an executive coach & facilitator working with leaders across corporate, healthcare, and non-profit sectors. She is also a Tutor at Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership (CISL) where she presents courses such as ‘High Impact Leadership’ and ‘Women Leading Change’. Formerly a Director at Thomson Reuters, Claire gained deep expertise in HR, talent management, change management, and Equality, Diversity & Inclusion. She led change initiatives that shaped high-performing, inclusive organizational cultures. Claire lives in Wokingham with her family. 

Claire discovered us at the Climate Change Coaches during Covid, when like many of us, she was asking questions about the direction of her career. She already cared deeply about the environment; “I love this beautiful and intricately designed planet that we all share as our home. I felt deeply saddened that because of our irresponsibility so many are already suffering and millions more will suffer, particularly women and children in vulnerable areas.” She knew that she wanted to work with others “to restore our world to a place where everyone can flourish”.

By luck, Claire heard Charly speak at an online event, and realised that she could use her expertise as a coach. “I had never before considered that my skills might be useful in tackling climate change – it was a lightbulb moment!” So many coaches tell us that this is their experience. In their book, Charly and Sarah write about the fact that many of us do not ‘see ourselves’ in photographs of either the climate crisis or sustainability, and that this makes it harder for us to join the dots. Whether it is images of engineers working on wind turbines or people planting trees, we rarely see our lives or our jobs depicted as part of the solution.

Having realised she could play a role, Claire signed up for our Climate Change Coaching Mastery course and “knew immediately I had found brilliant and like-minded people”.  She began to pivot her leadership development work into the field of sustainability and not long afterwards we asked her to join us.

“I love being part of a team that cares so deeply about the work that it does and places as much emphasis on the ‘how’ as the ‘what’. We make time to articulate our shared vision and values; we think intentionally about how we show up for one another; and we understand the importance of keeping ourselves grounded, inspired and joyful along the journey.”

Claire is one of the facilitators on our flagship Green Transition Coach course, which equips sustainability and climate professionals with coaching skills to influence more effectively and accelerate change in their organisations. The course attracts a global audience, who Claire describes as “extraordinary people, often in positions of influence to lead real change. They are so committed and passionate about their work.”

Participants on the course tell us that they often feel overwhelmed, alone and ill-equipped to make progress. By introducing them to some simple but highly effective tools and practices, we help them rediscover their sense of agency. 

“When so much of sustainability education focuses on equipping professionals with knowledge, expertise and strategies, our training is what is often missing to help with the very ‘human’ challenges that individuals and teams face in getting others on board, dealing with resistance and managing stakeholders who have competing priorities. This often feels like the ‘hard bit’, and is also what makes some professionals struggle.”

We have designed some very simple tools that anyone can easily pick up, start using straight away and see immediate results. “The feedback is always the same ‘this stuff really works’ – it is hugely rewarding!” 

Claire spoke to a recent participant of the Green Transition Coach course who enthusiastically told her that she had used a particular set of coaching questions that she’d learnt on our course with a stakeholder in her business. She would previously have taken a different approach, but chose to use the tools she had learnt with us. Claire recalls “She said she had connected what she was trying to do with what the other person themselves cared about, and it had really worked. She also told me that these skills had been useful for life in general, even helping her in conversations with her husband!”

In her own home life, Claire can be found at the heart of a group, often quietly orchestrating the good time they’re all having. “My happiest times are getting friends or family over for some good food and time together. I’m slowly trying to build up my repertoire of planet-friendly recipes that hit the spot. There is something magical that happens when you gather people around a table.”

Claire’s advice for April?

“When the world feels hard, remember that nature performs hope for us every day. I love the Spring and all the promise it brings. In April in the UK we start daring to believe that we can sit outside again, soak in the warmth of the sun and watch nature burst into life… ideally with coffee and a hot cross bun!”