This page has testimonials grouped under 6 headings:
1) Companies and firms career coaching, executive coaching and talent management
2) Brand and communication strategy and consultancy for organisations
3) Individuals support – coaching
4) Writing/published material
5) Events
6) Steer your career workshop
1) Companies and firms career coaching, executive coaching and talent management
“Coaching provides the opportunity to pause and think about where you are, why and what can happen in future and enabled me to carve out time to focus on me and my career.
Rachel is an excellent listener and sounding board. She made me think by posing hard questions which enabled me to consider many aspects of my working life from a different perspective. To let go of old perceptions and free up space for new ideas. She provides plenty of reading material, references and exercises. Accountability to complete actions and the space and time to reflect in between coaching sessions, was invaluable. Coaching is ideal for exploring barriers and beliefs that stand in the way of change and helps to increase your self-awareness and confidence. As a metaphor, coaching with Rachel was like a ‘shot of adrenalin’.
Rachel creates an atmosphere of trust easily. She is not afraid to push back and explore areas which initially feel uncomfortable, but which need exploring to create positive ‘shifts’. She held me to task and the wide- ranging discussion and thoughts that it enabled were very valuable to me. It was evident from the outset that she really understands the legal profession and solicitors.
I now have more clarity about my future leadership roles and new S.M.A.R.T. goals – which play to my strengths and values/motivations.
The monthly coaching was useful, so I initiated further quarterly coaching sessions to build on the momentum gained.
My only regret …. that I hadn’t done coaching earlier in my career.”
Sarah Anticoni, Partner, Charles Russell Speechlys.
“Coaching works and Rachel’s got what it takes.”
Peter Cornell, Former Senior Managing Partner, Clifford Chance
“Rachel started working with one of our Partners about a year ago. Her results have surpassed both the Partner’s and my own expectations. This was a challenging brief, helping an already talented individual to “reinvent” themselves due to changing market conditions, enthusiastically taken on and sensitively delivered.
Rachel is also a prolific writer of articles and most recently an in-depth report covering all aspects of talent management. She is tenacious, resilient and good fun to work with. I have no hesitation in recommending her to you.”
Charlie Keeling, COO, Field Fisher Waterhouse.
“Rachel makes me think differently with fresh and challenging perspectives on the way I work.”
Ian Wright, Corporate Relations Director, Diageo plc
“Executive coaching with Rachel Brushfield at EnergiseLegal has provided me with time and space to think, a midst a busy schedule, with practical tools to plan and manage business development and engage with my team strategically and in a way that works for them and for me, playing to my strengths. Rachel understands lawyers well and adapts her approach to the unique needs of the individual. She has in-depth knowledge of the changing legal market and helps you come up with your own answers. Coaching is a time efficient and effective form of CPD ideal for busy lawyers who want to achieve excellence at work, increase self-awareness, identify their goals and develop a strategy and tools to help achieve them. It was a pleasure working with Rachel and I would certainly recommend her to those considering management coaching to develop their skills and progress in their careers.”
Bernadette Daley, Partner Employment & Training Partner, Mayer Brown International LLP.
“Rachel’s combined coaching and talent management expertise has really worked for me. She has helped me to think through and get clarity on a vision and strategy for myself and the steps to get there. Rachel is skilled at putting herself in other people’s shoes and helping you to identify how to overcome blocks. She really does go that ‘extra mile’ – she’s full of practical and creative insights and ideas. I would strongly recommend her.”
Sarah Langton, Clifford Chance
“Executive coaching with Energise has given me greater self awareness and confidence and Rachel’s coaching style was perfect for me. I have achieved all my coaching goals and alot more. I would happily recommend Rachel as a coach to other L&D managers, as well as within my firm”.
Sue Beavil, Learning and development manager, Reed Smith
“Coaching with Rachel Brushfield at Energise provides energy, insights, tools and new ideas to invigorate a busy fee earner. The sounding board and time and space that the 121 personalised time enables re-energises you, provides different perspectives on challenges, leads to new contacts & networks, and gives shortcuts about the role of social media in business development.”
Caroline Wallis, Partner, Boyes Turner
“The coaching experience was fantastic. I entered the first session as a cynic, but through Energise’s support, I feel more empowered to achieve in every facet of my life than I have for a long time, if ever. “
Stephen Fitzmaurice, Clifford Chance
“Rachel has achieved some excellent work with a number of staff, including myself, working on a one-to-one basis. She has helped us to both focus on and find ways to achieve our personal and professional goals. Her ability to build rapport and confidence with people from a range of different professional disciplines is a valuable and rare skill. It’s great to know that she’s there to help my organisation and myself to make the most of who we are and what we can do.”
Judith Foss, Group Head of Human Resources and Diversity, Catalyst Housing Group
“Rachel has been my coach on and off for a number of years. Every time I need some help I find her professional and quick-minded approach to things a real help. I employ coaches and coach people myself, so if you like – Rachel is the ‘coach’s coach’. You can’t say better than that. Highly recommended.”
Dave Wilkinson, Director, Centrei
“Coaching provides inspiration and a refreshingly objective perspective.”
Holger Klotz, CEO
“Rachel has worked with us on both a one-to-one and a team basis successfully. Her ability to balance both the organisational needs with that of the individuals is key. Positive outcomes are also achieved through building a good rapport with customer and stakeholders alike, and proactive follow-through with regards to communication on progress and re-checking on priorities as appropriate. Also valuable is helping the client to take accountability and action themselves.”
Ruth Altman, Director of HR & Development, Cranfield University
“Rachel’s gift to our business has been her insightful approach and directness regarding important issues we are facing. Her open, engaging and very thought-provoking style has allowed us to reflect on our strategy, and makes difficult choices and prioritising next steps easy. We regularly use Rachel to provide a much wider perspective, than we can bring to the table.”
Kingsley Weber, Diversity and leadership expert
“Just 1 hour’s coaching with Rachel has potentially saved me up to 1000 hours a year, worth an additional £150,000 revenue in chargeable hours. While exploring ‘what gobbles up my time’, I realised that by delegating the opening of my post plus more menial accountancy tasks and setting aside 2 hours to focus without taking any calls, I could free up 2-4 hours a day. I’m looking forward to being able to go to the gym and spend more time with my wife and 4 kids and also my Mother who was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. I’m sure that my team will flourish with the increased responsibility that I give them.”
Senior partner, accountancy firm
2) Brand strategy and consultancy for organisations
“ProAge is a UK charity promoting age inclusion in the workplace. In her capacity as Strategic Partner and Community Manager, Rachel supported the trustees in establishing the charity and set the strategic direction. During the time she worked with ProAge, Rachel developed content for and helped design our website, she identified target organisations that could benefit from our services and helped organize roundtable and other meetings to raise awareness about the need for greater age inclusion in the workplace and the demonstrate value of a multigenerational workforce. Rachel has a genuine interest in the topic of age inclusion and was conscientious in her work. Rachel proved to be an integral part of our early thinking and development and a crucial part of ProAge’s future direction.”
Mike Mansfield, CEO, ProAge.
“Rachel’s work for us has involved absorbing masses of data, turning it into understandable and simple picture and then making creative leaps to solve the identified issues. Whenever we have used Rachel, we have won the new business pitches!”
Andrew Doyle, Managing Director, Holmes and Marchant International
“Rachel worked with The Marketing Store Worldwide (TMSW) on a freelance basis and her combined brand planning and coaching skills were ideal for what we needed. Her defined deliverables were to design and introduce a new creative brief and process for the agency. TMSW had previously been three separate companies in three locations, all with their own systems, leading to a merger into new offices, so the time was ripe for change and improved consistency. Rachel’s experience of creative briefs, her project management skills and coaching ensured that people felt empowered and wanted to adopt the system. In addition, the use of an objective external consultant enabled the new system to be put in place 6 months earlier than if we’d managed it internally with our workloads. The new creative process and briefs have enabled us to apply our resources much more effectively, which has in turn instilled strategic discipline and enhanced our creative product. We also got more than we expected from the project as people opened up to Rachel, knowing that the coaching sessions were confidential, and additional useful issues and opportunities outside the original brief were raised which are now being addressed. I found Rachel a joy to work with. She is personable, has great awareness, and is highly responsive and I would recommend her for any brand communication, system design or business coaching project.”
Mark Brown, Director of Planning. The Marketing Store Worldwide
“Rachel worked with us on a freelance basis and was involved in strategic planning, NPD, proposition development for key markets and campaign evaluation. During that time, I found Rachel to be intelligent and very enthusiastic. As well as performing well, we all enjoyed having her around as her fully committed attitude to work carries over in her attitude to life!”
Shona Forster, Head of Planning, Proximity
“I have found that Rachel brings more to our business than insight, intelligence and enthusiasm. She is also fun to work with! A great member of the team. “
Michael Graham, Group Account Director, Wagstaffs
“Rachel worked on an NPD style project for me over 3-4 months. She approached the project with great professionalism and enthusiasm, demonstrating a clear, quick grasp of the key customer and commercial issues involved. Rachel designed and managed a programme of consumer research examination, established feasibility requirements and co-ordinated a diverse project team, bringing all together to a successful outcome within the agreed timetable. I have no hesitation recommending her to anyone who has a similar requirement.”
Richard Evans, Director, Whitbread Beer Company
3) Individual support – coaching
“Rachel is an outstanding coach and her style and skills have been instrumental in helping me close one chapter and move to a new chapter in my career.
At the outset, Rachel helped me to set a clear structure, direction and objective. Then, she took me slightly out of my comfort zone with a range of exercises and tasks that initially I couldn’t quite understand their relevance. But from the very beginning, I trusted Rachel completely and so went with it. Now I look back and can see how much those exercises have been invaluable and instrumental in helping me to achieve my goal.
Rachel’s calmness, creativity and thoughtfulness are second to none. I would recommend Rachel as a career coach to anyone who’s at a crossroads and looking for someone who can help them to clarify what’s important, what’s not important and to identify the day-to-day steps that will lead them to reaching their ultimate goal.”
Sophie J.
“I met Rachel at a Law Society event and chose her as my career coach because of her extensive experience with both solicitors and returners, and depth of expertise as an established career coach and published author.
She was part of my success strategy to return to the law as a mature returner after a long career break to focus on bringing up my two children.
At my next major career crossroads when I was ready to leave private practice for a better work life balance and a different role that played to my strengths, I again chose Rachel as my career coach.
Rachel is very supportive, flexible, insightful and thinks ‘outside the box’ sharing career ideas that you simply would not think about/know about yourself. I really feel that she ‘gets’ me and genuinely cares about helping me to find the right fulfilling role.
Once again, I made a successful career move with her support, and saved a lot of time and energy only applying for roles that fitted my brief.
Coaching is an unregulated market, and it is important to choose a coach who is right for you, knows your market and who has experience of your type of career crossroads. Rachel absolutely does.“
Claire Mohan
“Career coaching with Rachel Brushfield at Energise has given me a sense of purpose to find new opportunities and tailored help to achieve my goals.
It has given me renewed positivity, reassurance and a structured way to address a big change in my life/career from someone independent and experienced who will listen, provide feedback and guide me on my next steps. In a very short space of time, I have discovered many things about myself that are critical to my career, many of which required deep thinking. The process and context of career coaching pulled all these insights together into something meaningful.
I have already achieved many of my initial goals. The Energise career coaching process has been instrumental to guide me and work out next steps, including a structure to get useful feedback from my network; my brand story and talking points about me and my career transition; new potential career ideas; companies/industries to research; contacts and organisations I can network with and a time plan and structure to follow.
Rachel’s coaching style is productive, calm, and methodical leading to instant results. She is a very supportive listener, full of useful ideas about where I could move to in my career and strategic – always thinking ahead to next steps.
If you are at a major career crossroads, choosing a very experienced career strategist and coach with a marketing and brand career heritage like Rachel is a wise choice in an unregulated coaching market.”
Alex Gould.
“I contacted Rachel when I knew I needed some additional help, I only wish I had done it much sooner. Working with Rachel has bought out a newfound appreciation of myself and my skill set and everything I have to offer. I knew I needed a change in role but was lost in a turmoil of overthinking and lack of confidence outside of what I did. Rachel has an innate ability to teach you how to recognise all your good bits and provides you with the tools and methods and in my case to take me on a journey to learn to embrace my skills and experience. I feel stronger and more confident in who I am and what I have to offer, something I would not have achieved without the guidance from Rachel.”
Amy Busby, CFO.
“Rachel has supported me with career coaching on a number of occasions over my career. She has great listening skills and her insight has always added much to my thought processes. I would highly recommend her to anyone at a career crossroads.”
Nicola Wallbank, Partner and employment lawyer.
“Rachel supported me at a career crossroads and I found the coaching course invaluable. I did a condensed coaching program which was exactly what I needed at the time. Rachel adapted to my needs and was very flexible in her approach. She spent time getting to know me and understand what makes me tick then adapted the program to suit me. I would recommend Energise for anyone who is asking themselves questions about their career, whatever the industry and whatever stage they are at in their career. My only regret is not having met Rachel sooner!”
Fleur Permane.
“Rachel is a dedicated and skilled career coach. She is friendly, empathetic and considerate and really enters into your thinking. At the same time Rachel is determined and keeps one on course. Rachel really made me think about where I was in my career, what was important to me, and what I wanted to achieve. She helped me to understand that the role I thought I wanted would probably make me unhappy. Thanks to Rachel I accepted an interview I might otherwise have turned down and have been offered a tenancy in chambers. If you want someone who will absolutely be on your side but will also make you do the work, and truly think about who you are, what you want and how to achieve it, then you need Rachel.”
Amelie Smith, Direct Access Barrister.
“I worked with Rachel at a moment I was considering new career options and opportunities. Rachel’s coaching style hit the right balance for me between support and challenge, as well as being practically focused on what steps I could take to move forward in my ambitions. I particularly appreciated Rachel’s strong listening skills and intuitive approach, and her ability to generate ideas and suggestions for further exploration. I would recommend her coaching to anyone looking for support at a time of change in their career.”
Penny Fowler
“Rachel is a thoughtful and inspiring mentor. She has given me many opportunities and allowed me to realise potential skills and interests, plus introduced me to some brilliant people. So grateful!”
“Rachel is a confident and inspiring mentor, with the ability to get to know your skills, abilities and aspirations quickly and help you to plan a path ahead with clear objectives and goals. Her skills in rewriting CV’s, personal branding and partnership development are second to none. Furthermore, she is extremely likeable, professional, show great empathy but with a real professional focus and you look forward to your sessions as she stirs creativity, innovation and encouragement. I wholeheartedly recommend Rachel if you are looking for a career coach!”
Mick McLaughlin.
“I worked with Rachel during 2021 and 2022 when I was contemplating a career change and needed support. Rachel really helped guide me in thinking back to basics about what my true values were and what I was looking for, forcing me to think wider than the confines of my current career. She has some insightful exercises to help delve into these areas and really tailors her style of coaching to best suit the individual so they get the most out of the sessions. Although our formal sessions have stopped, Rachel continues to be a support and keeps in touch with ideas and suggestions and is always there to connect me to people she thinks would be of help. This is a valued trait and one which I think really stands Rachel apart from other coaches. I would recommend Rachel to anyone, especially within the legal sphere, that is contemplating a career change or is looking to reassess their current career path.”
Claire Shasha.
“Rachel is a thoughtful and inspiring mentor. She has given me many opportunities and allowed me to realise potential skills and interests, plus introduced me to some brilliant people. So grateful!”
Tilly Mummery.
“Rachel has been indispensable in helping me to secure a job. Her industry knowledge, creative thoughts, consistent support and willingness to teach me applicable skills have helped me progress quickly within a few months. I am incredibly grateful for having the opportunity to work alongside Rachel at both Energise and ProAge and for the doors that have opened up to me as a result.”
Ellie Khanna.
“Coaching with Rachel enabled me to have a career breakthrough into the industry I want to predominantly work in (publishing). I now have a really good workable CV to sell myself and more knowledge on how to network successfully which has already proven to be very useful over the past few months. I now find it easier to market myself using writing and feel more confident about networking.
Working with a coach feels like a very proactive and positive step – investing in yourself and taking action to achieve your goals. Working with Rachel has in-creased my confidence professionally and helped me to identify and overcome some of the blocks I had in order to progress in my career.
Some of the changes I experienced working with a coach were subtle. I now have an increased awareness of the source of the misconceptions I had about myself professionally and simple, tangible things I can do to move past them. When I began coaching, I wanted a knowledgeable person to help me address some of the barriers I was encountering as I tried to change my career path. In reality, Rachel gave me the tools to do this myself, which is how coaching works – this is empowering. These were the biggest achievements and sustainable lasting changes I experienced during my time working with Rachel. As a coach, Rachel is very intuitive and practical. I definitely felt like I was in a ‘safe pair of hands’. The whole experience has been extremely valuable and I know that if I need anything else as I progress in my career, Rachel will be the person I will turn to for guidance.”
Gemma Sadowski
“A great coach uses effective strategies and tools to help you think differently and achieve clarity of purpose whilst still staying true to you. I sought Rachel’s support at a time of great change for me. She critically challenged me to think not just about what I wanted to achieve in my new role, but what I really wanted to achieve. Whilst I had to do all the work, her skilful guidance ensured that I had a clear, achievable and focussed plan that lined up with my vision. I remain immensely grateful for her support.”
Dawn Brathwaite.
“I was ready for a new role, but how best to approach it, with a busy senior job, a global pandemic and a young family? Career coaching.
I found my coaching with Rachel Brushfield at Energise positive, empowering and enriching of my self-awareness, confidence and natural gifts. It ring-fenced time for me, as a dedicated senior HR professional and mother, to think about me and what next. My coaching gave time to do some deep thinking about what I really wanted next in my career, and created some inner ‘gear shifts’.
My career coaching directly contributed to me successfully securing a new role that fits my values and with a culture I wanted to be in and shape its future growth.
My inner conviction in who I am and the value that I bring is strengthened. Benefits of coaching included clear steps, insights and speed to achieve my career goal.
There are many coaches, so why choose Rachel? Connection, a patient, calm and resourceful approach. Her knowledge and skill made me feel confident and her personable style made me feel comfortable and able to open up.
In summary, my career coaching with Energise helped me to make change happen successfully, expediently and enjoyably.”
Charlotte Hussein
‘I would not hesitate to recommend Rachel to anyone who feels like I did, stuck in a rut, knowing that I wanted to move on in my career but not sure what I wanted to do or how to get there. Rachel’s structured way of coaching led me to understand my motivations and values and combining this with my skills has created a personal and professional profile that I can work with, and can take forward to find a role that will be what I want to do, and most importantly provide fulfilment. To do this properly the process does take time, but Rachel also provides suggestions on how to improve your current position through personal changes. I have just been appointed a governor, broadening my skills, knowledge and experience. Rachel has wide experience of self-marketing and networking and provided excellent guidance and support on how to gain maximum benefit from my CV and LinkedIn profile. Coaching has given me confidence to take the right steps to make the change and most of all I believe in myself again.’
Anne Scutt.
“Rachel is the go-to coach for solicitors wanting to create, manage and market a portfolio career.”
Christina Blacklaws, former president of The Law Society.
“I thoroughly enjoyed working with Rachel at Energise and would highly recommend her to anyone who is unhappy in their work life and would like a change. Rachel is very knowledgeable and creative. She will give you incredible ideas that you would never have thought of and help you understand your values, motivations and purpose. Thank you – you’ve been a tremendous help!”
SW.
“I made the decision to have coaching with Rachel Brushfield because I wanted to find a role with a sense of purpose and make the most of my skills, to feel energised and enthused and proud of what I do, and possibly develop a career with music, having originally trained as a solicitor, but with music a big part of my life and who I am.
Coaching helps you ‘step outside your own head’, see things in a different way, learn more about yourself, your skills and your values, and have courage to take steps you might otherwise not have dared to take. It challenges you to get really clear about what you really think and feel and then to act on that. Coaching gave me an anchor and constructive process to follow and gave me confidence to try things I might not otherwise have considered or had the courage to do.
I realised that I would be useful in another sector and that I had something to offer that was of value. Coaching with Energise gave me confidence to talk to others about my aspirations and to make useful new connections and proactively gain new experience to ‘test the water’.
I now feel more aware of my skills and abilities and open to exploring new possibilities. Coaching gave me the confidence to ask my law firm for a sabbatical and helped me be clear in my mind about what I wanted, including the decision that it was time to resign from my role and pursue a new career path.
The Energise ‘career recipe’ method has been really useful in evaluating why I might feel unhappy or unsettled in a work situation and what I should look to change for a better fit.
As a coach, Rachel is very supportive and non-critical and asks effective probing questions. The Energise process ensures that you reflect and action what you have discussed in the coaching sessions.
Without coaching, I think it would have taken me a lot longer to make a career change and I wouldn’t have had material and knowledge to turn back to for future support.
In my new career path, I definitely feel the direct impact of the work that I am doing, and am really glad that I took the decision in creating the right future for myself.”
Lydia Brookes
“My coaching with Rachel Brushfield helped me to tap into my intuition, increase my self-awareness, be present and to make time to reflect on a regular basis. She shared some new invaluable tools to plan and vision, helping to align my values and motivations with my future, and practical ways to manage unhelpful thinking habits and change perceptions.
As a coach, I found Rachel unique in her approach, objective, respectful and refreshingly intelligent yet without ego, both creative in approach yet structured and holding me accountable to agreed actions. Her style is warm, friendly with clear boundaries.
My decision to have coaching with Rachel was a good one and I am glad that I did. It was very useful especially starting a new job in lock-down, and helpful to have coaching at the weekend. If you are thinking about having coaching at this uncertain time in the world, don’t think twice, make the decision and influence your future prospects.”
Rachel Nagy.
“Rachel was my chosen coach at a major career crossroads when I knew I needed and wanted change – a role that would play to my strengths and honour my values. Coaching gave me the gift of making positive changes in my life, and helped me to take a strategic approach to my career and create long term career goals. Coaching with Rachel created a safe space and a trusted person to express and articulate my vision with support and tools. It has been instrumental in helping me to make the desired changes that I sought in my life. Tangible outcomes from coaching include: broadening my on-line network and the number and type of networks I attend, feeling more confident and competent networking, mastering public speaking, attracting the right roles, saying ‘no’ to roles that aren’t right and developing a business idea for the future to make a difference in the world.
There are lots of coaches around, so why did I choose Rachel? She is extremely professional, has a wealth of experience, is approachable and a fantastic listener.
If you are ready for change and committed to make it happen – choose Rachel as your career coach. Having her by my side has made 2019 an incredible year of personal growth and I would be delighted to work with her again.”
Enca Martin-Rendon
“Simply put, Rachel is amazing and she helped me so much, for that I am eternally grateful. She is an incredibly skilled and experienced coach, who manages to effortlessly combine professionalism with a completely wonderful human touch. She is so responsive to your individual needs and this means that I felt I had a 100% personal journey and experience. I came to Rachel needing clarity and direction in relation to my career, I was really in a confusing place – loving my job, but feeling unfulfilled knowing there was another career I really wanted to pursue, but now knowing how. Rachel helped me to build my confidence, remove my self-imposed barriers and see clearly what I could do. Her approach and unwavering support gave me the courage to go for it and apply for a job with the UN, I did and I was successful. I cannot thank Rachel enough for what she has done for me, I truly mean that. I have recommended her to so many friends and for good reason – she is amazing. Thank you Rachel.” Shelley Seed.
“Coaching provides a reflective space and professional support for considering and making changes, setting goals and planning how to achieve them. Working with Rachel as my coach provided a positive voice about what I was capable of, uncovering insights about what was really important to me and what next in my career and life, and the importance of ongoing learning and embracing new challenges. Coaching helped me to arrange a career sabbatical, and move countries, employers and home, with tools and support along the journey. I now feel happier and more content in myself and have more faith in myself to make big change happen. Rachel’s coaching style is empathetic, insightful, structured, practical, intuitive, intelligent, supportive, tangible and wise – the opposite of ‘wishy washy’! If you are seeking to make a big change, individual coaching with an experienced coach is invaluable and worth investing in.”
Nicola.
“I had reached a career crossroads and was unsure what to do moving forward. Career coaching gave me time to concentrate on me, explore what I would like to do and plan how to get there. As someone who had been out of a mainstream working environment in the UK for over 10 years (as a result of various initiatives in the developing world) and not having practised as a solicitor for over 15 years, having complete clarity about my career moving forward was of paramount importance. I didn’t want to get it wrong.
I met Rachel when she was facilitating a course at a Law Society recharger event and was immediately enthused by her approach. I left the event full of hope for the future and decided to explore and have some coaching with Rachel.
Coaching with Rachel helped me to work out what I wanted to do moving forward and how to go about this. The coaching process and various practical exercises helped me to be focused and specific about what I was looking for. Coaching with Rachel increased my confidence and showed me what I had to offer employers and Rachel helped me to see the position and benefits that employers gain from the many initiatives and projects that I have been involved with. As part of the coaching process, Rachel completely revamped my CV to a skills-based model which is both impactful and compelling especially with my ‘don’t fit in one neat box’ career to date. Rachel also helped me to polish my personal statement as part of a job application and we did interview practise to help me prepare for interviews.
The speed of results astounded me. I achieved 2 job offers which met what I was looking for in just 3 months. Rachel’s encouragement and support has been invaluable. Her coaching style is very approachable and down to earth and she always made me feel at ease. As such I have recommended her to many other people.
If anyone is reading this and questioning the value of career coaching and whether it is worth it in the uncertain times in which we live, I would say that my results speak for themselves. Coaching with Rachel has been one of the best investments I have ever made. Further, for any lawyers out there, Rachel really understands lawyers and the quirks of the profession.
I would wholeheartedly recommend coaching with Rachel and I intend to continue with coaching to support me as I start my new role. “
Jayne Nicol.
“Career coaching with Rachel was one of the best investment decisions I have made. Thanks to Rachel’s coaching, I am now working in exactly the type of organisation I had long aspired to. Being new to how coaching worked, I wanted Rachel to give me the answers to ‘what next in my career’. Instead, Rachel worked with me, providing lots of excellent literature and exercises for me to complete and ponder on.
As a result of our coaching, I had a clear view on my skills, strengths, values and what motivated me. In spite of finishing our formal coaching some time ago, I find the lessons and tools are still benefiting me today in my career. Rachel was an exemplary professional coach with a style that works very well – personal yet fantastic insights.
Rachel’s listening skills and her ability to convert what I said in our sessions to illuminating questions helped me develop and work towards my ultimate goal. Rachel’s network is deep and wide. She introduced me to those within her network where she believed there may be mutual benefit and that too proved to be brilliant and very helpful.
I have recommended Rachel to many of my friends, clients and colleagues. They have all had the highest praise for her. I highly recommend Rachel if you are looking for a new role, a change in career or for professional advice.”
Lara Keenan
“Coaching with Rachel Brushfield ring-fenced time and space to focus on my CPD and career strategy, very useful for a busy partner in a law firm. I found the process of coaching insightful yet practical and it helped me to understand myself in-depth, such as my personal values and motivations, which will ensure that my career strategy evolves in a direction to maximise career fulfillment as well as professional success.
I now have more clarity about what direction I want to take long term and have made an important decision which will begin to move me there. I now see my skills, knowledge and experience more clearly and with fresh eyes and many new possibilities. Rachel’s coaching style is thorough, supportive, practical, respectful and flexible, and I found working with her inspiring.
I would recommend that anyone who wants to think about who they are and what they want considers personal coaching. It helps you to take a step back with the support of a trained sounding board with many useful tools, and time for you to focus. Without the structure and support of coaching, change may not happen because the busyness of everyday life and work can understandably get in the way. I feel really excited about my future.”
Jane Flaherty, Partner.
“I met Rachel at a Law Society Returners course. I liked her energy and style immediately. She simultaneously completely understood the pressures and realities of working in law and having the identity of someone who does not fit neatly into the university -> law school -> law firm box. Women who have done many other things, women with families, women who have moved, women who have multiple interests and, dare I say it, talents and competencies, women who want to proactively design a working life that works for them but who are also grounded in the reality of today’s practice. Not only that, she could work with me from where I was, seeing what I had to offer as something positive, and helping me to embrace that also. In the past, I was often sabotaged by relentless self-doubt, perfectionism and learned negativity. Rachel helped me with infinite patience and encouragement. Lo and behold, the inner dialogue has changed for good, and life is offering wonderful creative professional opportunities also. As she taught me workable tools to breakdown career planning, confidence issues, researching & applying for opportunities, the process brought great clarity. She gave me confidence that a non-conventional ‘portfolio’ career could actually work. She helped me overcome the mountains of discomfort coming with starting new skills/jobs in my 40s. I will keep checking in with her for ‘tune-ups’. She has helped me get clear, prioritise and make great internal and external shifts.”
Olivia Streater.
“Rachel is motivated by helping others and her style is inspiring, supportive and caring. She explains different concepts in simple terms and aims to interact with her clients by placing the onus on themselves, thus allowing them to reach a solution that it is good according to their unique personal needs. Coaching with Rachel has given me clarity about who I am and what I truly need, practical steps about how to tackle communication and relationship challenges and a clearer strategy regarding my career progression. It has allowed me to learn how to reflect on the past and seek better results in the future. This experience has been incredibly useful and has given me a better understanding of the world, helped me to take action quicker than if I solely relied on my personal insights and enabled me to realise my potential.”
Sofiya Nikolova
“I took a giant, but necessary, step when I decided to move away from my secure position as a government lawyer and into a new life. I was determined to reinvent myself in an entirely new role as an international consultant. I had investigated, as much as I could on my own, what such a transition would entail and how I needed to proceed. However, lacking role models and practical advice, I eventually found myself floundering and without direction.
I was, therefore, extraordinarily fortunate to meet Rachel at a London women lawyers networking event. She was warm, enthusiastic and confidant – and interested in me and my plans! I absolutely feel that my decision to work with her was pivotal for me. Her coaching helped me on both theoretical and practical levels. She led me to understand more fully why I wanted to move forward and gave me many practical tools to enable me to do so. She was supportive and understanding throughout our relationship.
I would strongly advise anyone who wishes to transition into a different type of career, or to diversify a career, to obtain the help and advice of a professional coach. And I would unreservedly recommend Rachel Brushfield as that coach.”
Jennifer Button, Consultant – Governance and Justice.
“I met and chatted with Rachel Brushfield at a Law Society careers event at a time when I was at a major career crossroads. I decided that career coaching support through my transition was a wise decision, chose her as my coach as someone with a lot of experience working with lawyers and specifically specialising in portfolio careers and self-marketing. I am very glad that I did.
I found coaching extremely helpful, receiving expert guidance tailored to your own personal circumstances and with an unbiased objective mind to help guide me to a positive future. Rachel helped me to create and always keep sight of a career vision and optimistic view of my working life, make plans and hold me accountable to actions to make them happen in reality. I have always been very interested in personal development, and coaching with Rachel helped me to challenge in a practical, beneficial and constructive way to create even greater self-awareness, and to shine a light to identify some new insights on some of the ways in which I stop myself. Deep down reflection with a highly experienced career coach like Rachel is invaluable, especially at a major career crossroads. Her support included: guidance on creating a CV and biog which reflects who I am and about which I feel proud, insight into how to market myself including a verbal business card and networking, and invitations to useful networking events.
Rachel’s coaching style is highly focused on you as an individual, and is practical, intuitive and progressive. I now have confidence to develop my own self-managed portfolio career for the next phase of my working life and feel really excited to maximise career fulfillment and leverage my skills, experience and knowledge to date.”
Evelyn Davies-Jones
“I would highly recommend Rachel to anyone in need of untangling career or professional questions. I found her to be incredibly helpful, calm and professional. She was instrumental in my career change; with a set of simple tools and her high EQ she allowed me to move on to the next chapter after months of procrastination. I will be working with her again as soon as the opportunity arises.”
Cecile Beaufils
“My coaching with Energise helped me to take a step back from life and work to critically assess and decide how to shape my own future.
As a result, I now have a much clearer understanding of who I am, what I do, how I do it and where I am able to perform at my best. This has been invaluable in identifying how my career can progress and what companies and roles I am best suited to and has empowered me at interview stage to question companies myself to ensure alignment with my personal values and career vision.
Rachel adapts her style to suit the individual. I liked her practical, pragmatic, action oriented yet flexible approach. She helped me identify new insights about myself which will ensure that I maximise my future career fulfillment as a well as success.
If you are at major career crossroads, investing in yourself is invaluable with the support of an experienced and credible career coach like Rachel.”
Doug Glenwright
“Rachel helped me at a time when I was extremely indecisive about whether or not to change career. She has helped me decide that I both want to and can and has helped me to narrow down the options of what my next career might be. She is professional, kind-hearted and confidence-inspiring and I have greatly enjoyed the process of being coached by her.”
Adam Millest, Freelance musician and teacher.
“Career coaching with Rachel helped me to understand myself better and reconnect with what is most important to me from my career; needs, wants, passions and how I really want to make an impact through my work. As a result, I have a new job which builds on where I have been in my career and a clear idea of where I want to go in my career. Rachel’s coaching is flexible, incisive, creative yet practical and as her career heritage is in the communications industry, she really understood my skills and experience and how and where they are transferable in an insightful way. If you are seeking more career fulfilment, 3 hours of coaching is money well spent and a small investment in the context of a life time of career contentment.”
Emily Holman
“Coaching with Rachel Brushfield gave me the self-belief and encouragement to achieve my career goal of moving in-house into a broader commercial role. She helped me to proactively find a job that fits my values and motivations, stimulates me intellectually and with a healthy work life balance. We set a deadline and beat it by 2 weeks.
Rachel’s coaching style is insightful, personalised, flexible, positive, structured and creative.”
Clary Maynard.
“Individual coaching with Rachel Brushfield at Energise was insightful, increased my self-awareness and enabled new CPD goals and ways to develop these areas. Rachel is very thorough and uses a variety of approaches and styles to suit your need at the time. Coaching helps you get really clear about what you want and I have achieved my goal.”
Lara Pletcher.
“Rachel is a calm and perceptive person who introduces you to your own talent and abilities and then helps you to utilise them to an effective end. And then, when success arrives, Rachel continues to guide and promote you in her own distinct way. She is marvellous and has been a return on my investment a thousand fold.”
Rachael Williams.
“For 22 years – over half of my life – I was a Civil Servant, so a decision to leave the Service was monumental, the right decision, but still very daunting. During my subsequent career break, I toyed, spending money along the way, with ‘new careers’ that I had thought were for me, but which (when faced with doing them) I didn’t feel the passion or enjoyment I thought I would. I became stuck.
I then found Rachel at Energise who helped me to take a fresh look at myself. She took me on a journey through my career and back again and helped me to reach a light bulb moment: Focus on what I value, I am good at and enjoy doing in a way I like to do it! I saw new insights and clarity about my uniqueness, what I have to offer and how to evaluate work options so that I choose projects that energise me. Armed with this, Rachel helped me take the ‘fear’ out of approaching a jobs market I hadn’t been in for over two decades – how to network and market myself. This all culminated in an impactful and up to date CV and understanding of the increasing role social media plays in finding opportunities.
In possession of my new CV and new learning, I applied for three roles securing interviews for all. I was successful and chose a short term role that fits who I am, honours my values, plays to my strengths and working style. I have to say that I am really enjoying myself and find myself at a stage of starting to look for my next opportunity. The fact I accepted a short term contract and feel no fear about how to go about finding the next opportunity is testament to the insight and knowledge Rachel helped me to access and apply.
So, if you are at a career crossroads, want to leave the public sector to become self-employed, do something different or do something the same but somewhere else, I would recommend working with Rachel who will share lots of tips and tools to support you and ensure a safe passage to your new world! She is highly professional, has a lot of expertise in the jobs market as it exists today, and provides a personalised and flexible service tailored to your needs. Rachel stays in touch too, introduces you to others who might be able to help you as you begin and continue your journey.”
Stephen Poole
“Coaching with Rachel has been extremely critical in helping me achieve major progress, inspired me towards great change quicker than I imagined. Rachel is a fine coach: she is a great listener, patient, encouraging and flexible and has shared practical self-management tools and marketing tips, plus useful ideas to help me become more productive, confident, enjoy a better work life balance and with a clear vision for my professional future.”
Dr. Hemal Varambhia
“I have no hesitation in recommending Rachel Brushfield as a career coach. Several weeks later, I am already on the right path in a new industry, brandishing the confidence and purpose and a shiny new CV. Energise use a variety of tools, tips and techniques to delve and explore into your experiences so far and how best you can leverage and position this to secure the change you are looking for. Rachel is flexible, accommodating, wonderfully patient, extremely knowledgeable, and a pleasure to work with.” Jacob Weber.
“Rachel is great at what she does, she is very professional and completely understands what it is that is needed during the coaching session. I have never hesitated on using Rachel’s expertise and she has always supported my goals and helped me get there. I think it’s important to trust and have a sense of calm and understanding and Rachel has always demonstrated these qualities in my sessions with her. It’s fantastic to have support at hand when needed and use Rachel as a sounding board to discuss and drive ideas forward! I highly recommend you use Energise and Rachel at any time of your career!”
Julie Smithard.
“Last year, I was a completely stuck in a rut, not content in the role I was in but not sure what it was I wanted to do next. Rachel was fundamental in helping me move forward (really can’t stress enough how important her coaching was). She enabled me to define the things I love and wanted to achieve both career wise, and in my personal life, and how to work towards them.
Fast forward 6 months and I now am working in a wonderful new role – coordinating apprenticeships for disadvantaged young people wanting to work in the creative industries for an award-winning social enterprise. (I love my job and even get to pass on some of the great future planning techniques I learnt from Rachel to the young apprentices I work with).”
Emily Kerr
“I have employed Rachel a number of times and have found her a great coach. I trust her integrity, her incisive mind, her methods. She is always reliable, and comes up with good, workable ideas and ways to move my work forward. When you can’t see the wood for the trees, she is your woman! She is innovative, and has a vast range of fantastic contacts. Time with Rachel is never wasted! I highly recommend her service.”
Katharine Hall
“I was a lawyer in a City law-firm. Following the birth of my first child, I was keen to find a job which provided a better work-life balance and a job for which I had a passion. I felt that there were a number of my skills which were not being used in my current role. I was impressed with an article written by Rachel in a legal magazine and arranged to have some coaching sessions.
Rachel’s coaching sessions provided me with the precision which I needed to identify my ideal job. Rachel worked patiently and spent time and effort assisting me to identify my values. By identifying my precise values, suddenly my goals became clear. My key goal was to have plenty of time with my young family and to have a job which, while challenging me intellectually, also offered a meaningful contribution to society.
While it took a little time for the ideal job to appear, when it did, I knew it was the right job as it met my core values. I became a lecturer and now work part-time teaching a variety of subjects which interest me. My new role has brought me great fulfillment and I now have a great work-life balance with plenty of time for my family.
Rachel is a highly talented, inspiring and analytical coach. The coaching sessions with Rachel were my first big step on my journey of self-awareness and purpose.“
Emma H, Non Practicing lawyer
“Rachel came recommended to me by a close friend who had also been helped by Rachel. I had been abused and undermined by the individual to whom I reported in an in-house legal position, prior to being forced out by the politics of the situation. I came to Rachel lacking in confidence, and unclear as to how to tackle the subject of my departure from that job in an interview. Rachel listened and provided me with clear guidance and practical solutions that boosted me immensely. I would recommend Rachel without hesitation – she really knows what she is talking about.”
Tom Chakraborti
“For the last 7 months Rachel has been my career coach. She has guided and supported me through my transition as a project/programme professional from the public into the private sector.
Rachel has a unique persona that allows her to create a safe working environment, so that she can ask pertinent questions and deal with sensitive issues. This instils confidence and exercises fears & limiting beliefs, enabling the individual to move forward.
To successfully engage with the new employment market, Rachel gave me real practical and down to earth advice and support, so that I could:
Identify my unique selling point, niche or personal brand;
- Market myself from an employer’s perspective;
- Produce a CV as a marketing tool;
- Prepare effectively for the interview; and
- Start to develop my LinkedIn page.
Rachel has the ability to ‘drag’ important information out of me! This was very useful because I was too close to realise all that I have to offer an employer. She also consistently answered my questions directly. Rachel is Energise by name and Energise by nature!”
Kerry Paulson
“Rachel has been an excellent support system for me during the last few months, when I have been transitioning through careers. Her key strengths are; analysing people, “drawing out personal values, being extremely well planned and detail oriented. She has always allowed me the freedom to express myself and is able to extract skills, strengths and personal values with ease, right from the initial (casual) conversation, through to the end. She has empowered me to face the fears associated with change, thus enabling me to draw up a plan of action, make decisions and carve out a path to reach my goals successfully. Thanks to Rachel, I now know my USP; my brand! Through her unique and systematic method of ‘coaching’, Rachel ensures that the transition happens at a speed which the client is comfortable with. She spreads positive energy and as the name suggests, Rachel is a true talent liberator!”
Akshaya Datar
“Rachel has been coaching me for the last few months fully supporting and encouraging me to move on to new opportunities. She has been a tower of strength, giving clear and comprehensive tools to identify my skills. She enables her clients to understand their abilities and develop their skills which gives them a powerful direction for their new enterprise. She also has an extensive knowledge and understanding of lawyers abilities and the possibilities for them in the future job market. She has the unique ability to look ahead for exciting new opportunities while most lawyers will look back at the traditional roles. During the coaching and even when it is finished, Rachel puts her clients in touch with valuable contacts, makes introductions whenever she can and involves her clients in projects to give them experience and add to their skills. She does everything within her power to make sure her clients succeed.
I highly recommend Rachel for anyone who is stuck in their career or needs to find something new for whatever reason – she is an inspiration.”
Jenny Betts
“Rachel has a wealth of experience and expertise and is very generous in passing this on. The depth of information available to anyone is testament to this. Her style is open, focused, challenging and encouraging. She understands career change and is expert at helping you think through the ups and downs.”
Anne Crotty, Natural Face Fitness
“I got in touch with Rachel at a crossroads in my self-employed career. I had run my own businesses since college for close to a decade, was successful and ran a profitable business and wanted to take stock of where I was going, what my values and strengths were and what motivated me now. Coaching with Energise enabled me to reflect, gave me clarity, confidence and a structure to make positive moves forward.
I feel a renewed sense of purpose, am re-energised and connected to an evolved business focus that better fits me and my personal needs and wants. Coaching has been very valuable and helped me to make the changes I knew I needed and wanted to make.
Rachel is very positive, supportive and insightful. Her techniques are powerful and thought provoking and really hone in on the subject at hand. Her service is very personalised and she always follows up on her promises made in the coaching sessions, which really helps gain trust and breeds a mutual respect.
I’m continuing to work with Rachel and find it invaluable to have time in the diary to focus on the business, professional success and personal fulfilment with a supportive and confidential sounding board. If you are a business owner who’s considering changes to the future of your business, Energise will give you the space and time to focus and think through the changes you choose to make.”
Kam Keshmiri
“Rachel helped me to plan and successfully execute my personal development plan. Her coaching techniques and models are far more time efficient than most, which is great for busy execs who want to ‘cut to the chase’ and to gain direct feedback and new ideas, rather than feeling that the clock is running with little really achieved”
Bryan Foss, CEO and founder Foss Initiatives
“Faced with a formidable transition from public to private sector, Rachel gave me the direction and focus to not only make the change, but actually secure the job I have always wanted. Key to this was an understanding of personal values which helped me to identify the right industry sector to move into, as well as seeking employers who shared my values.
I realised that in my public sector roles, I really was a square peg in a round hole and Rachel encouraged me to look outside my skillset and even consider a complete change of career. Through face to face coaching, supported by high quality literature, I learned a variety of useful techniques which helped overcome a deep-rooted fear of interviews, and gained some valuable advice about my own personal “brand”.
I already had the skills and knowledge and Rachel’s coaching was instrumental in bringing out those qualities and targeting them to best effect. For some people, life in the public sector can undermine self-confidence and leave them questioning their ability. It doesn’t have to be this way. So many ‘professionals ‘ were quick to remind me how it is virtually impossible for someone to move from public to private sectors. Rachel helped me ignore such negative advice and put me on the road to achieving my goals. She has been a real force for good.”
Robert Gage, Media Manager, Airbus
“Rachel is one of those rare people that provides fantastic counsel, guidance and insight while avoiding corporate or consultant speak. She is honest, professional and extremely experienced in her field. She is in it for the journey, always checking in and nothing is too much of a problem for her, I cannot recommend her enough. I suspect she must be one of the prime movers and shakers in her industry – the complete package.
Luke Oubridge
“Transitioning from the public to private sector can feel daunting and Rachel helped me to see how marketable I am, to define my niche and target audiences and how to network and market myself to achieve my career ambitions. She also helped me increase my self-awareness about what I really wanted, see actual and perceived blocks in the way of success and how to overcome them. She reminds me of my achievements when I forget and has introduced me to some really useful contacts and resources. It is great to know that she is there for my next career crossroads and I know she always thinks about how she can help me. Coaching is a great investment in your prospects, even more so in competitive market conditions, and I am glad I made it.””
Louise Howell
“Rachel has helped me to stay on track, championing me, celebrating the successes and helping me to believe that my vision was possible, plus identifying ways around the inevitable obstacles that have been in my path.”
Duncan Goose
“Rachel is frank, open and honest. She is also very personable and easy to get along with. Having been made redundant in March 2011 I had become demoralized at applying for a succession of jobs. I usually got through to the final interview but was then ‘pipped at the post’. I decided that I would be better off setting up my own business and marketing my skills. What I was unsure of, was what those skills were, how marketable they were, and what the current job landscape was. Rachel was analytical and perceptive. She showed me, through interesting exercises what skills I had and how I could market them. Looking back I can now see that my self-esteem and self-confidence had dropped to a dangerously low level. Rachel helped me with those issues and also coached me to identify my core values and limiting beliefs. I’m not given to hyperbole, but over a 12 week period Rachel has transformed my life both professionally and personally. I have set up my own business, and already have some potential assignments lined up. If you would like to read more about my story please visit: https://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com/2011/09/11/does-coaching-work-a-clients-story/ “
Hannen Beith
“Rachel Brushfield and Energise are phenomenal. A relatively short conversation with Rachel let me look at my life and work without the mental clutter that usually gets in the way. As a result, having arrived a sceptic, I left a convert. She gets you to jettison the junk and concentrate on what matters, so that you can find your own path and arrive at your own conclusions. Clear, straightforward, invaluable and highly recommended.”
Matt Grainger
“I worked with Rachel earlier this year when I was going through a major career change and in the process of setting up my new business. She knew exactly the kinds of issues I was dealing with and her vast experience in this area meant we could quickly focus on those areas which needed most attention for me. Its great working with someone who can offer you the perspective you need and thanks to her I was able to make a smooth transition to my new career and take with me practical marketing and networking tools to get my business off the ground. Thank you Rachel for giving Digital Dragonfly its wings to fly!”
Francesca Geens
“Energise helped me to take stock and review and evolve my business focus making it fit for purpose for the future. Coaching gave me fresh clarity, new insights and focus. Time is precious and it makes sense to get expert support to achieve results faster than is possible by yourself. Rachel is professional, focused, insightful, results based and cares about my professional success and personal fulfilment. Coaching was worth every penny.”
Lorna Turner, Founder and Director
“Working with Energise has given me confidence to sell myself and make approaches to organisations that I never would have done before. I still look back on the time I spent with Rachel and have to say it was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and I am still telling people about it.”
Paul Bradly
“Working with Energise has been a very satisfying and enlightening exercise. By allowing me to recognise what I found rewarding in both my previous career and my personal life, overlaying the work-family balance I was striving for, I was given a sense of focus and clear indications of what is possible for my final career.”
Martin Gammon
Founder, Here and Now photography.
“Rachel helped me over the course of 18 months to be able to understand what I was really about and to align my energy and effort to make many of those longings a reality in my life. The insights I gained during that time of coaching continue to impact my life today. Decisions like wanting to work from home to make more time for my young family flow from many of the insights gained from coaching. I do feel like more of the important stuff within me has been liberated, hopefully for the good of others and I also feel a deep sense of peace and contentment too. http://safehousesounds.co.uk/ is one example of what coaching has liberated me to achieve.”
Jonathan Green
“Rachel’s coaching process, combined with her empathy, creative yet practical ideas and insight, allowed me to reconnect with what really motivates me, understand my challenges and self-imposed obstacles, and how to overcome them, and become aware of my full capabilities. It has given me the confidence to start exploring other skills and formulating new goals.”
Alison, Designer
“Rachel is friendly and takes time to understand who you are and what you want to be. She has some great suggestions and exercises to really get the most out of every session and help you set clear goals. I’d never used a career coach before, but I was in a career rut and I’m so glad I found Energise. I’ve just got a job in the sector I wanted to get into and Rachel helped to set me on this new path. I’d recommend her to anyone.”
Dave Merga
“I always left my sessions with Rachel feeling that I had had an injection of energy straight to the blood stream. I found Rachel was a rudder when I wanted to abandon ship, hit a storm or lost focus.”
Mary Wood
“Coaching has allowed me to focus on the career I want. I now recognise that many of the limiting beliefs that I held were as a result of trying to please other people. It has enabled me to see with more clarity what I want from a job and the type of organisation I want to work for.”
Sarah Greaves, The Arts
“With absolute calm, respect, understanding and empathy, Rachel guided me to think about the obstacles that stood in the way of my chosen career and to reflect on how to overcome them, something I had been unable to do by myself, mainly due to a lack of confidence. Rachel gave me back my confidence in my ability and in my chosen career, and inspired me to do all I could to achieve my goals. Immediately after our meeting, that is exactly what I did , and I am now on track to achieve my professional goals. Thank you Rachel!”
Anna Colgan
“Working with Rachel at Energise not only helped me discover my true calling for a complete career change, but also taught me much more about myself than I had anticipated. Rachel’s practical exercises, questions and steps prepared me for eventually taking the leap. Rachel’s approach was what I was looking for in a business coach: helping me identify what I wanted, creating the blueprint to do it, and then holding me accountable for taking action. But the best part was that I learned tools and skills that I still use daily in many aspects of my life, not just my career.”
Cory Cook, Professional Organiser & Time Management Coach
‘Rachel helped me to decide what would really make me happy in the second half of my career, confront the fears and put a plan in place to make it happen. One year in the making, centred around my passionate interest in cheese, I credit Energise for kick starting the realisation.’
Debbi Baron
“You have an amazing ability to help me believe in myself and my abilities – priceless, and a huge motivator to keep going.”
Pippa Fernee
“Rachel is full of great ideas and really helped me see that making a change like this is not as scary as it might first seem. I would recommend her to anyone who wants to change career or direction but doesn’t know how or where to start.”
Rebecca, Senior Associate
“Rachel was recommended to me by one of her extensive network of contacts at a time when I was at a crossroads in my career and needed help to decide what was next. Rachel has an amazing ability to help you gain clarity of thought regarding what you really want to do and to think outside the box regarding possibilities for the future. You leave sessions with Rachel feeling energised and much clearer. In my case it has led to a complete and very positive life change which I don’t think I would have made without her assistance. She is also a fountain of knowledge regarding talent management and really understands the challenges that businesses in general and HR in particular are facing in the current climate. She is very well connected and can find the right person to assist individuals or businesses across a wide range of disciplines.”
Vicki Parker
“I recently had the most fantastic session with Rachel. With her detailed knowledge of marketing and media, in just one short snappy session she helped me to home in and identify opportunities on one specific area. As a result all sorts of exciting opportunities are springing up. She is focused and highly professional. I look forward to working with her again.”
Nicola Menage.
“Rachel gave me consciousness of my capabilities within, and insight that I had the capability to do what I wanted to do. She worked her magic to unblock me and freed up the space in me to start my business.”
Sarah Grigor
Founder, Nostalchick cards
“Rachel is excellent for anyone looking to change career. She enables you to get clear on what you really enjoy and are passionate about and then focus on how to make it happen. She is great at coming up with ideas you’ve not even thought about and how to use your existing skills in a whole new way. Since working with her we’ve teamed up to run regular Steer your Career workshops for people being made redundant and/or changing career and I’m always impressed by her flexibility and adaptability to alter the workshops to ensure they are the most relevant for those attending. If you are considering new paths or options – then go and see Rachel.”
Lesley Reader
“Rachel is a great listener, shows empathy and never judges her clients. Her insight helped me to discover new things about myself and the coaching gave me a new found confidence. She constantly looks for, and thinks of, ways to help and seems to have a solution to every problem and a tool to be used again and again. She’s great fun and incredibly inspiring and motivating – don’t just dream your dreams – she shows you how to put a plan in place of how you’re going to achieve them! I would absolutely recommend Rachel to anyone considering a career change or at a crossroads in their career.”
Colette Humphrey
“Rachel is very good at her job; she has a lot of experience and speaks with great understanding and confidence. Her sessions are very therapeutic as you leave with a weight being lifted off your shoulders and you are really ready to move forward. She offers support and does not cast judgement, but enables you to come up with a solution and helps you to understand how to reach your goals with ease.”
Julie Smithard, Director, Appointments4U
“I first started working with Rachel when I was still training to become a barrister. My latest session with Rachel was earlier this year, 10 years on! As I have progressed along my career and tried to find my calling, Rachel has always been that energising touch point to take a step back and create a safe and exciting space to think things through. I am pleased (and relieved!) to say that I have now found my calling, something that’s always been very important to me. What I have particularly loved about working with Rachel is her powerful combination of being incredibly focused and structured whilst having an uplifting sense of fun and creativity. It kept things moving for me whilst making it a really enjoyable experience. I’ve enjoyed all of my sessions with Rachel and left each one feeling pumped up for the next stage of my journey. Four words come to mind when I think about working with Rachel: laughter, focus, energy and movement.” Valerie Teller.
“Rachel asked me to think about hard questions that I had either put off, or dismissed as navel gazing. As I worked with her, I developed a sense of curiosity about my internal gears and motors. Her gentle way of eliciting eureka moments enabled me to progress quickly. The end result is that I am alot more self aware and self-able than I ever was and I have set up my own business! I am more on track with where I want to be and feel more alive and in control than I have in years. I would happily recommend Energise and have done so to many of my friends. “
Gareth Knight
“After thirty years of working in one field and sheer ennui, it was time to make some changes. Coupled with a serious downturn in the economy and career paralysis, I asked Rachel Brushfield and her company Energise to help evaluate career options. Through in-depth questioning and enlightened exercises, she help me realize that while expanding my original career path would be a safe bet, it would not necessarily bring me new horizons nor would it relieve the current frustration I was experiencing within the field. While doing something totally outside the box was a pretty scary alternative, not to “Rachel had great attention to detail and desire to learn how and why people do the things they do. Since our time working together at Northern Foods, Rachel has always been ready to help with contacts and straight talking advice. Her intense focus means she is really effective at helping people keep on track, but in a gentle way! She is never afraid to tell you how she sees it, and you know she always has your best interests at heart, because she really cares.”
Martin Silcock
“Rachel is focused results orientated individual. If you find you are dithering about that decision or if you are easily distracted from what you know you should be focussing on, then engage Rachel.”
Conor McDonnell
“Rachel has a unique ability to inspire creative thinking utilising her wealth of experience and knowledge. She always goes the extra mile for her friends and clients. Her approachable, calm and very engaging manner means that she is a pleasure to work with. I whole heartedly recommend her.”
Kasia Bannon
“Rachel writes a series of articles for Oxfordshire Life magazine covering life coaching and career development. She has also put on a successful workshop for readers. Rachel’s work is always on time, informative and interesting as well as being a very good read. I often put her recommendations into action!”
Sandra Kessell
“I’ve got a job! It’s the first job that’s come along that I’ve been wanting for years!”
Research Scientist
“As a Business Consultant in an ever changing & demanding market, I have called upon Rachel’s wisdom and expertise on many occasions over the years. Her ability to re-focus one’s mind and re-engage passion for the working day or channel in a new direction never fails to impress. I would highly recommend Rachel to any individual or company wishing to tap into their true potential and maximise their efforts.”
Kathryn Bushby
“Rachel is brilliant. She is full of creative ideas and excellent at identifying and helping overcome behaviours or thought processes which are barriers to obtaining your goals.”
Fiona Mckenzie
“Energise did for me exactly what the name promised. Rachel, by drawing out my natural way of thinking, helped me develop the tools and find the energy, confidence and momentum to use them to resolve a very difficult situation. Without her help I doubt that I could have done it. As it is, an experience which could have been quite damaging has taught me a lot and helped me develop personally and professionally. The experience of being coached was not only helpful but also fascinating and enjoyable.”
Maureen McCulloch
“Rachel is the first coach I have worked with who has been able to help me find tools for developing my business and talents that fit my own creativity. I really appreciate that she is able to step outside the box and isn’t afraid to be inventive in her approach.”
Rebecca Johnson
“Rachel helped me steer a clear path through the jumble of thoughts I brought to her when I was trying to determine the next steps in developing my business. She enabled me to identify my niche and provided me with lots of practical steps to better understand my “vision”, my “products” and how I could move forward in the direction I wanted to go.”
Lindsay Allen
“Very insightful, helping to identify unique skills and talent and really question your career path. Great practical advice and insight.”
Emma Bowring
“Rachel is one of the most enthusiastic people I know. She is insightful and thorough and is always full of new ideas. She is an excellent coach, especially in the area of Talent and Career development. She writes and is very ‘plugged into’ current research and the latest new approaches. She is also very supportive and generous to her friends and colleagues and I have no hesitation in recommending her.”
Jacqui Grey
“Just 30 minutes of career coaching with Energise gave me the confidence to articulate more clearly my skills and experience in an interview situation and to put a more objective perspective on the process of interviewing as well as some great tools to win interviewers over.”
Anna Adsetts
“Rachel’s style of coaching is excellent. She makes you feel at ease immediately and allows you to structure the coaching time, so that you always feel the coaching is relevant for you.”
Robin Tjolle
“My coaching sessions with Rachel were like going to the spa! I can’t remember the last time I did something purely for myself. Rachel provided me with the space to think and reflect about my life goals. She helped me to define a clear path of progression and we came up with a plan to achieve them in both the short and longer term. The entire process helped me to discover new insights and I quickly came to understand an awful lot more about my own strengths and capabilities. I found Rachel’s tools and advice to be relevant and useful and I always left each session feeling that real progress had been made. I’ve already recommended Rachel to my colleagues and friends.”
Sandy Mahal
“After a first session with Rachel, I can definitely recommend her as a career coach. She’s very focused, has lots of terrific experience and tools at her fingertips and, more importantly, I think she has an intuitive understanding of what motivates different people. For getting the best out of yourself – or someone who works for you – she comes highly recommended.”
Sue Poulsen
“As a client of Rachel, I was impressed by her ability to help me to examine all perspectives and ensure that any course of action was properly thought through. She has a wonderful knowledge of NLP and uses it to great effect. Her background in branding means that she brings a commercial focus and her clients comment to me how much that have benefited from her common sense approach to coaching. Highly recommended.”
Hannah McNamara
“I worked with Rachel over a 5 month period of great great change within my business, and her insight and patience helped me not only cope, but grow out of the challenges. Thank you Rachel.”
Thom Poole
“The CV you created for me made me realise how marketable I am. Let’s face it, good old ‘British reserve’ just doesn’t help you to sell yourself. Sometimes you need another’s point of view to realise just how good you are.”
Director, Events company
“Within a week of my coaching session, I had decided to resign and several weeks later I made my plan to go abroad.”
Sales Manager, IT support
“Rachel helped me through the process of making a change to my career, enabling me to find a more fulfilling role with my current employer. I was very confused and daunted at the start of the process and didn’t know how I could make the change but Rachel helped me see how to break this process down and how to test ideas for change against my values. Rachel is full of great ideas and really helped me see that making a change like this is not as scary as it might first seem. I would recommend her to anyone who wants to change career or direction but doesn’t know how or where to start.”
Rebecca
“Rachel’s coaching process, combined with her empathy, creative yet practical ideas, and insight, allowed me to reconnect with what really motivates me, understand my challenges and self imposed obstacles, and how to overcome them and become aware of my full capabilities. It has given me the confidence to start exploring other skills and formulating new goals.”
Alison Perry
“Career coaching with Energise has given me choices, freedom and liberation.”
Former director, Guide Dogs for the blind
“I found Rachel enormously helpful at a point when I lost all perspective and direction. It is amazing what she can achieve with you in an hour. Rachel’s approach is a mix of highly practical help and a way of getting to the very bottom of what underlies your issues.”
Rebecca Hildreth
“I embraced coaching 100% from the beginning, and the benefits I’ve gained have been life changing.”
Mervyn Yaffie
“Coaching has given me a greater insight into who I am and how I function, more self belief and confidence in myself, a much more balanced view of the person I really am and ideas, support and encouragement to make changes in my life. I have a clear sense of being more relaxed, at peace with myself.”
Jonathan Milne
“Thank you for a very powerful and helpful session this morning. You are very gifted at what you do and I would happily recommend you to all sorts of people.”
Steve Henry
“Coaching with Energise is quite simply one of the most positive steps I have ever taken. In a year of significant change, it has been instrumental in helping me to achieve both business and personal growth.”
Caroline Wright, Wright Communications
“Rachel combines great knowledge, experience and professionalism with real warmth and calm. An hour with her is an absolute tonic, Coaching has helped me to achieve huge changes; I moved from London to my dream home in the country, I spend more time honouring my values, and I have been more aware of why I do things, where to focus my energy and what makes me happy. I fully met my goals and importantly felt they were the right goals!”
Minnie Moll
“Energise helped me to clarify what deep down I knew to be true and have the confidence to act on that.”
Karen Homer
“I was amazed at the results I achieved. It was both very fast and effective. You can get what you want. You just need to know what you want, how to get it and clear out the mental blocks that stop you.”
Tom Young, Artist.
“Worth an additional £150,000 revenue in chargeable hours. While exploring ‘what gobbles up my time’, I realised that by delegating the opening of my post plus more menial accountancy tasks and setting aside 2 hours to focus without taking any calls, I could free up 2-4 hours a day. I’m looking forward to being able to go to the gym and spend more time with my wife and 4 kids. I’m sure that my team will flourish with the increased responsibility that I give them.”
Stephen, Accountant
“A huge thank you for all the support you have given me over what has been a very difficult time due to my redundancy. The information you shared with me was invaluable and gave me the springboard I needed to re-think my values and core beliefs, plus have the courage to open a few doors into the unknown!”
Claire Johnson
“Coaching with Energise gave me an objective, practical and understanding sounding board when I needed to get my life back in gear again. It made me want to make the most of what I have and what I’ve got to offer. You are never told what you have to do or should be doing – it really is a personal service that works around who you really are and what you really want to do.”
Helen Newey
“Rachel is very insightful and can in a short space of time get the most out of people. A true career coach.”
Pauliina Keinanen
4) Writing/published material
“Rachel Brushfield was a regular contributor over a decade of over 10 high quality articles for our magazine ‘Managing Partner’, with topics such as Feeling Decisions and Diversity for Innovation. She also wrote 2 books ‘Talent management for lawyers: A hands on Guide’ and ‘Professional Development for Lawyers’ for Ark. Rachel has in-depth understanding of the commissioning and publishing process and her career heritage in marketing and focus on keeping up with trends is very useful to create original topics and target publications with compelling benefits in the right way to the specific audience, resulting in high quality high appeal publications. She also contributed a chapter in 3 recent multi contributor books, proactively checking and providing edits for the foreword and other contributors’ biogs too. She is very organised by nature, and met all her deadlines, and was also proactive in sharing on social media about the publications to create awareness and aid sales. Rachel also chaired one of our conferences and did an event for our women’s network, with very positive delegate feedback in both cases. I have no hesitation in recommending Rachel as a reliable, insightful and proactive member of the publishing team of a high-quality publisher with exacting standards.“
Leah Darbyshire, Former Head of Conferences and Publications Ark UK (2013-2019)
“I just read your chapter on the gender balance. Excellent stuff, it’s good to see the analysis is finally getting beneath the surface and working out what it is about the business model that pushes women out. Personally, I’ve always felt that it’s just that women are smarter than men and more prone to making rational, non-ego driven choices. And it simply doesn’t make sense to stay in a big law firm, for anyone. Anyway, congratulations on another great piece of work.”
Michael Bradley, Managing Partner, MARQUE Lawyers Pty Ltd.
“Rachel is a skilled content curator and prolific writer on a variety of topics. She creates regular career guides for The Telegraph for our 8 core market sectors, plus useful management and career success topics and has done so for over 3 years. They help our browsers progress, market themselves and succeed in their jobs and careers. https://jobs.telegraph.co.uk/careers/
Busy senior execs do not have time to read lots of information and Rachel’s career guides are insightful digests that provide a thorough yet succinct overview of the topic, clear practical tips and useful resources. I have no hesitation in recommending Rachel to any companies wanting a responsive, strategic yet practical proactive approach to content curation to build their brand, create thought leadership and add value to their customers
Neil Kalidas, Business Development Manager, The Telegraph Media Group.
“I can honestly say I am very impressed and would be delighted to provide a review. In particular, I thought your chapter dealt with a slippery and sometimes controversial issue with clarity and a degree of practicality not often seen. I will be recommending this section to those involved in our Women Partners initiative.
This is a concentrated burst of thoughtful analysis and practical pointers. Self-contained chapters draw on the insights and experience of a credible cross-section of specialists in talent development, each focusing in on a particular facet of talent development within law firms.
The sequence of chapters is thoughtful, allowing the linkages and nuances between one topic and the next to thread the text into a coherent whole, despite the authoritative and distinctive voices that comprise it. Topics range from general overviews of talent management in law firms, coaching, transition from law school, generational and inter-cultural issues, client relationships, gender balance, psychology and change, collaboration and innovation. In a jargon-prone discipline, the authors quickly get to the heart of their topics, bringing clarity to key talent-related issues affecting law firms with a minimum of theatrics.
This book ought to be essential reading for those on promotion committees, recruitment and retention committees, partnership boards, firm leadership or a strategic human resources roles. However, it will also be of enormous assistance to those with broader organisational development or people-centred responsibilities including those with an L&D remit, a BDM focus or a strategic knowledge management bent. Until this month, this book has been sitting quietly on my desk, waiting for me to make the time to focus on it. Having done so at last, I wish I had started sooner. This little volume punches above its weight.”
Stephanie Abbott, Director of Knowledge, Learning and Development, Mayer Brown JSM
“Advice on marketing is legion and often depressing to read. It leaves the unwilling or unhappy marketer feeling impotent, inadequate and a misfit. All the more refreshing therefore to be met with Rachel Brushfield’s premise that you should find what you love to do and do more of it. Hooray, we cry – no more awkward silences at networking events, no more cold-calling or uncomfortable trumpet blowing! Well she is not going to let you off quite that lightly, but in this challenging light-toned interactive workbook, the mythical concept of what is marketing is comprehensively debunked. As a result of this deconstruction all of those promotional activities that make many lawyers squirm are broken down into more manageable tasks that therefore lose their ‘queasy’ nature. The advice is ‘to start small and easy’ and be comfortable with ‘imperfect actions’ as being better than no action at all is wise counsel. The section headed ‘blocks about marketing’ struck an immediate chord, and the section on ‘procrastination management’ would have worked wonders for me if only I hadn’t put off reading it for so long! Will it change the way you market? Well, like any tool, it is only as good as the effort put into using it, but as a practical companion for someone attempting to make a breakthrough in this area, Rachel’s workbook has much to offer.”
Katherine Southby, Editor, The Association Women Solicitors’ Link magazine.
“When Rachel first told me she was going to write this publication she asked me if I thought the topic was a relevant one; I confirmed that indeed it was! Highly relevant given the changing landscape of the legal sector in the UK with Market Consolidation, Outcomes Focused Regulation, Alternative Business Structures and potential external investment into law firms all driving firms to develop different strategies and approaches; the “do nothing” option is no longer an option. There has never been a more important time to focus on the development of law firm talent. The traditional levers of high salary increases and bonuses are not as accessible as they used to be to the majority of lawyers, their need/desire for more engagement has never been greater and we are seeing the different aspirations and needs of the new generations of lawyers. So Rachel’s timing for this publication is spot on as is the breadth of the subject matter she has covered; a testimony to her skill and dedication!
Rachel has sketched the landscape well by capturing the key issues firms are facing and the methodologies they are employing. She has identified the drivers of change very well and then gone on to express the needs of the different levels of legal professionals from graduate recruit through to Partners be they newly promoted, established or brought in as lateral hires. Also are included in the analysis are other important groupings like women and the new Generations Y and “Millennials”. Rachel then analyses the different types of professional development delivery and how to engage with the lawyers around them; a very thorny topic! A very good section analyses the traditional skills lawyers need in the new market but more importantly the new skills which will become more prevalent in the changing market including such as pricing, project management and people engagement; the new breed of law firm professional will need to be very different in the future. Throughout her analysis Rachel backs up her own views and ideas with a wide range of experts from within the legal sector who operate in a variety of roles in recognised firms.
The publication ends with a series of very relevant case studies from a variety of firms, in terms of geography and size, around topics that have been discussed earlier in the book. They are very readable and practical and give the reader good insights into what has been achieved already by leaders in the marketplace. It is a good way for Rachel to complete the portrait! So all in all a very good and relevant publication which will give good ideas and insights to Managing Partners, Chief Executives, HR and L&D Directors and more broadly to those interested in the future of the legal market in the UK and beyond.”
Charlie Keeling, Global HR Director, Clyde & Co LLP (about “Professional development for lawyers”, Ark, October 2012.)
“If you’re looking for an up to date exploration of the world of professional development in the legal sector then the “Professional Development for Lawyer” report by Rachel Brushfield will fit the bill. Rachel has interviewed numerous people including managing partners, lawyers at various stages of their careers, L&D professionals and people in law firm management roles, and as a result Rachel has produced a comprehensive guide to the current state of professional development for lawyers. The report provides a number of perspectives and case studies but it also provokes thinking, and I’m sure learning, for those already well versed in learning and professional development. Rachel covers everything from explaining what CPD is and the current work of the LETR to highlighting the changing landscape of the legal marketplace and the emergence of ABS following the Legal Services Act. The report contains a collection of approaches for delivery used in law firms of different sizes and focus. The essential skills for the legal market and what firms are now doing in the leadership and management development space and social media are also addressed in some detail. This report provides an all-round view from international as well as UK based contributors of the role of professional development in an ever changing environment for law firms and is a useful reference for all involved in the professional development of lawyers.”
Sue Beavil, Senior Training and Development Manager, Mayer Brown International LLP (about “Professional development for lawyers”, Ark, October 2012.)
“Great newsletters Rachel. Gail Sulkes, VP Strategic talent, Thomson Reuters
“Thanks for the newsletters – they are great.” Gary Forward, Lloyds TSB
“Thank you for your newsletters. I find them really useful and interesting. It also makes me take some time out over lunch while I read them.” Kathryn Snook, HR Manager
“You are good at taking a topic in the public domain and relating it to individuals, either in a business or personal context and ‘unraveling it’ and then sharing simple tools for people to apply for themselves”. Louise Barfield, freelance new business consultant
“I find the advice very interesting and covers all topics covered are simply inspiring, no matter how many times you read them.” Julie Smithard, Sales Manager, Kall Kwik
“I have been receiving your newsletters for a number of months now and always print them off to read on the train for a bit of motivation in the mornings on the way to work.” Caroline Morton, Marketing Manager, Blue Skies recruitment
“Nice newsletter, they keep on getting better and better.” Andrew Doyle, Chairman, Holmes & Marchant International
“Thank you for sending me your newsletter – it’s really fantastic, interesting, simple to read and really informative.” Jeaninne Saba
“Thanks for your newsletter, always useful and very pertinent.” Zein Messiner, Psychology mature student
“I always take time to read Rachel’s Energise newsletters – they are inspiring, uplifting and highly motivating,” Angela Dyson, MD, Belgravia
“I always look forward to reading your ezine, because even if it addresses a subject I know well, I also know that you will have a new angle on it. I also like the extent of the detail you cover, how ‘well put’ the ideas are, and somehow uncannily they always have relevance to my life or to that of one of my clients.” Cherry Campbell, Relationship coach and trainer
5) Events
The most common feedback I get from events is ‘insightful’ and ‘inspiring’, both of which I really value. It is important to me to be insightful, ‘insightful thought’ is one of my values and I spend lot of time keeping up to date with trends. Inspiration is essential to energise people to embrace change, break out of inertia or fear and to take action, especially in times of uncertainty and disruption, and with full-on workloads and social media!
“Rachel ran another session for SEAL and American Women Lawyers in London (AWLL) in September 2022 and she was very impressive. She spent more time than any speaker we have had (other than Lady Arden) on preparing for the talk, wanting to understand our audience, and custom tailoring it. I’ve been very impressed with her.”
Marty Rolle, Chair, Society of English and American Lawyers (SEAL) and International Women’s Forum UK.
“I inherited the provider relationship with Rachel Brushfield, ‘The Talent Liberator’ of Energise at the Law Society, and I am glad that I did. At the Women Lawyers Division of the Law Society, we cThis page has testimonials grouped under 6 headings:onsider Energise as a trusted partner. Rachel designs and delivers multiple career events each calendar year for us, including the Empowerment workshop in celebration of International Women’s Day, which achieved a 100% rating from delegates in 2018. She consistently delivers an excellent standard of service, has a high attention to detail, creates good quality interactive workshops with superb feedback from delegates, including being ‘real’ and ‘down to earth’, and she has a professional, positive, adaptable ‘can do’ attitude and an ability to put herself in the shoes of other people, invaluable for providing additional value to our diverse members, against a fast changing market backdrop. Rachel has supported our Returners course helping women and men over many years, to have a successful return to the profession, and was involved in its recent redesign to update the programme to better meet the needs of a broader audience for the digital age. She has also created high quality popular career webinars and articles to support and inspire Returners to return to the profession. With a large workload and multiple projects to deliver and stakeholders to influence, Rachel is a reliable asset to support me to help our network delivering and developing a high-quality schedule of both events and content for our members. She is well-regarded at the Law Society and also did workshops to support staff as part of Learning at work Week (LAWW) in 2018. Rachel is an experienced professional, requiring minimal supervision, an ideal candidate to utilise as a part time network manager, enhancing the reputation of your membership network.”
Alex Storer, Manager Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expert at the Law Society.
“I have known Rachel for over 20 years and in that time have worked with her on a wide range of projects, predominantly in my role as Vice Chair (now Chair) of Thames Valley CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel Development) Branch. In particular, for the last 4 years, Rachel has supported me directly with organising and delivering an annual half day career strategies conference for 20-40 Human Resources (HR) professionals. Rachel is a delight to work with. She is consistently reliable, proactive, has integrity (does what she says she is going to do) and is highly organised. A huge strength is her ability to anticipate and plan ahead in a logical and structured way. As a result, she is a highly valued member of the team, providing me with peace of mind in expedient event planning and management. In addition to the careers conference, Rachel has designed and delivered a number of different sessions for our Thames Valley CIPD Branch events over a number of years, which have been both practical and inspiring in nature, and always receiving very positive feedback from the delegates. Rachel’s support for the career strategies conferences has been invaluable and has included: sourcing and liaising with speakers, writing articles to promote the events for our Branch newsletter, creating awareness of the events on LinkedIn/Twitter using relevant images and copy, supporting me to prepare the venue for the arrival of guests and creating bespoke action planning sheets. Outside our CIPD activities, on a personal basis, I have also attended several events for the network that Rachel co-runs in Oxfordshire (PWHub for senior executives and professionals, with quarterly CPD style 2 hour events on various personal and professional development topics) and have found them both useful and enjoyable. Rachel is highly skilled at creating a relaxed yet productive environment for delegates to learn and build their network. I would have no hesitation in recommending Rachel as an experienced and competent event organiser and network manager.”
Lindsay Allen, chair of The Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) Thames Valley branch and HR/OD Director and NED.
“I have known Rachel for over 10 years and we co-run a successful network together, PWHub, for professional women, which we set up together over three years ago. We host quarterly CPD style events for senior professional women employed from all sectors in companies in Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley. Rachel is incredibly organised and takes responsibility for suggesting original event topics, developing exercises for events, preparing goody bags for delegates, setting up the EventBrite page and marketing the events we do by e mailing lists with a bulletin about the event, posting about events on social media, updating lists with new contacts etc. She requires no supervision whatsoever, as she think and plans ahead, is independent but thinks in an inter-dependent way and is proactive in informing me of what is required of me, which, as I now work full-time, is invaluable. It gives me peace of mind and allows me to be clear about my role at our events and fully engaged with our guests. Rachel would be a real asset supporting a network of professionals and designing and promoting their annual events programme. She already has a wide network of her own, and is entirely comfortable making new contacts, and making proactive introductions across different sectors. Her clients include the Law Society, as well as other membership organisations and women’s networks. In the digital age, many people claim that ‘they deliver’ but Rachel really does, which is clearly apparent from her own activities on social media platforms. I have no hesitation recommending her from my own experience as a former managing partner of a law firm, and used to lawyers with a high attention to detail and exacting standards.”
Julia Iball, my co-founder of PWHub – Professional Women’s Hub – Inspiring Professional Women and Senior Development Executive, University of Oxford.
“Many thanks for a great talk tonight; the points hit home with a lot of people. I feel inspired!” Jelena Madir, Senior Counsel, AWLL committee member.
“I am writing to thank you for your participation in the Training heads event at CMS Cameron McKenna. Your presentation was very well-received and I am most grateful for your time and contribution to the group.”
Myrian Stirling, LawNet Training and events
“Thank you so much for talking and sharing your advice on Tuesday evening. I’ve actually received quite a few messages from SheSays members saying how much they enjoyed it and it was the best event they’ve been to in a while. And that’s all down to the amazing speakers, so thanks for your time and effort. Would love to collaborate in the future, so please stay in touch.” Casey Bird, events organiser, SheSays global digital women’s network.
“VivaWomen! is Publicis Groupe’s global women’s network. The U.K. arm of the network engaged Rachel to deliver a series of coaching workshops for 80 women across brands within the Groupe designed for three separate career stages around three themes. Women with 2+ years were coached on the importance of developing their personal brand and ‘blowing their own trumpet’, those with 5+ years’ experience were delivered a confidence building workshop around ‘taming their imposter’ and those with 10+ years’ experience were fast tracked into career strategising. Feedback from all attendees was overwhelmingly positive across the Groupe. We consider Rachel to be strategic partner for our women’s network. She understands our industry and individual brands, works well with women of all levels of experience and has an approach which is both light of touch whilst simultaneously rigorous and effective.” Nancy Rowe, Head of Insight, Razorfish and Publicis Groupe VivaWomen! network UK chair.
“Thanks so much for the Changing direction in the law seminar at the Law Society the other day, it was very interesting.” AF.
“You were inspirational at the seminar I attended at The Law Society.” Pauline Campbell.
“The feedback from the evaluation forms is excellent with comments like; ‘very useful – I have practical things to go away and action’, ‘good balance of presentation and discussion’, ‘it met my expectations 120%’ and ‘very thought provoking.’” Lindsay Allen, Vice Chair, CIPD Thames Valley Branch.
“I found your presentation, handouts and now the website all very inspiring – they are making me excited about embarking on my next step.“ Lisa Farthing.
“I would like to thank you once again for the delivery of your Career Strategies presentation, which I genuinely found to be inspiring and encouraging.” Helen Collins.
“Thank you for your inspiring talk last night. Loved the fun props!” Macki Maconie
“I really enjoyed your talk at Shoreditch House the other night.” Jade Tomlin
“I really enjoyed your SheSays presentation – great insights and practical tips which were very useful.” Marc Boothe
“I just wanted to thank you for the great advice you gave last night.” Lizzy Reid
“Thank you for delivering a great workshop today. We have already received thank you e mails from our consultants and all were very complementary about you and the session.“ Gislele Lambert, Head of Engagement, Obelisk Support
Career strategy workshop
“Really positive and helpful.” Nicola Espindola, Leo Burnett.
“Very clear and engaging.” Katherine Thompson, Publicis UK.
“Liked the way it was conducted – very friendly and inviting.” Morgan Lafferty, Publicis UK.
“Rachel is very well read and the session felt very relevant to what’s happening in the workplace right now.” Edel Clancy, Saatchi.
“She was great. Lovely, warm, engaging. Managed the short time really well. Wonderful insights.” Eleni Charakleia, Leo Burnett.
“Rachel was great and made everyone feel comfortable to speak.” Flora Kong, ZO.
“She’s great! Lots of info to process, but all very useful.” Jasmin Kocur, Digitas LBI.
“Really great session, very easy to understand and all advice/tips very actionable.” Jenni Bueti, ZO.
“It was really interesting and extremely useful. I feel empowered and like I have the tools to consider my future and plan for it. Thank you!” Freya Broaders, Blue 449.
“Safe, warm, friendly environment. Thank you.” Clare Middleton, Publicis Healthcare.
“She is an excellent facilitator and clearly very knowledgeable.” Victoria Stanley, Publicis Healthcare.
“Enjoyed her relaxed and informative attitude.” Tess Stokes, Sapient.
‘Blow your own trumpet’ workshop
“Excellent – Rachel made the group feel comfortable and without pressure.”
Hannah Oxley, Leo Burnett.
“Rachel was engaging, smiling.” Elizabeth Picard, Zenith.
“Excellent!!! Very approachable “Alejandra Agredo.
“Great speaker, fun activities, valuable info.” Tamara Miller, Razorfish.
“You are incredibly inspiring – thank you for helping others to strive for higher and to go out and fight for what we deserve .” Megan Tuckwell, Sapient.
“Brilliant science and facts. It’s good/reassuring to know that I’m not the only one like this – thank you Rachel.” Lauren Rodrigues, SMV.
“Good speaker, clear, knowledgeable and engaging.” Katie Wade, Sapient.
“Very good workshop.” Lydia Allman.
“Great at getting people to share without pressurising them. Very actionable next steps.” Lydia Scott, Digitas LBI.
“It was very interactive and clearly delivered.” Rachel Alabi, Zenith.
“Really engaging and uplifting session.” Megan Tuckwell, Sapient.
“Brilliant.” Lisa Storey-Evans, MSL Group
“It was delivered really well and took into account different people in the session.” Freya Broaders, Blue 449.
“It was really beneficial to talk about self-promotion and that we deserve recognition.” Laura Cooper, Blue 449.
“Great facilitator – perfect tone.” Louisa Garnier, Publicis Heathcare.
“Rachel did a great job. Really liked all the insights and tips she shared with the group. It is a shame we couldn’t spend longer with her.” Natalie Jones, Publicis Healthcare.
“Amazing – it was clear, comfortable. I often struggle to give ideas in front of new people but felt very at ease to do so.” Jennifer Robertson, Razorfish.
“Very well presented. It was engaging the whole way through.” Lauren, Blue 449.
“Very clear direction of the workshop throughout and engaging discussion topics.” Lucy Hall, ZO.
“Very professional and empathetic having worked in the advertising field before.” Kirstine Newton, ZO.
“It was great! She made me feel very comfortable and created a relaxed open atmosphere.” Georgia Faris, Saatchi & Saatchi.
Confidence workshop
“Excellent! Good advice and very engaging session.” Sophie Kuropatwa, Publicis UK.
“It was very helpful.” Laura Cooper, Blue 449.
“Great workshop. Good speed and tips provided!” Fiona Kuit, Razorfish.
“Brilliant advice, informative. Calming manner and approachable – made people feel comfortable.” Louise Earl.
“Great environment in the room, everyone felt comfortable, (or so it seemed) to speak up.” Lisa Schumacher, Sapient.
“She was very inspirational and knowledgeable on her subject.” Emma Knott, Publicis Healthcare.
“Very clear and very personable/approachable.” Gaby Wray, Sapient.
“Laid back attitude made me feel really at ease and comfortable to share.” Rosie Blow, Sapient.
“Incredibly well prepared session – organised and knowledgeable. Surpassed my expectations”. Kate Forster.
“Well organised and a good mix of presentation and dialogue in a short period.” June Cook.
“Well facilitated. Rachel was a good speaker.” Emma Twining, DHL.
6) Steer your career workshop
“I thoroughly enjoyed Rachel’s career workshop and found it very easy to follow. Working through transferable skills, values and career maps, the workshop enabled me to reflect on my career and crystallise my thoughts on what I was looking for in my next position. I have now successfully transferred over to the agency side.”
Claire Topping
“The space to think about my future and some very useful tools to help me think about my next steps.”
Caroline Frankland
“Made me feel more proactive and in control of my situation at a time when I am feeling a little out of control. For someone who struggles with finding a direction, for the first time, I feel like I know what I need to find mine.”
Amy York
“Good workshop – meets individual needs in a group setting.”
Alison Ferguson
“Great workshop – very insightful. I’ve come away with a clear focus on how to search for my next job and effective tools for me to put into action.”
Jenny Dunn
“An excellent workshop that touched all the relevant points.”
Adam Farah
“It was really good to benefit from the opportunity to do this workshop.”
Rodney Hope
“I found the workshop very motivating and encouraging. It was great to focus, create a plan and set deadlines – it stopped people feeling like victims.”
Debz Gillard
“The last person you should engage to help sell you is you. These guys are certainty amongst the best.”
Peter Martin”
“Interesting mind changing day.”
Rosemary Martin
“Good confidence booster. It confirmed that my alternative career path choice was correct and the right way to go.”
David Gathern
“It takes the weight off your shoulders. I can now see the wood for the trees.”
Bob Messadi
“A valuable opportunity to gain an insight of others’ life experiences and a chance to look into your own career path and learn from history.”
Alan Gibbons
“Very useful thought provoking session, which explores some of the key motivational issues surrounding career choices and job search.”
Ron Jamieson
“Finding the impetus necessary to get the job you want is sometimes elusive. This workshop provides focus and a professional approach.”
Liam Murphy
“This workshop helped me realise what I am good at and who I want to work for. Thank you.”
Roberto Colizzi
“Ideal for anyone contemplating a change or reorientation of career.”
Michele Evans
“A productive thought provoking day.”
Helena W
“The workshop introduced techniques which provided/will provide innovative mechanisms to gain personal insights. Well done. Many thanks for an interesting, enjoyable and light hearted day.”
Neil Boston
“Very informative and enlightening The predominant focus is to ‘think outside the box’ which greatly differs from most career consultant advice.”
Kelly Overden
“A thought provoking and inspiring day. Enabled me to re-evaluate my goals and set new targets. Thank you!”
Margaret Craig
“The workshop was very useful and gave me confidence and enthusiasm to continue looking for a job.”
Denise Rosse
“I have spent a fascinating day evaluating my current job search and discovering possible career changes in a very professionally run course. Many thanks.”
Mike Watkins
“Made me realise that I am not a one show pony and that I can be an asset in the working environment.”
Jo Millar
“Useful tools presented and a good confidence build.”
Brian Dainty
“Excellent people, good practical advice and an opportunity to share experiences. Insightful. Plenty to reflect on and work on.”
Nick Rogers
“Lesley and Rachel are very informative in what they do and they are both willing to assist the attendees in whatever capacity they can.”
Sherron Gibson
“Very beneficial. The workshop explores and extracts the ideas to fuel success and is professional and friendly.”
Martin Rye
“Very thought provoking and inspiring. Good use of some very effective techniques. Left me with a very positive buzz.”
Lucy Merigold
“Provided clarity with regard to self-worth and next steps.”
Edward Perry
“A very thought provoking workshop. Packed full of useful exercises and lots of positive feedback.”
Steve Lovejoy
“Rachel and Lesley make a great team – working together, they helped me to focus on what I want to do next and I left the day feeling clearer about my future goals. Thank you both!”
Katie Reddin-Lee
“Professional and useful thought provoking activities.”
Liz Carr
“Lesley and Rachel gave constructive and positive advice, which will lead me back to work.”
James Crofts
“A fantastic workshop for those people who are considering a career change but are daunted by change.”
Ian Jordan
“A great day. Through the exercises and process, knowledge and insights won through.”
Louise Grindley
“A really insightful day which has helped me think outside the box.”
Samantha Curtis
“Self analytic tools were useful to get another perspective.”
Guy Palmer
“Not to be missed. Helped me to look at what’s ahead of me in a positive vein!”
Chris Grady
“Provides clear tools for getting started on the challenging path to career change.”
Anne Mackintosh
“Thought provoking. Makes you consider all your previous moves/decisions before you make your next one!”
Graham Nield
“I attended one of Rachel’s Energise Your Career workshops when I was at a cross-roads in my opportunities and choices. The workshop provided excellent; invigorating and very helpful insights, practical advice and tools to use to enable me to move forward with confidence. Best workshop I have attended on career development. Highly recommended”
Leslie Sopp
“Fantastic day! Very well delivered. An extremely worthwhile, useful and valuable day. Would recommend to anybody.”
Simon Leung
“I feel I have gained in self awareness, defined my goals and prioritised my job search.”
Carmen Frowd
“Very innovative.”
Alison Davies
“Very interactive and helpful. I would recommend it as a way of helping people in my situation.”
Adrian Ruskell
“Really good day – gave me several new ideas.”
Graham Gold
“Uplifting to spend time with people in the same situation and to look at one’s strengths as it’s easy to forget!”
Marianne Hansen
“Useful to start to get you thinking in ways you may not be used to.“
Murray Bracewell
“Very useful in helping you think about your own skills/values and career path and so help have clarity about other roles that would suit you. “
Steve Unwin
“Opened my mind into appreciating my qualities.”
Sam Sutton
“I feel equipped to make the correct career choice and fulfil my ambitions.”
Peter Davey
“An enjoyable and informative workshop.”
Andrew Thompson
“Very useful to help focus on your career options and your potential to change careers.”
Ralph Baker
“In a short session, Rachel gave me access to a range of tools and methods that have allowed me to consider my own future and career development from an entirely different perspective.”
Paul Smyth
“I thought the workshop was a great day well spent. It helped me feel clearer about where I’m at and where I am to go next.”
Vez Hoper
“Be energised by Energise in this involving, immersive workshop.”
Dan Duke
“A really useful day to give me time and strategies to reflect on my career path.”
Heidi Meadows
“The workshop gave me strong encouragement to consider my strengths and act on them in order to fulfil my career ambitions.”
Gareth Hammond
“Good mixture of thought provoking and practical support.”
Emma McParland
“This workshop is excellent for anyone needing some inspiration and direction, whether in their current role or looking for a career change.”
Fiona Broster
“Very useful day, tailored to individual needs and professionally run. Friendly and supportive atmosphere.”
Stephanie Ouzman
“Highly recommended. A thought provoking insightful workshop. Well planned and executed professionally, but with humour.”
Liz Clayfield
“Totally recommend Rachel if you are at a loss in your career direction, and/or lack confidence to chose a new path to follow. She is succinct, direct and fabulous at enthusing you to go forward. As her title ‘talent liberator’ suggests, you may have it in you but can’t bring it out of yourself because you are too used to one way of ‘being’ – Rachel will help you delve in and help you to help yourself to, well, ‘liberate’. Thanks Rachel.”
Josie Just
“I found the workshop to be an energising, creative day full of insightful self-analysis which will help me to choose the next step in my career.”
James Grant
“Practical and useful tips on job searching and marketing yourself.”
Mandla
“It was a great workshop which helped me to understand what I need to do to be successful in applying for jobs.”
Luis Silva
“A very enjoyable day with good practical tips.”
Jayshree Supeda
“Rachel and Lesley shared friendly tips about marketing ourselves effectively, interview techniques and how to make our CVs really stand out in an age of information overload.”
Jessica Everall
“In just one day, I have been able to get a real insight into what I need to do about my CV and how to market myself. Thank you very much.”
Biki Isharaza
“Rachel Brushfield facilitated “Steer Your Career Workshop” at Skillshare International. Her company strapline is LIBERATE YOUR TALENT. It does. The session really helped me realise the skills that I never thought I had. At the end of the session I felt proud and encouraged.”
“Rachel showed a deep and thorough knowledge of the subject.”
Mitz Archer
“The course was very good, encouraging and well tailored to individuals’ needs.”
Carrie Shepperson
“Excellent value for money. Invaluable in helping me catalogue my transferable skills and identify new career options.”
Tony Cloke
“Helpful understanding and useful to open your mind and show you new directions and abilities you did not necessarily use anymore.”
Sally Blackman
“I feel focused and more confident in achieving my career goals in the near future.”
Maher Ramadan
“The workshop was a well-structured approach to self-analysis, which I found helped me to create new ideas about ways forward.”
Tony Shaw Williams
“I can thoroughly recommend the Energise ‘Steer your Career’ workshops. A very positive day from start to finish!”
Nick Downs
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