About Me
I’m Amy, and ELEV8 is the leadership and culture consultancy I built to do this work properly. I work with schools, colleges, community organisations, SMEs and values-driven businesses to build cultures that hold up under pressure — not just in the values workshop, but in the corridor afterwards.
My approach draws on psychology, behavioural science and human-centred design, delivered through hands-on workshops that deal with what’s actually happening in your organisation, not a templated programme. Through the Power of 8 framework, I help leaders improve communication, team dynamics, wellbeing and alignment – because I’ve watched what happens when those things are left to chance. I want the people in your organisation to feel heard, understood, and capable of leading boldly.
That’s the whole point of the work.
My Story
I spent fifteen years inside the world most of my clients work in – schools, further education, skills, higher education, apprenticeship and workforce development. I led teams, ran quality, sat on senior leadership teams, opened my laptop at 9pm trying to work out how to raise something difficult that everyone already knew but no one was saying.
I’ve been the leader carrying it. I’ve watched wellbeing budgets grow while teams got quieter. I’ve sat in values workshops that gave a fortnight of uplift and then nothing. I’ve seen good people leave organisations they cared about because the culture wore them down faster than the workload did.
I also know what it costs to be the one who says something’s wrong when the stated values and the lived ones stop matching. I’ve lived that gap, not just watched it. ELEV8 is the work I’ve built out of what I learned in those rooms, and out of what I wish someone had given me, sooner.
Read my full story here.
What I Believe
Culture isn’t a values poster or an away day. It’s what a leader walks past, that’s what people learn to live with, and that’s the culture, whatever the strategy document says.
I believe leaders don’t need another initiative. They need someone who’ll tell them the truth about what’s actually happening, and a way to act on it that doesn’t take another eighteen months.
I believe evidence beats vibes. Feedback that never turns into action isn’t listening, it’s just noting things down.
I believe the gap between what an organisation says about itself and what it actually does, especially when someone inconvenient tells the truth, is the single biggest thing shaping whether people stay, thrive, or quietly burn out.
I believe you can’t build a healthy culture on top of a leader who won’t look at their own behaviour first. That’s why I start with leaders, not posters.
Who I Work With
I work with leaders inside organisations where people matter, emotional labour is high, and pressure is constant:
– Further education colleges
– Schools and Multi-Academy Trusts
– Independent training providers
– Charities and social enterprises
– Youth services and wellbeing organisations
– Values-led commercial businesses
Most of the leaders who come to me are people who care deeply, feel personally responsible when culture isn’t right, and are carrying more than they should be.
This work is for them.
Want to Talk?
If you’ve read this and recognised your organisation – or yourself – get in touch.