Consulting

When a creative function needs to work out where it is, what it’s capable of, and what it takes to get there

Performance starts with alignment

I help organisations see the whole creative system—and fix what’s holding it back.

Creative functions do their best work when the people, the work, and the organisation around them are pulling in the same direction.

I can help your team get there—whether you’re building, growing, or transforming.

man with dark hair and curly bears sits with two male colleagues having a meeting

I look at the whole creative ecosystem, not just the output.

That means the purpose of the team, people, leadership, culture, trust, processes, decision-making, ways of working, expectations, measurement, how the function relates to the rest of the business and a myriad other things. 

I work out what’s happening, what’s possible, and what needs to change.

What changes?
A clearer,more effective creative function

Better work; stronger relationships with the business; better results. And a clear picture of what’s been found and what needs to happen next, so the work continues after I've gone.

Ways I can help you

I offer a range of consulting services.
Here are some of the things I’m most commonly asked to help with. If you need something else, let’s talk.

Team health check

A comprehensive MOT for your creative function.

Structured interviews across the team, leadership and key stakeholders—giving you an honest picture of what’s actually going on, and a prioritised plan for what to do about it.

Team set-up

For businesses building their first proper creative function.

I define what the function needs to deliver, design the team structure, create a hiring plan and set up ways of working—giving you a blueprint to build from, with support through the first months as the team beds in.

Team transformation

For teams scaling rapidly, restructuring, or ready to go from good to great.

Diagnostic interviews, facilitated workshops and leadership coaching—leaving you with practical frameworks the team owns, and a clear view of what comes next.

Diagnostic & roadmap

For when something isn’t working but you can’t pinpoint what.

Structured interviews, observation and documentation review—getting to root causes rather than symptoms, and giving you enough clarity to decide what to do next.

Team in crisis

Intensive short-term support when a creative team needs immediate clarity and direction.

Rapid diagnostic, individual conversations with at-risk people and leadership coaching—giving you a clear plan, and someone to help you execute it.

Restructure advisory

For when the function needs to be fundamentally redesigned.

I diagnose the current state; model future options with trade-offs clearly articulated; design the new structure, and plan the transition—so you end up with something that works, and a team that understands why.

Leadership support

For senior leaders who own creative functions, and the creative leaders who run them.

Regular sessions with availability between them for anything time-sensitive—covering strategy, stakeholder management, team dynamics and difficult decisions.

Workshop facilitation

Focused sessions for teams and leaders who need to move something forward.

Designed around your specific situation—whether that’s a direction that needs agreeing, a decision that’s stalled, or a tension that’s gone unaddressed.

Coaching & mentoring

For individuals at any level navigating change, building influence, or working out what comes next.

Question-led coaching and mentoring that draws on nearly 30 years of lived experience—at a cadence that works for you.

let’s talk

Why clients bring me in

I’ve delivered transformation as creative leader, consultant and coach—with real results in each. That range gives me a perspective most people in this space don't have.

I’m senior enough to be trusted, human enough to be approachable, and experienced enough to draw on proven approaches in varied contexts.

FAQs

  • ”Fix” is quite a simplistic term. I start by finding out what’s actually causing the problem—which is rarely what it first appears to be.

    Poor output is usually a symptom. The cause is more often a misalignment in purpose, structure, leadership or relationships. Fix the cause and the performance follows.

  • When something isn’t working and you can’t see why. When you need an honest, independent view before a big decision. When the team is going through significant change and needs experienced outside support. And when the people inside the business are too close to the problem to see it whole.

  • Because the things that made them work at a smaller size—informal processes, close relationships, a leader who could be across everything—stop working when the team grows.

    Scale requires structure, clarity and systems that most creative teams build too late.

  • I start with the team’s purpose. Then I can make an honest assessment of where the gaps are—between what the team does and what the business needs, between how the team sees itself and how the business sees it.

    Then rebuilding the connections, the ways of working and the conversations that close those gaps.

  • “His fierce curiosity is backed by tremendous intelligence. And his ability to connect the dots and communicate his conclusions in a way that is understandable makes him a super person to have around.”

    Robert
    Founder & CEO

  • “When I shared my report with him, his feedback reframed how I was presenting a core section of the analysis entirely, in a way I simply hadn’t considered. That’s the thing about Michael: he holds the detail and the bigger picture at the same time.”

    Dave
    Founder & Solutions Consultant

Change is constant

If you’re navigating it, personally or organisationally, and something here resonates, let’s talk. 

let’s talk