Rachel Burlton

Hello and welcome.

If you're here, you've already taken an important step in your personal, professional, or leadership development journey. With over 25 years of experience as a women's coach, I've had the privilege of helping women find greater happiness and wellbeing, improve relationships, navigate life's challenges, and create more fulfilling and sustainable careers.

My role is to provide a supportive, empowering space where you can gain clarity, build confidence, and create meaningful, lasting change.
With love & strength, Rachel   

How I can support you to reach your goals:
I specialise in supporting women to thrive, rather than just survive, in a man's world.
Tammy Wynette sang, 'Sometimes, it's hard to be a woman'. I'd argue it's not sometimes, it's most of the time. It's the little stuff, like sexist assumptions & microaggressions, and the big stuff, like gender bias, sexism and misogyny.

Things like...

• sexist double standards for girls & boys, i.e. girls play quietly with dolls
• gendered subject and career advice, i.e. caring (lower-paid) careers for girls
• gendered roles (and workloads) in the family, i.e. Mums do the majority of domestic and emotional work in the family 
• sexism in the workplace, i.e., The Old Boys Club, 'The Motherhood Penalty', Gender Pay Gap, etc
• gender bias in the media (The vast majority of experts quoted in the media are men)
• male-dominated leadership (Men still dominate in senior leadership positions across the private, public and third sectors.)

Over time, this stuff takes a toll on women. Then, factor in the 'busy-ness' of our modern lifestyles. Many women need help with issues with self-esteem, anxiety, stress, depleted energy & motivation, poor health, depression etc. For many women, coaching is the positive space that enables and empowers them to address 'the overwhelm' and refocus on their purpose & values, and what they really need and want. 

Woman-centred coaching helps women to thrive, not just survive, in a man’s world.
Whilst many of the challenges we face as women are communal. But, every woman is unique, and I take a ‘pluralistic approach’ to supporting individual clients. This means I offer a collaborative, flexible coaching service using techniques and tools that respond to the unique needs of my female clients.

Specifically, I:

• Prioritise shared decision-making, we will determine goals and coaching methods together, acknowledging that multiple methods can be effective at different points in the coaching relationship
• Take an evidence-based approach, drawing upon the latest academic, societal and workplace research to underpin my conceptual framework and coaching methodology
• Foster client agency and autonomy, developing clients’ capacity for self-efficacy and self-coaching

Coaching For Women, designed By Women, About Women’s Issues
That said, there are common issues that women in the workplace are likely to bring to coaching. You are likely to be experiencing some of these yourself. The 5 most common workplace challenges female clients explore with me are:

• The expectation to undertake unpaid, 'invisible labour' at work. It's often referred to as 'office housework' / workplace 'emotional labour'. (Collectively, it's called 'prosocial behaviour'.) I support women to identify this and the impact it is having on their capacity to complete paid, higher profile, career-enhancing work, and then delegate or delete it from their To Do Lists.
  
• The pressure to ‘be authentically themselves’ at work in a male-dominated culture in which feminine traits are stigmatised, and women’s interests and issues are marginalised. I support women to recognise that the system is the problem, not them, and show up authentically, but safely and sustainably, while working with others to change the system from the inside out.
  
• 'Imposter syndrome' and the negative impact of 'perfectionism' on women's wellness, health, relationships, and careers. I work with women to acknowledge and understand the societal origins of 'imposter syndrome' & 'perfectionism', and support clients to develop more positive and supportive thoughts, behaviours and habits.
  
• The misunderstood and undervalued nature of a 'non-linear career' ('squiggly career' / 'zig-zag career'). I help women to identify, articulate and sell their unique, transferable experiences and skills to their ideal job, career, leadership position or organisation.
  
• Being the only woman in the room, and often being ignored, isolated and marginalised as a result. I coach women to take up space, make themselves be heard & recognised, and successfully navigate male-centric social & organisational norms, values, behaviour and culture.

The Circle of Life for Women - different challenges at different life stages and career stages
Also, women often experience similar issues at specific life stages or career stages. They bring these to coaching, too. The most common topics female clients explore in coaching, based on life or career stage, are:

Early Career Women in their 20s:

• How to stop being 'The Good Girl', stopping the constant 'people-pleasing' and 'say No' with confidence
• Finding your 'niche' in the workplace and developing a sustainable, future-proof career, moving from taking any job to securing THE job and making it work for you, getting the first and future promotions
• Developing your 'Personal Brand' and Networking for Success at work, aka "What I want to be known for" + "What I excel at" + "Who sponsors & mentors me"
• Executing "The Ask", aka, confidently self-advocating for a pay rise/promotion/better working conditions
  (I offer free special #IAmRemarkable online group workshops)
• Developing and maintaining 'healthy boundaries' with friends, family, romantic partners, colleagues, bosses etc, i.e. switching off "Always On" culture
• Imagining, planning and implementing a major 'life change' and/or 'career change', e.g. moving house/location, changing jobs/sector, gap years & sabbaticals, moving in with partners / getting married, etc
• The Quarter Life Crisis, aka, the 'What am I doing with my life?' 2:00 AM panic."  
  
  

Mid-Career Women in their 30s or 40s:

• Making 'The Mental Load' manageable, i.e. how to reduce the stress and drain of juggling of jobs/careers/partners/kids/friends/elderly parents, etc. (I use the Fair Play Method® to support clients with this)
• Catching and stopping the 'Shoulds', the 'Guilt' and the 'Shame' i.e. spotting and addressing family, friendship or workplace expectations causing you to live inauthentically
• Navigating 'Career Pivots', i.e. planning and implementing a major 'job change' or 'career change', making a success of a 'portfolio career', selling your 'squiggly career' to recruiters
• Shifting career gears, this could be a Mid-Career Audit (Where am I vs Where do I want to be on the 'Career Ladder'?) or developing a conscious plan to move from 'Doer' to 'Thought Leader' 
• Rediscovering yourself outside of being a _______ to other people, i.e. Mum, Wife, Carer, Manager, Leader
• Overcoming the Mid-Career Slump, aka "Is this it?"

Late-Career Woman in their 50s or 60s:

• Dealing with the impact of 'gendered ageism', i.e. overcoming the invisibility of 'The Grey Ceiling' and self-advocacy as a 'Modern Elder'
• Making the 'Second Act' / 'Third Act' of your 'primary career' count, aka "What do I want to achieve in the final stage of my career?" and "How do I remain relevant?"
• Planning and Preparing for 'The Empty Nest', Pre-tirement*, Retirement or an Encore Career**, including renegotiating family, friendship, workplace expectations, boundaries, roles & relationships
• Creating your Legacy, i.e ensuring that what you leave behind makes an positive impact on others  

(*Pre-tirement =  transitional phase between full-time work & retirement, encompasses reduced hours, part-time work, or consulting
**Encore Careers = paid or unpaid voluntary careers after a primary career ends) 

I can help...
If you are experiencing any of these challenges, or similar ones not listed here, women-centred, empowerment coaching can provide a space for you to explore them and take action to achieve the life, family and career you want.
(I also offer Leadership Coaching and Executive Coaching for Women, if you need specific support in your workplace or community Leadership Role.)

Contact me for a free, no-obligation, 30-minute Discovery Call to talk through how I can support you through coaching:

• Message me via the Life Coaching Directory (top of the page)
• Email me on rachelburlton@gmail.com
• WhatsApp me on 07902 213608

(I will respond within 48 hours. Sometimes I'm out of the office, on site with organisational clients.)

I specialise in Gender Empowerment Education (GEE) and Gender Empowerment Coaching (GEC), supporting women and girls to thrive, not just survive, in a man's world.

I offer 1-2-1 coaching for individual clients and group coaching programmes several times a year for specific cohorts, i.e. 'Fair Play® for Women at Home'. 

My 1-2-1 Coaching Offer for Individual Clients

Tier 1 - Bronze - £300
A 30-minute scoping call to diagnose current challenges and objectives, plus a 90-minute coaching session to dive deeper.

Tier 2 - Silver - £600
A 3 - 6 month coaching relationship consisting of 6 coaching sessions of between 60 - 90-minutes each.

• Sessions 1, 4 and 6 are of 90-minutes to enable reflection & discussion about overall progress in addition to the usual coaching conversation.
• Sessions 2, 3 and 5 are 60 minutes.

Clients can choose the timeline for our coaching relationship according to their needs: a 3-month coaching programme means fortnightly coaching meetings, whereas a 6-month coaching programme means monthly coaching meetings.

Tier 3 - Gold - £800.00
A 3 - 6 month coaching relationship as above for the Silver Tier, PLUS up to six 15-minute 'Quick Conversations', bookable flexibly in between coaching sessions.
'Quick Conversations' give clients access to short, 'booster' coaching conversations when they just need to talk through something pressing in relation to their challenges, goals or actions. 

If you're interested in finding out more, please get in touch to book a free, no-obligation, 30-minute Discovery Call. You can:
-> Message me via the Life Coaching Directory (top of the page)
-> Email me on rachelburlton@gmail.com
-> WhatsApp me on 07902 213608
I will get back to you within 48 hours. (Sometimes I'm away from the office, on site, with organisational clients.)

If you would like a more bespoke programme, please contact me to co-design your coaching programme. I'd be happy to support you in this way.

My Core Hours: Mon to Fri, 10.00 - 18.00.
By arrangement, I offer a limited number of 'Out of Hours' sessions on Tues & Thurs evenings & Sat mornings. Please message me for availability.

Support for Groups & Organisations through Coaching, Facilitation and Training

In addition to my 1-2-1 coaching for individuals and group coaching programmes, I offer a keynote & panel speaker service for corporate/organisational events, conferences, or seminars. Plus, more informal, intimate talks and workshops for groups, e.g. women's groups, local networking groups, social clubs, etc.

I also offer curated and facilitated Circles from the Lean In® Foundation (www.leanin.org/circles) to support specific employee demographics, i.e. Early Career Women, Mid-Career Women, Late Career Women. 

Support for Schools & Youth Organisations through Coaching, Facilitation and Education
For schools and youth organisations, I offer two Gender Empowerment Education (GEE) programmes:  

• The Fair Play® Policy Institute's 'Home Equity programme (https://www.fairplaylife.com/home-equity-curriculum), focused on supporting Gender Equality by closing 'The Chores Gap'
• The Lean In® Foundation's Girls' Leadership Development Programme (www.leaningirls.org)

I also offer a bespoke consultancy service.

Please contact me for more information about any of these options. You can:
-> Message me via the Life Coaching Directory (top of the page)
-> Email me on rachelburlton@gmail.com
-> WhatsApp me on 07902 213608
(I will respond within 48 hours. Sometimes I'm out of the office, on site with organisational clients.)