About Joanna Stokes - My Coach Joanna

I work with experienced women in Further Education who are ready for senior leadership but cannot quite make themselves reach for it.

Not because they lack capability. Because they are caught between genuine ambition and a belief they have never fully examined: that stepping up means giving something up. Family time. Identity. Control over the life they have built.

That belief feels like fact. My job is to prove it is not.

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I know this territory from the inside.

I was a single mum with two teenage children when I stepped into senior leadership in FE. No partner to share the school run, no financial safety net, no backup plan.

I did it anyway, and I went on to become an Assistant Principal, and a CEO.

I also spent five years as an Ofsted Inspector, which means I have seen the inside of more FE colleges than most, and I understand how they work, what they demand, and where the real barriers to progression sit.

When I talk about what it takes to lead in this sector, I am not theorising. I have lived it.

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If you’re ready to speak to someone who knows your world, book a call.

Book a call with me

The women I work with do not need generic career coaching

This matters because the women I work with do not need generic career coaching repackaged in FE language.

They need someone who already speaks their world. Someone who knows what a SAR cycle feels like from the inside, who understands the politics of a college restructure, and who has navigated the specific, exhausting tension between being a present parent and an ambitious professional.

I do not need any of that explained to me. I have been there, and I got through it without becoming the cold, corporate version of a leader my clients are afraid of becoming.

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My approach goes deeper than skills and strategy.

I work on the belief systems underneath the behaviour

Most of the programmes you have already tried have taught you what to do. They have not touched why you cannot bring yourself to do it.

I work on the belief systems underneath the behaviour: the guilt about wanting power and status, the assumptions about what senior leadership requires that have never been tested against evidence, the identity conflict between ambitious leader and good mother that keeps women stuck in circular thinking for years.

Until those foundations are solid, every strategy built on top of them will eventually crumble. That is why Positive Intelligence© is the starting point for all of my coaching work, building the mental fitness that makes everything else stick.

The women I work with leave with clarity about what they want and the evidence to back themselves.

Are you stuck, bored, and quietly losing faith that anything will change?

The women who work with me leave with clarity about what they want, the evidence to back themselves, and a senior leadership role that does not cost them the family life they value.

That shift happens because the work addresses what is actually keeping them stuck, not what they think is keeping them stuck.

If you are ready to stop thinking about this and start doing something about it, I would love to talk.

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My style

I’m here to help you see your choices clearly and back yourself to make them.

I’m not here to tell you what to do. I’m not a performance coach, line manager, teacher or mentor. I won’t give you a formula or a five-step plan.

What I offer is a committed partnership where we focus on meaningful insight and real progress.

I’m straight-talking, supportive and down to earth. I don’t use jargon or fluffy frameworks. I create space for honest thinking, ask good questions and help you take clear action.

I combine coaching, Positive Intelligence® DISC profiling and leadership and personal development tools in a way that fits your context and your goals.

This isn’t off-the-shelf coaching. It’s shaped around you.

My credentials and CPD

Over the past five years, I’ve invested heavily in my own development.

I’m a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation, a licensed Firework Career Coach, and DISC accredited.

I engage in regular supervision and ongoing CPD to ensure my practice stays reflective, ethical and effective.

I also learn a lot from the people I work with – every coaching conversation sharpens my practice.

A bit more about me

About Joanna Stokes, leadership and career coach

This is a selfie I took – check out how I learned to take these photos — here!

I live by the sea with my partner. I love cooking, cycling, and I am an avid reader, you will often find me giving book recommendations on everything from fiction to personal development and healthy lifestyle.

Running a values-led business matters to me. So does financial freedom, which is why I’ve made some big shifts over the last few years to build a life and business that feel more aligned and sustainable. You can read more about this in articles under “Lifestyle” on the Insights page.

I’m here to help you do the same – in your own way, on your own terms.

Want to explore working together?

Start with a free introductory call – no pressure, just a proper conversation.

I’m Joanna Stokes, a leadership and career coach based in Marske-by-the-Sea

You don’t need another leadership programme. You need someone who’s been exactly where you are.

You’ve done the courses. You’ve read the books. You’ve sat in rooms being told what great leadership looks like, and walked away feeling more capable on paper but no closer to actually doing anything differently. That’s not a reflection on you. It’s a reflection on what those programmes miss: the real reason you’re not moving forward isn’t a skills gap. It’s the voice in your head telling you that you can’t have both.

That’s precisely what I help you change.

I work with experienced women in Further Education who are ready for senior leadership but can’t quite get out of their own way.

You’re not lacking ambition. You’re not lacking ability. What you’re lacking is someone who understands the very specific weight you’re carrying, the guilt, the fear, the invisible mental load that your male colleagues simply don’t face in the same way. Someone who can help you untangle what’s actually holding you back and build the kind of clarity and confidence that doesn’t evaporate six months later.

Who I work with

I work with professionals, leaders, and ambitious thinkers who are ready to step back and examine who they are, what matters most, and what might need to shift for them to align with their values, strengths, and goals.

I’ve built a strong reputation in the Further Education sector and still work with many colleges, leaders, and teaching staff. But my work now also supports people beyond FE – those in the public and third sectors, education charities, healthcare, and mission-led organisations.

Whether you’re on your own or part of an organisation, I help you find a better way forward.

The people I work with often share the same struggles:

You feel stuck, flat, or disconnected from your work
You’ve lost confidence or aren’t sure what’s next
You want more freedom, meaning, or space in your working life
You’re ready to lead differently – with clarity, not bravado
You want to stop people-pleasing and start making choices that fit you

My coaching approach

Straightforward

Powerful

Timely

I don’t just coach. I challenge.

Working with me isn’t a gentle conversation where I reflect your thoughts back at you.

I will ask you the questions you’ve been avoiding. I will challenge the assumptions you’ve mistaken for facts.

I will help you identify the sabotaging patterns of thinking that are quietly running the show, and give you the tools to quieten them for good.

I use Positive Intelligence® as the foundation of my work because lasting change requires more than new strategies. It requires a mind that is working with you, not against you.

Coaching with me is

Deep

Practical

Focused

My clients don’t just feel better. They move.

They apply for the roles they’d talked themselves out of. They get them. They negotiate flexibility they assumed wasn’t available. They stop waiting for permission and start making decisions. They become the kind of leader and the kind of role model they couldn’t find for themselves when they needed one most.