“I’m stepping into a bigger role.”
A move into the CEO role or greater responsibility invites new questions about who you want to be as a leader, and how you want to live.
COACHING FOR FOUNDERS & SENIOR LEADERS
Success on
your terms.
Space to be present.
Lead with greater clarity and influence. Navigate change. Create space for the life you want.
I’m Olena. I coach founders and senior leaders through greater responsibility, complex working relationships and important decisions — with a whole-life view of your ambitions, relationships and wellbeing.
Book a complimentary conversation30 minutes, just you and me. No preparation or obligation.
Explore coaching for you and your team
Executive coach. A thoughtful partner
for your next chapter.
LONDON · WORKING INTERNATIONALLYFind your starting point ↓
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS
ICF ACC · Leadership Circle Profile® · Korn Ferry Leadership Architect™
PSYCHOLOGY
Postgraduate degree in Psychology · UCL
INNOVATION
AI · Blockchain · Digital assets
WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE?
What does success
mean to you now?
You’ve achieved a great deal. This is space to consider the whole picture: what you want to build, how you want to live and what deserves more of your attention.
“I want to have greater influence.”
You’re delivering results, but getting alignment, navigating competing priorities or having difficult conversations takes more energy than you’d like.
“I want to build a business and a fulfilling life.”
You’re committed to what you’re building. You also want to give thoughtful attention to your wellbeing, relationships and life beyond it.
“I want to be more present.”
You want to notice familiar patterns, make conscious choices and be more fully engaged with the people and experiences that matter.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
A few words from
people I’ve worked with.
Feedback on coaching, leadership development and training.
Stepping into a CEO role
“I had some fantastic coaching sessions with Olena from Dec 2025 to Mar 2026, when I was starting at my first CEO role.
She was very professional and effective. Created a safe space for conversation and pushed me gently to think of what matters the most for me in this challenging period of professional growth. She provided the right structure and method to get as deep and as focused as required, whilst still making the whole process natural and rewarding - and super helpful!
I definitely recommend her to anyone looking for coaching services, especially right after a promotion or a career change.”
Developing a leadership team
“She is empathetic and creative, she kept the team on track and was consistently encouraging and positive with her feedback and coaching. I strongly recommend Olena as a subject matter expert and a coach who will help you improve your and your team's performance.”
Bringing senior leaders together
“She delivered an impactful session that shifted the group's psychological safety and understanding of one another in a really positive way. Olena was professional and engaging, quickly building rapport with the group.”
Personal recommendations from LinkedIn. Felipe’s recommendation is shown in full; others are excerpts. Titles shown as supplied in the recommendations.
Visit my LinkedIn profile ↗TWO WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
Start with you.
Or bring your team.
SPACE FOR YOU
One-to-one
coaching
Your vision. Your strengths. Your way forward.
A personal 12-week partnership to explore what matters to you, deepen your self-awareness and shape a fulfilling life alongside your professional ambitions. Together, we decide where to focus.
- Define success on your terms. Explore what you want to achieve, experience or change across your life and work.
- Know yourself more deeply. Discover your strengths, values and the patterns shaping your choices.
- Explore new possibilities. Gain fresh perspectives, question assumptions and find your own way forward.
- Learn to coach yourself. Practise presence and develop questions and reflection habits you can use beyond our sessions.
The shape of our work
Six 50-minute sessions and tailored reflections.
We agree what you want from our work together and revisit your priorities as they evolve, with space to reflect on what is changing for you.
We’ll discuss the programme and fee during your complimentary introductory conversation.
FOR ORGANISATIONS
Workshops & courses
for leaders and teams
StrengthsFinder team sessions
Gallup CliftonStrengths® · 2 hours
A fun, insightful way to understand yourself, connect with colleagues and discover how to work better together.
Developed from psychologist Don Clifton’s work, StrengthsFinder — now CliftonStrengths — is a research-backed assessment grounded in decades of Gallup research. Your personalised results provide a starting point for practical team conversations.
- 34
- Talent themes
- 38m+
- Completions worldwide
- Understand yourself. Recognise your natural talents and how to develop them.
- Connect with colleagues. Understand different approaches and what each person brings.
- Work better together. Combine complementary strengths and agree practical next steps.
Sources: Gallup history & reach · Research & 34 themes
Enquire about a StrengthsFinder sessionCoaching Skills for Leadership Teams
Leadership training workshop
2 hours.
Presence, clear thinking and coaching skills for leaders.
Lead yourself and your people well as work changes. Practise with situations such as changing roles, uncertainty about AI and pressure to adapt.
- The GROW model. Structure conversations around Goal, Reality, Options and Will: turning insight into action.
- Presence. Develop a grounded, attentive state. Listen deeply and ask questions that open up thinking.
- From reactivity to response. Notice triggers, pause and choose how to respond.
- From overwhelm to clarity. Separate what matters from the noise and identify the next step.
- From overactivation to calm. Practise simple grounding and attention techniques to regain composure under pressure.
HELLO, I’M OLENA
A warm welcome.
And a little about me.
ICF ACC coach. Technology leader. Founder.
Explore my experience on LinkedIn ↗I care about what you want to achieve — and how you want to feel along the way.
My career spans Google, Barclays and RBS, including Vice President at Barclays and more than six years at Google. I understand the pressures of leading complex work, navigating organisational change and delivering against competing expectations — while wanting space for a fulfilling life. Today, my work at Google focuses on AI, Blockchain and digital assets.
I’m an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation and hold a postgraduate degree in Psychology from University College London (UCL), with a focus on cognitive psychology and behaviour. Alongside my technology work, I’ve coached executives and founders, and facilitated leadership development and team coaching sessions for over a decade.
I’ve led complex transformation programmes affecting thousands of people. As a co-founder of AI VisionBoard, I also know what it takes to bring an idea into the world. I bring these perspectives to our conversations, alongside curiosity, warmth and questions that help you see more clearly and move forward with confidence.
You can come with ambition, uncertainty, or a bit of both. I’ll listen carefully, challenge you thoughtfully and support you in finding your own answers.
THE THREAD THROUGH MY WORK
Helping humans flourish
in the AI age.
KEYNOTES FOR YOUR NEXT LEADERSHIP EVENT
Human leadership.
In the age of AI.
Two talks to spark reflection, open up conversation and offer practical ideas for how we lead ourselves and others.
Thriving Leadership in the Age of AI
How do we lead ourselves and others well as work changes? Explore presence, clear thinking and a coaching mindset to navigate uncertainty, exercise judgment and help people adapt.
Enquire about this keynoteCoach Yourself with AI
Discover how to use AI as a thinking partner to understand yourself, explore challenges and turn insight into action. Learn to ask better questions, challenge its suggestions and keep your own judgment at the centre.
Enquire about this keynoteBEFORE WE MEET
A few things
you might wonder.
Who is this for?
Founders, CEOs and senior leaders who want space to explore what matters to them across life and work. You can bring your ambitions, relationships, wellbeing, leadership or a question you are still finding words for. Workshops and courses are for leaders who want to empower their people through coaching conversations, and teams who want to understand their strengths, connect and work better together.
What will we work towards?
We begin with what matters to you and what you would like to explore, achieve or change. Together, we shape the focus around your life and work, and agree what meaningful progress looks like for you. We revisit this as our conversations develop.
What does the coaching partnership include?
Six 50-minute sessions over 12 weeks and tailored reflection exercises. We agree the focus together and revisit your priorities as they evolve.
Can my organisation sponsor the coaching?
Yes. We agree the goals, confidentiality arrangements and any sponsor updates before coaching begins.
What does it cost?
For individual coaching, we discuss the programme and fee during your complimentary introduction and confirm the scope in writing. For organisations, you receive a tailored proposal covering preparation, delivery and any follow-up before committing.
Can we book a workshop, course or keynote?
Yes. The two-hour Coaching Skills for Leadership Teams workshop combines presence, clear thinking and coaching skills for leaders. A course can be tailored to your goals and needs. CliftonStrengths (StrengthsFinder) sessions also run for two hours. Both workshops can be booked independently or incorporated into your team offsite, with optional follow-up group coaching. For leadership events, choose from two keynotes: Thriving Leadership in the Age of AI and Coach Yourself with AI. Share your audience, aims, date and available time so we can explore the fit.
A MOMENT, JUST FOR YOU
What would success feel like if it included every part of your life?
Take a breath. Let the question settle.
There’s room to explore your answer together.
A complimentary 30-minute conversation with Olena.
LET’S MEET
Let’s get to
know each other.
In our first 30 minutes, we’ll talk about what’s bringing you here, what you’d like to change and how I might help. You’ll have time to ask questions and get a feel for working with me.
Prefer to write first?
olenaclayton@gmail.com
Choose a time that suits you.
Your introduction with Olena