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We are two executive coaches who became friends, then co-workers, then business partners. We have different styles, complementary strengths and shared values.
The idea of The Scute was born on one of our many dog walks, talking about the power of coaching and how it helps people and organisations to become more of who they already are. As you become more, something has to give to accommodate your growth. You shed the things that no longer serve you.
Whilst the action of a snake shedding its skin was the first thing we thought of, it didn't quite hit the mark. Snakes get rid of their whole skin and grow a new one underneath. Turtles, on the other hand, have scutes (the small plates that form their shell) that shed and regenerate separately as the turtle grows.
This is our analogy for personal development. Keep what is good and shed what is no longer serving you.
And who doesn't love a turtle?
Ali Hughes
Ali is a co-founder of The Scute and Head of Coaching. Following a career in HR Consulting and Executive Search, Ali retrained as a coach in 2016. And she's never looked back!
Fuelled by a desire to help individuals be at their happiest and most fulfilled in the workplace, Ali has discovered that there is an organisational pay-off to this. Apparently, happy and fulfilled people perform at their best and deliver the results that organisations are looking for. That's what she calls a 'win-win'.
At The Scute, Ali looks after our coaching delivery offering and our coaching skills training. She is a PCC credentialed coach with ICF and holds a PG-Cert in Business & Personal Coaching. She is also a coach mentor and coach supervisor and loves nothing more than developing new and existing coaches, whilst also taking her own personal development very seriously.
Outside of the office, she can be found wandering the coast or downlands with Grub, her standard schnauzer. Or singing, keyboarding and gigging with her country music band. Some of these activities occasionally include a glass of wine in hand.
Karen Murray
a.k.a Hermione Granger on account of her nerdiness and organisational skills!
Karen has spent over 30 years being utterly fascinated by how we personally develop, push into our potential and live our most fulfilling lives. She has done this as a business coach and consultant, executive coach, fractional Chief People Officer and as a Primary School teacher.
She feels most alive when she sees someone fully embrace who they can be, and the moments when, by having space to think, they create new learning, are surprised by their own deep insights and are empowered to take transformative action. Whether she's speaking to a room of 100 or coaching 1:1, her driving thought is to encourage and enable people to believe in their own power to change.
Her nerdiness has led her down many learning paths, most recently completing a MSc in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology, focusing on the joys and tribulations of goals setting for her final research project and developing, with Ali, a framework that radically changes the way we set and strive for goals.
In addition to her role as Head of Consultancy, she is also the Chief Baking and Cheffing Officer, the results of which are regularly shared with our favourite clients.