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Stu Barnes Coaching
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stubarnescoaching

Executive Coaching for Mid-Career Professionals | Clarity, confidence and momentum for your next chapter
THE JOURNEY FROM DOUBT TO DONE Sometimes the bigg THE JOURNEY FROM DOUBT TO DONE Sometimes the biggest transformation happens in the smallest space. The space between: “I can’t do this” and “I did it”. Most mid-career professionals I work with don’t lack capability. What they often lack is: Confidence after a setback Clarity in uncertainty Energy after prolonged pressure Belief that change is still possible at this stage of life and career And yet, transformation rarely arrives all at once. More often, it looks like: One difficult conversation handled differently One boundary held One application submitted One honest reflection One brave decision One small action repeated consistently. Over time, those moments quietly reshape identity. You stop seeing yourself as stuck, invisible, burnt out, or “past it”. And begin to realise that perhaps you were more capable than you’d allowed yourself to believe. Coaching often sits in that in-between space. Between self-doubt and self-trust.
Between surviving and thriving.
Between “I can’t” and “I did”. Not by giving people the answers — but by helping them reconnect with their own. What’s something you once thought you couldn’t do, that you now look back on and realise changed you? #coaching #midcareerprofessionals #career #growth #stubarnescoaching
THE WRONG WALL? You’ve worked hard. 
You’ve deliv THE WRONG WALL? You’ve worked hard. 
You’ve delivered results. 
You’ve built a solid reputation over 15–20+ years. But something’s shifted for you. Maybe you’re asking questions you didn’t used to: 
❓ “Do I even want the next promotion?”
❓ “Why doesn’t this feel as fulfilling as it once did?”
❓ “Have I built a career I chose, or one I just fell in to?” These are the very human and natural questions many mid-career professionals face. From the outside, you’re successful. 
On the inside, however, you’re wondering if you’ve been climbing a ladder that’s leaning against the wrong wall. COACHING & PAUSING  I work with established leaders and senior professionals who are curious about exploring these questions to find out what the answers might mean for them. Together, we pause to ask:  ⏸ What does success look like now for you – not 10 years ago? ⏸ Where are you finding fulfilment and purpose? ⏸ What do you want your leadership legacy to be? Together, we pause to explore: 
👏 How you could realign your career with your values 
👏 How you could choose to pivot without burning everything down 
👏 How growth doesn’t have to mean going up but instead going deep If this resonates with you, try this quick exercise: 
🍃 Finish this sentence: “If I were really honest with myself, I’d admit that I’ve outgrown…” See what comes up for you and what that could point to for your next chapter. And if you’d like to explore that to gain more clarity and courage in a safe and supportive space, let me know. How have you redefined success in your career? #coaching #midcareerprofessionals #leaders #career #stubarnescoaching
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL — CHRIS Choosing the right coa CLIENT TESTIMONIAL — CHRIS Choosing the right coach matters. Here’s how Chris described his experience working with me. This testimonial reflects what collaboration with my clients really looks like and the impact it creates. You’ll find more client recommendations on my profile. #coaching #midcareerprofessionals #client #testimonial #stubarnescoaching
REINVENTING MID-CAREER PATHS Redundancies, restr REINVENTING MID-CAREER PATHS Redundancies, restructures, and market shifts are pushing many mid-career professionals to ask: ❓What’s next? Research shines a light on this: 📚 In 2025, global hiring slowed, with growth lagging in tech and financial services (HireBorderless, 2025) 📚 Korn Ferry reports that career reinvention is now one of the top skills for professionals in their 40s and 50s 📚 At the same time, there’s been a surge in fractional executive roles, where seasoned leaders work with multiple organisations in flexible arrangements (The Times, 2025) COACHING & REINVENTION For mid-career professionals, this can feel like both a challenge and a gift. Yes, it’s unsettling to step off the traditional ladder. But it’s also a chance to design work that aligns with your values, lifestyle, and purpose. Coaching can support this shift. I work with my clients to support them to: ✨ Reframe transition as opportunity, not failure 📌 Identify your unique value in the marketplace 🔗 Build networks and narratives that open doors 💼 Explore practical routes into fractional, freelance, or portfolio careers QUICK EXERCISE A quick exercise for you to try! 1️⃣ Grab a blank piece of paper 2️⃣ Give yourself 10 minutes, no overthinking. 3️⃣ Sketch, doodle, or write what your ideal career would look like if you designed it on your own terms 4️⃣ Let your intuition lead. The answers may surprise you If you’re looking to explore what shedding a skin could look like for you as you progress your career on your terms, I’d love to explore how my coaching could support you. If you could design your career on your own terms, what would it look like? #coaching #midcareerprofessionals #career #reinvention #stubarnescoaching
EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES Floating in the Blue EXPLORING THE POSSIBILITIES Floating in the Blue Lagoon at Uvala Tijašnica — part of a wonderfully relaxing day exploring the islands, coves and ports of the Dalmatian coast. We didn’t need to know exactly where every turn would take us. We simply created the space to explore. There’s something in that for our careers too. At mid-career, it’s easy to believe we should already have the route mapped out. But clarity doesn’t always come from thinking harder or committing immediately. Sometimes it begins with giving ourselves permission to explore: ➡️ What else might be possible?
➡️ What are we curious about?
➡️ Where might a different route take us? You don’t need all the answers to start exploring your options. What possibility could you give yourself more space to explore? #coaching #midcareerprofessionals #careerclarity #growth #stubarnescoaching
WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT? Last night’s holiday ex WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT? Last night’s holiday experience took us somewhere rather unique: Oyster 22, just outside Šibenik. We enjoyed freshly hand-picked oysters and mussels from the Krka River estuary, served only a short distance from where they had been collected. The food was amazing. The setting was wonderfully simple. But it was the story behind it that really drew us there. A clear mission.
Complete confidence in the provenance of their product.
And an experience that felt genuinely distinctive. It made me think about how often, in our careers, we lose sight of those same things. By mid-career, we have accumulated years of skills, experiences, successes, setbacks and learning. Yet we can become so focused on what comes next that we overlook what already makes us unique: ➡️ What matters deeply to us
➡️ Where our strengths and experience come from
➡️ The distinctive value we bring to others Coaching can create the space to reconnect with these things — not to invent an entirely new version of ourselves, but to understand and express more clearly what is already there. Because standing out doesn’t always mean doing more. Sometimes it begins with greater clarity about who you are, what you stand for and what only you can bring. What makes your own experience and contribution distinctive? #coaching #careerdevelopment #midcareerprofessionals #growth #stubarnescoaching
SPACE TO PAUSE The start of our family holiday in SPACE TO PAUSE The start of our family holiday in Šibenik, Croatia — and a very welcome change of pace. Stepping away from work isn’t just about switching off. It creates space to: 🌿 Reflect on what’s been 🌿 Reconnect with what matters 🌿 Recharge for what comes next During a busy working year, it’s easy to keep moving without stopping to consider whether we’re still moving in the right direction. Time away can give us the perspective to notice what has been energising us, what has been draining us and what we might want to change when we return. For many mid-career professionals, this can be particularly valuable. With experience behind us and plenty still ahead, the question isn’t simply “What’s next?” — but “What do I want the next chapter to look and feel like?” So, if you have some time to pause this summer I’d invite you to create the space to reflect: 🌅 What would you like to return to with renewed energy — and what might you choose to leave behind? #midcareerprofessionals #careerdevelopment #personalgrowth #stubarnescoaching
UNLEARNING TO GROW Growth isn’t just about adding UNLEARNING TO GROW Growth isn’t just about adding more. It’s also about letting go. Because as we move through our careers and lives, we don’t just gain experience — we accumulate patterns: 🔄 Ways of thinking 🔄 Ways of behaving 🔄 Ways of seeing ourselves And some of them quietly outlive their usefulness. What got you here…isn’t always what will take you forward. Unlearning is the work of noticing what no longer serves you — and having the honesty to release it. Not because it was wrong. But because it’s no longer right for who you’re becoming. When you do that, something shifts. You create space: 💡 For clearer thinking 💡 For better choices 💡 For a different way of showing up This shows up a lot in my work with mid-career professionals. People who’ve been successful. Capable. Trusted. But are now at a point where something feels…off. Often, it’s not about learning more. It’s about unlearning: ⏪ The need to have all the answers ⏪ The identity built around being the expert ⏪ The habits that once drove success but now create pressure or disconnection Unlearning isn’t easy. It can feel uncomfortable. Exposing, even. But here is what I see when clients begin to unlearn: ⚡ More creativity — as they reconnect with who they are, not just what they do 🍃 Greater perspective — moving beyond black-and-white thinking 📈 A genuine growth mindset — not just striving, but learning 🌀 Deeper curiosity — about themselves and others 🌍 A stronger sense of alignment — and with it, more energy and fulfilment What might you need to unlearn to step into what’s next? #coaching #midcareer #leadership #unlearning #stubarnescoaching
WHAT IS COACHING & WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? One of WHAT IS COACHING & WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? One of the questions I’m asked most often is: What is coaching, and does it really make a difference? Here’s the short answer... Coaching is a structured conversation that helps you unlock your potential, overcome challenges, and create lasting personal and professional change. It’s:
➡️ Future-focused
➡️ Built around your goals
➡️ Different from mentoring (advice) and therapy (healing the past) What does the evidence say? 🍃 80% of people report increased self-confidence, while over 70% improve their work performance, relationships and communication (International Coaching Federation) 🍃 People with a coach are 84% more likely to be promoted than those without one (Leadership & Organisational Development Journal) 🍃 88% see positive behavioural change within 60 days of starting coaching (Torch) 🍃 86% of leaders believe coaching delivers better leadership development than more passive forms of learning (Torch) Why does coaching work? 🌀 It’s personalised to you and your circumstances. 🌀 It provides a safe, non-judgemental space to think clearly. 🌀 It creates accountability, helping you turn good intentions into meaningful action. What benefits have you experienced from coaching? #coaching #midcareerprofessionals #leadership #careergrowth #stubarnescoaching
ITERATING WITH INTUITION Most people think they n ITERATING WITH INTUITION Most people think they need clarity before they take action. A clear plan.
A defined end goal.
The “right” next step. But life — and careers — don’t really work like that. Here’s an example. One thing that we use minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour in our daily lives. The i-phone.  📱 It wasn’t designed perfectly from day one. 📱 Was it a mobile phone, MPV player, internet connector?  📱 There were iterations. Tons of iterations. 
📱 Prototypes.
📱 Things that didn’t quite work.
📱 Steps forward without knowing exactly where they would lead. 📱 And only through that process did the final product begin to emerge. Mid-career often feels like the point where we think we should have it all figured out. But in reality, it’s just another iteration point. Not the finished product. Just the next version. This is the shift I often see in coaching. From needing certainty to being willing to experiment. Because clarity doesn’t come before action. It comes through it. So instead of asking, “What’s the perfect next move?” Try asking: “What’s one small step I could take that might teach me something?” A conversation. A new project. A different way of showing up. Not a leap. Just a prototype. You don’t need to design the whole life. Just the next version. #coaching #midcareerprofessionals #growth #career #stubarnescoaching 
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ICF Associate Certified Coach and Qualified ILM level 7 Executive Coach

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