Once more year, Clarity Coaching has made it to the finals for the LCCI SME Awards 2026, this year on three categories that show the dedication and passion I have for this business and industry

This is a Remarkable Milestone for Clarity Coaching

I am incredibly proud to announce that Clarity Coaching is a finalist in three categories at the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) SME Business Awards 2026:

• 🥇 Best New Business
• 🥇 Website of the Year
• 🥇 Best Enterprising Business

Being recognised in three categories is both humbling and inspiring. It highlights how much passion and dedication I put into Clarity Coaching. It also shows how much it has grown since I first launched it as a small side hustle in March 2022.

A Journey of Growth and Purpose

When I started Clarity Coaching, my mission was clear: to support new managers in developing the clarity, self-awareness, and confidence they need to lead effectively.

Today, that mission has evolved into a thriving professional community, a space where new leaders learn to manage teams, handle challenges, and grow into their roles with empathy and resilience.

This recognition reinforces the belief that leadership development is not just about skills, it’s about mindset, courage, and connection.

Gratitude for the Journey So Far

I’m deeply grateful to everyone who has supported, mentored, and believed in me, clients, peers, and friends alike. Every conversation, recommendation, and word of encouragement has contributed to this milestone.

Your trust allows me to continue doing what I love: helping people to lead with clarity and confidence.

What’s Next for 2026

Looking ahead, 2026 promises even more exciting opportunities for growth.

Registrations are now open for the next cohort of the Lead With Confidence programme, starting in February. This 10-workshop leadership development experience is designed to help new managers strengthen communication, self-management, and team leadership. All this with real-world application at its heart. But it also provides them the headspace to stop, think and reflect via one-to-one coaching.

No matter the outcome of the awards, being a finalist at the London Chamber of Commerce SME Awards 2026 is an incredible honour and a sign of how far passion and persistence can take you.

About Clarity Coaching

Clarity Coaching helps first-time managers and emerging leaders build the skills and mindset needed to transition successfully from peer to manager. The flagship programme, Lead With Confidence, blends live workshops, individual coaching, and a lifetime community of practice.

To learn more or join the next cohort, register your interest in this link or book directly a 30-min discovery call for free to discuss it further.

The hidden turnover and engagement risks that come with not supporting your new managers

When it comes to leadership development, organisations often focus on senior leaders or high-potential executives. But, what about the one who have just landed their very first leadership role, transitioning from peer to manager?

This moment is crucial in anyone’s career. It shapes careers, teams, and entire organisations, to not mention the way these people will manager their teams for years (and decades) to come. For this reason, neglecting new managers carries a hidden ripple effect that not only hurts the individual, but the entire organisation.

Why New Managers Matter So Much

New managers directly oversee the majority of employees in an organisation. They are the ones who set the tone, shape culture at team level, and influence the day-to-day engagement. Their ability to lead effectively can mean the difference between a motivated, high-performing and productive team and one that struggles and drags the organisation with it.

The Hidden Costs of Neglecting New Managers

When new managers don’t get support:

• Turnover increases. Team members often leave because of poor management, not the company itself. One person alone can damage an entire team with great individuals and brilliant potential, not only costing constant setbacks on the productivity, but also costing a lot of money to the company. The average cost to replace an employee these days is around £30K, and when it comes to highly specialised individuals, around 200% of their annual salary.
• Engagement drops. A manager who avoids giving feedback, struggles to delegate and lacks empathy and compassion creates confusion and frustration among the team. When objectives keep on changing, feedback is always negative or vague (or inexistant!) and you are even asked “how are you feeling” after a week of sick leave, motivation and engagement will usually start dropping, creating a team of people who just does the bare minimum.
• Performance suffers. Without the right skills, new managers will not be able to unlock the real potential of their team. I have seen this lots of times in my career: manager wants to get all the credit, so gets the team to work as their minions to make them look like the hero who saved the day. This ends up affecting the team’s performance because their manager is not making the most of their strengths and ambitions, they are just “using” them to their advantage.

The tricky part of these is that these costs rarely show up on one line in the budget. They appear as higher recruitment spend, reduced productivity, or missed opportunities, but most organisations don’t want (or have the time) to dig deeper into what is the root cause.

The Domino Effect on Culture

The thing is that a poorly (or not at all) prepared manager doesn’t just affect their team, they will have a huge ripple effect through the organisation. Bad habits spread quicker than the good ones (yes, that’s a bummer…) and, if employees feel they are not supported or that their manager takes all the credit, they will lose trust in leadership as a whole. This erodes culture over time.

But let’s also mention that, if employees and other management see someone getting away with certain behaviour, they will either start doing the same or will slowly lose any motivation to do a job well done.

What Organisations Can Do Differently

Handing someone a management title and a training manual is not even close to be enough. Real growth will only happen when managers have:

• A safe space to reflect and learn about their challenges, setbacks and projects.
• Practical coaching to apply concepts in real-life situations and reflect on them.
• Ongoing development that ensures continuity, not one-off workshops to tick the box.

Investing in new managers is not a “nice to have.” It’s risk management, culture building, and long-term talent retention.

If your organisation wants to reduce turnover, boost engagement, and strengthen its leadership pipeline, I would love to talk about how my coaching programme Lead with Confidence can support your new managers from day one, by providing them a space for learning, growth, self-reflection and support.

From Doing to Leading: Practical Tips for Delegating Without Guilt

Stepping into your first leadership role is exciting, but let’s not ignore the fact that it also is a big shift: You go from "doing" tasks and following your management’s decisions to be the one who has to choose what to let go without feeling and what decision is best, not just for yourself, but for your team.

In fact, one of the hardest things new managers tell me about is delegation. Basically, it can feel very uncomfortable at first. Many say:

• “If I hand this over, they will think I am lazy.”
• “I can do it faster myself.”
• “I don’t want to overload my team.”

Does any of these sound familiar?

The truth is that delegation is not about dumping work on your team. It’s about creating space to grow, for yourself and for your team.

Why Holding on Holds You Back

When you keep doing everything yourself without letting go, a few things may happen:

• You burn out. The workload piles up, your focus scatters and, instead of doing what you have been paid to do (lead), you end up being a very expensive employee with a management title and no time for breaks.
• Your team misses out. They don’t get the chance to learn or and face different challenges. If you hold on to all the work and leave the “unimportant” tasks to your team, they will not only miss out, but they will feel you don’t trust them enough, which will decrease their engagement, motivation and drive to do a good job.
• You stay stuck. Instead of moving into the leader’s role, you are still acting as the “super-doer.” As mentioned before, you become an expensive employee with management title, but the worst part is that you will be so busy being a “doer” that you will miss out on great opportunities to learn, grow and lead, so you will stay put where you are. Forever.

Leadership is about stepping back to see the bigger picture, you can’t become a strong leader if you are buried in tasks or, even worse, if you micromanage.

Delegation as a Leadership Superpower

Delegation, when well done, can be one of the most powerful tools you have as a leader. It will:

• Build trust within your team.
• Boost your team members’ self-confidence.
• Help people take ownership and be accountable.
• Give you the headspace to focus on priorities and projects that only you can handle.

Truth is that delegation is not just about giving away work, it’s about giving handing over opportunities to others to help them grow.

How to Delegate Without Guilt

Delegating can become your biggest ally, but first, you need to start letting go. For this, here are four simple steps that can help you:

1. Accept the guilt. Yes, there is no way to sugarcoat this: you may feel guilty the first times you delegate something to your team. It is just human to think that you are “troubling them” with an extra task. However, you will need to delegate so you can do what is expected from you now: lead, not just being the “top doer”. Use that initial guilt to your favour by thinking things through and making the right choices, and it will decrease more every time.

Also, think the big picture: you are not “troubling them”, you are handing over certain projects and tasks that can help them in the long run.

2. Match the right task to the right person. Think about you team members’ strengths, interests, ambitions, but also weaknesses and, with all that in mind, find what will get them out of their comfort zone just enough so they feel motivated and engaged.
3. Lead with clarity. Explain the expected outcome, the deadline, and why it is important for the wider business. Being clear with guidelines, expectations and the organisation’s perspective will provide your team with a clear goal and its key milestones to achieve.
4. Step back but stay available. Check in without micromanaging. Trust, but support. Once the guidelines, expected outcome and deadlines are clear, let them do. Everyone has a different way of proceeding, but there is no just one way of doing things. Trust your team and stay focused on the outcome. If they need help, make sure you provide it without taking over the project, as this would crash their self-confidence and motivation.
5. Acknowledge effort. Recognise their progress, not just the finished product. Look at how they achieved what they did. It may not be the same way you would have done it, but it got them to the finish line with great results. Admit that there is more than one way of doing things and appreciate the effort and celebrate every milestone with them.

A Gentle Reminder

Delegation, same as asking for help, is not a weakness. It’s a skill. Every great leader learns it and masters it. And the sooner you start practising, the sooner your team (and you) will thrive.

If you are a new manager struggling with delegation or the shift from “doing” to “leading,” my coaching programme Lead with Confidence is designed exactly for you. Drop me a message if you would like to chat about how it could help you grow.