I’m Hayley, a commercially grounded senior leader, coach, and organisational development specialist with a career that spans PLC board‑level with P&L responsibility, executive coaching, leadership consultancy, and mental‑health‑informed people development. My work sits at the intersection of commercial strategy, human behaviour, and inclusive leadership, and I’m driven by one core belief: people are the engine of every organisation, and difference is its greatest asset.
What I Do
I support organisations through short to medium‑term interim assignments in roles such as:
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
- Chief People Officer (CPO)
- Organisational Design & Development (ODD) Specialist
- Learning & Development Director
- Executive & Management Coach
- Commercial & Strategy Advisor
Across all these roles, I bring a blend of strategic clarity, behavioural insight, and commercial pragmatism. I help leaders and teams build capability, resilience, and cohesion, not through theory alone, but through practical, human‑centred development that sticks.
My Expertise
My background is rooted in commercial leadership, but my passion lies in people. Over the years, I’ve developed specialist expertise in:
- Leadership behavioural capability
- Diversity, inclusion, equality & belonging
- Intrapreneurial growth and cultural transformation
- Cognitive behavioural coaching and NLP
- Mental health awareness and psychologically safe leadership
I’m a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD), hold a university Diploma in Understanding Mental Health Disorders, and am a qualified cognitive behavioural coach and NLP practitioner. I’m currently studying Sports Psychology to deepen my understanding of performance, mindset, and resilience.
Lived Experience That Shapes My Work
My commitment to mental health and wellbeing is deeply personal. I have extensive lived experience supporting and caring for close family members with conditions including schizophrenia, ADHD, clinical depression, CPTSD, bipolar with psychosis, borderline personality disorder, addictions, and unipolar depression.
This perspective has profoundly shaped how I understand people, behaviour, resilience, and the realities of navigating mental health challenges. It gives me a level of empathy, insight, and authenticity that informs how I coach, how I lead, and how I help organisations create environments where people can truly thrive.
Influence & Governance
I’m proud to contribute to the Royal College of Psychiatrists as a committee member for:
- The National Clinical Audit for Psychosis
- The Leadership & Management Committee
I’m also a qualified tutor for ILM Level 5 and 7 Leadership & Management, and Coaching with Psychology. For eight years, I was part of the strategic team for the Association for Coaching in Scotland.
Experiential Leadership on the Land
One of my most unique offerings is the experiential leadership and resilience work I run on a 30‑acre land near the Scottish Borders. During the summer months, I host corporate and sports team‑building days focused on:
- Mental resilience
- Leadership & followership
- Communication & feedback
- Camaraderie & team cohesion
- And above all, fun!
It’s a space where people reconnect with themselves, each other, and the outdoors. A place where learning becomes lived, not lectured.
Who I Am
I’m vibrant, passionate, and proudly quirky. I believe in the power of individuality, culture, and embracing the full spectrum of human experience. I’m originally from Birmingham, but Scotland is now home.
And while I wear many professional hats, my most important role, the one that grounds everything, is being Mum to my two boys, aged 14 and 19.
Hayley Tennant FCIPD. Interim Board Specialist. Executive Coach 