Our Living
Coaching is not a technique, it’s a way of being. It reflects our beliefs about people, leadership, and growth.
Our philosophy grounds our work, shaping how we show up and what you can expect when you step into coaching with us.
Critical to a leader’s credibility and effectiveness is a firm philosophical base. For this we need to have deeply examined our own beliefs, values and sources of inspiration – and be willing to articulate these. Herein lies our integrity.
Hetty Einzig, ‘The Future of Coaching.’
Why now?
In recent years we’ve re-examined the foundations of great coaching and coach-like leadership. What emerged is a living philosophy that embraces emotional complexity, relational safety, and diverse ways of knowing.
We commit to:
Stretch the mind
Noticing patterns, naming systems, and challenging assumptions.
Stir the heart
Reconnecting leaders to what matters and what moves them.
Ground the body
Through presence, practice, and the co-creation of safer spaces.
Shape identity
Holding space for difference and fostering true belonging.
Put simply
The MSB way is grounded in care. We are curious friends, inviting dialogue and unlearning. We innovate bravely, in service of relationships and work that matters.
Guiding statements
We embrace complexity, discomfort, and not-knowing as companions to growth.
We hold coaching as a space of presence, care, and radical human connection.
We attend to the deep contexts of identity, culture, race, and power that shape us.
We take accountability seriously – in ourselves, our work, and our partnerships.
We partner with leaders willing to meet uncertainty with courage and hope.
We believe coaching can be expansive, liberating, and joyful.
At heart
This philosophy is our anchor. It reminds us that coaching is not about tools or techniques but about people. Complex, courageous people. Extraordinary.
I am proud of how close I am to coaching, and I need just small tweaks to coach rather than mentor.
Benjamin Spencer
Haileybury Almaty, Kazakhstan
In the training I enjoyed the variety of activities - some listening to information, watching examples of conversations, opportunities to work with different people.
Sheralyn Sefton – Deputy Head (Academic)
Brighton College, Vietnam
Through coaching, I can see in action the reframing of dialogue. The slight changes of wording and questioning are powerful.
Joe Buckley
GEMS Qatar
We were given the space to reflect on how we want to work as a team. To see each other as people first.
Hayley Wilson
Kellett School, Hong Kong
The amazing thing with coaching is that... if you throw yourself into it, it works. It never fails to work.
Chris Bromham – Principal
ICS Madrid
I am a great believer in professional coaching. As a school leader we have little control at what lands on our desk or enters our…
Mark Leppard MBE – Headmaster
The British School Al Khubairat Abu Dhabi
We have already seen the positive impact of the training in many aspects of school life, for example in the development of leadership skills, in…
Liz Miller – Deputy Headteacher
Dubai English Speaking School
My coaching has been transformative. I have valued them so much that we are extending 1:1 coaching across all DH and AH in the College.…
David Ingram – Head of College
Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi
I feel that I have grown, am more confident and have found a degree of ‘peace’ within myself that has given me more clarity, objectivity…
Orla Brady – Group Director
Education in Motion
Really excellent support through challenging times and providing time to step back and reflect
Clair Harrington-Wilcox – Head of Junior School
Tanglin Trust School Singapore
Overall, I’ve become more confident with issues and they are no longer a burden for me. Quite simply, the dark I was facing in that…
Julia Mortimer – Headteacher
St. Bartholomew’s
After the coaching I feel that the problems that I face, are still there, but have reached a manageable size.
Phil Clear – Head of Senior School
Dulwich College Yangon
For me it was amazing. MSB have created a professional development institution that people can bring leadership challenges to and can be either affirmed or…
Dr Richard Eaton – Director
Berlin International School
Making Stuff Better and the MSB Network is a lot more than coaching, leadership and effectiveness, although it does those things extremely well. It also…
d'Arcy Lunn – Group Head of Sustainability
Dulwich College International
