Meet Jess Wiggins
Founder, Global Leadership Consultant, UK.
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From Lawyer to Leadership Consultant: Jess's Story.
As a former lawyer and law firm Deputy Head, I know what it’s like to be responsible for people, performance and results, while feeling like there are just never enough hours in the day!
For years, I juggled leading a law firm with running a caseload, attending Court hearings and raising a young family so I really do get the pressure, pace and feeling of being spread thin that pretty much every leader experiences.
ICF Accredited Coach.
ICF Accreditation and Coaching Credentials
After 18 years I left law to become an ICF Accredited Coach and launch Impact Coaching International Ltd, for two very personal reasons.
The first was because I burnt out. I had been running on caffeine and anxious energy for too long and the combination of zero boundaries around work, a toxic work culture and lack of leadership support took its toll on me. It wasn’t until I was on the cardiology ward with heart problems though, that I actually realised how serious it was. At this point I knew I had to make some big changes but I had no clue how I was going to do it as law was all I had ever known.
In the back of my mind though was my grandma. I had always had a drive to do more than just get the title and pay the bills and I think this was something I learned from her. She was, and still is, a massive inspiration for me. Just a mum and grandma from a normal working class family who believed in leaving the world in a better place than you found it. So much so that she was awarded an MBE by the Queen for her contribution to the community.
My Leading with humanity.
She taught me what it meant to lead the human way, to influence and engage people with honesty, integrity, and kindness. She also taught me that it is absolutely possible for all of us to make a positive and lasting impact on the world around us and it was this that made me decide if I was going to leave law, it had to be for something meaningful.
It was the combination of these two things that led me to launch Impact Coaching International Ltd and pursue a mission I fully believe in: to make exceptional, human leadership the industry standard.
Over the past 20 years I have seen leadership done well and leadership done awfully. I have also seen, and felt firsthand, the effects of both and I know what a huge impact good and bad leadership can have, not only on the people being led but on the organisation as a whole.
I don’t want anyone to experience the things I did and with better leadership I don’t think I would have, but when I looked I couldn’t find any leadership development coaching or programmes that actually taught leaders everything they needed to know to lead themselves, and their teams, exceptionally. So I created it.
THE IMPACT FRAMEWORK.
The IMPACT framework that forms the basis of everything we do combines practical tools, high performance coaching and neuroscience to teach leaders everything I wish I had been taught (and that I wish the people leading me had been taught too!).
Because, as I learned the hard way, achieving high performance isn’t enough, the key is being able to sustain it.
Behind Impact Coaching International.
Outside of my obsession with leadership and high performance, you will find me on a gorgeous Devon beach (in all weathers!) with my kids, naughty fox red labrador and a coffee in my hand. Work and family keep me pretty busy but 5 days a week I get up at 4.45am to train, mainly to keep me sane but also to keep me fit enough to compete in Hyrox and crossfit style competitions. I am by no means an athlete but I know how important exercise is - and I think I have actually come to quite enjoy being out of my comfort zone!
