There’s a particular moment leaders know.
You’re clearer than you were about where things need to go. The harder work is still ahead: taking the organisation with you. Aligning the team. Sequencing the decisions. Having the conversations that actually move people. The space between knowing the direction and the organisation moving on it is where most strategy quietly fails — and where most of my work happens.
It isn’t the only moment I work with. Sometimes you’re stepping into your first genuinely senior role, working out what kind of leader you now need to become. Sometimes you’re building or leading something you believe in — a growing business, a social enterprise — with no one you can think aloud with, fully and honestly, without managing how it lands. And sometimes the leadership that once felt certain has gone quiet or stale, and you want to find your edge again.
Different moments — the same underlying need: to think clearly and honestly, with someone who has carried real responsibility and understands what’s genuinely at stake.
I’m Barry Murphy. For over twenty years I led large, complex businesses at PwC, in the UK and internationally, and I’ve spent much of my career coaching and advising leaders across the corporate, entrepreneurial and social worlds. I now work with people facing exactly these moments.
A conversation, not a sales pitch.
If any of this sounds like you, I'd be glad to talk.
Copyright © 2026 Hard Compass - All Rights Reserved.