Strategic change at Cheshire Wildlife Trust
As CEO of the Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Charlotte Harris has lead the organisation for over 13 years, through periods of growth and rapid change in a complex external environment.
Charlotte needed support to finalise a major ten-year strategy refresh for the Trust, securing leadership and staff buy-in, and navigating implementation.
Goals and Outcomes
For 1-2 years, Charlotte had been gathering information, developing ideas and consulting with others for a revised strategy for the Cheshire Wildlife Trust. She needed clarity and confidence around her plans to put them to paper, complete strategy development, gain buy-in and agreement from the Board of trustees, senior leadership team and staff, and successfully implement the strategic changes including a major organisational restructure.
The new strategy is based on a Conservations Standards approach to closely align strategy, feasible delivery and organisation with nature outcomes that matter most.
To deliver the new strategy, new organisational structures, team and individual responsibilities, skills and capacity were required across the Trust. There was much uncharted territory around individual choices and staff movements, rapid external change, new ways of working and whether new structures would be effective, making the rollout especially challenging. Scenario plans and communications needed to be effective and adaptive while keeping the overall design of the strategy clear.
Achievements
Through our collaboration, Charlotte achieved:
Validation of strategic choices, new org structures and their communication
A clearer roadmap for strategy implementation
Board and senior leadership alignment on proposed changes
Workforce and organisational restructure planning, consultation planning
Successful implementation of the organisational restructure
Access to professional and strategic support for herself, the senior and extended leadership teams
Support to make the change process manageable under pressure
Development of 5-year and annual work plans aligned with strategy and new structure
A strengthened approach to IT, digital transformation, and business continuity
Job descriptions for new and modified roles
Successful early delivery, monitoring and reporting of new strategies.
My role and impact
As a trusted sounding board, I provided Charlotte with space to think through plans and alternatives. I provided an external perspective, offering insights to cut through complexity and gain clarity. By listening deeply, questioning, validating and providing reassurance, I created a safe space for her thinking and discussion.
We reviewed strategy content, planned and managed organisational changes, scenarios and contingencies, leadership and communication content, timing and challenges, and identified where additional planning or resources were required.
I also stepped in when workloads and deadlines became overwhelming for the senior leadership team, providing both practical assistance (eg. development of job descriptions) and advocacy during key meetings.
During and following the restructure I coached members of the extended leadership team into new roles and responsibilities, to think strategically, and to adapt to various ripple effects of changes.
Value of my coaching and consultancy
Charlotte appreciated my ability to combine deep organisational knowledge with broader experience. She valued the psychological safety in our conversations, knowing she could be vulnerable while navigating high-stakes decisions about people and strategic outcomes.
My hands-on approach, whether discussing strategy, advising on HR process, writing job descriptions or supporting senior leadership cohesion, provided a level of impact that extended beyond traditional coaching.
My coaching of leadership team members improved their effectiveness, helped bed in new team structures and developed their confidence and ability in new roles and leadership skills.
Feedback
Leadership team members provided unanimously positive feedback about the impact of coaching on their performance, confidence and enjoyment of their work.
In Charlotte’s words:
"You acted as a trusted sounding board that helped me think through solutions and communications while feeling psychologically safe.
You helped bring clarity to my thinking and guided me in approaching change with senior leadership.
You listened really carefully, understood quickly and provided an extra pair of hands when workloads were overwhelming and a deadline was looming.
You supported all of SLT to work together to drive the change through, compassionately and effectively.
Knowing that someone I trusted was ‘on it’ freed me up to focus on other parts of the process, keeping us on track. Your generosity of time and energy made all the difference—thank you!"
Helping Charlotte navigate this critical transition to implement an outstanding strategy refresh was a privilege. Supporting her to lead with confidence and resilience, shaping the future of the Cheshire Wildlife Trust, and supporting her leadership team and staff to achieve a broad range of new capabilities and satisfaction in their roles has been truly rewarding.