About Sarah
Coaching leaders under pressure, before burnout takes hold, and after it’s been lived
I’m Sarah Bickerstaff, an Executive and Burnout‑Informed Coach working with leaders who are carrying a lot of responsibility, expectation, and emotional load, often for long periods of time.
I support people who are still functioning on the surface but know something isn’t right, as well as those who have already experienced burnout and want to move forward differently.
My work helps leaders slow things down, make sense of what they’ve been pushing through, and create a more sustainable way of living and leading.
How I work
A grounded, burnout informed approach
A grounded, burnout informed approach
With over 30 years’ experience in HR, much of it in the Third Sector, I understand the realities leaders face when pressure becomes the norm and self‑sacrifice quietly takes over.
Many of the people I work with are capable, committed and deeply values‑driven. They’re often still delivering and holding things together but running on empty.
With over 30 years’ experience in HR, much of it in the Third Sector, I understand the realities leaders face when pressure becomes the norm and self‑sacrifice quietly takes over.
Many of the people I work with are capable, committed and deeply values‑driven. They’re often still delivering and holding things together but running on empty. They may not describe themselves as burnt out, but they know they can’t continue indefinitely in the same way, even if they don’t yet understand why.
I also work with leaders who have already experienced burnout, supporting them to recover without returning to the patterns that led them there in the first place.
A grounded, burnout informed approach
A grounded, burnout informed approach
A grounded, burnout informed approach
My work combines executive coaching with burnout‑informed practice and lived experience. It’s reflective, practical and paced, focused on helping people notice earlier, relate differently to responsibility, and build change that lasts beyond short‑term relief.
This isn’t about quick fixes or pushing through with better tools. It’s about c
My work combines executive coaching with burnout‑informed practice and lived experience. It’s reflective, practical and paced, focused on helping people notice earlier, relate differently to responsibility, and build change that lasts beyond short‑term relief.
This isn’t about quick fixes or pushing through with better tools. It’s about creating a different relationship with yourself and your work, one that doesn’t rely on endurance alone.
Why this matters to me
A different way forward
A different way forward
My approach is grounded in my own lived experience of burnout and serious illness, alongside years of professional practice.
That combination shapes how I hold space with clients — with care, honesty and respect for the complexity of what they’re navigating.
If you’d like to understand more about how I came to do this work, you can read my story here
A different way forward
A different way forward
A different way forward
My work is about helping people create a different relationship with themselves, one that no longer requires burnout or serious ill‑health to bring it to a halt.
If something here resonates, you don’t need to have all the answers yet. Noticing is often the first step.