Shirley is also a senior Thinking Environment consultant and coach. The ‘Thinking Environment’ is a model of excellence for organisational relationships, change management and individual development. In addition to using this approach with commercial clients, Shirley has applied it successfully in higher education in disciplines, ranging from chemical engineering to the arts. Shirley also has expertise in John Adair’s Action Centred Leadership model, and is engaged in research into developing a coaching framework for leadership development based on this approach.
Shirley trains undergraduates and postgraduates in leadership skills at the University of Surrey and the University of Southampton. She contributes directly to leadership and coaching research projects conducted by the University of Surrey, School of Management. Shirley has also been a leadership trainer at the National School of Government since 1997, and has delivered courses for the Department for Education, the Department of Constitutional Affairs (now the Ministry of Justice) and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (now the Department for Communities and Local Government). Her commercial clients include Andrew Page, BP, Robert Bosch Ltd., Blaupunkt, TMP World Wide/Monster, Best People in IT and Digital Steps.
Shirley has a diploma in performance coaching and is a member of the Association of Coaches, an associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a member of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management, as well as a Licentiate Teacher in Speech and Drama.