--- title: About description: Learn more about The Affinity Coach Ltd, your partner in professional coaching and leadership development. --- [Skip to content](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/about#main-content) [![](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/01%20the%20affinity%20coach%20logo%202026_Leafmark%20and%20lettering%20horizontal.png?width=1978&height=894&name=01%20the%20affinity%20coach%20logo%202026_Leafmark%20and%20lettering%20horizontal.png)Homepage](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/www.theaffinitycoach.co.uk?hsLang=en-gb) - [Home](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/the-affinity-coach-home?hsLang=en-gb) - [Coaching](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/coaching?hsLang=en-gb) - [Leadership Development](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/leadership-development?hsLang=en-gb) - [Assessment](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/assessment?hsLang=en-gb) - [About](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/about) [Get started](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/contact-wendy?hsLang=en-gb) - [Home](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/the-affinity-coach-home?hsLang=en-gb) - [Coaching](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/coaching?hsLang=en-gb) - [Leadership Development](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/leadership-development?hsLang=en-gb) - [Assessment](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/assessment?hsLang=en-gb) - [About](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/about) [Get started](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/contact-wendy?hsLang=en-gb) # About The Affinity Coach I established the Affinity Coach in 2020, following a successful career in leadership development within financial services. At the heart of my work lies the unwavering commitment to individual wellbeing, enabling people to harness their unique strengths, enhance performance, cultivate strong relationships, and acquire essential skills to elevate their lives. Effective leadership is not merely about achieving high standards; it embodies resilience and the ability to inspire and nurture teams. Through bespoke coaching and development programmes, I empower professionals to become impactful leaders while prioritising their personal wellbeing. - Connect with me and elevate your leadership skills to new heights! - Together, I'll help you discover the perfect harmony between effectiveness and resilience. - Embrace this opportunity to grow, thrive, and reach your fullest potential. Your journey towards greatness starts here. Let's embark on it together! [Get in touch](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/contact-wendy?hsLang=en-gb) ## My personal story ### The Origins of Heartwood ![Female sitting by a window](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/5C9A3714-1.jpg?width=250&height=250&name=5C9A3714-1.jpg "Female sitting by a window") My background is in leadership development, which I’ve been doing for over 25 years. I’ve facilitated training on communication skills, emotional intelligence, giving and receiving feedback, and dealing with change. I’ve coached hundreds of hours with clients in settings from finance, betting and gaming, the NHS and telecommunications to small businesses, consulting and complex global non-profit organisations. The challenges my clients brought to our sessions were just as diverse as the industries they worked in. I’ve partnered with leaders navigating major career moves, stepping up into larger, more complex roles, and untangling challenging relationships with managers or teams. Together, we’ve worked on building deep personal resilience, growing internal confidence, and successfully navigating intense seasons of change, both personally and professionally. But like any CV, the list above doesn’t really tell you about the human underneath or the experiences I’ve had throughout my life that have taught me the most valuable lessons. I grew up on a council estate in West London, the second daughter of a violent father. My birth parents divorced, which was rare at the time, and my mother remarried. From the age of nine, I lived in a small house with my mother, my stepfather and, eventually, my younger brother and sister. It wasn’t easy. The needs of my younger siblings were met, whilst mine were pushed aside, so I learned to fend for myself. Those early years taught me to read a room, keep the peace and put other people's moods ahead of my own needs. As an adult, that pattern led me into a coercively controlling relationship, and I stayed far longer than I should have, my self-esteem diminished over time, yet holding onto a belief that keeping the peace was a form of strength. I kept hidden the stress and isolation I felt from friends, family and colleagues, until I realised that the person I’d become wasn’t who I wanted to be. At 50, I broke free and started over. It was the hardest and most clarifying thing I have ever done, and it taught me more about resilience, boundaries and trust than any training room could. I did the internal work with professional help. I added further professional development to my CV. And I developed my relational resilience model being able to contrast everything that was missing in my former relationships with the ones I’ve had for the past six years. I'm not an academic, doctor or psychologist, and I don't claim to be. Heartwood is my own model, but it doesn't stand alone. It has been inspired by the managers and leaders that I’ve worked with, and by the work of Brené Brown, Amy Edmondson, John and Julie Gottman, and other relationship experts, and it has been shaped by the clients and colleagues who have used it with me. Relational resilience in the workplace is why I do what I do - to make the modern working world a better place. [![](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/01%20the%20affinity%20coach%20logo%202026_Leafmark%20and%20lettering%20horizontal.png?width=1978&height=894&name=01%20the%20affinity%20coach%20logo%202026_Leafmark%20and%20lettering%20horizontal.png)Homepage](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/www.theaffinitycoach.co.uk?hsLang=en-gb) - [Home](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/the-affinity-coach-home?hsLang=en-gb) - [Leadership Development](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/leadership-development?hsLang=en-gb) - [Coaching](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/coaching?hsLang=en-gb) - [Assessment](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/assessment?hsLang=en-gb) [Get started](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/contact-wendy?hsLang=en-gb) - [Home](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/the-affinity-coach-home?hsLang=en-gb) - [Leadership Development](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/leadership-development?hsLang=en-gb) - [Coaching](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/coaching?hsLang=en-gb) - [Assessment](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/services/assessment?hsLang=en-gb) [Get started](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/contact-wendy?hsLang=en-gb) [mailto:wendy@theaffinitycoach.co.uk](mailto:wendy@theaffinitycoach.co.uk) --- [Privacy Policy](https://learn.heartwoodway.co.uk/hubfs/Website_privacy_policy.pdf?hsLang=en-gb) © 2026. 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