June 2026 · Essay
A leadership and communications adviser
Building and sharing the story of your business to underpin trusted growth.
I help new CEOs uncover, shape and share the story of their business. By exploring its heritage and ambitions, purpose and principles, we create a clear narrative that unites people, guides decisions and builds trust. The result is an organisation that knows where it’s going and why it matters, and can grow with shared integrity.
The thesis
When you step into a new role and look under the bonnet, you find a few surprises.
Some are good. Some less so: drift, silos, communication challenges and any number of other niggles that need attention.
That is where I come in. I work alongside leaders to dig deep into the heart of the organisation, uncovering its strengths, opportunities and challenges. From that insight, I create a compelling narrative which, once activated, helps them deliver their strategy with a committed team, loyal customers and responsible suppliers.
The story is built around heritage and future, goals and purpose, behavioural principles and moral anchors. It reflects the personality, language and assets that make the organisation distinctive. Each component plays an important role in its own right; together they reach hearts as well as minds.
The process
Find the truth. Find the words. Bring it to life.
01
Find the truth
Briefing, conversations, knowledge and research. A full understanding of the needs and the situation.
02
Find the words
Vision, purpose, values and deep belief, expressed in clear, compelling, useful terms.
03
Bring it to life
Actions, measurement, review and renewal, led by a cross-representative values team.
The book · Shortlisted, Business Book Awards
Junk Values. The book at the heart of the work.
Junk Values exposes the patterns that have crept, unchallenged, into the systems and processes of corporate values, and sets out the Active Ethos® method for replacing them with something stronger. It is the foundation of every engagement, masterclass and keynote I deliver.
The book is shortlisted for the 2026 Business Book Awards and is available now through Amazon, Waterstones and Barnes & Noble.
Trusted by
In their words
“Erika has an intuitive understanding for the relevance of ethos and culture in the modern workplace. Working with her helped us to bring our values to life and express them in a way which all our people, customers and suppliers can relate to as practical, demonstrable and sincere.”
Under the bonnet
The niggles that need attention before they become the story.
Drift
The story has slipped
What once held the place together has thinned. Decisions get made in pockets. People are no longer sure of the answer when asked what the business stands for.
Silos
Teams pulling in different directions
Functions, offices and generations each holding their own version of the truth. New CEOs often inherit this and feel it before they can name it.
Communication
Saying it well, internally and out
When the story is unclear inside, it lands unclearly outside. Customers, suppliers and recruits all feel the gap.
The work
All services01
Story-build engagement
The core programme. Working with a new CEO and their leadership team to find the truth, find the words, and bring the story to life.
02
Leader's own story · ten weeks
One hour a week for ten weeks. The CEO's own purpose, principles and language, sharpened in parallel. Leadership becomes more certain, more effective, more enjoyable.
03
Leadership off-sites and team activation
Designed and facilitated sessions that move leadership conversations from polite to honest, from honest to useful, with actions embedded into the process.
04
Speaking, masterclasses and ongoing counsel
Keynotes and executive sessions on leadership, communications and trusted growth, and retained advisory for boards and CEOs through change.
Recent thinking
View journalMay 2026 · Media
May 2026 · Essay
Recent podcasts
All episodes
19 June 2026
Alastair Ruxton: it could be ... values
12 June 2026
John O'Brien: the value of connection
Speaking
Keynotes, masterclasses and panels.
Sessions for founders, leadership teams, boards and family offices on the commercial value of organisational clarity, the architecture of culture during growth, and the work of preserving what makes a business distinctive.
Speaking topics