Pheona Croom-Johnson

It is often challenging to work out – what does someone want to know about me? And from a working perspective – What would it be like working with me? I don’t want to share too much but I don’t want to share too little. What a quandary! Let me dive in and share a few of my life experiences and as I share them, I hope they give you a sense of the breadth of my lived experiences and ultimately, how this breadth could support you.

My childhood was spent in a dysfunctional family, as many of us will have experienced, but what was different is that my schooling took place in a drama school, which, as a childhood actor, gave me the opportunity to travel and work in different countries and act alongside Hollywood stars? This ability to know who I am and be comfortable in any environment has never left me and is something I regularly focus on with my clients. How can you find your voice and your presence in any environment. Building your backbone of brave, authentic leadership.

15 years was spent caring for my husband who had Multiple Sclerosis. He died when I was 33. This experience gave me a great insight into being with someone you love whose body is changing before your eyes, the powerlessness of ill health; the NHS and health providers; the carer’s journey; how to rebuild your identity, which I had to do after my wonderful husband died; and finally, other people’s reactions. It was confronting and challenging for people to think about death and dying and sadly, some just couldn’t handle it. I now regularly work with clients who struggle with their identity; or they are dealing with other people’s prejudice and judgement; or those whose own health is challenged or maybe their loved ones have health challenges. It is difficult to find the right balance to keep self-regulated and resilient but from a place of self-compassion. I support my clients to build their internal systems that rekindle their energy and passion to create focus, intention and purpose – whatever their circumstances.

A few more experiences which I will happily go into detail, at any time, if they are of interest: My journey as a church elder and my evolving faith. Overcoming narcissistic abuse and now knowing what it looks like and how to keep safe. The most amazing experience of motherhood along with the pain of miscarriages. Building two successful businesses over the past 35 years. Leading teams and working in culturally diverse and neurodiverse environments. Starting a Coaching School from scratch (with my amazing business partner) which has become a trailblazer in the coach education world.

I share some of my lived experiences with you, however, I want to ask you about your inner voice. “How do you navigate your life challenges and cultivate your inner voice?’ “How do you keep going with resilience with all the ups and downs, successes and failures of life?”. “What do you say to yourself?” We underestimate the power of our inner voice. It can make us feel happy and strong or sad and weak. My view, our inner voice is an incredible source of wisdom, creativity and resilience that will guide you through any situation – once we know how to tap into our true inner voice.

So, how does our inner voice work? Every story begins with an emotion. The younger I was, the harder it was to handle the emotion. Instead of letting the emotion move through me I would make whatever was happening about me. I would form internal stories like ‘I’m unlovable’, or ‘I can’t trust.’ While I tried to challenge these stories, they had become part of my internal dialogue – or life script. This would mean I would disregard, discredit and/or minimise my wisdom, my voice, my experiences. Consciously (and unconsciously) I used these life scripts as my internal compass (my inner voice) and this internal compass directed my external choices.

We need to know that sharing any thoughts we have about emotions and/or our situations, is not weakness. Instead the opposite is true, it is a step towards disempowering them. It empowers us to recognize their origins and make stronger choices for the future. Changing ingrained life scripts can be challenging, but never impossible.

From nearly four decades in coaching and leadership development, I know you can ‘update’ your life script – you can reclaim your destiny, if that is not too grand a statement to make. I know how to support you and will share with you the shortcuts I have learned over the years. Why? Because I want you to be able to own your truth, know who you are and remove any internal conflict. I am often pained by the way we are never taught how to be okay with who we are. Instead, we are often taught ‘you need to be X’ (and here you can fill in what you have been taught). As you develop empowering beliefs about who you are, live according to your values and recognise your purposes – your personal and professional life will be transformed. Isn’t it brilliant to know that this change can happen?

Are you ready for transformation? Are you ready to start your journey with Pheona? Remember, working with her is not for the faint-hearted. Standing shoulder to shoulder with you, she will be your strongest advocate, see you as you are and with that total acceptance will challenge you, be curious to dive deep with you, maybe even confront you (in her gentle but firm style) but always her interventions will be in service of spurring you on to the best version you could possibly be. Ready?