About Rachel

Rachel Kochany works with senior leaders to create the conditions for high-quality thinking — leading to clearer decisions and more effective leadership, particularly where the stakes are high and the context is complex.

Her work is grounded in a simple belief:

Many of the challenges leaders face are not due to a lack of capability, but a lack of space to think clearly enough to move forward.

Senior leaders don’t lack ideas. What’s often missing are the conditions for clear, independent thinking, and the cost of that is significant in time, decisions, and missed opportunities.

Rachel works as a thinking partner to leaders — enabling clearer decisions, stronger alignment, and more effective use of leadership capability.

Through one-to-one Thinking Partnerships and skilfully curated peer forums, she brings together senior leaders across sectors to think well together.

“I met Rachel at a recent conference where she was tasked with helping around 70 leaders in the room to summarise and reflect on their key takeaways.

What stood out was how she created the conditions for high-quality thinking at scale, enabling something that felt both deeply personal and genuinely collective.

The session was inclusive, reflective and sharply focused. It helped us not just share insights, but make sense of them in a way that was immediately useful.

Rachel curated a powerful moment that has stayed with me well beyond the conference, which is a mark of facilitation that genuinely moves thinking forward.

She brings a rare combination of sensitivity and authority to her work.”

Experience and Background

Rachel brings over 20+ years’ experience working in complex, global environments, including large-scale finance and technology change, leading projects, building partnerships, and supporting organisations through change.

Her work has taken her across cultures and geographies, giving her a deep understanding of what it means to lead, adapt, and make decisions in unfamiliar and evolving contexts.

She has worked extensively within complex, global programmes, operating across cultures and at senior levels, where decisions, relationships, and execution come together in practice.

This experience informs the way she works today: combining a strong appreciation of real-world pressures with a calm, structured approach to thinking.

“Rachel worked with me at the British Council. She was very proactive and implemented the change programme in a very short space of time. She has a brilliant way of engaging with people; her organisation and communication skills are second to none. She engaged at all levels — strategic and operational. A very impressive and consummate professional who was a pleasure to work with.”

If this resonates, the first step is a short conversation. No obligation. Simply a chance for us to explore what’s going on for you and whether I can help.

Prefer to email Rachel directly?

What she cares about

Alongside clarity and decision-making, Rachel cares deeply about the conditions that enable people to do their best work.

Her work is grounded in integrity, creating spaces where people can think independently, speak openly, and make decisions they can stand behind.

She works with leaders not only to think well themselves, but to create environments where others can think, contribute, and perform at their best.

This includes creating the conditions for clarity, contribution, and accountability, so teams are aligned and able to deliver effectively.

She believes it matters that we use what we’ve been given well: our time, energy, and resources, and that leadership carries a responsibility to do this thoughtfully and with care.

At its heart, her work is about stewardship: helping leaders lead in a way that is both human and effective, where people matter and performance follows.

“Rachel brings the right mix of strategic thinking and emotional intelligence. Each session feels purposeful, relevant, and grounded in the real challenges we face. It’s not just talk—it’s practical, meaningful, and it sticks.”

How she works

Trained directly by Nancy Kline, Rachel’s work is strongly informed by the Time to Think approach.

She creates a structured environment where independent thinking can take place, with minimal interruption, regularly leading to greater clarity, better decisions, and more confident action.

Alongside this, Rachel brings experience as an executive and leadership coach, enabling her to support leaders both reflectively and practically, depending on what is needed.

Her work focuses on improving the quality of thinking that underpins leadership, team effectiveness, and organisational outcomes.

If this resonates, the first step is a short conversation. No obligation. Simply a chance for us to explore what’s going on for you and whether I can help.

Prefer to email Rachel directly?

Her approach in practice

Her work is often experienced through a simple but powerful progression:

REALISE
Seeing clearly: what’s really going on, what matters most, and where potential is not yet fully realised.

REALIGN
Bringing thinking, people and priorities into alignment — so energy and effort are focused where they make the greatest difference.

RESULTS
Better decisions. More effective use of leadership capability. Stronger alignment across teams, and more meaningful, sustainable results.

Rachel specialises in recognising and releasing potential, in individuals, in teams, and in the way leaders think and operate.

Her work enables leaders not only to see more clearly themselves, but to create the conditions in which others can think well, contribute fully, and perform at their best.

A more personal note

Rachel values being present — with others and with herself — and believes this shapes how we lead, relate, and make decisions

Outside of her work, she finds space to reset through time in nature, walking, listening to music, and visiting art galleries — places where perspective shifts and new ideas often emerge.

She is drawn to colour, thoughtful design, and environments that create a sense of space and perspective.

In conversation with Catherine Millan.
Photo: Lensi Photography

“You created a safe space to be your authentic self to discuss leadership challenges and ways to accommodate that into our everyday lives.

It can take years to build the level of trust and open up about vulnerability that we had in that room.”

In safe hands

An accredited coach with the International Coaching Federation.

Licensed Time to Think™ Facilitator, trained directly by Nancy Kline.

Transforming Meetings™ Guide.

StrengthscopeMaster™ Practitioner.

MSP® Managing Successful Programmes.

Holos Change Future-Proof Leadership.

Trained through the Accelerating Coaching Excellence programme with David Peterson, Google’s head coach for ten years, and David Goldsmith alongside global coaches from across the world.

Licensed Practitioner for Dr John Blakey, Aston Business School, and the worlds foremost authority on Leadership Trust.

Faculty Member, Holos Change.

If this resonates, the first step is a short conversation. No obligation. Simply a chance for us to explore what’s going on for you and whether I can help.

Prefer to email Rachel directly?

Worked with and within public, private and international institutions: