The challenge
Jenny Blewett came to coaching at a point where many finance professionals find themselves.
She was capable, experienced and already creating real impact through finance reporting, process improvement and automation. But she felt stuck on what came next.
“I wanted to do more, be more, and figure out where I was going,” Jenny says.
She came to Oli to get clarity on her strengths, confidence in her career direction and practical guidance on where to focus her energy.
The coaching
One of Oli’s first recommendations was to complete the Clifton StrengthsFinder.
Jenny expected her strengths to be mostly analytical. Instead, four of her top five were communication-based, with competitiveness also showing as a key driver.
That insight changed how she saw herself.
“The Clifton StrengthsFinder was such a massive game changer for me,” Jenny says. “I don’t think I would have started speaking in public without it.”
Oli helped Jenny see communication not as a separate “soft skill”, but as a real professional strength she could use more deliberately.
Soon after, Jenny tested this in a bigger way. At an NHS conference, she spoke up with an idea about creating a consultancy arm. The room applauded.
“It felt like a movie moment,” she says. “It truly unlocked something within me.”
From there, Jenny started saying yes to more opportunities. She set herself a five-year goal to speak at the ICAEW annual conference. She achieved it in eight months.
Alongside the strengths work, Oli also made a practical suggestion to learn Power BI.
At the time, Jenny had never used it. But Oli could see how it connected her finance, data, automation and communication skills.
That suggestion became a major turning point.
“He took me in a direction I hadn’t anticipated,” Jenny says. “I wouldn’t have gone there because I had never used Power BI and I didn’t appreciate how incredible it is”
The impact
Power BI quickly became one of Jenny’s core specialisms.
She used it to automate revenue reports that previously took five days to produce. They now run in under 20 minutes.
Oli also helped Jenny get clarity on which job role would enable her to solve the most impactful types of problems. This clarity led to a move to a new company where her strengths could shine. She has reduced 10 to 15 days of recurring monthly work for her team down to just a few minutes.
Jenny has also built a strong profile in digital finance. She has spoken at ICAEW events, the Digital Accountancy Show, healthcare and AI conferences, and now co-chairs the ICAEW Digital AI Insights Group. She also sits on the Digital Accountancy Show advisory board.
Today, Jenny works at Costello Medical, an organisation she describes as the right company, at the right time, with the right people.
What made Oli’s coaching different?
For Jenny, Oli’s coaching stood out because it was practical, direct and strengths-based.
He asked the right questions, but also spotted opportunities, made clear suggestions and helped Jenny take action.
“He was quite decisive, which is really unusual,” Jenny says. “Normally you get asked a lot of questions and people are trying to lead you to your own conclusion. But he didn’t do that.”
That combination of reflection and practical direction helped Jenny understand what she was good at, build confidence in it and move towards work where those strengths could make a bigger impact.
The result
Coaching helped Jenny:
- Recognise communication as one of her biggest strengths
- Build confidence as a speaker and industry contributor
- Develop Power BI into a core career specialism
- Save teams days and weeks of manual reporting time
- Build visibility as a speaker in digital finance, AI and transformation
- Find a role and organisation where her strengths are valued
“Everybody should have career coaching,” Jenny says.
For Jenny, coaching was about recognising her existing strengths and trusting herself to use them with more confidence to create greater impact.
Could coaching help you find your next step?
Oli works with finance professionals and leaders who want more clarity, confidence and impact in their careers.
Through practical, strengths-based coaching, he helps clients understand what they do best, identify where they want to go next and take meaningful action towards it.
If you’re ready to invest in your next chapter, get in touch with Oli to book a discovery call.
