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What if your best leadership tools were already inside you—waiting for the right spark? Expert Coach & Advisor to Founders & Leaders, Rachel Shelmerdine, joins us for a 'Founder Story' that blends rebel grit, design-world savvy, and the gentle audacity to be yourself. Once one of the first specialist coaches in the UK design sector, Rachel stepped back to homeschool her son in Italy and is now stepping forward again, bringing a richer lens on creativity, courage, and clarity.

We talk about how “Alchemy Inside” turns survival mode into agency. Rachel unpacks the Coaching philosophy that helped major firms like Landor and Gensler, then dives into the work behind the scenes: shaping identity through story, protecting flow for deep work, and leading with humour and heart.

Her mental clearing—the Lido di Venezia—becomes a metaphor for stress slipping away so that better choices can appear. Along the way: Laurel and Hardy, the power of good design that marries beauty with function, and the surprising tale of reading castles and trees on beermats in a Belgian pub.

If you’ve ever felt pressure to perform someone else’s script, this conversation offers a reset. You’ll hear practical ways to reclaim your narrative, sleep on tough calls, and use language to make strategy sing. Rachel’s take on coaching isn’t a formula; it’s a catalyst—reflecting your strengths back to you until you can see them clearly enough to act. Leaders facing anxiety, phobias, or a crowded market will find grounded tactics for momentum without the burnout theatre.

Ready to rediscover your own gold and be known for the right reasons? Listen now, share with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a review to help more creative leaders find their clearing. Subscribe for more founder stories, creative leadership insights, and warm, human conversations that move work—and lives—forward.

Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website.

• Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com
• You can email me about the Show: chris@secondcurve.uk
• Twitter thatchrisgrimes
• LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/
• FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860

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