People & Teams

Your people are your greatest asset. Most businesses are using about half of what they’ve got. 

Your team isn’t underperforming. It’s misaligned. 

Most businesses assume their people problems are about attitude, effort, or skill. They’re usually not. They’re about people being in the wrong roles, working without understanding each other’s strengths, or being managed in ways that don’t bring out their best. 

That’s misalignment. And it’s fixable. 

I’m Melanie Kirkpatrick. Before I became a coach, I was a commercial leader. Over £100M in sales revenue. I’ve led teams of up to 60 people. Award-winning sales leader. Leadership roles at Groupon and Voucher Systems. I know what it costs when teams don’t work because I’ve lived it from the inside. 

My top five CliftonStrengths are Individualisation, Positivity, Achiever, Empathy, and Maximiser. In practice, that means I naturally notice what makes each person tick and tailor everything around it. I pick up on what’s really going on in a team, even when nobody’s saying it out loud. I’m driven to get results rather than just talk about them. I make people feel heard. And I have a habit of seeing potential in people that they haven’t quite seen in themselves yet. 

That’s what I bring to this work. And it’s why I love it.

£100M+

Sales revenue generated in career

72%

Lower attrition, strengths-led teams*

30+

Years’ commercial experience

Gallup meta-analysis, 49,495 business units, 1.2 million employees, 45 countries

Team Dynamics & CliftonStrengths 

Most teams aren’t broken. They just don’t know what they’ve got :

Every person on your team has something they’re brilliant at. Most businesses never find out what that is. Using Gallup CliftonStrengths, I help every person discover their strengths and show the team how those strengths fit together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. 

This isn’t a one-off workshop that everyone forgets by Friday. It’s a structured programme that permanently changes how your team communicates, collaborates, and performs. 

What’s included:

  • CliftonStrengths assessment for every team member 

  • Individual debrief sessions so each person understands their unique profile in depth 

  • Full-team workshop mapping the collective strengths, gaps, and dynamics

  • Leadership session on how to manage and develop each person to their strengths

  • 30-day follow-up to embed the language and keep the momentum going

The commercial outcome:

  • 8.9% greater profitability in teams that receive strengths feedback (Gallup)

  • 12.5% productivity gain on average

  • Up to 72% lower staff attrition, meaning dramatically lower recruitment costs

  • A shared language that replaces conflict with understanding

Pricing:

£325 per person · Team programmes from £3,200 · See full pricing →

Predictive Index assessments

Hiring on gut feel is expensive. Here’s the alternative:

Most hiring mistakes aren’t obvious until they’re already costly. The Predictive Index tells you, in precise and actionable terms, how someone thinks, what drives them, and how they’ll perform in a specific role or team, before you make the decision, not after.

I’m a certified PI Practitioner. I use these assessments for hiring decisions, team restructuring, leadership development, and understanding why a team that looks good on paper isn’t performing as expected.

Use it for:

  • Leadership hiring: make the right call before you commit to a significant salary.

  • Team restructuring. understand who belongs where before you reorganise.

  • Diagnosing underperformance. is it the person, the role, or the dynamic?

  • Leadership development. what does this person need to lead effectively?

  • Building teams. that complement each other rather than clash.

Pricing:

Assessment and Debrief £325 · Team packages from £1,800 · See full pricing →

Leadership & EI coaching

Good leaders aren’t born. They’re built. And it takes work :

The difference between a good leader and an exceptional one rarely comes down to technical skill. It comes down to self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the ability to bring out the best in the people around them, consistently, under pressure, without burning out.

I work with leaders at every level on the mindset, habits and emotional intelligence that make that possible.

Ideal for:

  • New leaders navigating the step up from peer to manager

  • Leaders managing burnout, decision fatigue, or team dysfunction

  • Leaders who want to build a culture of trust and sustainable high performance

  • Technically brilliant people who struggle with the people side of leadership

Sometimes one conversation is enough to see things differently. Book a single 60-minute coaching session with me: no commitment, just focused, practical coaching on whatever is most present for you right now. Whether it’s a leadership challenge, a team dynamic, a difficult decision, or simply feeling stuck, one session can change a lot.

Single session: £150. Packages of sessions are also available: See full pricing → or Book a free discovery call →

Pricing:

On application. Book a free discovery call to discuss your specific situation and goals. Book a free discovery call →

The people director who thinks like a business owner.

Fractional people director :

The businesses I work with don’t have HR problems. They have people problems, and those show up everywhere. In how teams communicate, how managers lead, how fast decisions get made.

That’s a different thing entirely.

I spent 30 years in commercial environments, building teams, hitting targets, watching what happens when the people side of a business is working and when it isn’t. I’ve sat where your managers sit. I’ve felt the pressure your leaders are under. I’ve learned that the difference between a team that flies and one that quietly drains the life out of a business almost always comes down to the same things: how well people understand each other, how clearly they’re led, and whether the culture is built by design or by accident.

I’m not an HR professional. I’m a commercial leader who has spent 30 years understanding what makes people and teams perform, and what it costs when they don’t. I work inside your leadership team on a part-time basis, owning your people agenda and treating your business like my own.

What we work on together:

  • People and talent strategy
  • Leadership development
  • Team dynamics
  • Culture design
  • Performance frameworks
  • Manager coaching
  • Organisational design
  • Onboarding 
  • Retention 

How it works:

Essentials: 8 hours a month, £1,000 · Standard: 16 hours a month, £2,000 · Embedded: 2 days a week, £7,500 a month · 90-Day Pilot: 40 hours, £5,500 · Pay as you go: £150 an hour · See full pricing → or Book a free 30-minute call →

Published Author

Shining a Light on Leadership in Mallorca 

We wanted to know what great leadership really looks like. So, we went and asked.

Melanie Kirkpatrick and co-author with copies of Shining a Light on Leadership in Mallorca at the launch

Available in English and Spanish

After 30 years in sales and business, we had a theory: that the outdated, top-down, command-and-control style of leadership was finished and that the leaders quietly doing extraordinary things were doing it completely differently. With empathy. With humanity. With emotional intelligence at the core.
Sally Leslie and I sat down with twelve of Mallorca’s most compelling leaders and asked them how they really do it. What we found confirmed everything. Patricia Rosselló leads with transparency and equality. Javier believes listening and hearing are not the same thing. Victor built a career on backing people and trusting his instincts. Every single one of them put people first.
The evidence is in. Read it for yourself.

What readers say on Amazon — ★★★★★ 5.0 out of 5 (4 ratings)

“Shining a Light on Leadership in Mallorca is an inspiring, honest, and deeply human look at what it means to lead with heart. Through the voices of Mallorca’s most dynamic CEOs, this book offers real stories, hard-won lessons, and practical wisdom for anyone building businesses, teams, or a better version of themselves. While rooted in Mallorca, its insights are universal — a must-read for leaders everywhere who believe in people-first performance.”

Andrea Bamford — “A must read for leaders everywhere!”, verified purchase, April 2025

“What I loved about this book were the real accounts and stories from those who’ve been there, done it and got the t-shirt. It’s about learning from their experiences and stories, which has allowed me to rethink how I want to lead. Excellent.”

Miss V. S. Davis — “This book helps truly shape how you lead”, verified purchase, February 2025

“Insightful, thought provoking and a nice reminder of the most important parts of leadership that can easily be forgotten in a digital world.”

R4hulb — “Important reminders for all leaders”, April 2025

“Bite-size pieces of useful advice that apply to any type of leadership. And not just Mallorca — this could apply anywhere. A very uplifting, positive read. I’m happy to recommend.”

Bev — “Positive, uplifting, easy read for leaders anywhere”, verified purchase, April 2025

Read all reviews on Amazon.co.uk →

Melanie’s credentials:

Gallup CliftonStrengths Coach badge

Strengths Coach

Predictive Index certified practitioner badge

Predictive Index Practitioner

International Coach Practitioner, Certified Coaches Alliance

International Coach Practitioner Certified Coaches Alliance

Emotional Intelligence Practitioner, The Priority Academy

Emotional Intelligence Practitioner The Priority Academy

Mindfulness Practitioner, Transformation Academy

Mindfulness Practitioner Transformation Academy

Happiness Life Coach certification

Happiness Life Coach Certification

Counselling — NVQ Academy logo

Counselling  NVQ Academy

LCCI Level 3 Sales Management

Sales Management LCCI Level 3

See the work in action:

See how we’ve helped businesses like yours. View our work →

Tony P., Atlas (UK) Limited

“Mel inspires, motivates and educates in spades. She is one of those rare people that can grab the attention of any room from the moment she walks in.”

Tony P., Atlas (UK) Limited

Andy Slack

“Mel knows how to foster a positive culture, enhance performance, and create an environment where teams thrive. Her leadership development and talent management strategies inspire outstanding results.”

Andy Slack, Experienced Entrepreneur & Technical CEO/CTO

Frequently Asked Questions

CliftonStrengths is a Gallup assessment used by over 26 million people worldwide that identifies what a person is naturally brilliant at. It measures 34 talent themes and shows you which ones you lead with. The assessment takes around 45 minutes online and the results are instant. What makes it powerful isn’t the assessment itself; it’s what happens in the coaching conversation afterwards, when those results are brought to life in the context of your real work and real team.

They’re complementary tools that do different things. CliftonStrengths tells you what someone is naturally talented at. Predictive Index tells you how someone is behaviourally wired: what drives them, how they communicate, how they respond to pressure, and what kind of environment brings out their best. PI is particularly powerful for hiring decisions, team restructuring, and understanding why certain combinations of people create friction.

No. Personality tests measure who you are. CliftonStrengths and Predictive Index measure how you naturally think, work and behave, and, crucially, they’re designed to be applied practically, not just filed away. The goal is never a label. It’s a shared language that changes how a team communicates and how a leader manages. The businesses I work with see real, measurable change, not just an interesting report.

CliftonStrengths takes around 45 minutes. Predictive Index takes around 6 minutes. Both are completed online, in your own time, before our coaching session.

Not necessarily. It depends on what you’re trying to achieve. If you’re focused on uncovering your superpowers, CliftonStrengths is the right place to start. If you’re making a hiring decision or trying to understand why a specific team dynamic isn’t working, PI is often more appropriate. If you’re not sure, book a free 30-minute call and we’ll work it out together.

Both tools work for teams of any size, from a leadership team of four to an organisation of several hundred. The programme is always tailored to the team. If you have a large team, get in touch and we’ll design something that works for your scale and budget.

The assessment is just the starting point. Every programme includes individual debrief sessions, a full-team workshop, and a leadership session. There’s also a 30-day follow-up to ensure the language and insights are embedded in how the team works day to day. The goal is lasting change, not a one-off workshop everyone forgets by Friday.

Still have a question? Just ask. Book a free 30-minute call →