About Breakthrough Conversations
Breakthrough Conversations is a psychologically informed approach to coaching, leadership development and behavioural change.
The approach brings together executive coaching, organisational understanding, behavioural development and insights from psychotherapy. It is grounded in the belief that meaningful change happens not only through insight, but through greater awareness of emotional state, relational dynamics and the choices available to us under pressure.
Breakthrough Conversations was developed by Graham Lee and is now supported by a small faculty of experienced practitioners: Sarah Leach and Susannah Randall. Together, they bring depth of coaching experience, psychological insight and practical organisational understanding to their work with leaders, coaches and teams.
About Graham Lee
Executive Coach | Coach Supervisor | Author
Developer of Breakthrough Conversations
Graham Lee is an author, executive coach and coach supervisor. For more than 30 years he has worked with senior leaders, executive teams and boards across public and private sector organisations, helping them develop greater clarity, presence and effectiveness under pressure.
His work has included extensive experience in financial services, technology, pharmaceuticals and professional services, as well as executive and board development with NHS trusts and leading charities.
Alongside his coaching and organisational work, Graham practised for many years as a psychotherapist. He now focuses on applying the insights from that experience — together with his background in psychology, consulting, mindfulness-based approaches and leadership development — to coaching, supervision and the development of leaders and coaches.
Breakthrough Conversations has emerged from this integration of disciplines and experience. It offers a practical developmental framework for working with emotional state, relational dynamics and behavioural effectiveness in the moments that matter most.
Graham is the author of Breakthrough Conversations for Coaches, Consultants and Leaders and Leadership Coaching: From Personal Insight to Organisational Performance. He has also written on leadership, coaching, authenticity and psychological development.
Professional Credentials
Graham is an APECS-accredited coach and coach supervisor. He practised for many years as a UKCP-registered psychotherapist and has also trained in mindfulness-based approaches with the Oxford Mindfulness Centre. He holds a first-class degree in Experimental Psychology.
What shapes Graham’s work
Graham’s approach has been shaped by several strands of experience.
Before becoming an executive coach, he worked in marketing and the pharmaceutical sector, and later in strategy consulting. Alongside this, he trained and practised as a psychotherapist and developed a longstanding interest in the role of awareness, attention and embodied presence in supporting change.
These different perspectives continue to inform his work. They help him bridge the practical realities of organisational life with a deeper understanding of emotional life, relational patterns and the conditions that support genuine change.
The result is an approach that is both psychologically informed and grounded in the demands of real leadership and coaching situations.
Sarah Leach
Executive Coach | Group Coach | Coach Supervisor | Author
Sarah Leach is a highly experienced executive coach, group coach and coach supervisor. She works with senior professionals who want to develop greater clarity, confidence and relational effectiveness in their leadership.
Her coaching style is calm, grounded and warmly challenging. She creates a reflective space in which clients can explore their impact, behavioural patterns and leadership choices with honesty, depth and practical focus.
Sarah is particularly effective with high-achieving professionals who are technically strong and want to strengthen their ability to connect, influence and work through others. She helps clients build self-awareness, emotional resilience, adaptability and confidence, while supporting them to make purposeful changes in how they lead and relate.
Since 2013, Sarah has coached senior executives across a range of sectors and professional backgrounds. She has also lectured in coaching at Henley Business School, where she previously led career coaching for Executive MBA students.
Sarah brings to Breakthrough Conversations a strong combination of psychological insight, coaching rigour and practical experience of leadership development. Her work aligns closely with the emphasis on emotional awareness, relational effectiveness and behavioural change under pressure.
Sarah is co-editor and author of Third Wave Cognitive Behavioural Coaching and has contributed to three other coaching texts. She holds an MSc in Coaching and Behavioural Change and is an EMCC Senior Practitioner, ICF Professional Certified Coach and ESIA-accredited supervisor.
Susannah Randall
Executive Coach | Communications Specialist | Author
Susannah Randall is an experienced certified coach and communications specialist. She works with professionals who want to connect more effectively with others and strengthen their influence, impact and motivation at work.
Her coaching style combines warm affirmation, curiosity and gentle challenge. She helps clients notice patterns they may not have fully recognised and develop more intentional ways of communicating, influencing and relating.
Susannah is particularly effective with clients who want to build confidence in how they communicate, form constructive working relationships and navigate important conversations with greater awareness and purpose.
Drawing on the Breakthrough Conversations approach, Susannah helps clients explore how awareness of emotional state can open up new choices in how they interact under pressure. She also brings practical tools from negotiation, relationship-building and applied psychology, supporting clients to focus on what will make the greatest difference in their day-to-day conversations.
Before becoming a coach, Susannah was Head of Communications at the Wellcome Trust. She holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Coaching for Behavioural Change from Henley Business School and is an EMCC Senior Practitioner.
She is also the author of practical guides on communicating improvement and influencing through networks. Her coaching has been valued by leaders in financial services, life sciences, universities, think tanks and Whitehall.
Susannah brings to Breakthrough Conversations a distinctive blend of coaching skill, communication expertise and relational intelligence, helping clients translate deeper awareness into clearer, more effective conversations.
Working with us
Breakthrough Conversations supports leaders, coaches and organisations who want to strengthen their capacity to stay clear, grounded and relationally effective under pressure. This may include executive coaching, coach development, coaching supervision, leadership development, team development or advanced training in the Breakthrough Conversations approach.
Across these different forms of work, the focus is consistent: helping people become more aware of what is happening within and between them, and more able to act with clarity, courage and care when it matters most.