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Alicia May Morton started her coaching business after a long career in finance and banking.  Her experience of this sector, together with her work in mentoring and career development, means she is perfectly placed to help clients focus on their own bigger picture.

As a guest speaker at the Today’s PA Conference, Alicia will be looking at the topic of resilience – something we all need in abundance, especially at times of change and upheaval.  Alicia will share her lived in experience of overcoming overwhelm as an assistant in corporate and shares her top tools to enable you to move into a place of empowerment and more resilience.

Fortunately, resilience is a skill that can be learned and developed over time.  In her session, she will show us how to tap into our subconscious to help us do exactly that.

But before the conference, we asked Alicia a little about her background and her approach to coaching.

You worked as an EA in finance for many years. What encouraged you to make this shift in your career and become a Business Coach? 

Yes, I worked in various assistant PA/EA-type roles from 2013-2017 in banking before working my way up to a training manager role.  I held this role for a further three years, then stepped into senior leadership in innovation.

I started my coaching business in November 2020, running it part time alongside my career at Lloyds Banking Group.  Last summer, I was offered redundancy, and it turned out that it was exactly the right time to go all in with my coaching business – and I have never looked back!

You take a holistic approach to coaching.  Could you tell me more about that? 

Of course.  So, to me, the holistic approach to working is to make my work fit in around my life, not making my life fit around my work.  I am very passionate about a “me first” approach every day. Because I know when I am in “peak state”, I feel more able to show up for myself, my family, and my business.

“Work life balance” is such a buzz phrase in corporate circles, but I prefer to look at it now as “work life flow”.  It’s about how each part can compliment the other and ensure that mental and physical wellness is always the top priority.

‘Resilience’ means different things to different people.  As a former EA and a current business owner, what does it mean to you? 

It means your reaction and response to any given situation or circumstances that cause a trigger effect within you.  Your resilience will determine the speed at which you “bounce back” from a negative state to a more positive one.

Something I have learned throughout my career is that resilience is something that can change. You can increase your resilience and work to improve your mindset.  However, and importantly, this is not an invitation to take on more and more and push yourself to your limits!

Do you work with a PA or a VA?  How to do you manage that relationship effectively?

Yes, I do.  I have a Virtual Assistant, Natalie, and an online business manager (OBM), Holli.  I have catch up calls every other week with the whole team, and a weekly call with my OBM for us to catch up.  I do have direct line of contact with Natalie also, via a chat app we use called “Voxer”.  Holli helps to delegate work across the team so that I can stay in my energy and power coaching.

Holli has been in my team for just over two years now, and Natalie has worked for me for around 15 months.  They do an incredible job, and I honestly couldn’t imagine my life or business without them!

Alicia, many thanks for answering our questions.  We’re looking forward to hearing your talk at the Today’s PA Conference and also your contribution on our Expert PAnel discussion, ‘How Assistants and Managers Work Together”.

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Alicia Morton May will be our afternoon guest speaker at the Today’s PA Conference on Thursday 17th August 2023 at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel, Chelsea Harbour Drive, London SW10 0XG

For further details of the Conference, please see our website todayspaconference.co.uk