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Coaching | Consultancy | Strategic Insight
Compass North
Health & Social Care
Public Sector & Local Government
Corporate HR & Leadership
Neurodivergent Adults
Education
Public-facing Delivery Partners
Through Compass North, I offer accredited coaching, strategic insight, and consultancy that help individuals, teams, and organisations move forward with confidence and purpose.
I am passionate about workforce development and inclusion, and have led largescale engagement programmes, secured investment for diverse talent development, and championed approaches that value people, deepen connection, and strengthen culture.
My work is rooted in helping people grow with confidence and contribute to environments where they can create extraordinary outcomes.
Find Your True North Now.
Strengths-Based Coaching
As an accredited StrengthscopeMaster™️ Practitioner, I take a strengths-based approach to coaching, helping you uncover what energises you, understand what holds you back, and build the confidence and clarity to thrive. I provide a focused, reflective environment where you can think deeply, test assumptions, and gain the clarity needed to move forward with purpose’.
“Emma's coaching was a turning point for me. Through a significant career crossroads, she combined sharp insight with a highly supportive approach, helping me find clarity, confidence and a clear path forward.”
Laura Rowe, Deputy Chief AHP & Head of Therapy Services
Personal Development Coaching
A respectful, reflective space to explore identity, strengths, barriers, and possibilities.
Time To Think
Creating the conditions for insight, creativity, and solutions to emerge.
Group & Team Coaching
Strengthening relationships, building trust, clarity, and collective purpose.
ADHD Coaching
Helping neurodivergent people recognise their unique strengths, unlock their potential, and thrive.
Consultancy
System Transformation & Partnership Development — I will help you build strong collaborations, redesign pathways, and grow cultural competence.
Workforce and Organisational Development — I will work with you to value people in meaningful ways, embed lived experience, and enable better outcomes.
Inclusive Talent Development — I will support you to create cultures where diverse people can grow, lead, and thrive.
Turning Policy into Purposeful Action — I will help you close the gap between policy and practice by translating strategy into something real, human, and compelling, creating clarity, shared purpose, and momentum for change.
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I build solutions around you. Everything starts with understanding your business, your goals, and the challenges you’re trying to solve — only then do I design support that is genuinely tailored to your needs.
"Emma provided expertise in leadership development, change, and transformation, helping to create a senior leadership programme that combined practical commissioning knowledge with a strong focus on leadership capabilities and organisational change. Her creativity, energy and commitment to developing leaders, alongside her focus on improving outcomes through effective commissioning, made her a valued contributor to both the programme and the wider team."
Becca Barnes, Senior Consultant, Akeso
"We have worked with Emma for several years during her NHS roles, Since establishing an independent practice, Emma has facilitated online learning sessions for us. She is professional, reliable, and well prepared. Emma draws on her personal and professional experience to bring valuable insight and perspective to her work.
We are pleased to recommend her as a facilitator."
WDR Ltd
Partnership testimonials
‘’Thanks for all you’ve done for the Leeds Hub. You’ve done a fantastic job.’’
Tom Riordan, CBE, Northern Growth Envoy, HM Treasury
“You’ll always have a big fanbase here!”
Ed Whiting, OBE, Chief Executive, Leeds City Council
“You’ve enabled huge leaps forward in national–local collaboration.”
John Bates, OBE, Head of Health Protection Analysis, Department of Health and Social Care
About Me, Emma Heeson, Founder, Director and Principal Consultant
With three decades of experience across social work, health and social care operations, leadership, system transformation, and partnership development, I bring a blend of strategic insight, relational leadership, and deep humanity.
Grounded in neuroinclusive thinking and shaped by lived experience, I’ve worked across the NHS, DHSC, and local government to lead complex change that improves experiences for citizens, staff, and communities.
My work sits at the intersection of policy, practice, and people — redesigning pathways, strengthening community services, and helping systems work in more relational, collaborative ways.
I focus on navigating complexity with clarity, building trusted relationships, and ensuring that the voices of that most affected shape the decisions that impact them.
Compass North was born from a moment of profound clarity after the sudden death of my friend and NHS colleague.
Her final gift — a notebook declaring “Find your true north” — became both a personal challenge and a call to live and work with deeper purpose.
Compass North is the expression of that commitment: work rooted in meaning, connection, and impact.
Compass North is my true north — and my passion is helping others find theirs.
If you’d like to explore how we might work together, please get in touch for a conversation.