Leadership is about enabling strategy through people.
That’s why at Pause & Play our mission is to help leaders get the best out of themselves and their teams. We’ll cultivate your potential, hold you accountable and celebrate your wins with you. Talk to us about leadership and culture, we’ll help you with Coaching, Workshops and/or our Consulting & Advisory services.
Our Guiding Principles:
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Pause
A pause, used well, allows for more constructive responses to colleagues, team members, and the wider environment and leads to better performance, growth and greater impact.
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Play
Mary Poppins was right: “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.” Humans connect, learn and perform better when there is permission to play. Play and playfulness is actively invited into learning and engagement spaces.
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Know Thyself
Aristotle was also right: “To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom”. Building self-awareness and knowledge will be encouraged and where possible, directly enabled using accredited tools.
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You are the expert
The knowledge is in the room. The participant is the expert; the coach or facilitator’s role is to guide the process to support and extract the wisdom in the room.
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Inclusion strengthens Teams
Diversity of thought enriches and strengthens teams. Inclusive leader traits including respect, curiosity and adaptability will be applied.
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Collaboration is fundamental
Collaboration is a collective, dynamic capability that has many benefits. Understanding and promoting psychological safety provides the foundation for success.
Meet our Founder: Elena Kingston-Bedford
Elena has spent the last 20 years advising, coaching, mentoring and working alongside dedicated and passionate leaders and their teams to help progress the tough “people stuff”. She has a keen eye for potential and an almost insatiable appetite for cultivating and transforming something strong into something superb.
Before leaving the corporate world, Elena worked at a senior leadership level across HR Operations, Talent Management, Enterprise Projects, Leadership Development, Organisational Culture & Transformational Change. She regularly engaged with boards and previously held a board position with a not-for-profit.
While she successfully delivered multiple projects and initiatives that positively impacted business performance, she’s most proud of how she connected, empowered and drew out the best version of the people she’s worked with. Her clients value the energy and enthusiasm she brings, while also creating a safe space for growth. Her combined use of coaching, realistic optimism and holding people accountable delivers the right results at the right time.
Elena has formal qualifications in Coaching (ICF-ACC, IECL - Organisational Coaching), Leadership, Behavioural Science and Communications and lots of certifications that enhance her expertise and give her access to great tools including DiSC, Team Management Systems (TMS), Human Synergistics (LSI, GSI, LI), Global Leadership Wellbeing Survey (GLWS), the Riders & Elephants tools and Visual Friends Facilitation techniques. Outside of her professional engagements, Elena volunteers her time with the Inspiring Rare Birds Mentoring program and is an active member of the QUT Trust Alliance.