help your people to burn bright, not burn out

Yikes! I mean, I’m sorry for the cliché but it’s true!

If you have landed on this page it’s because you are looking for someone who can help your teams. Maybe it’s to speak at a lunchtime session or a wellbeing day as a preventative measure, or maybe you have already seen the productivity and engagement slide and want to help your people before it’s too late.

Or maybe, just maybe, you are an employee who has picked up on how much their co-workers are struggling and you want to pitch your boss to get some more help - this is for you too!

So let’s make this simple, shall we?

It can be difficult to find a trainer who focuses on exactly what you need.

You might find someone who is brilliant at teaching relaxation and stress management strategies, but they lack the (how do I put this politely?) real-world experience that comes with being a stressed out professional.

Or maybe you have come across people who have a brilliant, inspiring story to share… but that’s where it ends and your staff are left in the same position they were in the day before the talk, meanwhile your social responsibility or wellbeing budget is heavily depleted.

You want someone who just plain gets it, who is down to earth, who can share inspiring stories AND real, practical, pragmatic tools to help your people.

Someone who understands that we need to work inside the current system, not pretend it isn’t happening. Who understands the needs of a busy company, who is flexible, approachable and offers a transparent pricing structure and a clear offering (particularly if you’re new to this corporate wellbeing thing!)

who am I?

My name is Leah Steele and I founded Searching for Serenity in 2016 following years of my own struggles with burnout. You can read more about my story here, but here’s the edited highlights:

I was a lawyer for nearly 12 years and specialised in mental capacity and contentious probate. I experienced my own issues with burnout, which came to a head in early 2015.

I set up Searching for Serenity whilst working full time as a Court of Protection solicitor and in mid-2017 I took an indefinite career break from law to expand my work with Searching for Serenity

WHAT DO I DO?

I help you and your staff create an amazing culture, with healthy, resilient workers that are (this is what you’re here for) more productive, efficient and profitable than ever.

Deloitte studies suggest poor mental health costs UK employers more than £50billion a year and Gallup polls suggest that 67% of staff are experiencing some level of burnout at any one time. Burnout exhibits in exhaustion (inefficiencies) negativity and cynicism (affecting other people’s engagement and effectiveness) and reduced professional efficacy (and there goes the profitability…).

Whilst you will most often see me talk about burnout, imposter syndrome and resilience issues, my work broadly falls under two headings; why we struggle at work and how we can thrive.

I use a combination of stories from my own lived experience together with the research, development and knowledge that goes into more than 1,300 hours of 1:1 coaching to create engaging and meaningful talks

These are not dry, read from the slides and never make eye contact kind of training events. I work with you to create the training that you and your team need, focusing on the pain points you have identified and offering real, pragmatic and immediately implementable solutions.

What do they say about me?

Well, I’m sure that they have plenty to say about me, but these are the lovely things that clients and training attendees have had to say about me!

current sample offerings
Corporate training overview

Key areas of focus: burnout, imposter syndrome, resilience, stress management  productivity, efficiency, confidence and communication skills.

Coming soon: neurodiversity awareness, Access to Work for employers, understanding ADHD and autism

These areas are not one-size-fits-all and can require an element of individualised support.  In addition to the options laid out below, Leah creates bespoke training solutions for firms and teams across the UK

Burnout Prevention Session

This is a one hour training delivered to teams of up to 35 people with the aim of helping staff and managers;

• Understand what burnout is & dispel the burnout myths

• Identify burnout behaviours within themselves and others

• Create a working life that actively prevents burnout

• Know what practical steps to take to manage and reverse burnout

Delivered in the style of a one hour group training with QnA this is available to book online and in-person.  This is effective as a soft open to consultancy/group training days (below), allowing attendees to opt in to further training for maximum engagement and impact.

Delivered online to a max of 35 attendees: £875

For in-person delivery, for groups larger than 25 or for licensing to deliver a replay across your entire organisation, additional fees will apply. Contact me to discuss your requirements!

Group Training Sessions

These days can include: consultancy with team managers/leaders to explore current company culture and pressures specific to the business, my Burnout Prevention for Managers half day training or bespoke training delivery.

Most commonly requested are small group trainings to follow up on a Burnout Prevention Session expanding further into strategies and tools; these sessions are booked for 90 minutes for up to 10 people.

Bespoke group training session for 15 attendees starts from £875 online.

Half day Burnout Prevention for Managers starts from £1,300 for up to 10 attendees.

1:1 support and training

For employees who require further or more intensive support, 60 minute sessions can be provided as part of an on-site one day consultancy day or by remote coaching.

Remote 1:1 coaching work can be carried out on the same terms as for individual clients (6 x 60 minute sessions delivered by telephone/video call on a fortnightly basis plus additional support in between) or for an initial one-hour session of £150 for an hour. See the

Bespoke webinar/group training

Searching for Serenity offers a bespoke webinar/online group training option for specific subjects.

Offering includes:

• Initial discussion to establish training needs and agreed parameters

• Training overview to include details of content (including pre-recorded video, slides and notes book).

• Preparation and delivery of pre-recorded video content and workbooks available to employees via an online secure system.

• Preparation of feedback questionnaires and delivery of pdf overview of feedback outcomes to management team (on an anonymised basis)

For pricing details, please contact me directly.

Think I’m the right person for your event?

(but maybe need to get sign off from the boss/wellbeing committee/other partners?)

Here’s a few easy to use documents that might help…

Want to see me speak?

Click the video below for my 5 minute key note at Disrupt HR Channel Islands, from March 2024; Calculating the Cost of Burnout

Frequently Asked Questions

Where are you based and how far are you prepared to travel?

I live in Bristol, home of Banksy, Wallace & Gromit and the city that genuinely rioted over a new Tesco Express being opened. Wherever possible, I encourage organisations to have training delivered online, to make it more accessible, flexible and reduce unnecessary time and travel expenses.

If you want me to attend your offices, I will charge the reasonable costs of my travel, hotels and waiting time as required - and in a similar manner to how travel and waiting was charged when I was a litigator! Being neurodivergent, I find travel exhausting so I limit it wherever possible, and make sure I’m fully resourced when it’s not. If in doubt, drop me an email or give me a call and we’ll discuss.

What are your prices?

I like to keep pricing transparent wherever possible, so you know what you are getting in to before you start. However prices vary according to your attendee numbers, requirements for travel, additional preparation, bespoke creation and industry. If you are a small organisation, not-for-profit or charity, please contact me directly to discuss my discounted rates.

Prices start from £875 for an online training for up to 35 staff (working out to £25 per head), but for a full proposal and costing, please contact me directly.

I want to book you for my event it might be too far away/the travel costs might make it prohibitive/we don’t have a big enough meeting room for everyone/we’re a not for profit. What do we do?

I am a huge fan of leveraging the internet and all the weird and wonderful platforms I have used to create my business, as 95% of my work is delivered online. I work with clients all across the world and can utilise all of that knowledge to create a solution that works for you and your team’s needs.

Want an on-demand webinar and resources for your team, that they can access again and again? Easy-peasy.

Don’t have the space to fit your whole team in a room? Let’s discuss hiring a space or creating an online offering that your team can access anytime and anywhere.

Some of your team members want 1:1 resilience and burnout mentoring? I can offer this support in person, by telephone or video call or even by WhatsApp voice and text messaging. Let’s talk and we’ll create a solution that works for both of us - win-win!

Do you just work with lawyers and law firms?

Nope, far from it. My work with individuals has spanned all white collar industries and even the odd blue collar worker. Whilst I practised as a lawyer for more than 12 years I come from a working class family of plumbers, plasterers & electricians. My style is straight-forward, straight-talking and down to earth, so if you wonder whether I’m a good fit, you could either check out my Linkedin profile here or give me a ring and let me know your requirements. Just don’t book me to rewire your house, for both our sakes!

Are your prices negotiable?

Sure - you can pay me more if you like? All joking aside yes they can be, in the right circumstances. I even do the odd spot of pro bono work, provided it’s for the right reasons and a cause I can get behind. Give me a ring or drop me an email and let’s talk about how we can make it work

Do you do keynote speeches?

Yes I do and for an example, check out my key note at Disrupt HR Channel Islands in March 2024. My areas of focus are: burnout, imposter syndrome, resilience, working with ADHD and neurodivergence and creating cultural change for organisations. Drop me an email or call me to discuss your needs further.

Still have questions or want to take this further?

Email or call me to discuss the next steps. Alternatively, you can find me in all the places using the buttons below