Global Connect helps purpose-led leaders get the mentoring, coaching and peer support they need to thrive. Our focus is on people working for humanitarian, aid, development, environmental and social-impact causes, and especially for women and leaders from the Global South.
Our roots
Global Connect is run by Coach Mentoring Ltd., a UK coaching and mentoring practice founded in 2004.
For more than 20 years, our team has worked alongside people in every kind of environment: from corporate head offices and financial institutions to international NGOs, local charities and field projects. Wherever we work, our belief stays the same. Good coaching and mentoring help people handle change, find their footing in uncertain times and achieve more than they thought possible, for themselves and for the people around them.
We began working with the humanitarian sector in 2015. Since then, more than 1,000 people from humanitarian, aid and development organisations have taken part in our programmes.
Our vision
We want a world where access to quality coaching, mentoring and leadership development is not determined by geography, gender or privilege, and where purpose-led leaders everywhere have the support they need to lead well and live sustainably.
Our mission
Our mission is to build and sustain a global, ethical ecosystem of mentoring, coaching, leadership learning and peer connection, and to make it freely and equitably available to purpose-driven leaders, particularly women and those in the Global South.
Why we exist
Good leadership development is unevenly shared around the world. For leaders in low-resource or crisis-hit settings, mentoring and coaching are often unavailable or simply unaffordable.
The pressure on these leaders is rising. Funding is shrinking, uncertainty is growing, and many carry heavy responsibilities with little or no support. We wanted our expertise to reach the people who would benefit most, not only those able to pay for it.
Global Connect exists to close that gap.
OUR EXPERTISE
What sets us apart
Global Connect draws on more than two decades of expertise in coaching, mentoring, facilitation and ethical practice. It is built by experienced practitioners who understand what it means to lead under pressure.
Global Connect builds on years of earlier work, including:
- The Across-Organisational Mentoring Programme, which linked leaders from over 20 aid and humanitarian agencies.
- A Women in Leadership Network for the aid and humanitarian sectors, which grew to over 1,250 members.
- Leadership programmes for women, delivered internationally across the aid and humanitarian sectors.
- Free learning resources for people working in aid and environmental organisations.
- Training and support for major organisations such as WWF, Save the Children, CAFOD, Greenpeace and Crisis, from reverse mentoring to accredited coaching and mentoring skills courses.
Over the years, our team has also worked with Médecins Sans Frontières, the British Red Cross, Oxfam, UNHCR, Unicef UK, World Vision, WaterAid, Christian Aid, Tearfund, Plan and War Child, among many others.
Our contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set out a shared global plan for a fairer, healthier and more sustainable world. Global Connect contributes to five of them.
Goal 4: Quality Education. We help people develop their leadership skills and pass on what we know, so learning reaches people who might otherwise miss out.
Goal 5: Gender Equality. We create space for women to grow as leaders, through women-led communities, women-only programmes and mentoring across different backgrounds.
Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities. We bring coaching and mentoring to people and places that have rarely had access to them, particularly in the Global South and in crisis-affected settings.
Goal 13: Climate Action. We work with environmental and climate organisations to strengthen their leadership, so they are better equipped to drive change.
Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals. We connect people and organisations across sectors, countries and cultures, encouraging them to share knowledge and work together.
By investing in the people working at the front line of change, we aim to help build communities that are more equal, more resilient and more sustainable.
HOW WE ARE FUNDED
Social enterprise
Coach Mentoring Ltd. is a social enterprise. We reinvest the majority of our profit in Global Connect, which keeps our programmes accessible to the people they are designed for. We still work with clients across every sector. This work now directly funds positive change.
Profit has never been our only measure of success. We want our work to make lives better and to leave the world in a better state.
Leaving a mark
We often describe this as making “dents in the universe,” a nod to a line from Steve Jobs. For us, this means creating change that lasts, alongside the people and communities we work with, towards a fairer and more sustainable world. Each programme, partnership and conversation is one more dent.
We are also working towards B Corp certification.
Get involved
We have big ambitions. With more funding and partners, we could support many more leaders, build stronger links in each region, and help the sector develop the leadership it needs for the long term.
We would love to hear from funders, partner organisations, volunteers and anyone who wants to help shape Global Connect’s future. Whether you run a charity, lead a team, are building a movement or simply want to help, please get in touch.