Helping craft better careers and better businesses.

Hello.

I’m Sophie Allard, founder of kharaktēr, a coaching and consulting business helping people craft better careers and better businesses.

The Ancient Greek word kharaktēr, means the engraved mark that is left on a coin during its manufacture. I believe that whether you’re an individual, a team, or an organisation, you are fundamentally unique - shaped by your purpose and values, your strengths and stories and by the impact you have on the world.​​

I’m an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and change, capability & culture consultant, helping people and organisations unlock their potential and create meaningful change.

  • Close-up of a person's eye, showing the iris, eyelashes, and part of their forehead with freckles. Dark hair partially covering the face.

    Career & Leadership Coaching

    I coach experienced professionals and leaders to get clear on what they want from their careers, the impact they want to have and how they can use their strengths to achieve their goals.

    From career direction and progression to leadership growth and transition, coaching provides the space and challenge to make meaningful change.

    Find out more
  • Close-up of a person's hand writing with a pen on paper at a desk with a cup and laptop in the background

    Culture & Change Consulting

    I partner with organisations to shape culture, leadership, behaviours and ways of working, creating the conditions for people and businesses to thrive.

    Together, we identify what needs to change and turn ambition into meaningful, lasting change.

    Find out more

  • "Inspired impactful change"

    “Sophie led a project for me to help develop our leadership strategy in line with our business ambition. Sophie worked with a large number of senior stakeholders to get a rich understanding of the business and our people and distilled these insights into a clear story to engage our senior leadership team. She applied a strategic business lens to the project, to help us connect our people strategy to our business strategy and inspire impactful change. Sophie has a huge amount of passion and drive which helped her to engage with a wide audience and I knew I could count on her to consistently deliver great results.”

    Lisa Hardy - Head of HR, Broadcast Media

  • "Just magic!"

    “Sophie’s ability to connect with individuals and teams is just magic! This allows her to create first class engagement behind a vision or ideas. Sophie’s curiosity and strategic thinking allow her to see things from differing perspectives, enabling her to foster bigger picture thinking. With her experience in FMCG she can connect the dots across the full organisation.”

    Sarah Dossett - Marketing VP, Danone

  • "My go-to strategic thinking partner"

    “Working with Sophie has been one of the most impactful investments I’ve made in my business. She helped me untangle and clarify my value proposition and it’s unlocked a step-change new phase of growth for my business. On a personal level it’s also freed up so much headspace. Sophie is a total professional of the highest level and an absolute pleasure to work with.”

    Caspar Giles - Founder.

  • "Astounding people-development talent"

    “It is rare that I come across a leader who possesses such a brilliant blend of traits as Sophie - in-depth business acumen merged with remarkable interpersonal skills and astounding people-development talent. Working with Sophie, I felt that I was part of one of the strongest and most collaborative teams I have ever been a part of and work was just so much fun!”

    Ridzky Novasandro - Head of Marketing

  • "Connects the dots on complex projects"

    “Sophie brings her brilliant brand expertise to projects and her strategic and creative nature means she is able to connect the dots on complex projects and communicate the outcome simply, in a way that truly engages the audience.  She's a great facilitator with a depth of experience in leadership and coaching.”

    Carla Cringle - Founder FizzPopBANG

  • "I reconnected with my inner strength"

    “I reached out to Sophie when I needed some support with my career development and with boosting my confidence. Within just one session, I had reconnected with my inner strength and felt significantly more focused and clear on the way forward. Sophie is an incredible listener and empathiser. All the tools and support she gave me were exactly what I needed and helped me to make big strides forward. I would recommend Sophie to anyone in a similar boat who needs support when faced with challenges and wants to build confidence, clarity and to feel empowered to make changes.”

    Georgina Keeley - Senior Brand Manager

  • "I'm seeing and feeeling the impact on the team already"

    “It has been great working with Sophie on redefining and shaping the future culture of our team and how we work together. Sophie helped us delve into what makes us unique as a team, what can set us apart from other businesses and what makes us truly proud. This insights has been invaluable in helping us shape our culture vision and roll out plan, which the whole team is fully engaged with. By co-building with the teams and focusing on the behaviour shifts we wat to drive, Sophie has made “culture” which can often be quite complex and intangible, tangible.”

    Adrienne O’Brien - Head of Marketing Transformation, Danone

  • "Instantly able to hone in on my strengths and story"

    “Sophie’s coaching sessions have been a positive and productive space that I have absolutely loved being part of. Her personal and friendly style creates a relaxed and open environment that has allowed me to identify and reflect upon my key strengths. She is a great listener and was instantly able to hone in on my interests, strengths and story. Together we have established what my values, career goals and aspirations are and carved out an exciting path for growth.”

    Faye Leneghan - Brand and Partnerships Manager, Global