About Liz

Liz Flavell’s career began in surveying. She later moved into recruitment and business development, often ending up as the only woman in the room in a male-dominated industry. Liz used this to her advantage, as everybody remembered her. Recruitment firms soon took notice, and she went on to become a top-billing consultant managing 142 temps, and a director in Mayfair.

To meet the demand from agencies needing her help, Liz launched Liz Flavell Consultancy Ltd, where for the past decade she has coached recruitment businesses from the inside out. Working live on the sales floor, she blends behavioural psychology with hands-on leadership to help teams reconnect, refocus, and realise what they’re capable of.

Liz enjoys cycling and hiking in the countryside where she resides, as well as dedicating her time to voluntary work supporting bereaved individuals and families through St Nicholas Hospice Care.

With 20+ years in recruitment and a career built on resilience, discipline, and a deep care for people, Liz brings her board-level experience to guide Stonehouse Recruitment Group on their business strategy, and we are incredibly lucky to have her! We would also like to say a huge congratulations to Liz, as Liz Flavell Consultancy Ltd has recently hit it’s 10th birthday!

1. Can you walk me through your career journey in the recruitment industry and how it has evolved over the last 20 years?

I’ve been very fortunate; I’ve been very lucky in my career. I’ve been headhunted for pretty much all my roles and being surrounded by fascinating, inspirational people has meant I’ve been recognised for my success. I’m one of these weird people that found recruitment naturally straightforward because I’m a people-orientated person. I love people, I find them interesting and fascinating, and I naturally like to keep in touch. Those things are key within the recruitment industry.

My network has looked after me. The network I built at the beginning of my career enabled me to be headhunted and to build on those relationships, as well as make excellent revenue, bill at an exceptional level, and diversify my desk when needed. I’ve been very fortunate.

I’m not transactional – people will feel looked after through regular contact. You can’t contact someone once and expect them to be open or trust you. You build that over time, and for me, that comes naturally. With that personality trait going into an industry that needed it, it was the perfect combination.

2. What have been some of the most challenging and rewarding moments in your recruitment career?

The challenging thing with managing people is understanding that not everybody’s motivation and wants are the same as mine. It doesn’t mean it’s not as important to them; it is different and understanding that has been a learning curve. Markets evolve and change. Recessions happen; market dips happen. Political uncertainty is real and has a huge impact on business. You need to be very agile, and we constantly strive to be one step ahead – but that is a challenge.

Something I’ve learned is you need to adapt. We need a plan and a strategy, but it must be realistic for the timing you’re in and for the current generations whose wants and desires change over the years. Trying to support and marry those things together is both a challenge and a success.

In terms of rewards, being recognised for senior roles without even asking has been an absolute honour. Financially, it has been fantastic, and has given me choices and the time to make really good career decisions.

Seeing other people succeed, trainees I coached 15 or 20 years ago who are now running multi-million-pound or international businesses, is incredible. I burst with pride seeing people who were grads or making vulnerable career changes become successful and hold senior roles. Seeing companies go through significant changes and come out the other side is fantastic.

3. How has your experience in performance coaching influenced your leadership and decision-making style?

I’ve been a business performance coach/behavioural psychology coach in recruitment companies for the last 10 years. I’ve been very blessed to work across 47 businesses, and all on referral!

What I’ve learned is that everyone needs motivating. It doesn’t matter where they sit in the success journey or their career journey – everybody needs support and clarity. Never assume that everybody learns and develops at the same pace. It’s not about someone being better; it’s about people being different.

Coaching people and businesses is an intimate place to be. You get very close to people, and you must never take for granted that they will open up. How I coach one person is very different from another because people have different learning styles, backgrounds, and interpretations.

Sometimes we run at things too quickly. I’m a big advocate of taking a pause – digesting what you’ve heard and interpreting it in the way you need. Every journey is different; it’s not about speed, it’s about time. People learn and develop at different speeds and in different ways. Many businesses get that wrong.

4. You are a big believer in a healthy, balanced lifestyle. How do you maintain your own professional and personal development alongside managing multiple roles simultaneously?

I am a big sportsperson. Sport is like eating – it’s fuelling. My brain moves really quickly; it needs good food, good exercise, good oxygen and good sleep. These are things I never compromise on.

I am very fortunate to work for myself, which means I can manage my day as I see fit. I can take two hours out of my day to remove myself, think, and sit quietly to write notes.

One of the really good things for me is that I run quite a few of my meetings on foot. I walk and talk. It’s great for the step count, and it’s good for the mind. You’re more agile and able to hear properly when you’re moving rather than sitting stationary at a desk.

In the evenings, I set aside time to answer people or send messages letting them know I’m thinking of them. It’s so powerful for someone who feels stuck to know that someone out there is thinking deeply about them, even if we don’t yet have the answers.

5. Can you share examples of how performance coaching has helped improve team or organisational outcomes?

Let’s start with the top billers – people who are usually successful and earning great money – and then their billings start to plateau. That’s really common, and the higher you climb, the harder it is to continue growing. A strategy set at the beginning of someone’s career needs to change depending on where they sit now. As their success journey changes, so must the strategy. Many businesses miss that.

One-to-one work is key. Everyone’s journey is different, even for a million-pound biller.

I’m not someone who just talks about things – I execute. I’m a biller by background. Talking doesn’t change anything; action does. Coaching and mentoring someone live, side by side, is powerful. They know I know what I’m talking about, and they know I’m observing behaviours and actions – not just numbers. Seeing it with my own eyes allows us to adjust strategy effectively.

Helping managers perform is another big area. Lots of people want to be a manager without really understanding what it is. Management isn’t about telling people what to do; it’s about helping them make decisions for themselves.

Non-Executive Director Role

1. What motivated you to take on a Non-Executive Director role, and how does it differ from your previous roles?

I am bringing together all my experience – as a recruiter, a director, a business winner and rainmaker, and as a performance board-level coach for the last 10 years across many businesses. I’m bringing that to Stonehouse to help the business strategize and grow.

The key is setting the foundations right from the beginning. The beauty of working with Sohan is that we are growing a business with the right foundations and moving forward with key people. Getting the right people with the right attitudes, wants and desires makes growth so much easier.

2. What unique perspectives or skill sets do you bring as Stonehouse’s NED?

I am a recruiter. I’ve done the job – and I’ve done it well. Recruitment seems easy to people who have never done it. Many companies have board-level advisors who have never recruited and who focus mainly on numbers. If you get the right people in, the numbers sort themselves out.

I know what it takes. I know it’s about long-term relationships and digging deep. I know that after every bad day, two great days are around the corner. I’ve motivated teams directly, and I’ve managed teams across all markets internationally.

I work with businesses that have teams all over the world and are culturally different. I look beyond the data, and that’s what Sohan really values in me. I love being on a sales floor, the “mosh pit”, as I like to call it. That’s where I learn about our people and what’s really going on. That enables me to advise and lead a business based on real insight, not just spreadsheets.

3. What excites you most about your role at Stonehouse as our NED?

I am so excited about having a business with good foundations. We’ve made some key hires this year. It’s not all about having great recruitment consultants; it’s about having fundamental people across the whole business to strengthen those foundations. We’re doing that from the very beginning, whereas many companies do it backwards. That is really exciting.

We’re in a great market – recession-proof, which is rare. We’re in a beautiful little bubble. Working with people who are excited, committed, and genuinely care is fantastic. That’s why I’m excited about being on this journey.

Liz Flavell’s LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizflavell/

Liz Flavell Consultancy Ltd – https://www.linkedin.com/company/liz-flavell-consultancy-ltd/