Coaching, Mentoring & Leadership Counsel
"Martin is an exceptional life coach who truly listens. He has an innate talent for encouraging deep self-reflection, offering personalized and attentive support. Working with Martin is a pleasant and enriching experience. By sharing our life issues with him, we benefit from support that truly helps to reveal and cultivate the best in ourselves. Through his empathetic and insightful approach, Martin helps us overcome our obstacles and progress towards a more fulfilled version of ourselves."
- Amar, Senior Manager, Nantes - France
Meet the Team
Co-Founder
Marc Mercer
Marc’s life has spanned several geographies, industries and organisations. Throughout it all, he has been in the eye of the storm with close exposure to leaders and the trials and tribulations that come with trying succeed in complex and highly political environments.
His exposure to leadership gave him a front row view to the support systems that are the lifeblood or downfall of leaders and the ripple effect of leadership on the people, systems and culture around them. With time and experience he found himself in the position of counsellor, mediator and negotiator, supporting leaders and those around them to execute on their strategic agendas.
In 2024, he left his last corporate role and founded Absolute Forward with Martin Arnold to spend more time supporting leaders and those around them on the path to high performance and success. His clients include CEOs, start-up founders and private families, among others.
Co-Founder
Martin Arnold
From playing team sports in France to becoming a tech professional and social worker, he's always been driven by one thing: helping others unlock their potential. Martin's journey wasn't a straight line – he juggled being a semi-pro athlete while working with youth centers, where he discovered his love for understanding what makes people tick and how to support them through challenges.
After diving into the corporate tech world, he kept finding himself being the go-to person for colleagues seeking guidance or just needing someone to really listen. This mix of experiences – from sports fields to social work to tech leadership – led him to create Absolute Forward in 2024. Think of it as your personal growth lab, where he combines the strategy of sports, the empathy of social work, and the problem-solving mindset of tech to help you navigate your path. Whether you're starting your career, facing big decisions, or just trying to figure out your next move, Martin brings a fresh, pressure-free approach to help you level up in your own way, at your own pace.
Our Clients
Frequently asked questions
Coaching is a collaborative and action-oriented process designed to help individuals clarify their goals, identify obstacles, and create strategies to achieve their desired outcomes in various areas of life. Unlike therapy, which often focuses on healing past wounds or addressing mental health concerns, life coaching is forward-focused and emphasizes personal and professional development.
Key aspects of life coaching include:
Goal setting
Action Planning
Accountability
Support and encouragement
Skill Building
Discovery and exploration
Empowerment
Mentoring is a dynamic and collaborative relationship between someone with significant life and professional experience (the mentor) and someone at a less-experienced stage of life with the objective of supporting the mentee’s personal and professional development.
Unlike coaching, which typically focuses on specific goals and skills, mentoring tends to be more holistic and long-term, emphasizing guidance, advice, and wisdom gained through the mentor's own experiences.
Key aspects of mentoring include:
Knowledge sharing
Career development
Personal growth
Networking
Role Modelling
Feedback and support
Empowerment
We blend coaching and mentoring approaches to provide comprehensive support for your growth journey. While our coaching techniques help you uncover your own wisdom and solutions through powerful questioning and self-reflection, our mentoring perspective offers valuable insights from our extensive corporate and social work experience. This combined approach is fluid and tailored to your needs – sometimes drawing out your own solutions, other times sharing relevant experiences and tested strategies – ensuring you receive the most effective support for your unique situation.
The coach commits to uphold the ethical standards set by the Association for Coaching, while the client is responsible for their own well-being and decisions throughout the coaching process.
The client understands that coaching is distinct from therapy and does not diagnose or treat any medical conditions. It is a comprehensive approach that may touch on various life aspects, such as work and relationships, but the client retains full responsibility for implementing coaching insights.
The client acknowledges the right to end the coaching relationship at any time and is advised to seek professional advice for issues beyond the coach's scope.
If under mental health care, the client should inform their Coach.
The Client understands that in order to enhance the coaching relationship, the Client agrees to communicate honestly, be open to feedback and assistance and to create the time and energy to participate fully in the program.
We offer three types of sessions for individual clients: 60 minutes, 90 minutes or 20 minute check-ins available upon completion of a first 60 or 90 minute session.