So my story begins with me studying History at University College London (UCL), which I absolutely loved. But I then fell into a well-paid graduate job at PwC which didn’t feel right at all. I decided to quit in the middle of a recession to find more meaningful work in the field of research, politics or journalism.

 

After two unpaid internships and a Masters in International Relations at Oxford University, I broke into the think tank world and spent nearly five years at the UK Institute for Government, an independent charity with a mission to make government more effective. Here I ran leadership programmes for ministers, led research on making public services work better and advised civil servants on driving change in government.

 

My time at the Institute for Government was a real period of growth and self-discovery. I realised that I loved uncovering insights about the way people and organisations work. I realised that I loved designing and facilitating workshops to help people solve challenging problems. I realised I loved mentoring people and helping them find their ‘fit’ in the workplace.

 

During this time I found myself constantly indulging in anything to do with personal growth, psychology and authenticity. Gradually, this interest began to turn into something more. I realised that in the process of doing all the things 20-somethings do – moving up the career ladder, going to weddings and getting a mortgage, I had lost touch with what I really wanted.

Around this time, my husband and I spent three months working and travelling in New Zealand where I was seconded to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. We re-connected with all the things we loved and all the things we never made time for in London. It was then that I came across a simple, but powerful exercise that made me realise that what you want is not “out there”, but inside yourself waiting to be discovered.

All it came down to was two questions:

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• Who and what lights me up?

• Who and what dims my light?

Simple as that. Two lists.

Too much of what I did fell into the latter. The more I paid attention, the more I saw that there were in fact people and activities that filled me with energy, but they were crowded out by everything else. So I made a commitment to be more intentional about how I spent my time – listening to my gut and following the feeling.

I discovered one of the activities that could totally engross me was talking to friends and colleagues about their careers, passions and motivations. I had been doing this for years without realising it could be a profession. I decided I wanted to become a coach to help people on a similar journey of self-discovery so that they could live and work more authentically.

 

Soon after I returned to London, I wanted to explore coaching, but didn’t want to leave my career in policy. I was torn; until I came across the concept of a multipotentialite - someone with many interests and creative pursuits. That was me. I was someone with a strong desire to learn, grow and challenge myself and, at this point in time, coaching would provide that outlet. It didn’t have to be an either/or choice.

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So I completed a Coaching Foundation Programme with The Coaching School in London, while working full-time in my existing role. During this time, my husband and I got the opportunity to move back across the world. I now run a coaching practice – my passion project - on the side of my job in the New Zealand government. I am both a coach and a principal policy adviser, which allows me to express the many different sides of me and, most importantly, grow.