In 2010, I was sitting across from an ex-gang leader in the Kibera Slum.
He was tall man, full of energy, with a wiry build, and not someone you’d ever want to mess with. But just under the surface, I could see vulnerability—he had to be the toughest leader to survive. But also, he was fun, dynamic, charismatic. He had a swagger about him. And every second, I wondered: When is the switch going to flip? When is he going to react… badly.
I had just burnt out from my own corporate job, not really aware of my own trauma at that point.
But there I was volunteering to teach microfinance to gang leaders in the largest urban slum in Africa. I realized that, in order to teach microfinance, we had to deal with the trauma inside for them to be able to learn, and truly, sustainably, change.
You could tell when something came up for these men that was uncomfortable, and they didn’t have the capacity to stay with it—so the switch would flip to deflect. Frustration would flip into defensiveness, uncertainty would turn into aggression.
And when that happened, the learning ground to a halt.
What does this have to do with Gen X leaders?
More than you might think.
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From the outside, Gen X leaders often look like they have it all together. But on the inside, many struggle with a disconnect between:
Their values
Who they think they need to be
What they feel they must do to succeed
The result? Operating in survival mode: wearing masks, keeping their hearts armored, and performing leadership instead of living it.
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My clients are high-achievers with big hearts who are playing a big game:
Award-winning executive producers
Multimillion-dollar entrepreneurs
Top-tier academics
CEOs & VPs of billion-dollar organisations
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As Gen Xers, they share common childhood experiences that shaped how they lead today.
Self-reliance: Growing up without much support, they learned early that the safest person to rely on was themselves.
Living in their heads: Suppressing emotions made them capable, but also made vulnerability feel unsafe.
These survival strategies drove success - but they also sabotage leadership effectiveness, strain relationships, and create repeating cycles of burnout.
Why I’m passionate about this work:
Because we need smart people who can change the world… without burning out. And without feeling like you have to compromise yourself.
I’m here to support the larger legacy you want to leave and the larger work you want to do in the world.
And I believe you can only do that when you feel free to be your full self, to be vulnerable, to lead with passion, empathy, creativity and courage that leaves nothing on the table.
If this resonates with you, let’s have a deep conversation about it.
My Values
Creativity
I believe we are inherently creative beings with the impulse to self-actualize. But creativity has been educated out of us. We’ve been told that we are not creative, or that we “should” focus on more serious things. But we can’t have organizational innovation without individual creativity—and we can’t have individual creativity without psychological safety.
Today’s challenges require our individual creativity to solve. I believe art is one pathway to connect with our embodied wisdom, but it’s not the only way to create (far from it).
Connection
When we’re children, we detach from our authentic selves to be able to bond with our caregivers, creating a lifelong sense of disconnection from self. My work is about coming home to your true creative self. Which requires removing the armor and the masks.
Contribution
I believe we leave a legacy every time we interact with someone, with our thoughts, feelings and actions. It’s how you’re showing up, who you are being, and how you are being that matters.
A little more about me
I’ve worked in 8 different continents
I lived in the same neighborhood as Helena Bonham-Carter and ran into her (literally) in the shops
I used to drink a bottle of unoaked chard every night (I’ve been sober for 23 years)
I was 50 when I put the puzzle pieces together of my early childhood trauma—I dealt with it, and it changed my life
MA Transpersonal Arts in Therapy
Certified Innovation Coach
ELI Master Practitioner
Certified Energy Leadership Coach™
Over 1000 client hours
As a certified coach and arts-based counselor, I maintain the International Coaching Federation (ICF), British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) Code of Ethics.