I often ask the people I coach, “What brings you joy?” . It’ seems a simple question, but it's deceptively complex because it invites us to pause, dig deep, and reconnect with what truly matters. Given how often I ask it, it’s only fair I answer it myself!

What brings me joy?

I can now say, without hesitation, that it’s helping others reconnect with their inner strength, rediscover their purpose, and find joy within themselves, so they can stop merely surviving and start loving all aspects of their lives. (Well...that's aside from my two gorgeous daughters and three very cute

fur-babies!).

But I couldn’t always answer that question so clearly. There’s a story behind how I got here.

I’ve been an organisational psychologist and leadership coach for over two decades, having trained and begun my career in South Africa. During that time, I’ve worked as a management consultant across diverse industries, supporting executive teams, facilitating leadership development, and guiding large-scale transformation programs. At various points in my career, I partnered with major consulting firms, including Deloitte, Randstad, and Hudson as an Associate, deepening my understanding of diverse methodologies and organisational systems. I also spent a combined 18 years in senior roles within two boutique consultancies, where I led organisational development initiatives, conducted psychometric assessments for executive and safety-critical roles, and supported complex change and culture programs. It all sounds very glamorous!

But my professional story can’t be told without the personal one.

Despite having an established career, home and a new baby, growing uncertainty and exposure to crime led to the difficult decision to emigrate from South Africa and start over on the other side of the world. Rebuilding a life and career from the ground up while raising a young family was tough. Proving myself, re-learning the ropes, and finding my place in a completely new professional world took time...and more than a few tears!

For years I juggled deadlines and daycare runs, regularly running from boardrooms and airports straight into bedtime routines. I would wake up exhausted, only to lie awake again at night, mind racing - planning how I’d hit the next deadline, pack lunches, prep meals for the week, and still make it to the school play. I was the Chief Everything Officer of my life! I was 'doing it all' and my life looked a success, but most of the time I was exhausted and worrying that my kids weren't getting enough of their mum.

In my work with leaders and professionals, I began to see familiar patterns. Many highly capable people seemed to be managing it all, but underneath the surface they felt overwhelmed, disconnected, and aware that something was missing. I recognised their struggle because it was mine too. I worked harder - doing more, achieving more, being more! But I just felt more tired, more depressed. And the leaders I coached? I was helping them perform better, but not necessarily feel and live better.

That's when I realised we'd been taught how to achieve, but not how to stay connected to what matters most to us. We know how to work hard, solve problems, and take responsibility. What many of us never learn, is how to enjoy the life we're working so hard to create. That insight changed everything for me. I immersed myself in the neuroscience and psychology of human behaviour, motivation, resilience, and sustainable change, trying to understand why so many capable, successful people find themselves feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or unfulfilled despite achieving the things they thought would make them happy. More than strategies, I discovered a different way of being. I realised it wasn't about pushing harder, achieving more, or trying to become someone else. It was about understanding myself more deeply, getting clear on what truly matters, honouring my limits, and building habits that supported the life I wanted to create. Over time, I stopped trying to be everything to everyone and started focusing on showing up in a way that felt more purposeful, and more aligned with who I really am. You could say I resigned form my role as Chief Everything Officer and chose to become a Chief Life Liver instead 😂!

That shift brought new clarity - and even more change.

I realised that obsessing over scope, billable hours, and business development was sucking the life out of me. I get it - those things have their place. But for me, real value comes from the trust I build, the growth I witness, and the meaningful change I can support in others. And with that clarity, the question of what energises me - what brings me joy - became incredibly easy to answer.

That’s why I established WorkPsych Coaching and shifted my focus from developing professionals and leaders at work, to coaching other Chief Everything Officers in creating lives that feel more purposeful, fulfilling, and rewarding. Because what I learned in spite of all the changes I lived thorugh, is that thriving in life doesn't come from changing your career or walking away from your responsibilities. It comes from reconnecting with what matters most, making intentional choices, and finding joy in the life you keep working to build.

Helping others learn this way of being has become my coaching mission, and it's a responsibility I take seriously. I believe that when people live as the most aligned version of themselves, they naturally lift others up, share their unique gifts, and create a ripple effect that extends far beyond them to their families, teams, organisations, and communities.

So, what’s my story?

It’s hardly heroic - I haven't overcome impossible odds or scaled a mountain. Instead, it's been a journey of learning to find joy in the everyday, being fully present in moments of beauty, and finding peace and gratitude in all of life's messy, chaotic, and even mundane cycles. In many ways, it's been a journey of coming home to myself. And now it is about helping leaders fall in love with their own story, to come home to themselves, and reconnect with the parts of themselves that have been lost, forgotten, or buried beneath the pressure, expectations, and responsibilities of the full lives they have created.