COACHKYM.COM // ABOUT // EVERYTHING ABOUT YOUR COACH
COACH KYM // CAMBRIDGE OR LONDON DEPENDING ON THE DAY // UNITED KINGDOM
Right, as I was saying: I've spent two decades working with the world's most powerful brands.
By that I mean from the inside out, not staring through the glass hoping someone might buzz me in someday.
By that I mean from the inside out, not staring through the glass hoping someone might buzz me in someday.
That’s twenty years watching power move, shift, get owned, get juggled, and get woefully wasted by genuinely talented people who didn't know what they'd got til it'd gone.
That’s twenty years watching power move, shift, get owned, get juggled, and get woefully wasted by genuinely talented people who didn't know what they'd got til it'd gone.
And before that? Well, I was fired six times in four years as an employee (mostly for holding people to standards they hadn't agreed to be held to), and I’d dropped my biomedical science degree at University to chase my dreams as a professional dancer. My parents were thrilled to bits, as you can imagine.
And before that? Well, I was fired six times in four years as an employee (mostly for holding people to standards they hadn't agreed to be held to), and I’d dropped my biomedical science degree at University to chase my dreams as a professional dancer. My parents were thrilled to bits, as you can imagine.
Anyway, the dance thing worked out pretty well, and it was during my time as a mover and shaker that I began working with big brands. By the ripe old age of 30, my body said to me, “Yo, we’re done here”, and I continued working with brands in a consulting capacity. I also managed to build a “successful on paper” award-winning creative agency that I ended up hating and burned to the ground (I really should have just sold the damn thing) and that's when something hit me.
Anyway, the dance thing worked out pretty well, and it was during my time as a mover and shaker that I began working with big brands. By the ripe old age of 30, my body said to me, “Yo, we’re done here”, and I continued working with brands in a consulting capacity. I also managed to build a “successful on paper” award-winning creative agency that I ended up hating and burned to the ground (I really should have just sold the damn thing) and that's when something hit me.
I began to notice this repeating pattern...
Every time, it was the same: when I focused inward and listened to my instincts instead of the "rules", cool shit happened.
Every time, it was the same: when I focused inward and listened to my instincts instead of the "rules", cool shit happened.
I built an entire career in the entertainment industry without any formal dance training. I launched a creative communications agency from my kitchen table, advising entire marketing departments and MBA holders after learning marketing in the wild.
I built an entire career in the entertainment industry without any formal dance training. I launched a creative communications agency from my kitchen table, advising entire marketing departments and MBA holders after learning marketing in the wild.
I’d consistently achieved things that weren’t typical for people like me, and I was holding positions of power. Which was bonkers considering my distinct lack of official accreditation. I also knew I’d been able to do this because I intentionally coloured outside the lines. I was genuinely turning left when everyone else was marching to the right. And it wasn't about rebelling for the sake of it or being the cool kid; it was about putting myself in a secure enough position to pour away the industry Kool-Aid so I could think strategically about how each executive or business owner I came into contact with could raise their standards.
I’d consistently achieved things that weren’t typical for people like me, and I was holding positions of power. Which was bonkers considering my distinct lack of official accreditation. I also knew I’d been able to do this because I intentionally coloured outside the lines. I was genuinely turning left when everyone else was marching to the right. And it wasn't about rebelling for the sake of it or being the cool kid; it was about putting myself in a secure enough position to pour away the industry Kool-Aid so I could think strategically about how each executive or business owner I came into contact with could raise their standards.
And I knew there were others just like me.
Others capable of similar or better outcomes than me. Others ready to try doing things differently so they can use their expertise and feel more fulfilled in doing so. But I also knew they weren't doing the things. They struggled because in order to turn left they need to get really good at recognising the big ol' bounty they bring to the table. And often they’ve been shut down by the "people in power" before they’ve even got out of the gate.
Others capable of similar or better outcomes than me. Others ready to try doing things differently so they can use their expertise and feel more fulfilled in doing so. But I also knew they weren't doing the things. They struggled because in order to turn left they need to get really good at recognising the big ol' bounty they bring to the table. And often they’ve been shut down by the "people in power" before they’ve even got out of the gate.
I knew the smartest people in the business were rarely the loudest or most visible or the most obvious. I knew the most competent weren't always the most rewarded. I knew the ones doing the actual stabilising, the ones who actually moved things forward and the ones doing the firefighting and usually saving the day, often weren't the ones being credited for it.
I knew the smartest people in the business were rarely the loudest or most visible or the most obvious. I knew the most competent weren't always the most rewarded. I knew the ones doing the actual stabilising, the ones who actually moved things forward and the ones doing the firefighting and usually saving the day, often weren't the ones being credited for it.
These incredible humans are achieving a fraction of what we know they’re really capable of.
Because the power dynamics at play in their professional environments keep them neatly in their box.
Because the power dynamics at play in their professional environments keep them neatly in their box.
And as someone with an innate sense of justice, this was a hella difficult watch.
And as someone with an innate sense of justice, this was a hella difficult watch.
So I hunkered down and built the system I wished had existed to galvanise my thoughts and validate my feelings about going against the grain. It needed to be a rigorous, ethical framework that gets actual specialists properly positioned as the Power Player in their profession, instead of bypassed by the decision-makers.
So I hunkered down and built the system I wished had existed to galvanise my thoughts and validate my feelings about going against the grain. It needed to be a rigorous, ethical framework that gets actual specialists properly positioned as the Power Player in their profession, instead of bypassed by the decision-makers.
I guess it's kinda like having a chef in your kitchen. I help you combine ingredients you've had available to you for a decade into a single dish everyone in your industry can taste, and finally understand what you've had cooking all along.
I guess it's kinda like having a chef in your kitchen. I help you combine ingredients you've had available to you for a decade into a single dish everyone in your industry can taste, and finally understand what you've had cooking all along.
By this point, you're in a place where it doesn't matter whether Brenda in HR renews your contract, because there's a waiting list of people who'll pay for your brain and it's as long as your arm. So far it takes about a year. We don't rush it, because by the end it needs to feel like second nature rather than a personality transplant.
By this point, you're in a place where it doesn't matter whether Brenda in HR renews your contract, because there's a waiting list of people who'll pay for your brain and it's as long as your arm. So far it takes about a year. We don't rush it, because by the end it needs to feel like second nature rather than a personality transplant.
So, that's how we got here. My entire focus is on installing this framework for my private clients so they can consolidate their position and swerve the drama (and the fanaticism and the politics) by staying focused on the purpose: power in the right hands, used properly, for the greater good.
So, that's how we got here. My entire focus is on installing this framework for my private clients so they can consolidate their position and swerve the drama (and the fanaticism and the politics) by staying focused on the purpose: power in the right hands, used properly, for the greater good.
That way, everyone’s a winner.
That way, everyone’s a winner.
That way, everyone’s a winner.
There’s more of my Philosophy over here…
ABOUT // 002 // COACH KYM SAYS
Nope, I can't just coach you to be "a bit more confident".
Nope, I can't just coach you to be "a bit more confident".
Confidence is the cookie you get for making a decision AND making the associated move.
Confidence is the cookie you get for making a decision AND making the associated move.
The deciding part is yours. I'll help you think it through and pick the right move in the moment, but the shifting bit is on you. You can't just cross your fingers and hope for the best.
The deciding part is yours. I'll help you think it through and pick the right move in the moment, but the shifting bit is on you. You can't just cross your fingers and hope for the best.
There are no cookies for the undecided. Not even courtesy ones. Because courtesy cookies are the worst.
There are no cookies for the undecided. Not even courtesy ones. Because courtesy cookies are the worst.
So choose and go and learn and choose again, dammit.
So choose and go and learn and choose again, dammit.
Then get all the cookies.
Then get all the cookies.
Auntie Coach Kym has opinions about coaching and your development. Several, in fact. They're over here.
Auntie Coach Kym has opinions about coaching and your development. Several, in fact. They're over here.
Auntie Coach Kym has opinions about coaching and your development. Several, in fact. They're over here.
ABOUT // 003 // BEGIN WITH COACH KYM
Not sure where to begin?
Here's good:
Here's good:
The best way to start working with me is to run a Power Analysis.
It's three intensive private sessions where we dig into where you've been and where you want to go. Then I turn what we uncover into your Power Position, including my recommended route from here.
What you pay is credited in full if we carry on into Coaching or Advisory within 90 days.
ABOUT // 003 // BEGIN WITH COACH KYM
Not sure where to begin?
Here's good:
Here's good:
The best way to start working with me is to run a Power Analysis.
It's three intensive private sessions where we dig into where you've been and where you want to go. Then I turn what we uncover into your Power Position, including my recommended route from here.
What you pay is credited in full if we carry on into Coaching or Advisory within 90 days.