About Karen

From the City to Leadership Development

I began my career in banking, where it took me a couple of years to realise that I wasn't really cut out to be a banker! But I loved the energy and excitement of the City of London, and soon found my way into a successful training company specialising in the financial sector.

Over the following years, I worked with financial institutions around the world, often in the high-pressure environment of trading rooms, helping professionals develop their skills in communication, influencing and leadership.

My work gradually expanded into broader leadership development, taking me into major corporations, professional services firms and public sector organisations across Europe, Africa and South East Asia.

I eventually returned to Barclays to support a major merger. It was during this period that I became increasingly fascinated by a question that has shaped much of my subsequent career: why do some people embrace change and learn from experience, while others remain trapped in familiar ways of thinking and behaving?

That question led me to undertake a PhD exploring how leaders learn and adapt during organisational upheaval.

Understanding What Holds Us Back

For my doctoral research, I worked with two very different organisations: a nuclear energy consultancy employing highly qualified physicists, and a logistics company whose senior managers had largely left formal education at 18.

What fascinated me was that, despite their very different educational backgrounds, the leaders encountered remarkably similar psychological barriers to learning and change.

It became clear to me that educational qualifications and professional expertise don't necessarily make us more self-aware or better able to question our assumptions.

We all develop habitual ways of thinking, beliefs about ourselves and strategies for dealing with difficult situations. Some serve us well. Others can quietly limit our effectiveness, our relationships and our capacity to grow.

These insights became the foundation of my first book, Leadership Blindspots and What to Do About Them, and continue to influence my coaching today.

Bringing Ethics and Humanity into Leadership

The next chapter of my career took me into academia, when the University of Winchester established a new Business School with a strong commitment to responsible management and sustainable development.

It was an opportunity to bring together my interests in leadership, psychology and ethics.

I established and led the Centre for Responsible Management, taught business ethics and responsible leadership, and developed and led the Doctorate of Business Administration programme.

During these years, I became increasingly interested in what it means to be not simply an effective leader, but a good one.

How do we balance organisational performance with compassion? How do we exercise authority without losing our humanity? And how can we remain true to our values when organisational pressures pull us in other directions?

These questions informed my second book, Leading with Love, which explores the role of love, compassion and responsibility in leadership.

A More Personal Journey

In 2018, a profound personal experience prompted me to reconsider many of my assumptions about life and what really matters.

I began exploring different spiritual and philosophical traditions, travelling, studying and deepening my meditation practice.

This journey has enriched my understanding of the human psyche and strengthened my conviction that genuine growth begins with self-awareness - with becoming conscious of the beliefs, fears and habitual reactions that shape our lives.

It has also taught me something about the importance of intellectual humility, compassion and accepting ourselves as we are, even as we seek to change.

Where I Am Today

Today, my leadership coaching brings together these different strands of my life: practical experience of organisational challenges, academic research, psychological insight and a deep interest in human development.

I offer a combination of careful listening, constructive challenge, fresh perspectives and practical advice. My aim is not to tell people how they should lead, but to help them understand themselves more deeply, recognise what may be holding them back and develop the confidence and freedom to make their own choices.

Alongside my coaching, I coordinate Conscious Café Basingstoke, bringing people together to explore questions of personal growth, relationships and living more consciously. I also volunteer as a mentor to young people.

Although my professional work now focuses on leadership coaching, my underlying motivation remains much the same as it has throughout my career: helping people become more fully themselves and make a positive difference in the world.