When I started my coaching career, my biggest ambition was to quickly begin working for corporate clients. My image of success was to deliver world class leadership training, for big organizations, in big hotel conference rooms of worldly cities. Well, I have been fortunate to experience many of these moments over the years, and it has always been a pleasure to support people of all nationalities to grow as leaders. But after a sabbatical period some years ago, I decided to explore new possibilities.
I find myself on a beautiful sunny day in June 2018 in the mountains of Slovenia, preparing to host a retreat for a group of women. To welcome their arrival, I am creating flower arrangements with wildflowers I selected from the meadow that morning. Stunning mountains surround me. I feel joyful, complete, in ‘flow’; I have never felt as creative and alive in my work as in this moment. I ask myself, “what is making me so happy right now?” and “what would it be like to bring more creativity and nature to my work from now, onwards?”
Asking these typical coaching questions allowed me to free myself from a particular cage, the one I had created with my own unconscious definition of success, influenced by my history and my culture. The memory of this moment - that I know will always stay with me - reminds me to never neglect the whispers of my soul.
Questioning the rules and beliefs we create for ourselves and those imposed upon us by our environments are central to our personal journeys of inquiry and reclamation. I approach coaching with a great deal of respect and loving curiosity, integrated with my own personal quest for deeper connection. The question, “what are you giving (or not giving) yourself permission to do, say, feel, or be?” is central in my work to support women in locating and revealing unique parts of their being.
Ultimately, I envision a world where everyone is free to embrace life in all its richness—its beauty, joy, and pain. To reach this point, we need a slower pace—one that allows us to care more for each other and the natural world.
Before coaching entered my life, I worked for almost 20 years in various senior sales and marketing management positions at Philips, first in Spain and afterwards at their headquarters in the Netherlands.
My lengthy corporate experience in two very different countries and cultures - in combination with 12+ years of coaching individuals and training leaders and teams - has given me a unique perspective which I bring to all my client work; I am able to identify deeply with the daily stress and challenges of colleagues of all kinds of organizations, especially women professionals.
As a result of my personal soul searching journey, I am very passionate about my coaching work with women. I also remain a committed faculty member at both THNK in Amsterdam and CTI in California (as a trainer in their coaching certification program). I am also a co-founder of Moving your Soul: another way to be with Alzheimers, a project that was born from the profound experiences I had with my mother and the nursing home environment in which she lived the last seven years of her life.
I was born in Spain and am now based in The Netherlands, where I live with my husband. When I am not working, I enjoy walking in the forest, reading, singing, and experiencing the beauty life has to offer in its many forms.
Credentials
I am a professionally Certified Coach (PCC) by both ICF and CTI. I am also certified in MBTI I & II and in the 360 assessment tool by TLCP. I have trained in Voice Dialogue with Robert Stamboliev; Presence Based Coaching with Doug Silsbee; Leadership Embodiment with Wendy Palmer; Relationships and Systems Coaching by CRR; and Leadership by CTI.