Clients and Testimonials

I have worked with a range of clients, including in the cultural and charitable sectors. I work with clients on a 1-1 basis, including Executive and Leadership Coaching and Coaching for Positive Change. I also lead and facilitate my group coaching programme, Brilliant Transitions.

Here are some of my recent testimonials: 

When I started working with Kim, I’d just left a senior role. I was proud of my achievements at work, but the organisation had been a bad fit for me. I felt like I’d had to tie myself in knots trying to fit in with a culture that didn’t align with my values or ethos. In doing that, I’d lost all sense of who I was and what I wanted from my career. The experience at work had left me feeling exhausted, unvalued and in an almost constant state of anxiety. My confidence was on the floor and I felt lost. I had a new role but no belief in my ability to do the job. I wasn’t even sure it was the right job for me. I had no idea how to build a career and life that made me happy.

Kim was recommended to me by a friend and, after an initial meeting, I quickly decided to invest in coaching. Each session was tailored to help me solve the problems that were on my mind at the time, whilst also supporting me to think about my long-term future. Over the course of six sessions, we explored my values, motivations and the difference I want to make in the world. We also discussed tricky issues I was experiencing at work and talked through solutions. Through Kim’s challenging but gentle questioning, I gradually rediscovered myself, found my lost confidence and made exciting plans for the future. I feel reenergised and motivated to keep building a future that works for me and meets my needs. I’m getting better at quietening the voices in my head that tell me I’m not good enough. I’m excited to create a career that makes the most of my skills and abilities, and which aligns with my values.

I viewed the cost of coaching as a much-needed investment in me, to help me transition from an unhappy place where the future felt uncertain and confusing to a space where I feel confident and proud of who I am. I’m delighted I took the leap. I know Kim can help others go on a similar journey. I can’t recommend her highly enough.

L, Cultural Leader and Consultant

“I cannot recommend Kim highly enough.  I have just finished my 6 sessions on the Brilliant Transitions coaching programme with Kim, after reaching the point in my life/career where I didn’t know why, but nothing made sense anymore.   Kim is kind, and rigorous, she asked the right questions at the right time to help me come to terms with all the changes that had happened both to me and in me and to understand where I had come from, where I am now and what I might do in the future. I gained so many insights through our sessions, as well as my sense of purpose.  Invaluable”
AKF

“Following the opportunity to have some leadership coaching, I started the journey with Kim with the statement “I have so many walls built over my many years against coaching” . However over our sessions, I found the ability to dismantle these walls into single bricks to build new steps to a better work life balance, to empower my team and take more of a strategic leadership role! I could not have stepped back and revaluated life, work and the future without Kim’s guidance. Take the opportunity if presented and be honest and open and see what Kim can do for you.”

MW, Senior Leader, Cultural Sector

“I have been working with Kim as my coach for some months now and it has been so incredibly useful and helpful. Kim has been helping me through a career transition that has also meant reflecting upon transitions in other parts of my life. Changes of any kind are always hard and can make you feel very insecure, but having someone who can not only make you reflect on your own personal resources but also identify what works specifically for you in times of change and transition is one of the most valuable things ever.

Kim is amazing at creating a safe space where you can work on, reflect, wonder and develop at your own pace. She constantly picks up on those little nuances that highlights your concerns, focus-points or values and work with you on these to create positive reflection and development. I always feel really safe in her company, even when I’m trying to express for example a concern or an approach that I’m not sure what to do with. The best thing is that I always feel a new motivation after each coaching session. I feel I am moving forward, even during periods of insecurity.  Even though my journey has only just started, I have no doubt that starting these coaching sessions with Kim have been life changing already.”

Jane Nielsen, Museum and Heritage Interpreter

“Working with Kim quite literally changed my life. When we met I was midway through my career in a job that I had loved. But, I was exhausted and feeling completely out of control of my work / life balance.

From the very first session it felt as though a fog was lifting and for the first time in years I could see more clearly and make better decisions. The organisation I worked for was changing and so was I.  I made the tough decision that it was time for me to move on.   I found the confidence to leave and start my own business. It’s still early days but I’m happy and excited about the future.

Thank you Kim, I couldn’t have done it without you. For anyone thinking about coaching as a way of supporting you to make a change, it’s the best investment you’ll ever make.

Jennifer, Marketing Consultant

“I have found my coaching sessions with Kim hugely helpful and effective. These interactions have changed how I lead my team and how I manage my workload. At the start of our time working together, I had felt overwhelmed. Kim helped me organise my thoughts so that at the end of each session my brain felt more ordered and challenges felt achievable.

Kim is a staggering good listener. She can distil the key issues from a range of ideas, and draws on discussions from previous sessions (which I had since forgotten!) and relate these back to the bigger picture.Kim asks brilliant and insightful questions, which really get to the heart of the issue and make you think about something in a new way.

At the end of each session I came away with a number of achievable action points.Kim draws on her experience as a senior leader in a large organisation as well as leadership theory. She knows when to ask questions and when to suggest helpful tools or further reading. In the middle of a session, we undertook a short, focused exercise which enabled me to think about the issue in a new way. Working with Kim has not only improved my work life, but also my home life and, particularly, the balance between the two.”

NH, Senior Cultural Leader

“Kim’s Brilliant Transitions coaching programme was exactly what I needed at a time of huge change for me leaving a job of 10 years to work in a more senior role for a major organisation. From her amazing course and meeting the amazing cohort, I feel a changed person from the sessions. It has made me really recognise my foundations, my skills and that I can achieve more than I thought I could. It has given me more confidence and made a huge change to my belief in myself and how I can move forward in my career to a positive future.”

P Sexton, Creative Programme Manager, English Heritage 

“The Brilliant Transitions programme proved to be one of the most life-affirming and joyful things I have done in a long time. Reaching a point in my professional and personal life where I was struggling to move forward, this programme gave me unexpected insight into what motivates me and what holds me back. But more importantly it has given me an incredible toolkit for identifying and working through the challenges that life throws up and the confidence to focus on what is the right path for me.

Kim was brilliant [as Coach and Facilitator of the programme]. Focused and insightful, warm and genuine, but also clear-sighted and good at keeping us on task. Kim is a careful, insightful and warm facilitator who you can trust. To bring together a group of people, none of whom know each other, and create an open, safe space for sharing deeply held dreams and fears is no mean feat. She knows her stuff.”

Liz M, Curator and Writer (Brilliant Transitions  group participant)

“I was a bit apprehensive before starting the Brilliant Transitions programme, but from the word go, Kim put the group at ease, and clearly explained the journey we would all go on together with warmth and clarity. Kim’s ability to lead, listen and provide a space where real change can happen is paramount, and I would urge anyone who wants to make real changes in their lives to take the plunge and see where the ripples take you”

Karen Shannon, Manchester (Brilliant Transitions participant)

“Finding myself at a career crossroads, I embarked on the Brilliant Transitions programme with Kim Gowland. I found the sessions enabled me to reflect, clarify and refocus my thinking. It was incredibly powerful to share this journey with others as part of a group program. Kim is adaptable and insightful and is an enabler in provoking instrospection. I would fully recommend Kim.”

Lynn Podmore, Museum and Heritage Professional (Brilliant Transitions participant)

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“The Brilliant Transitions course not only gave me the strength and confidence to navigate my way through a difficult process with work, but also to develop my vision of my future career and challenge self-limiting beliefs holding me back. Definitely five stars!”

Dawn Yates, Senior Leader and Career Changer (Brilliant Transitions participant)

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The Brilliant Transitions coaching offered by Kim is the best investment in myself I’ve made in a long time.  As an experienced coach, Kim has helped me to find within myself the possibilities for change I knew I wanted but always seemed beyond my reach.  I didn’t even really know what was up, except that my life felt a bit ‘stuck’ and imbalanced.

Through a unique approach developed and led by Kim, combining group coaching and one-to-ones, the programme created that space in my life to reflect and evaluate my purpose.  Now I have the self-awareness I seem to have lost somewhere along the way, to be able to know myself much better, and to have the questions to ask when I get stuck.  I’ve also benefited from a new mini network of wonderful people who shared this journey with me and we continue to offer each other mutual support.

Kim is a trusted person who I know I will return to as I continue on my professional journey, and I look forward to the next opportunity to use her coaching services.

Morrigan Mason, Museums Development Manager, Carmarthenshire (Brilliant Transitions participant)

“Kim’s passion is developing individuals and teams. She built a great team at the Science and Industry Museum and has honed her coaching skills working with colleagues across the Science Museum Group. She is 100% committed to helping people achieve their best.”

Sally Macdonald, Director, Science and Industry Museum, Manchester

“I am delighted to provide a testimonial and recommendation for Kim. Kim was a great participant on our ILM Level 7 programme and is a coach who combines deep understanding of the coaching process with high level skills in Leadership Coaching. She is an associate of Lois Burton Ltd and I have great confidence and trust in her coaching. She brings all of her passion and energy to her coaching and I am very happy to recommend her”

Lois Burton, Leadership and Executive Coach, Accredited ILM Coach Trainer