Karen White

Karen worked in a blue chip corporate environment for 20 years, ultimately as a senior manager, before becoming a coach. She has an excellent grasp of organizational dynamics, strategic imperatives, and the challenges and opportunities present in the corporate world.

She is a certified Integral coach and based on qualification and experience has satisfied the stringent conditions of the International Coaching Federation and is a certified Professional Certified Coach (PCC).

For the past six years Karen has coached leaders of global companies at Executive and Senior management level in a cross section of functions. She also works with coaches who are completing their Professional Coaching qualification, and has sat on the panel for certification for four years.

She teaches and coaches Leadership Embodiment, which focuses on how to accomplish change in a way that is sustainable, powerful and inclusive.

Facilitation work and experience

She designs and facilitates workshops focused on team and leadership development to effect results. Examples of workshops she has designed include building trust, team effectiveness through powerful conversation, developing dialogue skill, and working skilfully with rank and power.

Coaching Philosophy and Approach

She is an Integral Coach and focuses on building long-term excellent competence that is observable to the person being coached and others, and impacts results. A key component of Integral Coaching involves building self-awareness and greater capacity so that the person is able to observe him or herself, and be self-correcting and self-generating over time, and in different contexts. Clear outcomes are agreed at the beginning of the coaching and coaching occurs through conversation and practices that build new skills and habits. She is flexible in her approach and draws from various disciplines and resources. At the same time she has a rigorous methodology that informs and grounds her coaching.

Educational Background

She is a certified Integral Coach and based on qualification and experience has satisfied the stringent conditions of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and is a certified PCC.

Key Qualifications

Professional Coaching Course (GSB/Centre for Coaching/NVW)
Associate Coaching course (GSB/Centre for Coaching/NVW)
Coaching to excellence (GSB/Centre for Coaching/NVW)
Institute People Management (IPM) Diploma
Strategic Human Resource Management (Graduate School of Business)
Facilitating Learning - Meta Practitioner (Transformational Consulting Services)
Advanced Process Skills - Transformation Management (Radford Glaser & Associates)
Leadership for Collective Action and Learning
Enneagram Adfen-E accredited user

What some of her clients have said:

"Thank-you, so very much, for enabling both myself and our business to see possibilities that we could not see before we met. Your knowledge, professionalism and compassion enabled our business leaders, in eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa, to see the challenges they face with a new lens. Your work with us as an executive coach and facilitator of strategic workshops has enabled our Division to increase the value we add to all stakeholders in our business."
Hylton Bannon, General Manager, Toyota

"It was an incredible life-changing journey where I was guided to understand myself better. Through your coaching I have been able to challenge my belief systems, shift my behaviour and create opportunities to change the way I was limiting or trapping myself. It is an ongoing journey, but a greater awareness has been created and I find myself shifting between 'participant & observer' in a far for balanced life."
Melanie Kylie, HR Manager, Foschini Group

"I have had the good fortune of working with Karen in a coaching relationship for an extended period. Words that come to mind when reflecting on what she offers are: direct, courageous, nurturing, supportive, insightful. Karen does not hide from presenting the truth as she sees it. This is done without judgement and when appropriate with a lightness that encourages me to move forward. I would recommend her highly."
Peter Wormsley, Coach