From Barrister to Business Coach: A “Koru” Case Study of Personal Growth

From Barrister to Business Coach A Koru Case Study of Personal Growth

Yorkshire Barrister with Global Credentials

Hailing from Sheffield, reading law at Balliol College, Oxford, and completing Bar Finals at the Inns of Court School of Law, London, naturally developed in me a strong work ethic. A Criminal Barrister in Yorkshire for nearly 20 years, who indulged an adventurous spirit by working in New Zealand alongside Queens Counsel, and in Jamaica with Death Row attorneys, whilst still maintaining a busy, successful practice at home, I learnt by experience about determination and unconventionality. And a calling at the fresh-faced age of 22 to support others find their own voice began to shape my working life.

Whilst helping on Death Row cases in Kingston, Jamaica, the feeling of complete job satisfaction was hard to beat, dealing with the most compelling cases of injustice, and knowing that I was personally doing something useful to change other people’s lives for the better.  But back in the UK, in my own life, with the years of experience mounting, so came the specialism in Rape and Serious Sexual Offences. I was dealing with “heavy weight” cases, so on the face of it, great job and income – but no time or head space for anything else.

Action Planning

So, with the realization that my own inner voice was being silenced and my authenticity brought into conflict due to the dynamics of career and family, as a tenacious follower of principles, I set to work to overcome life’s immediate challenges by identifying where I wanted to go, the steps I’d need to get there, and an action plan to start.

In 2010 I undertook a 2-year Coaching Academy Course in Corporate and Executive Coaching whilst still in full time legal practice. In 2012, very shortly after I qualified with the highly-acclaimed Academy (and as a Neuro-Linguistic Practitioner), I went on to start a family.

Koru: Growth

3 children later, and that work ethic was still firing my belly. In 2016, I went on to start my own business in the health and wellness sector, working around the children whilst servicing a very successful retail business. But something was missing: Me, and the authentic call to support others to success by finding their own voice or path. So far from dream-catcher, I see myself now as dream maker.

Welcome to Nikki Alderson Coaching, where it is my absolute privilege to provide solution-focused business growth coaching for professionals navigating new challenges and change, supported by my own expertise, and personal experience in this area. It seems fitting therefore to adopt for my Coaching business the Maori symbol for an unfurling silver fern frond, “Koru”, signifying positive change, personal growth, a new phase in life. I look forward to working with you.

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