A new coaching purpose shaped by lived experience

Shaping a new purpose through lived experience

I found myself in coaching due to very personal reasons. I have spent the last 20 years navigating many extreme challenges, some of which were to do with own my health and some within my career, the latest being a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2021.

As a wife and a mum of three, I have had to learn how to navigate personal and professional challenges and the demands of family life. I have also supported my husband in his senior leadership role for over 25 years. I’ve felt the pressure that leadership creates within my own corporate career, the health struggles that come when you keep pushing through and the weight of trying to hold it all together.

I have also observed how multigenerational tensions, at home and at work, can quietly build for months and affect everything: trust, communication and relationships. I’ve lived those months even years, where pressure can turn into silent burnout. But I also know the other side, when clarity, confidence, and self-trust returns. When relationships deepen, performance strengthens, and life finally feels aligned again. 

What I learned, is that surviving isn’t the same as leading. When we’re constantly reacting, we lose clarity, self-trust, and connection both at work and at home. I realised there had to be a better way, one that allowed me, and others like me, to lead without losing ourselves in the process.

By rebuilding self-trust, re-aligning with my values and creating sustainable strategies, this helped me stop surviving and start leading, at work and at home

I knew that with real lived life experiences I could make a difference.

Discovering The Coaching Academy and building credibility

Over the years in my own career I started to notice that the landscape of corporate pharma and medical devices where I had worked for many years was changing, especially here in Northern Ireland where it was becoming non-existent.

I knew I had to make changes in my own career and what better way to do this than to use all the experiences, lessons and reflections that I have learnt throughout both my personal and professional life to reinvent myself and become a life coach to help  leaders manage multigenerational teams without overload, conflict or disengagement, even under pressure at work and home

I knew I needed to formalise my experience in some way and discovered The Coaching Academy. I was drawn to their global success, structured training with practical experiences, the high standard of ethical practice they command from their students and the future of coaching. I wanted this credibility to help me move forward. I registered onto their free Introduction to Life Coaching  webinar and felt it was an instant match, I loved the positive and welcoming environment, it all made sense.

I decided to pursue both the Professional Life Coaching Diploma and the Corporate and Executive Coaching Programme to also build upon my NHS and corporate career experiences. The corporate angle is also important to me as I had a corporate career and like many had to navigate difficult situations. When life is hard, we still need to understand how to show up in work and at home.

The training with The Coaching Academy gave me the opportunity to learn more about myself and my own relationships. The courses were both well-structured and all the trainers were incredibly engaging. Yes, at times I was pushed out of my comfort zone, but I learned so much and had fun along the way. I have made some good friends along this journey who I hope to continue to have in my life.

Working with leaders balancing work and family life

One of my first steps into the coaching world was co-founding WeAreNextStep. Although the business didn’t continue long-term, the experience played a key role in my development as it helped me gain clarity on my direction, my voice, and the kind of coaching practice I wanted to build. 

I founded Karyn Maguire Coaching in 2025 and I now work with high performing parents in their 40s who are juggling the demands of leading multigenerational teams and coping with family life often with no space to breathe.  The clients I work with are driven, ambitious individuals who have mastered the art of "powering through" but find themselves feeling overwhelmed, disconnected and unsure of their next steps.

Through personalised coaching I help them to rebuild self-trust and confidence in their decisions. This helps them leverage diverse perspectives, create psychological safety across their team, create sustainable strategies to balance work and family life and set clear goals everyone buys into and improve collaboration and accountability.

Looking ahead and building support for leaders and teams

Due to my own lived experiences and what I learned at the Coaching Academy I can appreciate the role that coaching plays both within the personal and corporate setting. It had been a real eye opener for me as I progressed through the corporate and executive programme, how challenging it has become for leaders, managers and employees within this environment. What is sad is the lack of awareness and understanding some individuals have of human needs and interaction from the top down within the corporate setting.

To date I have been very fortunate to have been given the opportunity to work with several high performing leaders in Europe and plan to continue to build my business.  The one lesson I am learning is when you make the decision to pursue your goals the world can be your oyster. 

Thank you Karyn for sharing how your lived experience and training with The Coaching Academy shaped your coaching journey.