Discover the positive power of life coaching - Katrina Skinner

One thing the pandemic allowed me to discover was around the power of coaching, how it could positively transform my life and create time for me to do the things I love. And now I get to help others achieve the same.
Katrina Skinner, Programme Manager at Tesco Bank, an Advanced Accredited Transformation Life Coach, and co-founder of Inspire EdinburghKatrina Skinner, Programme Manager at Tesco Bank, an Advanced Accredited Transformation Life Coach, and co-founder of Inspire Edinburgh
Katrina Skinner, Programme Manager at Tesco Bank, an Advanced Accredited Transformation Life Coach, and co-founder of Inspire Edinburgh

I’ve always worked in the financial services industry and climbed the career ladder into senior leadership roles in Edinburgh and London. I started my career at Scottish Equitable (which became Aegon UK) in 1995 before going on to work at Sainsbury’s Bank, Lloyds Banking Group and Tesco Bank.

I’ve had incredible opportunities to work with some great leaders, directors and senior executives, and consider it a privilege to have learned a huge amount from these individuals. It has served me well in all areas of my life, but I also saw first-hand how pressured, challenging and fast-paced this industry can be.

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For me, when you throw into the mix the added pressures of home life, being a mum, wife, daughter, friend, trying to keep fit (the list goes on) can get tough. People who know me saw balancing all of this as some kind of superpower of mine. Even today, hardly a week goes past when someone doesn’t ask me how I manage to do it all.

The lines between work and home life can become blurred.The lines between work and home life can become blurred.
The lines between work and home life can become blurred.

My own life experience led me to take up life coaching and I am now a life transformation coach to other women. When the pandemic hit, although life in general slowed down, we faced something unexpected – the work challenges exacerbated and the lines between work and home life became more blurred.

To the outside world I may have seemed the same, but on the inside I didn’t feel great. After chatting to a friend who had a life coach, I decided I would give it a try. Quite simply, from that point my life was transformed.

I realised so much about myself - not least that my ‘superpower’ label wasn’t a strength – it was my weakness. I did a lot of inner work and reset. I learnt how to identify and manage what might otherwise have been overwhelming, learnt that it was ok to say no and set healthy boundaries across all areas of my life.

There was then no doubt in my mind that I wanted to do the same and help as many women like me as I could. So mid-pandemic, working in my financial services role, and being a mum, I decided to train to become an advanced accredited transformation life coach.

I have since worked with women in the corporate world and women who have set up their own business to successfully help them reset, manage the overwhelming parts of their existence, and create time in their lives so they can feel the best they ever have.

During the pandemic, I also enjoyed doing the ‘Mindful Monday’ sessions on Forth 1 radio to help listeners keep as positive a mindset as possible. I’m also co-founder of Inspire Edinburgh which is a Facebook group positioned to create a positive mindset shift for our members while supporting local lifestyle businesses – increasingly important as we start to emerge from pandemic times.

Katrina Skinner, Programme Manager at Tesco Bank, an Advanced Accredited Transformation Life Coach, and co-founder of Inspire Edinburgh

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