Who knew that the diverse experiences I’ve had over the past twenty years—ranging from leading adolescents on month-long backpacking trips to earning an MBA focused on sustainable management to leading brand strategy for a creative agency working with multinational corporations, global NGOs, and emerging startups—would lead me on the path to Within.

But looking back, it is clear to see that what unites all of these experiences is the power of people focused on a shared goal.

Organisations are most successful when they understand their purpose, set the right goals, build trusting relationships, and make sure they still have fun.

At Within, I help leaders move towards what’s most important for themselves, their teams, and their organisations as a whole. (And, hopefully we also have a little fun along the way.)

I am passionate about leading with empathy, collaboration, and authenticity, always placing purpose and meaning at the heart of every project. With a background in experiential learning, I strive to craft environments where trust, purpose, and high functionality are the foundations of every team. I've dedicated myself to steering teams and organizations toward a shared vision by honing in on their values, shared goals, and cultures.

My approach focuses on fostering deep connections, using an adaptive lens to people and problems, and pushing for transformative rather than transactional exchanges. Utilizing an approach heavily weighted in the journey being as important as the destination has allowed me to develop robust teams that not only understand their goals but are also committed to achieving them in ways that respect and celebrate each member’s contribution. I believe in making the process enjoyable and transformative, ensuring that every team member feels valued and motivated.

For a while now, I’ve been thinking about how my own life purpose lies in telling the stories of others. Be it in facilitation, organisational development, or strategy consulting, my favourite part of any work has always been that moment when someone feels seen and heard, when they feel like there’s a space for them at the table, in the room.

The humbling thing about making someone feel heard is that all you have to do is, literally, hear them. There’s much beauty and power in the simplicity of creating that context for things to just authentically be. With that, decision-making becomes more inclusive, the workforce is more committed to their role, innovation is directed by clear ambitions and people relate better to the culture of their organisation.

That’s why I often smile to myself when I think of the Within People partnership, because the name itself already says volumes about how we see and do things. We’re coaches, strategists, facilitators, companions, game masters, guides and mentors, who help leaders walk their journey and tell their own stories. I love creating and holding the space for these stories to unfold, so that more people can find purpose in the work that they do, and in turn enable others to do the same. The ripples that begin with the work at Within will, with patience and determination, become waves of change that overturns the status quo, for good.

I believe people are happiest and more fulfilled at work when they’re surrounded by kindness and feel encouraged to explore, create, and belong. That’s why my mission is to evolve leader thinking and the way we work to produce incredible purpose-led experiences and supportive environments for humans in the workplace.

A once-in-century opportunity to reimagine work is here, now. To upend traditional structures, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. To think about work as part of a full, rich life, rather than something that needs balance and distance. I’m privileged to have a hand in shaping what this looks and feels like. My effort at Within helps me achieve my ideal life design, while discovering new people-centric ways forward with our clients.

With a background in staffing, I have seen first hand the impact of people-focused, purpose-driven organizations, or, unfortunately, the lack thereof. I believe in the power of people and know that many in the working world are moving through their day to day chock-full of untapped potential. Now is the time for leaders to turn their focus towards their employees unlocking the creative capabilities within.

My role at Within People supports our mission of helping people find purpose and grow. Whether I’m producing Reimagining Work From Within or helping the partnership stay up to date on current workplace trends, I’m ecstatic to be a part of such an incredible group of leaders.

Everyone deserves an opportunity to explore their full potential. The stories we tell ourselves and others shape our reality. They can make us complacent even if we have ambition. I like to work with trailblazers. Leaders who are strong and bold. Who are not afraid of facing challenges and reinventing themselves. Letting go of stories that hold them back.

I’m a trained coach and enjoy creating nurturing environments, asking challenging questions to give people the impetus to take off. I have a passion for seeing people, in their individual and/or organizational capacity, become better versions of themselves. This happens through strategic, thought-provoking dialogue as well as practical application leading to better self-discovery and self-leadership using the Within Way.

I believe in taking a chance in life, best summarised by one of my favorite sayings: “Maybe it won’t work out. But maybe seeing if it does will be the best adventure ever” (Unknown)

Pretty much every big challenge out there depends on different people working together to solve it.

Companies are meant to specialize in getting people collaborating. And companies with purpose should point that people-power at making a meaningful contribution to what the world needs.

But too often, some part of that equation doesn’t work out. From how we see growth to how we design and lead teams, there’s so much possibility for reimagination.

It requires us to bring creativity to strategy, find new patterns and paths, unlearn broken systems, join up brains and hearts, and help people harness what’s within them.

That’s what I love to do, it’s what I want our business to model, and it’s what I’m privileged to spend my time working on with founders, leaders and their teams around the world.

I’ve had the privilege of helping people find purpose all over the world - from Costa Rica to Canada, Hong Kong to San Francisco, the mountains of Australia and the north of South Africa. What I know is that work is changing - to be places where people are valued and able to unleash their creativity. Where we are all free to love who we are and what we do. And I am committed to helping Within People be a model business, driven by our values and an employee experience that reflects our commitment to inclusion and equity.

I coach CEOs, founders and senior level executives to achieve their vision of the company they most want to lead, helping them to create a shift in themselves and their culture. I've helped start ups launch their big ideas, and corporates find the courage to dream big. I am a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts for my contribution in enabling brands to create positive social change.

I believe design has the power to make complex ideas accessible, memorable and meaningful. When people can see and feel the story behind an idea, they’re more willing to get behind it—and that’s where change begins.

For more than a decade, I’ve run my own design studio, partnering with organizations that care deeply about impact. I’ve collaborated with Within on many projects, including work for Nike, The Ritz, Planet Mark and Tom Dixon.

Before launching my own practice, I worked with two leading studios—Studio Makgill and dn&co. Those experiences shaped my belief in design as a catalyst for understanding and positive change.

We are The Purpose Business, Within’s Hub in Asia. Our own purpose is to guide leaders to evolve business as a force for good. We bring that to life through on-the-ground delivery of purpose, ambition and values embedding, for our shared client base.

With offices in Hong Kong and Singapore as well as presence extending from Wellington to Los Angeles, we are a rapidly growing team of advisors who care deeply about sustainability in our region. We are led by Pat Dwyer who is passionate about helping Asian businesses activate purpose, address ESG impacts, and scale sustainability in order to grow responsibly and future-proof their operations.

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