Kiona van Griensven is one of the coaches that we found this month and we did a little interview with her. She impressed us with her courage and passion.

She has been in the corporate world for a long time. But she always had a drive to pursue a different, much greater purpose. It was right at the beginning of the pandemic when she realized she was actually losing herself into someone else’s purpose.

She used the alone time to go inward and self reflect, answer hard but important questions and uncover who she really was. This period was a fuel for her to expand toward her true purpose.

Her coaching approach is based on helping people get out of DOing and start BEing who they really are, the most beautiful version of themselves. She uses a signature online self paced programme to help guide her clients on their journey, she likes to leave things open for her clients to discover what’s coming up for them in the moment. Here is what she said.

Meet Life Coach Kiona van Griensven:

Name: Kiona van Griensven

Pillar: The Spirit

Who is this coach for: Leaders who want to support their employees and themselves in going from human DOing to human BEing and become the most beautiful version of themselves.

How they can help: Her main methods are NLP and ICF coaching, also she uses various tools and techniques like The Pomodoro Technique, Parkinson’s law, and other methods she is trained at.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these Pandemic times?

They’re well, thank you for asking.

With the worst behind us, they’re all in good health and thriving.

How does the coronavirus pandemic affect your clients? Did it affect you at all?

My coaching journey started during the pandemic, and so everything I have helped my clients with so far has elements of coronavirus challenges going on in the background.

Most of my coaching was done online until earlier this year when I started taking on in person sessions and corporate presentations and workshops too.

Coronavirus impacted me as a person in the best of ways because lockdown gave me time to breath and relax, and going forward it’s helping me because in person coaching adds such a beautiful layer of proximity and energetic vibration.

When energy fields collide, the outcomes I reach with my clients are even more powerful than online.

What are the biggest lessons that you learned in this pandemic?

To clear my mind regularly, so I can hear my own thoughts and feel my own feelings, instead of those of others.

To re evaluate my personal values every year so I can work towards what I truly want.

To celebrate all wins, great or small.

To surround myself with people who support me on my journey.

The Origin:

Tell us about you, your career, how you started with your coaching career?

Absolutely!

I started out when the first lockdown as a result of the pandemic hit the UK in March 2020.

I was in an Account Executive role for a large tech company, and I was meant to embark on a business trip to Kenya and Tanzania to meet with clients and local resellers that month.

I had just come out of a toxic relationship, and the work environment I found myself in wasn’t exactly supporting my mental health either.

Suddenly I found myself at home alone.

I felt there was a glass ceiling, it had always been appalled by the political corporate game, and worst of all I was chasing a goal that wasn’t aligned with what I truly wanted.

The “rat race” was getting to me!

With copious amounts of time to reflect and ask myself important questions I had been pushing aside, I went looking for other ways to occupy myself in my free time, came across coaching and when I started out on my training I felt like I belonged for the first time in years.

As I went through training, I had the opportunity to get coached by some of my fellow students and the founder of the studies, and I found myself landing on two of the most important questions of all, “who am I?”, and “what am I doing it all for anyway?”.

I quickly discovered that I had been chasing someone else’s dream and felt the need to make a change.

I kept uncovering my (limiting) beliefs, worked through blocks, transformed my belief system and updated my identity to who I truly am.

And once I felt ready, I quit my job and became the coach I am today.

What was your biggest obstacle that you had to overcome in your life that made you who you are today?

Accepting and knowing myself as I am.

Throughout my life I had this underlying belief that people didn’t accept me for who I was, which came from a belief that I wasn’t good enough.

Once I dug into the deepest, darkest side of my being I couldn’t go back.

I knew I had to get through the dark cloud of expectations that I’d kept inside of me.

And as hard as that was, I’m grateful I persevered, because look at where I am now!

The Coaching Style:

How do you innovate with coaching your clients?

I am a curious person by nature and I find so much value in supporting my clients with the latest and greatest.

Every day I read up on the latest trends in coaching, and also in the corporate world, because it’s important to me to support both the organisation from a societal perspective, and the employee from a personal perspective.

I read, listen to podcasts, grab a physical book sometimes too and I’m currently taking a course in corporate wellness, which I will finish by the end of the year.

After that, I’ll read up on the latest articles and decide on what’s next on my studying journey.

I’m currently taking a Master’s in Organisational Psychology.

What’s unique about your coaching approach?

My coaching approach focuses on the power we have inside of us, the power we don’t know we have.

The elements in my programme go into uncovering what their true personal values are, who they desire to be, and how they are limiting themselves from being that person and living that life.

What benefits do your clients get after working with you?

These elements bring my clients closer to themselves and guide them on a journey from human doing to human being, so they can go into the world the most beautiful version of themselves every single day.

Do you use any specific tools to be efficient with your clients?

My coaching comes as it comes.

While I use an online self paced programme to help guide my clients on their journey with me, I like to leave things open for my clients to discover what’s coming up for them in the moment.

Sometimes that comes down to using the Pomodoro technique, bringing up Parkinson’s law, incorporating NLP methods in our private coaching session, or using one of the two methods of coaching I am trained in.

It’s a process that is guided by my client’s.

The Impact:

If you had a super megaphone that, when you speak into, the whole world will hear your message, what would you say?

Focus on what you can do to make the world more beautiful every day, not by pointing at what’s wrong, but by pointing out what can be done to make the world around you a better place and taking inspired action to make the changes happen.

Remember, you don’t have to change the world in one day, and you can start with the person living next to you, because that’s where you’ll have the biggest impact.

What is the greatest lesson you have learned in your life?

Failure is progress, and the best way to learn about what’s working for you.

If I hadn’t taken the leap on everything I have done in my life, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

The pain, the heartbreak, the frustration, the anger, but also the love, the happiness, the satisfaction and the excitement, all of these emotions have been worth feeling and I’m very grateful.

Your final thoughts?

If there’s anything I would like people to hear, it’s that whatever your journey looks like, it’s always the right path for you.

My education was unconventional, my career followed its own direction, and if that’s the case for you too don’t ever let anyone scare you or tell you you’re not doing things the right way.

There is no right or wrong when it comes to being curious and following the direction of inspired action and intuitive flow in your education or career.

Where Can You Find Kiona van Griensven?

If you liked this interview and you would love to become the most beautiful version of yourself, go to http://www.kionavangriensven.co.uk/ and see how she can help you achieve that.

If you like to capture a glimpse of her coaching, follow her Instagram and Facebook. It was an honor having this interview with her.