About Saskia

The Person Behind the Coaching

I'm a coach, facilitator, director, wife, mum, and a firm believer that you don't have to sacrifice yourself to be successful.

My fascination with personal growth began when I was 16 years old and attended my first personal development course. What started as curiosity about why some people seem to thrive while others stay stuck has grown into a lifelong passion and a career spanning more than two decades.

Today, I help high-achieving women and leaders untangle their responsibilities, find their voice again, and create lives that actually feel good to live.

Because I know exactly what it feels like to be the one holding it all together. I've lived through the seasons of feeling stretched too thin, perpetually overwhelmed, and pulled in a hundred different directions.

THE PROFESSIONAL BIO

Qualifications & Experience

I've worked with organisations across local government, professional services, education, healthcare, infrastructure, manufacturing and not-for-profit sectors across New Zealand and had individual coaching clients throughout the world.

What clients often appreciate most is my ability to combine strategic thinking with genuine warmth, helping people think clearly, have meaningful conversations and take practical action.

Over the years, I've noticed a pattern among the incredible women and leaders I work with.

You are not lacking intelligence, capability, or drive.

You are simply so busy responding to everyone else's needs that you've stopped intentionally creating your own life.

• You're managing the household.
• You're leading the team.
• You're the one everyone relies on.

And somewhere along the way, your own desires slipped to the very bottom of the priority list.

Helping women reclaim their space, find their clarity, and step forward with quiet confidence is my life's work.

Because when you stop living by default and start living by design, everything changes.

And because life is too short to spend it pouring from an empty cup.

Just over 20 years ago (gosh that makes me feel old), I left my corporate job to figure out what I was really put here to do.

Today, I look back on 20 years spent doing the work I love, bringing out the best in people as a coach and leadership development facilitator. I'm professionally trained, one of a handful of Professional Coach Credentialed (PCC) coaches in NZ. And I'm so grateful that I found my purpose.

My coaching journey began on September 11, 2001. I was in Hawaii, on a 10-day personal growth course with Tony Robbins. 2,000 people from 22 countries were there, and there was a buzz of excitement.

But on the second morning of the course, we awoke to news footage of the burning towers of the World Trade Centre. I'll never forget the horror of that day. Nor will I forget Tony's question "If you died tomorrow, would you be proud of the legacy you'd leave?".

I knew then that I needed to find a different path. The marketing career I was in looked successful from the outside (I was 'high-potential listed' at the company of my dreams), but I didn't feel fulfilled inside.

My dream job was to be a coach like the ones from Tony's programme. But the thought of leaving my corporate job terrified me, becoming a coach seemed impossible, and I stayed frozen in place for another couple of years.

But somewhere along the way, the question in my mind of 'why on earth would someone come to me as a coach?' turned on its head to become 'why wouldn't they?' and I found the courage to make the jump.

With the support of my own coach, I left my corporate job, went on a journey of discovery through lots of natural therapies courses, and signed up for coach training with the Neuroleadership Institute.

I combined part-time marketing work with building my coaching practice and I haven't looked back. Best decision ever. Well, 3rd best decision. Numbers 1 and 2 were marrying my husband and having our 2 beautiful children :-).

Now, not only do I feel deeply fulfilled, but I also get to help other women find their fulfilment inside themselves. And every time I help someone step into their potential through the power of self-love, I think of Tony's question.

And I say yes.