About Us
The Wild Horses Collective works with the zeitgeist in this moment of unprecedented change to our life on Earth. We work with individuals who want to make a difference, whether through their immediate work or community, or at societal level.
Become who you truly are.
We used to assume that work was how people find fulfilment in life, but that’s shifting. Younger generations want life to have meaning – and so do older generations!
Too often, we stay silent and allow change to happen that we know will end badly. The job requires us to use AI tools, whatever our reservations about the tech, about the threat to our career path, about the demands on water, power, scarce minerals and the extractive industry behind it all. The mantra is about economic growth at any price, and maybe we’re doubting the deal.
In truth, you might not find much motivation in companies’ half-hearted efforts and row-back on promises, so let’s find fresh inspiration from the inside.
Coaching and learning: where magic happens.
At this point, you might be ready to browse around the website, to check out our training and events and our directory of coaches, but if you’re wondering what sets us apart, please read on.
Founder Karen Hands shares her inspiration for opening the Wild Horses Collective
At last, my zig-zag career makes sense! Here I am, with a brilliant network, a unique set of skills and a drive to seize a moment that’s been in the making for a long time.
It’s all coming together: the recognition that women lead differently, carved out by each of us individually as we’ve tried to stay true to our own values, and increasingly acknowledged in academic studies. Alongside this, sadly, we have hard evidence of the harm created by extractive and manipulative leadership on a global scale.
I survived not fitting into a male-shaped space of engineering in my early career, although it silenced me for too long. Between then and now, I’ve worked in leadership coaching and consultancy, in customer service and as an entrepreneur. The shift to working almost exclusively with women began in 2011, with the Phenomenal Woman speaker clubs.
Corporate clients are always welcome, but in truth I work best with self-funding women who know things need to change but work isn’t necessarily the place to be so vulnerable. Colleagues and managers can put us in a box that doesn’t fully reflect our talents and potential.
My practice embraces coaching with head, heart and soul, alongside a whole range of techniques from story-telling to metaphor and systems sensing. Even better, I have a growing network of women who work alongside me, shaping what we can offer to meet a range of needs.
So please, feel welcome in this space. We’re here to help you express the things that people don’t always want to hear, that you maybe haven’t even put into words, yet which are becoming increasingly urgent as a sense that you need to do something.
Photography by Ivor Rackham