about cathy brown
MBA, PhD
As a transition psychologist, spiritual guide and writer, I have supported organisations, teams and individuals through transitions and change for over three decades (awarded Chartership and Practitioner membership with the British Psychological Society and Health and Care Professions Council, respectively in 2011). .
Since completing my PhD in career mobility, I have been drawn to work more deeply with people. Now I often work with people in what you could say is our fundamental transition, that of coming back home to ourselves. This can be called spiritual development. It enables us to live a more fulfilling and joyful life.
My approach is informed by latest insights and research findings, and is tailored to you, aiming to leave you sustainable. I offer support through one-to-one transition and career coaching, through working in small groups on retreats and more broadly through my writing and speaking at conferences and events.
My areas of expertise include: career coaching, transition coaching, finding your purpose, mid-life career reinvention, later-life working, protirement coaching, living with resonance, spiritual development.
In terms of thought development, I enjoy researching relevant topics, generating insights and drawing upon these with clients. I have published practical individual transition guides under the brand Testing the Water. In addition, I publish articles through this website, and through national and international publications. Research Gate offers a full research profile. In 2022, I was invited to become a NICEC Fellow.
Here is more about my story and how my client work has evolved
my story
After embarking on a career in Marketing, I found my professional home whilst studying for an MBA at ESCP in Paris. Being inspired by Professor Rigny through exploring organisational behaviour, I realised that my heart was everything people. Happenstance brought me to the global management consultancy HayGroup (now Korn Ferry). Since 2004, I have run my own consultancy, evolve.
Since this time, evolve naturally evolves in the transition space, as my clients and I organically develop. I love what I do and follow what resonates.
Initially my focus was on supporting individuals through career and life transitions, and evolve personal was formed. Naturally I began to be invited to support clients in their organisational development, this led to the development of evolve business. On undertaking my MSc in Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London, I researched what it took to transition into self-employment effectively. These insights led to the supporting of emerging entrepreneurs, and as such evolve enterprise was formed.
For the first seven years of evolve’s life, growth was of the essence and I worked primarily for many large organisations.
In the next cycle of evolution and with more capacity opening up, evolve funded my PhD where I explored organisational career mobility. In addition, we established a charity called the evolve transition trust, which provides a helping hand to vulnerable and challenged people in the East Midlands.
Seven years later, as things began to settle, I was drawn to work more deeply with individuals and I found myself undertaking more one to one work and running retreats in beautiful locations. Also, I am finding that my writing is becoming more important.
More recently through my own development, more stillness and reflection is emerging. I now find that my work is coming together and often involves helping people in, as you could say, the fundamental transition of coming home to oneself, enabling people to live a more fulfilling and resonant life. This can be called spiritual development.
To reflect this, the evolve brands are naturally coalescing into one, evolve.
“I wanted to let you know my news. I was served my notice last week and offered a job! The role is Parenting Co-ordinator for my local council and is a newly created role that I can ‘make my own’. I was so pleased to even get an interview, let alone be offered it on the same afternoon! It ticks so many boxes for me as it draws on my education background and the project management skills that I’ve developed while at Boots and it fits my Service and Work Life Balance Anchors, as it’s based half a mile from my home.
Two days spent with you really helped me to identify what’s important to me and guided me to look in different places for jobs and lead me to this one – so thank you!
Now that this is settled, I’m going to look at starting a Life Coaching course that I’ve found in Kingston College as a taster and start going to Nina Grunfeld’s Life Club (sounds quite good). I feel like a different person already.”
Tiffany Petty, Boots The Chemists
connections
It would be great if you’d like to keep in touch. Occasionally I share about my latest research, articles, retreats and news.
