Nicola Palk
Her reputation proceeds her, so you may have heard her name mentioned when it comes to seeking out a talented global coach and trusted advisor. Nicola Palk is known for her coaching intuition and skill. She builds trust fast, and finds the light bulb moments clients need. She is warm, challenging and committed to her client’s agenda.
Those she works with know that their personal and professional life is different when she is in their corner. Be prepared for accountability, truthful reflection, and real growth. A big believer in the ‘magic of what’s possible’, she holds a courageous vision for all those she works with.
She also has a unique talent for being able to clearly recognise and decode a person’s unique brand of genius – a factor which often helps move the dial. And one more thing! All of that skill is evident when she works with leaders in crafting the story of who they are and what they stand for.
Nicola is a master coach and business mentor with over 25 years of experience working with senior leaders from right around the globe, from multinationals to medium and small-sized firms. An entrepreneur at heart, she also has an extensive high-level corporate and executive coaching background before then co-founding one of the world’s first online executive coaching companies which she helped develop into a multi-million dollar business by pioneering a new approach to inspiring leaders at the highest levels.
Nicola developed her passion for business in the fast-paced media and advertising industries, where she successfully ran the magazine business for one of Australia’s top newspaper companies. It was here she discovered her natural flair for leading and inspiring high-performance teams which prompted her to complete her Masters in Organisational Coaching and claim her ‘love-to’ for coaching (as opposed to her ‘can-do’ for business) and specialise as a high-performance business leader and coach.
In 2008, she co-founded and led the successful expansion of Coach In a Box; an innovative approach to providing leading-edge coaching solutions to leaders at all levels across the globe. During this time, she travelled extensively and worked cross-culturally while building dynamic coaching communities and working with some of the world’s top business leaders from industries such as education, hospitality, financial services, energy, transport and logistics, telecommunications and FMCG companies.
In addition to her passion for coaching, Nicola is also an experienced strategist and consultant who feels most fulfilled when combining her talents at both the individual and systemic levels. This means that in addition to working 1:1 with her clients she is also experienced in designing and implementing large-scale culture transformation initiatives which allow her to coach the ‘whole’ organisation and then use her considerable insights to help the business transform.
A mum and role model to two teenage daughters, Nicola believes that great leadership (like most things of value!) starts at home and that while it’s important to figure out what you stand for, that rules are often meant to be broken, you just have to make sure you break the right ones! This is a belief she’s also instilled in her girls by supporting them to make ‘great mistakes’ while also encouraging them find ‘one thing’ they’re truly passionate about, which as a parenting philosophy is NOT so much about their achievements as about helping them recognise what it means to do something they love, so they can develop a different type of belief in themselves.