What’s your name and where is home?

My name is Kate Connors.  I am fortunate in having two homes; I currently live in St Kilda, Victoria, on the lands of the Boonwurrung and Wurundjeri people, and my other home is where I grew up…Fremantle in Western Australia, on Whadjuk lands.  

What are you known for?

I'm known as a highly respected and well-known C-Suite Executive, Psychologist, and Coach within the Australian and New Zealand workplace mental health and leadership wellbeing sectors.

What do you do?

I'm a Coach and advisor with over 30 years of experience supporting the mental health & wellbeing of individuals, teams, and organisations. I've held C-Suite roles, including Chief Executive of a national psychology and employee assistance services organisation and Chief Mental Health Officer for one of the "Big 4" professional services firms.

Tell us about the experience your clients should expect?

My clients can expect an approach anchored in the power of meaningful connection and creating psychological safety quickly. I bring empathy and understanding to the coaching and support I provide, resulting in honesty and openness that clients deeply appreciate. My playful style and warmth enable moments of laughter and positive emotion when most needed - yet not anticipated.

Who do you work with?

I work with leaders of all levels across many industries, supporting them to reflect and drive their own mental health & wellbeing, from critical moments of risk of self-harm through to boosting individual performance in 1:1 coaching.

What’s your super power?

My superpower is my ability to assess, connect, and make a positive difference on the range of complex challenges leaders face in today's world.

Finish this sentence - I’m a coach because…

I'm passionate about the role leaders play in establishing safe settings in their teams, promoting healthy workplace and "work-life" design, and driving leadership performance in defining times of career and role transition.

What values would people call out when describing you?

The values most commonly called out when people describe me are: openness; honesty; humour; playfulness and warmth.

Tell us a bit about the personal side of you. 

I moved to Melbourne from Perth over 20 years ago, and am incredibly grateful for the career and growth opportunities that move created.  Needing to “start from scratch” in a new city reminded me how important friendships and our villages are in supporting our mental health and wellbeing.  My friends are the most important thing in my life - second only to my beautiful fur baby - Jed.  In the summer I seek time in the sun, swimming laps for exercise and savouring the warmth on my skin.  In the winter months you will find me cheering for my beloved Fremantle Dockers - where I am often the only person wearing purple on the train on the way to the MCG!