Coach Spotlight: Coach Renee

Welcome to the BOLDLY Coach Spotlight! We’re excited to introduce Coach Renee, a dedicated career coach specialising in supporting female senior leaders. With over 15 years of experience in esteemed companies and an ICF PCC coaching accreditation, she guides clients through career crossroads, helping them shift from dissatisfaction to fulfilment while building the confidence to make informed decisions. Renee’s strengths-based approach empowers her clients to maximise their potential, whether they’re looking to thrive in their current roles or pursue new opportunities that align with their passions and aspirations.

1) Living in Singapore offers a fascinating blend of East-meets-West culture and vibrant energy. What's your favorite part about living here?

I just relocated to Singapore after 17 years of living in Hong Kong. I’m excited to start the next leg of my adventure living in this part of the world and exploring more of Southeast Asia. My initial impression is that Singapore is very clean, the people are really friendly and it’s great for kids (which is ideal for my 2-year-old). So far, so good!

2) What's the first thing you do in the morning to set yourself up for a successful day?

The 6-minute journal was recommended to me by one of my clients. You write in it for the first 3 minutes of your day and the last 3 minutes of your day. It gives you a few prompts such as “This is how I will make today great” in the morning and “This is how I will improve” at the end of the day. It doesn’t take a huge amount of concentration or time. But it does allow you to steal a few minutes of reflection. To be honest, I’ve fallen out of the habit a bit over the last month of moving and travelling, but I’m determined to get back to it because getting things out of my head and onto paper helps me to make them more clear and easier to remember. This is also a tool I recommend to my clients.

3) Tell us more about your transition to career and executive coaching. When and why did you realize for yourself that this would be your next career move?

Not long after I left my last HR role, I found myself standing frozen in the middle of my apartment, turning my feet this way and that, trying to figure out what I should do that day. And it wasn’t just that day. It was a much bigger question. I had an offer to return to HR at a law firm. But I really didn’t want to take it. So I found myself stuck, unable to determine what direction to go in. I thought to myself, “I need help. I need a coach.” So, I got one. And she helped me to break down some of the big dreams that I had for myself at that time. I wanted to study for an advanced degree. I wanted to start my own business. I wanted to learn Mandarin. I wanted to become an influencer on social media. Nowhere on that list was going back to a career in HR. Through 4 months of working together, my coach helped me to break down these big dreams into smaller steps. I applied to (and got accepted) to two MBA programs. I drafted an initial business plan for my business, RC HR Consulting. I figured out that life and work could look a different way. I managed to get unstuck and get out of my own way. That’s how I came to coaching. I saw how impactful it could be to have a coach and I decided to train to be a coach. I’m incredibly grateful every day that I get to help other HR professionals step out of their comfort zone, get unstuck and do work that they love.

4) Could you share more about the coaching accreditations you hold in addition to your MBA, and how they inform your coaching approach? (answer combined with #5)

I work with female senior leaders in Human Resources who feel stuck to help them love their work or find work they love. I combine my 15+ years of HR experience at IBM, UBS, and Barclays with my coaching accreditation through the International Coaching Federation (ICF, PCC) and an MBA from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) to support my clients with a strengths-based approach that allows them to level up in their career, maximize their potential or thrive in a job they love. My clients come to me for  1:1 coaching because they want to work with someone who gets them and has been where they are as a Head of Talent Acquisition, an HR Business Partner, a Head of HR and an HR consultant.

I’m also a certified Hogan strengths assessor (HDI, HDS, MPVI). Often, when I ask my clients if they know their strengths, they give me a list of their weaknesses. Women in particular are not comfortable acknowledging their strengths or have even thought about what they are. By using the Hogan report as a foundation, we work together to identify my client’s strengths and determine which of the strengths they can utilize to help them on their journey – whatever that may be.

In addition to these accreditations, I also served as a board member for the ICF Hong Kong chapter (2023-24) and a member of the Advisory Council for The Women’s Foundation Mentorship Programme in Hong Kong (2023-24). I think it’s important to give back to the coaching community and promote things like credentialing, training and community partnership. I look forward to getting involved with ICF Singapore. I’ve been a part of The Women’s Foundation for the past few years, first as a mentor and then as a committee member. I really believe in the work that women’s organizations do to help women advocate for themselves and provide a safe space for women to share the things that happen to them inside and outside of work. That is also what I strive to do in my coaching.

5) Can you share a success story or transformational moment from your coaching practice that illustrates the impact of career coaching?

My client Sarah was working as the Head of HR at a professional services firm and had just been passed over for the HR Director promotion. She knew she was capable of more, yet her company didn't agree. She also knew that because of this, her time at the company was coming to an end. She was frustrated, upset and confused. That's when Sarah called me. During our coaching together, we worked together to help Sarah uncover her strengths. This helped her to reclaim her confidence and think much more broadly beyond her current role. She was able to leave behind a negative work environment and start thinking about a future that was separate from her employer. Using visioning techniques, she articulated the type of work environment she would thrive in, and set specific, long-term goals that she would achieve in her new position. After interviewing with several companies, Sarah happily secured a role as an HR Director at an aviation company, a different industry which ticked her boxes for the things she was looking for in a new role.

6) What’s the most valuable piece of advice you’ve ever received from a mentor or coach?

“You can’t find yourself if you don’t look.” One of my mentors/ex-boss said this to me when I first started coaching full-time. She was right of course. If it weren’t for her advice, I wouldn’t have stopped and really examined what was important to me. I looked hard at my corporate HR career-the career that took me from New York to Hong Kong to Singapore. The career that brought me promotions and bonuses and good benefits.  But it also brought me stress, frustration and uncertainty. I decided that it was time to try something different. If you still aren’t sure what you are supposed to be doing, stop. Look. You will find yourself if you just take the time.

7) Lastly, what piece of advice do you want to leave the reader with?

You can live like this for a day. You can live like this for a week. You can live like this for a month. But can you live like this for another year? How about 2? If you've already been doing this for years, can you do it much longer? If you’re tired of taking care of everyone else and just want to take care of yourself for a change; if you’re wondering if your career is as good as it gets and you can’t imagine doing this for the next 20+ years; if you’re worried you’ll make the wrong career decision and regret it so you don’t make any decision, then you are in a similar position to a lot of the clients I work with. Give me a call. I can help.

Thank you so much for joining us Coach Renee and for all the insights you shared! To book a Female Leaders Program with Coach Renee, or to learn more about the full range of services BOLDLY has to offer, contact connect@boldly.app

About the Author: 

Katrin Blumenauer is a former leadership and OD consultant from Germany, who spent most of her years in the U.S. and Mexico, and is currently based in Asia. She is passionate about bringing BOLDLY’s highly experienced and qualified coaches together with matching clients. As Head Coach Business Partner, she oversees the team screening and onboarding coach applications to the global marketplace. As a psychologist and certified coach on the path towards accreditation, Katrin is keen to drive BOLDLY vision in making coaching more globally accessible while upholding the highest training and ethical standards. 

Connect with Katrin here.