Hi, I’m Val
I’m an ICF (International Coaching Federation) coach, TEDx speaker, certified breathwork practitioner and founder of The StoryMasters Method®.
I’m also an experienced brand strategist, having helped organisations to shape their identities - both external (purpose, narrative, positioning) and internal (culture, values, behaviours) - for two decades.
And here’s what I know to be true.
People want to change their identity because they want more confidence - and often credibility. But to become who you want to be starts with having the courage to accept and work with who you are right now.
My strength lies in my ability to meet you here and create a space where you can take off the mask and truly see, and be, yourself without judgement.
Because true confidence is built from the inside out.
What I believe
I take a whole-person approach to my work. I believe that when we fully express who we are we create beauty in the world and make more difference to the people around us and the causes we care about.
By considering you as a whole person - your values, passions, sense of purpose, personality - I work with who you are, not who you feel you should be.
Freedom, bravery, creativity, love and authenticity are all values that I hold dearly.
Which is why much of what I teach is grounded in learning from my own story.
We’re all shaped by our childhood.
For me, as someone who grew up in a cult environment, there were strict rules around who I - particularly as a woman - should be.
Fast forward to when I was a department head, I knew I was capable of more but felt stuck and frustrated with myself - I couldn’t figure out what was holding me back or my path ahead. That’s when my journey to understand and redefine my identity really began.
Many lessons, honest conversations and one TEDx talk later, I’ve learnt (and will forever be learning) how to accept, embrace and work with the imperfect and the better parts of me.
By building the skills to take back control of my story, I’ve found freedom to show up with more confidence, conviction and authenticity in my work and beyond. No it’s not been easy - but results have been worth it.
But this story isn’t really about me.
It’s about you.
We all carry ‘shoulds’, identities and stories about ourselves that we didn’t consciously choose.
You should know what you’re doing by now.
You should be more together.
You should keep quiet or people will find you out.
And we all have the choice to let them go.
If you’re now hitting that point of feeling frustrated with who, or where, you are, you likely know you want to take back control of your story too.
