Hi - I’m Kyra Smith.
I have always been driven by a desire to understand and this has guided many of the choices and activities in my life. I am quintessentially a curious, creative creature that loves acquiring knowledge and exploring and questioning until meaning or understanding is revealed.
This curiosity combined with a fascination about what makes us tick has led me to this present moment - where I am passionate about promoting successful strategies for lasting change. Personally I embrace change and am particularly interested in the latest findings about how we can influence wellbeing in various ways and settings.
From my earliest childhood change has been a constant since it was spent in several countries in Africa as my parents worked and lived there for 20 years. As a family we went on many memorable expeditions. Whether it was a trip down to Tamanrasset in the heart of the Sahara from Algiers in the family camper van - before there was a tarmac road, or going all the way to the beach at Mombasa from Zambia for Christmas visiting Serengeti en route - it was often exciting. Most importantly this background introduced me to diverse cultures from a formative age.
Diversity has extended to my career. My first career was in the London restaurant business and that early management experience built strong operational and commercial skills combined with an ability to create instant affinity with teams and guests. Whilst it was often fun, after almost a decade in that Epicurean setting I wanted a shift and completed an MSc in Computer Sciences.
This was a big change for my usual artsy nature but surprisingly I was gripped. Coding was an extension of the symbolic logic from my Philosophy degree and I especially loved the elegance of network protocols as each and every bit can be used so efficiently. However, apart from the beauty of its algorithms, IT at heart is all about communication and this always resonated for me.
I have now spent the last twenty years working for a handful of Global Corporations in IT, business transformation and business change roles. I have successfully built and run Project & Programme organisations as well as delivering large scale programmes. In that time I have been privileged to work internationally and contribute to many wonderful teams across multiple transformation programs and portfolios of business change.
What I increasingly realised is that what makes the difference in achieving change is never technical or commercial know-how. It is only by investing in people and embedding behaviour that you get the changes you want.
In 2017 life threw a curveball with a period of illness. This proved to be a catalyst and led me to discover the amazing power of neuroplasticity and ultimately forge a new direction. This involves distilling my previous experience and expertise with fresh understanding and enthusiasm.
Over the last few years my belief and knowledge about the thriving cultures which collaborative business models promote has increased. Alongside that I have acquired professional accreditations in Coaching and NLP.
I have now established Centifolia which offers transformative change consultancy services for businesses and individual coaching for leaders and individuals.
An update from June 2022 - whilst I am still available for individual coaching, I will take a break from my Lightning Process Practise during the rest of 2022 as I focus on a full-time consultancy role and have therefore suspended my Business Change services too for the time being.
Take a leaf out of my book and inspire your journey.
