Tell us about your experience and what prompted the move?

I started my 30-year expatriate adventure in Hong Kong, and moved to Dubai in 1999 when my role with Marks and Spencer was made redundant.  Dubai was home for the next 22 years creating amazing opportunities, I will always be grateful for.  The onset of the COVID pandemic in 2020 brought a change in mindset. Knowing it was time to return home, it took a year to put plans in place, starting with selling our home and moving into an Apartment Hotel.   

Looking back what were the high points and low points of your time in the UAE? What reflections can you share?

I remember how friendly and helpful people were, sharing experience and networking contacts. I purposefully kept in contact with the outplacement company providing support when I left M&S and jumped at the chance to open their Affiliate office in Dubai. Later part of the www.lhh.com global network, offering Career Transition, Leadership and Coaching services across the GCC.  

From our office initially in Dubai Knowledge Village we worked with leaders and executive teams across a wide range of industries, from Banking and Finance, FMCG, Oil and Gas, Telecoms, IT, Pharmaceutical to Communications.  

This was a very special time to be living in Dubai. With the increasing global interest in the region came invitations to speak at regional conferences and facilitate business events.   

The major highlight of my time in the UAE has to be working and learning from amazing and talented people.  Including the wonderful LHH Gulf team, Consultants and Coaches, many of who are still working with Nic Beesley, Managing Partner and LHH Gulf.   

Low points

Low points were being separated from family and loved ones, missing celebrations and not being there in challenging times including the impact of the COVID pandemic. I hope that sharing the benefits of living in the sunshine and expat life style, with family and friends on holiday in Dubai helped balance this in some way. 

What were the biggest changes you faced in your new country?

During the first year I worked remotely with the Dubai team and focused on a personal goal to become an ICF accredited Master Coach.  In the second year I set up ‘Karen Oliver – Coaching Conversations’, to work independently as a Business Leader Coach. To work with successful leaders who hit a bump in the road, helping them in our coaching conversations to get back on track to achieve their goals.  

The biggest challenge working in the UK after 30 years, has been building a network and relationships with local business leaders of international and regional organisations. Joining local networking events and reached out to contacts on LinkedIn is helping overcome this. My clients since returning to the UK have all been referrals, living in UK, Canada, UAE, Switzerland and Iceland, working across a wide range of industries. A Marketing Executive in the UAE focusing on a strategy to return to Europe, the CEO of a UK company considering career options, a lawyer offered partnership in a prominent law firm and IT Director aligning personal values with career direction. 

If you had your time again, what might you have done differently?

Primarily, to acknowledge that this exciting journey was going to be confusing, messy, harder than I had imagined and would take longer than I thought.  On reflection I would have set personal goals outside of the process of moving, to focus on direction.  To have listened to Robin Sharma’s words reminding us, ‘Getting lost along your path is part of finding the path you are meant to be on’.   

I would have started building a UK network earlier and had more fun getting lost along the way, for my path to become clearer, before I left Dubai. Back in the UK I have been working with Coaching Buddies for support, to encourage commitment and review progress. With hindsight I would have looked for Coaching Buddies much earlier.  

What are your thoughts about your future?

I’m excited about the future and the path is clearer now. I am using my expat business background and experience of transition to work with successful leaders who hit a bump in the road. Offering a programme of confidential coaching conversations to help them get back on track to achieve their goals. 

My ‘blue-sky thinking’ goals for 2025 include a pipeline of global clients including Hong Kong, Singapore and Asia Pacific. And to fulfil a personal goal to ‘give something back’, 20% of profit from Karen Oliver – Coaching Conversations’ will be donated to support homeless charities. 

 linkedin.com/in/karenoliver1