Grounded In Values, Building Forward: Lisa Nunn’s Next Chapter Beyond Corporate Partnership 

For Lisa, the call at midlife was strong. It asked her to pause, reflect, and listen. With the support of coaching, she found clarity about her values and the courage to step into something new. What she discovered wasn’t an ending, but with renewed energy, she had a chance to build forward with purpose, to keep learning, and to serve others on her own terms.

Roots in values and drive

Lisa grew up with values woven into daily life. Her parents, medics in the RAF, spent their lives campaigning for people with learning disabilities to be treated with dignity and integrated into society. As a mixed-race child, Lisa also became attuned to fairness and belonging. Looking back, she sees how these early experiences planted the values that still guide her today: service, human dignity, loyalty, authenticity, financial security and being herself.

Although she dreamed of art college, life took her straight into work. She threw herself into admin and PA roles, fitting of the workforce at the time and grew used to thriving on pace, people and variety. Adaptable, resourceful and tenacious, she quickly built a portfolio-style career before the term even existed.

A conscious taste of freedom

Years later, with her family settled in Brighton, Lisa took a deliberate pause from corporate. She set up a virtual assistant business and returned to her creative roots, joining a gallery community where she painted, exhibited and sold her work.

This period gave her a taste of true alignment. Turning up at the school gates in paint-splattered jeans, she felt completely authentic, energised, and happy. She describes it as a time of joy when she could be her true self.

But she was also practical. With two young children and family life at its most expensive, she made a conscious decision to return to the security of corporate work. The art was set aside for later, not abandoned, just kept safe for the future.

Legacy at Knight Frank

In 2013, Lisa joined Knight Frank. It was the start of a decade she describes as one of contribution, recognition and growth. She quickly became more than a PA. She was a trusted partner to leaders, a mentor to colleagues, and a catalyst for change.

Alongside her close colleague Christy, she dedicated two years of evenings and weekends beyond her day job to designing a career framework for administration staff. What started as an idea became a business case, then a movement. Their work broke new ground, creating pathways and recognition where none had existed.

The framework became Lisa’s legacy at Knight Frank, and the firm recognised her with promotions to Associate and, in 2022, Partner. It was a moment of pride and proof that loyalty and hard work had paid off. Yet at the same time, something was off.

Corporate life had given Lisa much, but as a Partner she felt less aligned. The mask she had worn with ease for years was harder to carry, and there was a building feeling of frustration.

“On paper it looked right, but I knew I wasn’t giving my best anymore.”

The turning point: coaching and values

At this point, Knight Frank gave Lisa access to coaching as part of a leadership programme. It proved transformational. A single module on personal brand and values lit a spark.

“It was like someone had turned the light on in my world,” she recalls. Suddenly the threads of her life made sense, and why she had thrived when championing overlooked colleagues, why her art years had felt so freeing, and why partnership left her restless. Her values of service, dignity, loyalty, authenticity, financial security, being herself explained it all.

Working with her coach, Lisa gained clarity and confidence. She realised she wasn’t failing, in fact she was simply misaligned. And if Knight Frank wasn’t getting the best of her, she wasn’t making the best of herself either. Coaching also unlocked something deeper which was a sense that this was her future. She didn’t just want to understand values, she wanted to help others discover them too.

Building forward: Work as life

Leaving corporate wasn’t about stopping. It was about building forward. Lisa poured her energy into retraining, completing the highest level coaching qualifications while drawing on her years of business experience.

Today, Lisa has built a coaching business centred on values because she knows first-hand how transformative they can be. For her, values are not just words on paper, but the anchor for alignment.

For Lisa corporate was a foundation and coaching is the next chapter. Retirement, for her, is irrelevant. She is in flow, serving others, creating impact, and finding new energy every day.

You can connect with Lisa on LinkedIn, or her website TruetoSelf Success.

Advice to others

Lisa encourages others at a similar crossroads to:
- Take time to reflect. Invest the time in yourself. Clarity comes with space.
- Seek support. Coaching gave her perspective and accountability
- Know your values. They are the compass to alignment.
- Leave well. Exiting consciously when you’re ready protects your legacy and opens the door to new beginnings.

Editor’s reflection

Lisa’s journey shows what can happen when midlife workers have space to reflect. Coaching helped her connect her values, find clarity and move confidently into a new chapter. Without that support, she may have stayed misaligned or walked away under a cloud. With it, she left well, built forward and continues to thrive and her legacy lives on.

Her experience reflects a wider challenge for employers. At midlife, many employees feel an inflexion point. They may question their role, their contribution, or what comes next. Without a framework for reflection, organisations risk losing people just when their knowledge, loyalty and experience are at their strongest.

Me/Redefined: Helping midlife workers feel inspired, not retired

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By offering Me/Redefined to their employees, companies can provide the same clarity and confidence that Lisa found through coaching. The result is not only stronger fulfilment for individuals, but also greater loyalty, knowledge retention and extended careers that benefit both people and organisations.

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