hi i'm deryn
founder of howling wolf
icf coach, trauma-trained facilitator & culture-maker
but you'll hire me for my reputation as
wise counsel to astute leaders
My work lives at the intersection of personal growth and system change.
My job is to help you build high-performance teams and strong cultures, by focusing on the often overlooked foundation beneath them: relationships.
Drawing on more than twenty years of experience spanning full spectrum strategic HR, I partner with leaders and teams to grow their impact and influence.
To strengthen trust, find true synergistic alignment, and create cultures where people shoot the lights out with ease and confidence.
Known for seeing both the human dynamics and the strategic context, I coach you into more of your own brilliance, and design bespoke team interventions that surface root causes rather than address symptoms. At the heart of my work is a fascination with the art and science of human relating.
Whether facilitating strategic breakaways, coaching leaders into greater personal power, or helping teams build synergy, I create spaces where raw truth is welcomed so that connection and innovation flourish.
My approach is fresh, authentic and grounded in the belief that the success we desire is a function of the quality of our relationships:
With ourselves,
With each other, and
With the systems we are a part of.
This is the Art of Leadership.
brand philosophy
In 1995, grey wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park after decades of absence. Their return triggered one of the most remarkable ecological transformations on record, known as a trophic cascade.
One keystone species restored to its rightful place, and the whole system began to regenerate itself: biodiversity flourished, and even the river began to change course.
Nature is so intelligent.
The wolves did not force this change. They simply returned to their rightful place as apex predators within the ecosystem, and their presence alone allowed the environment to find its most bountiful balance once again.
This story inspires me so much. It’s not just a story about wolves - it's about inter-relationship, and returning exiled parts to their rightful place of belonging.
Parts with fangs, parts that howl.
Parts that value community. Parts that value the health of the pack over the performance of the individual.
Parts that have been misunderstood, silenced or left at the door.
Powerful, essential parts which, when present - make the whole system flourish, and when absent - make the whole system lag.
Leadership works the same way.
The most influential leaders do not transform organisations through force or control.
They transform them by modelling what it looks like to lead with power and compassion.
To lead from wholeness; with fangs, fur and pack instinct intact.
By bringing courage instead of fear. Connection instead of silos. And candour instead of politeness.
Like the wolf, a leader’s greatest contribution is not what they personally can achieve.
It is what becomes possible because of their presence.