Navigating change, complexity & possibility
Fifteen years…
For more than fifteen years, my work has taken me into communities, organisations and conversations where people are trying to make sense of change and create something better.
EMCC EIA Senior Practitioner Coach
Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
MA with Distinction
I've worked with people experiencing homelessness, used participatory photography to amplify underrepresented voices, documented the stories of entrepreneurs in Rwanda and coached emerging leaders, including counter terrorism detectives navigating some of the UK's most complex professional environments.
At a glance
One consistent theme remains across such vastly different settings.
People already possess many of the strengths they need to lead and navigate uncharted territory—they simply need the opportunity to recognise and use them.
My career has been anything but linear. It has crossed three continents and spanned community development, inclusive arts, leadership coaching and social impact.
The Story
From participatory photography to policing
1. Finding Voices
Early in my career, I worked with underrepresented groups through participatory photography and creative practice, initially alongside hard of hearing street children in Vietnam, helping individuals tell their stories and share perspectives that would otherwise remain unheard. This deepened my understanding that lasting change does not purely come from imposing solutions from the outside. Sustainable change emerges when people are given the opportunity to recognise their own strengths, voice their experiences and shape their own future.
2. Exploring culture and connection
My curiosity led me to Rwanda, where I produced Beyond A Thousand Hills, a photography book featuring stories and essays from local entrepreneurs. It was an experience that reinforced the power of storytelling, participation and community-led change.
With a desire to explore evidence-based research, I completed a Masters in Inclusive Arts Practice, concluding in a publication, Cross Cultural Conversations, Creative Connection Beyond The Image. The book addresses the UK’s constantly changing demographics, and increasing need to mobilise cross cultural conversation, communication and connection across the fabric our societies. The research offers small insights into the power of photography and the potential of Inclusive Arts to provide life-affirming, captivating and sometimes ironic ways of building and strengthening bridges between people of different cultures.
3. Community and social impact
My next steps included coaching within homelessness services, delving deeper into Voice, change and shifting perceptions of under represented groups. I particularly enjoyed leading an Arts Council England funded programme in partnership with Articulate Arts. 'Secluded’ was a 12 month photographic project working with young people who identify as homeless in Brighton & Hove. Via workshops, participants explored homelessness and life in supported housing, creating large-scale images shown outdoors in 'null' or hidden public city spaces. The outdoor spaces are, paradoxically, equivalent to indoor spaces denied to the participants. The outdoor artworks were exhibited across Brighton and Hove and won Curators Choice Award at Brighton Photo Fringe.
My work in Rwanda eventually became Beyond A Thousand Hills, a collaborative photography project exploring the people, entrepreneurship and changing narrative of contemporary Rwanda.
4. Leadership and policing
Consolidating my front line experience and my understanding of the evolving challenges that diverse communities face, I moved into leadership development and coaching, where I spent six years supporting graduates and career changers to become emerging leaders in both neighbourhood policing and the detective space. Working with nationally recognised, award winning leadership programmes involved partnering with eleven police forces and two universities. Coaching more than 200 clients, I supported diverse individuals leading change in complex environments, often challenging established cultures and navigating significant resistance and uncertainty with a primary objective to build public confidence and trust. With a passion for strength in difference, I coaching ethnically diverse change makers in complex systems as well as focusing on allyship and antiracism.
11
Police forces
200+
Clients coached
6 years
Leadership Development & Coaching
5. Strengths-based coaching
During my time at Police Now, I gained Senior Practitioner Accreditation with the EMCC and developed a particular interest in strengths-based coaching, values-driven leadership and Positive Psychology. Delivering regular group sessions and workshops became a key component of my practice. My work today is heavily influenced by the VIA Institute on Character and its research into the universal character strengths shared across global cultures, communities and backgrounds. What continues to inspire me is the connection between personal growth and collective impact. Whether I am coaching an individual, facilitating a strengths workshop, or working alongside a community group, my focus remains the same: Helping people discover what is strong, find their voice and create what matters.
Through Cate Gunn coaching I bring strengths-based coaching, leadership development, participatory practice and creative facilitation to help individuals, organisations and communities navigate change, develop authentic leadership and build positive futures.
My Philosophy
People, place and possibility
As a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, I have long been interested in the relationship between people and place.
Our lives do not exist in isolation.
Communities, cultures, organisations and environments all shape the opportunities and challenges we encounter.
This perspective reminds me that positive change is rarely just about individuals. It is also about understanding the wider systems, relationships and contexts in which people live and work. These can be complex and chaotic.
Lasting change requires both personal insight and an awareness of the world around us.
“Curiosity is essential for progress. Only when we look to worlds beyond our own can we really know if there’s room for improvement”
How this shapes my coaching
I've always been fascinated by what becomes possible when diverse individuals and groups recognise what is already strong within themselves.
That curiosity has shaped every stage of my career across the globe including how I coach today.
I don't see the ability to thrive in isolation from the people, culture and systems around you. I'm interested in what's already strong, what might be getting in the way, and what becomes possible when people have the confidence to use their strengths deliberately.
Let's explore your next step
Whether you're exploring your next chapter, growing into leadership or looking for a clearer sense of direction, I'd be delighted to travel with you in your next steps.