Middling Along

Wild, Wiser, and Going For It with Kelly Keating

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In this episode I chat to Kelly Keating: executive coach, master's student, and founder of new festival kid on the block, Wild and Wiser, a festival for women redefining success in midlife.

Kelly spent almost 30 years in corporate life before leaving at 47 to build a portfolio career around coaching, creativity, and connection. In this conversation, Kelly shares the story behind her reinvention, what finally pushed her to go all in, and why she decided to put on a festival.

 

Key topics covered

  • Kelly's squiggly career path from a grammar school girl labelled as "naughty" to account director, RNLI transformation lead, flexible working champion in financial services, and startup, before going all in on coaching
  • discovering a love of facilitation and bringing people together to improve systems using lean methodology
  • Flexible working advocacy and championing job sharing long before COVID, training hundreds of managers on job design
  • Her "fluid career": Kelly references the concept from Colin Newland: blending multiple strands of interest rather than following a linear path
  • The pivot point when her father died unexpectedly at 70, which became the catalyst: "What am I waiting for? Life isn't a practice run."
  • Why put on a festival? The convergence of Kelly's love of festivals, her wedding venue in Wareham Forest, the "Aspiring Women" network she'd built over 15 years, and a desire to amplify brilliant female voices
  • The Wild and Wiser ethos: by women, for women; embracing nature, intuition, and the wisdom you've always had

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    About Wild and Wiser Festival

    • Dates: 19–20 September 2026
    • Location: Wareham Forest, Dorset (glamping, camping, and day tickets available

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      Links & resources

      • Wild and Wiser festival: wildandwiser.co.uk
      • Instagram: @wildandwiser
      • Use Emma's code WWWKD10_EMMAT at checkout for a 10% discount on a weekend ticket 

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        Middling AlongBy Emma Thomas
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