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Ep22. Why Modern Men Feel Lost And What They’re Missing

Nic Woodthorpe-Wright · 22 May 2026

Entrepreneur · Executive Coach · Leadership · Artificial Intelligencein

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Key topicsBuilding the largest coaching company in the Middle East region by building the industry as he wentWhen Nic started WWA, corporate coaching in the Middle East was still earning its place as a trusted organisational discipline, so the work was never just about selling coaching engagements. It was about educating buyers, supporting professional standards through the ICF, and helping large organisations understand how coaching could support leadership, culture, and business outcomes. Two decades later, WWA is one of the largest coaching companies in the Middle East, with more than 100 certified coaches working across complex regional and multinational corporate environments. For founder, Middle East business, professional services, and leadership podcasts, this is a strong story about scaling a serious regional business while helping the market itself mature around you. The Middle East’s business growth has outpaced the leadership conversations needed to sustain itThe GCC has grown at extraordinary speed, with organisations scaling, globalising, and transforming faster than many leadership cultures can comfortably absorb. Nic’s perspective is that coaching becomes valuable at exactly this point: when companies are no longer just trying to grow, but trying to build the leadership depth, trust, and internal conversations needed to sustain that growth. Having spent more than three decades in Dubai and more than 20 years building WWA across the region, he can speak to the difference between importing leadership models and developing coaching approaches that actually fit Middle Eastern corporate realities. For Middle East business, executive leadership, HR, and organisational growth podcasts, this is a timely conversation about why the next stage of regional growth depends as much on human capability as it does on capital, strategy, or ambition. The real challenge for CHROs is not buying coaching but proving it belongs in the businessFor senior HR leaders, the difficult question is rarely “does coaching help?” but “how do I justify this internally, prove value, and make it matter beyond a handful of executives?” Nic’s work with multinational and major regional organisations gives him a grounded view of how coaching moves from an individual development tool to something that supports leadership teams, departments, and culture change. He can unpack what organisations need to measure, what they should stop trying to reduce to simple ROI, and how internal champions can make coaching credible to people who do not yet see its strategic role. This is highly bookable for HR, organisational development, and business leadership podcasts because it speaks to the exact pressure their listeners face when they are asked to defend investment in people work. View all topics →

About Nic Woodthorpe-Wright

Founder-CEO of the Middle East’s Largest Coaching Company and ICF UAE Founding Member

20+ Years providing coaching solutions100+ Certified executive coaches in WWA’s network1st PCC credential holder in the Middle EastFounding member & past president ICF Dubai Chapter

Nic Woodthorpe-Wright is the CEO of WWA Corporate Coaching, one of the largest and most established corporate coaching companies in the Middle East, and a founding figure in the region’s professional coaching industry. With more than 20 years leading WWA and over three decades living and working in Dubai, Nic brings a rare combination of executive coaching expertise, regional business understanding, and first-hand experience building coaching from an emerging concept into a trusted corporate discipline.

A Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, Nic was the first person in the Middle East to achieve the PCC credential. He is also a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, holds an MBA from the University of Wollongong, and is a Founding Member and Past President of the International Coach Federation’s Dubai Chapter. During his presidency, the chapter grew significantly and launched the first ICF Coaching Conference in the Middle East, helping raise professional standards, ethical practice, and corporate understanding of coaching across the region.

Nic’s work today sits at the intersection of leadership, culture, and organisational change. Through WWA Corporate Coaching, he works with multinational and major regional organisations to deliver executive coaching, team coaching, coaching culture programmes, leadership development, and coaching skills for leaders and managers.

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