Introducing Kadenza Group: People Specialists

The Kadenza Group are People Specialists who work with individuals and organizations in the areas of:

  • Mental Toughness & Mindset Development

  • Business Coaching & Mentoring

  • Family Business

  • Executive Coaching

  • Coach Development & Coaching Supervision

  • Managing Work Relationships

  • Navigating Transitions

We deliver a range of related training programs both face to face and virtually and we can offer specialist Assessments for professional, team, or organizational development.

The thinking behind the Kadenza Group is simple. It's based on musical principles. To get a melodic, flowing piece of music, you need to choose the right notes and put them in the right order. Same with the solutions to the problems you are facing. Finding the right solution for you is about using the right tools and working to the right plan.

Sometimes, Karl works with you as a soloist. Other times, he brings in experienced colleagues to help him compose and perform the best solution for you.

About Karl Hyden, Principal

 
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In his own words

I used to drive a van for my Dad’s business, back when I was in high school and college. He sold and repaired surveying instruments in South Texas. Things were good when the business started.

But by the time I was running errands and deliveries in the van, the economy had gotten bad and the company was struggling. It didn’t last much longer and Dad was the partner who took the biggest hit. We almost lost our house. Dad was out of work for a while. It was tough. Mom and Dad haven't had the time or money to live the lives they want since.

When I was studying music (at Del Mar College), I was known as ‘Papa Hyden’ by the other students. I was a little older than them. Music meant everything to me and I was teaching classical and jazz guitar in my spare time. I was a good listener, even back then. People confided in me and trusted me with their troubles. I guess that also made me ‘Papa’ back then.

But then I went to do my Masters at the University of Wisconsin. At the time I had a young family (twin infants) and I owed tens of thousands in student loans. I was working fulltime in a music publishing company on top of going to university full time. Trying to make two things fit that didn’t fit. I overloaded myself. I even worked as a choir director at the weekend.

On top of all that I took a teaching gig to try to make ends meet. That left too little room for practice. I had trained and practiced for 10 years and yet my graduate recital was the worst performance I’d ever given. I crashed and thought my professional life was over. I nearly lost my family, too.

When you think there is no coming back, remember, there is always a way.

Weight has always been a problem I’ve carried with me. Literally. I was very big at one point in my life. I mean, US, American sized BIG. I weighed over 350 pounds (158 kg or 25 stone - it’s a big number however you put it). That was bad for my health and bad for my mind. So, I worked hard to change that.

After eventually losing over 150 pounds, I've kept most of it off. While I'm not at most lightest weight ever, I’m much trimmer now. Almost half the man I used to be! Keeping it off is a challenge. 

Most recently, I’ve survived intense Chemotherapy after radical surgery for Stage 3 Bowel Cancer in 2019 and now I am doing the same with Stage 4 Bowel Cancer in 2020. That is a big test of my Resilience and Mental Toughness!

But I've learned how to manage my thoughts, emotions, actions, and how I reacted to stress in order to sustain the positive change and move forward from debilitating events in my life.

I tell these stories so you can see that I’ve seen other people struggle and faced tough times myself. It’s way of saying, “I’ve experienced life”.  I’ve known business and personal challenges—first hand and at a distance. I know what happens when people can’t express or fulfill their needs, at work or in life.

I’ve also learned that no matter how difficult things seem, you can find a way to change them for the better. Always. And one of the biggest lessons I learned was that I didn't have to do it all by myself.  My own experience has shown me that the support of others can be very powerful in making change.

I think that’s what drives me today. I have a strong desire to help people overcome the challenges they are facing. I listen. I help them understand. I give them the tools they need—tools they can continue to use throughout their life.  I've got a lifetime of experience doing just that with people.

Today, my wife and I live in a rural part of Co. Cork Ireland. Our kids are all grown up and we have a grand daughter now. I still play guitar sometimes.

And I spend my working days helping people make positive changes in their lives.

What his resumé says

Karl has 30 years’ experience in management, supervision, training, education and development disciplines. He works as an Executive Coach, Business Coach & Mentor, Consultant, and Trainer.

To date, Karl has supported thousands of business owners, management, staff, and professionals from 33 countries. 

Karl is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) with the International Coach Federation (ICF) and an experience Coach Supervisor and Mentor Coach.

Karl is Principal of Hyden & Associates which trades as Kadenza Group.

He is Co-Director of The Family Business Unit, Ireland (FBU) and Partner of AQR Ireland, specialising in Mental Toughness and Resilience Development for leaders and organizations.

Karl has an MSc in Human Resource Management (Sheffield Hallam University, UK) where he studied with coaching and mentoring thought leaders Dr. David Megginson and Dr. Robert Garvey from the Sheffield Hallam University Mentoring & Coaching Research Unit. 

Karl has an MA in Performance (University of Wisconsin – Madison, USA) and a primary degree in Music and Social Psychology.

For a number of years, Karl worked with Mentoring and Coaching expert, Professor David Clutterbuck, representing his business, Clutterbuck Associates in Ireland, and delivering his corporate Mentor / Mentee training programs. He also delivered corporate Executive Coach trainings with Dr. David Megginson.

He has taken post-graduate training in Organizational Transactional Analysis (psychology), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT psychology), Cognitive Behavioral Coaching (CBC) and Change & Group Dynamics with Tavistock, UK.

Karl also has qualifications in training, coaching, mediation, mindfulness and business coaching, and bereavement / grief counselling.

Karl is on the Executive Coaching panels of University College Cork (UCC), the Irish Business & Employers Confederation (Ibec), and GlaxoSmithKline. He is a guest lecturer in Family Business at the UCC University Business School.

Karl lectures, contributes, supports, and delivers training & skills development for a number of Coach Training Programs globally:

  • EMCC accredited Diploma in Coaching from Ibec / Technical University of Dublin, Ireland

  • The Irish based ICF accredited Certificate in Coaching from Coaching Development, UK

  • ICF accredited Certificate in Coaching from the International Institute of Coaching & Mentoring, Saudi Arabia

  • Coaching panel for the MSc in Personal & Business Coaching, University College Cork, Ireland

  • Master Coach demos for various global ICF Chapters (incl. Ireland & Russia)

Fun Fact: Karl and his FBU Ireland business partner Paddy Ryan have prepped clients for the Dragon's Den TV shows in the UK and Ireland.

Areas of Expertise

Mental Toughness, Family Business, Executive Coaching, Training, Management, Leadership, Communications, Conflict Management, Interpersonal Skills, Career Transition and Business Start-up.

Client Summary

As an external coach, consultant and trainer, Karl has worked with clients in industries including retail, technology, statutory, manufacturing, financial services, transport, local government, education, non-profit and the voluntary sector.

Karl has been privileged to work with clients in a range of organizations, including Aer Lingus, Amazon, Apple, Blizzard, Dell, Diageo, Irish Defence Forces, Kellogg’s, Nestle, Tyco, Zara, as well a multitude of Small and Medium Family and non-Family Businesses, as several universities, banking institutions, and local / national government departments.

Professional Memberships

  • Master Certified Coach, International Coach Federation (ICF)

  • Chartered Fellow, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)

  • Fellow, Irish Institute of Training and Development (IITD)

  • Member, Institute of Directors (IoD)