With over 20 years as a global HR practitioner, I have spent my career at the intersection of people, purpose, and performance. The last five years—marked by a global pandemic, constant volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity—became a profound turning point. They revealed what many systems failed to address: engagement does not come from programs alone, but from meaning.
TINA BAGWELL // IKIGAI COACH
REGION: WASHINGTON DC
Despite well-intentioned ERGs, affinity networks, and DEI initiatives, I observed a persistent gap as an HR Business Partner—one rooted not in strategy, but in being. Employees were struggling not because they lacked resources, but because they lacked clarity around their values, beliefs, and sense of purpose. Core, often unconscious beliefs were quietly shaping choices, disengagement, and disconnection from work itself.
Through my own lived experience and deep study of Ikigai, I came to understand how vital it is for individuals to reconnect with what truly matters to them. Ikigai is not a framework to be implemented—it is a way of remembering who we are. When paired with Kamiya’s seven needs, it becomes a powerful mirror for reflection, insight, and sustainable fulfillment in both life and work.
As an Ikigai Tribe Coach, I serve as a guide—holding space for people to do the inner work required to shift how they show up every day. This work invites courage: to go beyond vulnerability, to examine deeply held beliefs, and to transmute one’s essence of being into conscious, aligned choices. From this place, new resonance emerges—within oneself and with others—creating authentic connection and belonging.
My life’s work and legacy is to bring this depth into the corporate world and beyond. I am committed to supporting the next generation of HR and people leaders in embracing their responsibility—not just to manage talent, but to cultivate meaning. To help others discover not only their Ikigai, but their Ibasho—a place where they truly belong.
