Hi, I’m Kooks
I work with people who are doing well on paper, but know something needs to change.
When you are balancing career, family, ambition, and expectation, it can become difficult to hear your own thinking clearly. Decisions get delayed, energy gets stretched, and you can lose sight of what you actually want.
I know that space.
My own turning points came when I stopped trying to push through and started paying attention to what was no longer working, not just externally, but in how I was making decisions, carrying pressure, and defining success.
That shift changed how I operate, and it shapes how I coach.
Kooks is a nickname from my Ghanaian name, Kukua. With English and Ghanaian heritage, and experience living and working in Singapore and Australia, I bring a broader perspective to my work and a deep respect for how individual each path is.
I’m glad you’re here.
Antonia “Kooks” Bartels
Who You’ll Be Working With
I’m an ICF-accredited coach with a decade of experience across executive search, recruitment, and career transition.
I understand what it takes to navigate change, reposition yourself, and make decisions under pressure, because I’ve worked alongside people doing exactly that.
My background spans sustainability, global roles, and international experience across Singapore and Australia, which shapes how I think about careers, identity, and change. Since 2008, yoga has grounded me in presence, focus, and self-awareness, all of which influence how I coach. Having travelled to 42 countries, I also bring a broad perspective and deep curiosity about the many ways people experience work, ambition, and transition.
WHO I WORK WITH
I work with thoughtful, capable people who know something needs to change.
Some are leading teams or navigating career decisions under pressure.
Some are reassessing their direction or returning to work after time away.
Some are trying to make space for themselves again after focusing on everyone else.
They are often doing well on the surface, but feeling the strain underneath, carrying too much, staying too long, or second-guessing their next move.
What they tend to have in common is not a job title or stage of life. It is a readiness to think honestly, look beneath the surface, and move forward with greater clarity and intention.
How I Support Clients
Coaching
The issue is rarely just the issue.
Beneath the surface, different parts of you are often pulling in different directions. The patterns that helped you succeed can also be the ones that keep you stuck.
We focus on understanding what is really driving your thinking, behaviour, and decisions, so you can respond with greater clarity and choice.
You are not just solving the immediate problem.
You are changing the pattern beneath it.
Career Mentoring
A successful career move is not just about the next role.
It is about direction, positioning, and timing.
Experience alone is rarely enough. How you position yourself shapes what opportunities come back to you.
We focus on defining what is next, strengthening your positioning, and navigating the process from search through to offer.
You are not just job searching.
You are moving with strategy.
Interview Coaching
At a certain level, interviews are no longer about competence.
They are about judgement, credibility, and how you think under pressure.
Generic answers dilute impact. Over-prepared answers reduce trust.
We focus on how you position your experience, handle scrutiny, and communicate your decisions clearly and convincingly.
You are not just answering questions. You are reinforcing why you should be hired.
My Approach
Real change starts with clarity.
Before you can move forward with confidence, you need to understand what is really going on beneath the surface, not just what feels urgent in the moment.
That is why my approach happens in two parts:
CLARITY IT
We start by making sense of what is actually driving your situation.
Together, we explore the patterns, pressures, assumptions, and internal narratives shaping how you think, feel, and decide. This is where we cut through noise, challenge unhelpful stories, and get clear on what matters most.
Because clarity is not just insight.
It is seeing yourself and your situation more accurately.
CREATE IT
From there, we translate clarity into action.
Together, we identify the next steps, shifts, or decisions needed to move you forward in a way that is intentional and sustainable.
This is where insight becomes momentum.
My Values
Curiosity
I believe meaningful change starts with honest exploration. Together, we look beneath the surface to understand what is really driving your thinking, behaviour, and decisions.
Courage
Change asks something of us. I help you face what is uncomfortable, question what is no longer working, and make more deliberate choices about what comes next.
Care
Challenge matters, but so does how it is held. I bring warmth, presence, and respect to the coaching space, so you feel supported as well as stretched.
Connection
Coaching is built on trust. Our work together is grounded in honesty, partnership, and a strong working relationship that allows real insight to emerge.
A New Beginning After a Life-Saving Transplant: Finding Clarity and Strength
“After receiving a life-saving transplant, I decided that I needed to make some major changes in both my work and personal life. Kooks came highly recommended.
Thank you to Kooks for helping me through the most tumultuous year of my life.”
— ALI L | ENTREPRENEUR & CREATIVE STRATEGIST
MY CREDENTIALS
Every part of my experience has shaped how I coach.
I’m an ICF-accredited coach with a decade of experience across executive search, recruitment, and career transition. Since 2008, I’ve worked in client-facing roles starting in sustainability and later moving into search, coaching, and career development.
My background includes working internationally and supporting clients across sectors, functions, and life stages. That range has deepened my understanding of how careers evolve, how identity shifts, and what change can ask of us, both practically and personally.
Alongside my professional experience, my own life has required resilience, reinvention, and the capacity to navigate uncertainty. That informs the way I work: with depth, honesty, perspective, and respect for the complexity of change.
My coaching is grounded in professional ethics, confidentiality, and a tailored approach shaped around the individual in front of me.
Success stories
From Doubt to Life-Changing Decisions
“I was very skeptical, believing that this oldish woman could not be taught new tricks to deal with recurrent, long-term problems. However, I was quickly proved wrong. Kook’s kind, calm insightfulness led to me making some major decisions that have definitely and immeasurably improved my life.
I would recommend her services without hesitation.”
— SHARON K | AUTHOR, SCREENWRITER, & ENGLISH EDUCATOR
From Fog to Focus
“I’ve never had coaching before, so I had no expectations at the beginning but it was really nice to see how we naturally arrived at hurdles that I never would have realised were there. For this, it was great to focus on these hurdles, big or small, and think about how to move things forward.
This was my favourite part about the coaching; removing the fog and getting clarity on things that were slowing me down in life.”
— RYAN B | SENIOR NETWORK ENGINEER
Breaking Through Self-Doubt
“Career mentoring has helped me in more ways than I ever could have imagined, not only did I gain clarity on my next step in my career, my confidence increased significantly. Before Kooks' intervention, I would make excuses for why I shouldn't go for what I wanted, and had very little confidence in my abilities.
For the first time in a long time, I don't feel like an 'imposter'.”