What were your first thoughts after attending The Coaching Academy's 2-days taster weekend?
I used to joke about never becoming a coach as I liked telling people what to do too much so my first thoughts were ‘what me, a coach?’ Luckily my second thought was ‘Why not?’ and the rest, as they say, is history.
What profession were you in before coaching?
Before coaching I was managing vocational qualifications for an adult education institute, training assessors and verifiers and doing some educational consultancy at a training company I run with my husband.
What area of coaching do you specialise in?
My background has drawn me to specialise in helping people make the transition from employed to small business owner.
What difference has coaching made to your life?
Coaching gave me the confidence to start a new business at an age when some of my friends were thinking of retiring! A year ago I resigned my education post to coach full time and to give our company a new direction with the emphasis on coaching rather than training.
How has coaching benefited your life?
I’m 62 years old and building a new career and actually making a difference to people’s lives. I’m learning stuff, meeting loads of interesting people and having a whale of a time. I also love the flexibility of Coaching. I can stay home and coach on the phone or meet up with clients in London and combine it with sightseeing! Being able to arrange sessions to leave free days for the family is really useful.
Has coaching made a difference to your family life?
Being coached and coaching has made me more self-confident and that’s made a big difference to how I interact with the family. I’ve learned to ask better questions and have better conversations with my children. Hopefully I’m also modelling ‘it’s never too late to follow your dream’!
What did you enjoy most about gaining your coaching qualification?
Completing and then gaining a Distinction was just the most amazing feeling of achievement. I never bothered to frame my degree but I’ve framed my Coaching Diploma!
The Coaching Academy was established in 1999, and is now the world's largest coaching school.
In that time we have trained over 14,000 people to become life coaches.
We are accredited by the International Coach Federation and the Association for Coaching, and we're rated 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
