Ros Evans: Your niche finds you

What inspired you to enrol with The Coaching Academy?

I had finished a long term contract as a Learning and Development Consultant and needed to take my career in a new direction. I have been doing some 1:1 and team coaching working particularly with virtual teams and thought this would be a potential area to focus. I had no qualifications as a coach and wanted to learn more and develop in this area. I attended the free Introduction to Life Coaching webinar and felt really inspired and motivated to get started. I was intending to just do the Corporate and Executive Diploma but was advised to do the Life Coaching Diploma first. I am so glad I took that advice.

What was the most rewarding part of your training/journey?

Working with my practice clients. This gave me the opportunity to put theory into practice, try out different questions, tools and build my confidence as a coach. I deliberately worked with a very diverse range of people and this gave me the opportunity to discover my area of interest, my personal style as a coach and these experiences helped me identify my niche. All the accelerator days for both diplomas were not only informative but energising and motivating. Meeting and working with other coaches have also been inspiring.

What is your coaching niche and why did you choose it?

I am a career coach who specialises in supporting adults on the autistic spectrum find suitable employment or to retain their role and succeed in work. While I was working towards my Coaching Diploma I was also supporting my son who is Autistic who had withdrawn from University due to severe anxiety. I started to get more involved in understanding autism and the challenges autistic people face in finding and retaining work. I felt a real vocation to combine my background in occupational psychology, learning and development, my newly acquired skills in coaching with my increased knowledge of autism. 

Tell us about your 2018 Awards experience - How did you feel to be recognised for your outstanding work? 

I was delighted to be nominated for this award and for the importance of this work being recognised. The excitement built as initially I was shortlisted and then informed I was a finalist, down to the last 3. The awards night at Latimer House was wonderful, meeting fellow coaches and trainers. After the meal as the winners were announced I felt quite emotional, a mixture of shock, pride and joy to be the winner of the Coaching for a Cause Award.

How has winning potentially benefitted your coaching business?

Sharing the news on LinkedIn and on my website has been really positive. Being able to say I am an award-winning coach definitely helps to differentiate me and generate new inquiries and contacts. It also gives me confidence as a coach and reinforces the value of the work I am doing.