This week's Coach in the Spotlight is Rhiannon Davies who, thanks to her healthcare background, works with doctors, healthcare specialists, and other NHS workers. We hope you're inspired by her story!
Previously I worked in healthcare but in 2016 I became unwell, and I had to stop work altogether. Throughout the worst of my illness, I encountered several people and services that helped me. Many enabled me to set goals that were realistic for my new situation. For example, setting the goal to be able to go for a ten-minute walk. Most of these goals were things that I had taken for granted before falling ill. Much of the help I received used coaching techniques.
As I struggled to return to work in healthcare, I continued to look for things that might help me. I realised that coaching was already responsible for allowing me to move forward and I wanted to find out more. So, I signed up to complete The Coaching Academy’s Life Coaching Diploma.
Coaching opened up the possibility of change for me and enabled me to create a fulfilling, happy career and life despite the disability of a chronic health condition. Coaching enabled me to better manage my health, helped me connect with my core values and to create a meaningful life plan. This included boosting my confidence and finding the courage to start my career as a coach.
As you can imagine I was over the moon when I qualified with Distinction. I have always been an active learner, already having two degrees, but I did these prior to becoming unwell. I feel my coaching diploma represents a far bigger achievement -changing my own life, proving that I don’t have to let my disability define me and setting me up to help others change their lives too!
I chose to study with The Coaching Academy because most of the work was home-based and I could work at my own pace. This meant I could manage my study in line with my fluctuating health needs, part-time work and other commitments. This inbuilt flexibility meant I was not put at a disadvantage by my disability, had control of my progress and could prioritise getting the most out of my studies.
I have developed my coaching business, R Davies Coaching, with a view to helping people transition through life changes ensuring that they can achieve their goals and dreams. I have been exploring three niches with my work: Life coaching for life after illness or disability, career coaching for healthcare professionals and transition coaching for students leaving university.
After my own experience of building a new life after illness, I really enjoy helping others with health problems and disabilities to create a better future for themselves. Often this is about understanding what is important to you, your core values, finding ways to prioritise what matters and being creative to overcome obstacles.
Unsurprisingly with my healthcare background, I work with doctors and other healthcare workers in the NHS. I support them with career coaching to help them achieve their career goals. This coaching often focuses on work-life balance, communication, career pathways, confidence and continuing professional development goals.
I find young people very motivating to work with and enjoy coaching university students who are transitioning from university to the working world. These sessions usually focus on finding their first job but also encompass other areas such as identifying what they want from life, improving relationships with friends and family and buying their first home. In 2020-21 I delivered seminars to university students in their first and second years. These focused on empowering them to set goals for their future. Receiving the student’s positive feedback about how it helped them was incredibly rewarding.
I am thoroughly enjoying exploring my niches and am looking forward to seeing where my coaching takes me. Being a part of my clients’ journeys to better health, happier lives, more fulfilling careers, and success, as defined by them, is inspiring.
I would advise anyone who is thinking about a coaching career to stop thinking about it and start doing something about it. Perhaps book a session with a coach yourself or attend The Coaching Academy taster sessions.
The best resources during my training were the other coaches that I met. Some were on the same course as me, but others were already coaches doing further study. The friendships and networks I have built through these people have made all the difference to becoming a successful coach. Would you like to make a positive and lasting difference to others, just like Rhiannon does?
Would you like to have a coaching business you can run from the comfort of your own home? The free Introduction to Life Coaching training sessions are available for you to join. They are interactive, informative and designed to help you understand if training to be a life coach is for you.
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.
