We are pleased to be featuring Katherine Glyde as our Coach in the Spotlight in this week’s blog who specialises in wellbeing coaching for women.
What has led you to coaching?
I first discovered coaching and The Coaching Academy back in 2012, not long after I had graduated from university. The timing wasn’t right for me then but it stayed on my radar as something that I had always wanted to explore more. When I was made redundant in 2020, I decided it was time for a big career change, coaching was the obvious choice for me and I’ve never looked back.
Most people become a coach to change the lives of others…how has coaching benefited your own life?
I came to coaching during a pretty traumatic time; we were in the first lockdown, I had just been placed on the furlough scheme (from which I was ultimately made redundant), I have a chronic health condition and was unable to access my usual support systems due to the pandemic. Throughout the Life Coaching Diploma students are told to be your own first client; that’s exactly what I did and continue to do. I use the skills and tools we learn throughout our coaching diplomas to rebuild my confidence, to stay productive and organised, to help me achieve my goals.
How did the qualification slot in with your busy life?
When I started my coaching training I wasn’t working and I loved having the opportunity to fully immerse myself into it. As my training continues life has become busier, I am still working towards finishing the protégé scheme. It takes careful planning and organisation but it is manageable for me. Starting with the end in mind really helped me; I set deadlines for myself to know when I wanted my business to be up and running by, the order I wanted to do my diplomas in, when I wanted each one done by and so on. All of this allowed me to then plan in the training sessions, the practical assessments and chunk it down to make it achievable. I have really enjoyed the self-paced nature of the programme, I have full control over how and when I complete my courses.
What was the most rewarding part of your coaching journey?
I loved studying for the PPD and I met a range of other coaches along the way, people I never would have crossed paths with had it not been for The Coaching Academy. Some of these connections have become some of my closest friends. Early on in my studies I also completed the Addictive Behaviours Coaching Diploma, which challenged me both as a person and as a coach. I think for me, the most rewarding part of training as a coach has been the positive impact it has had on me and my confidence. I am doing something now with my life that I never really believed possible before.
Since I completed the Life Coaching Diploma I am continuing my studies as part of the protégé scheme alongside working as a Menstrual & Menopause Wellbeing Coach. I work with clients 1-2-1, in small groups and I deliver workshops. We work together to understand and harness the power of the menstrual cycle, whatever phase of their menstrual lifespan or whatever their menstrual cycle experience, in order to achieve their goals.
What’s the biggest area in coaching you are curious about and why?
The PPD was my first step back into a learning environment since I completed my degree ten years ago and it really reignited my love of learning. I developed this curiosity about the possibilities of coaching, I knew what my niche was going to be from the beginning and whom I wanted my coaching to help. The more I studied and explored the more passionate I became about being able to put menstrual & menopause wellbeing coaching into all possible settings.
What advice would you give someone wanting to pursue a life coaching career?
Go for it! There is a massive need for coaching right now and with such a wide range of niches and problems that coaching can support with, now really feels like the ideal time. You don’t have to have your niche set in stone before to get started, get out there and test the water, see what you enjoy the most and build from there. Get networking with your fellow students, The Coaching Academy’s students are a wonderful community to be a part of, find your people and build those connections. Make use of the resources available, the Online Learning Platform, other coaches, module workbooks and so on.
What are the best resources that have helped you along your coach training journey?
As students we are really lucky that The Coaching Academy provide us with incredible resources to support us as we become coaches. My favourite is the free monthly Coaching Conversations, which I still make the time to attend; getting to hear from coaches who are experts in their fields, sharing their stories and tips for us. These are a fantastic way to get a taste of coaching skills we might not have experienced yet.
Thank you Katherine for sharing your coaching journey with us!
Wellbeing coaching offers a wide range of opportunities for coaches who, like Katherine, can establish themselves as a specialist within the many different sub-categories of wellbeing.
If you would like to find out about becoming a coach, then along with joining our Introduction to Life Coaching webinar.
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.
