A Leadership Coach creating a legacy for the next generation

The path that led me to coaching

I was initially drawn to Coaching as an extension of my day job. I have worked in Leadership and Development, in the public sector for over 15 years and I wanted to enhance my skills to add value to my current role and build the foundations of a coaching business for retirement.

I could not have predicted the incredible, life changing benefits of coaching in my own life before I started my Life Coaching Diploma with The Coaching Academy (TCA). I have become so much more self-aware; I am a different person now to when I began this journey 15 months ago.

It took me a long time to sign up to The Coaching Academy, I was aware of an abundance of ‘get rich quick’ coaching programmes.  I needed to be sure The Coaching Academy was authentic and trustworthy, and I am pleased to say it is!   I attended the free Introduction to Life Coaching sessions, before I finally took the plunge, 7 years later! 

Absolutely no regrets….

Since then, I have had absolutely no regrets. The course is really flexible, with lots of different dates and times to complete the various training. I work full time, so this was perfect for me.   My favourite parts of the course have been DISC Personality Profiling and learning how to keep a reflective journal. They are two very different areas but actually complement each other nicely; one reading other people and one reading myself.  

I have met so many amazing and generous people whilst studying, whether on a course or through reciprocal coaching. I have made lifelong friends who have become important parts of my life. We collaborate on work, we meet for coffee, walk the dog and have recently developed a networking walk and talk, bringing in other coaches to connect and engage with. I am really lucky to have found such rich people to have in my life.

Once I finished the Life Coaching Diploma, I had a thirst for more learning, and so I signed up for Coaching within Education. This has opened my eyes to the possibilities of using my existing skills in leadership and development to work with leaders in order to better support young people. 

An evolving coaching journey

It's true to say that my Coaching Journey has been ever evolving. The constant has been my desire to work with young people, by building a solid foundation to my coaching business, so that I can continue seamlessly after retirement. 

This desire has led me to volunteer for a charity called Children Heard and Seen (CHaS), they support families who have a parent in prison, and I now also mentor a young lad, through this charity. Having such a positive influence on a young person's life is an amazing and fulfilling experience. 

I use my coaching skills from the Life Coaching Diplomas and my learnings from the ‘Coaching within Education’ Diploma to deliver group coaching in secondary schools. I love this work, my aim is to support schools to boost attendance and engagement, creating a sense of belonging and connection.

I believe the greatest gift we can give young people is time to listen and for them to be able to explore their own thoughts with clarity. This is what my programme brings, through interactive activities and fun.

Creating a lasting legacy to make a difference

My lived experience is not fitting in at school, I tried to be like everyone else, but I just wasn’t. In later years I discovered that this was because I was gay and had no understanding of what this meant or the confidence to be different. I firmly believe that if I was listened to and encouraged and supported to be my true self I would not have felt like a square peg in a round hole. It gave me vital experience to value that I can now use to make sure every young person feels heard, valued and supported to be the best version of themselves.

I want to leave a legacy of having made a real positive impact on young people's lives. I have the privilege of knowing that I already do this in my day job, I want this to continue into my retirement through The Compass Coach!