I have had a portfolio career focusing mainly on coaching, mentoring and coaching supervision for 7 years now and it is truly amazing how the time has flown. As I get slightly older, it has increased the opportunity of spending more time with the family and following other pursuits like coaching youngsters at cricket and trying to give a little back to the community under a number of guises.
As far as coaching is concerned many people still don’t get it and many of my old business contacts will probably find it difficult to see how that nasty sales manager has become a coach. Rather than me climbing over people to get what I want, I now help people get to where they want to be by having meaningful conversations and allowing the coachee to find his/her way.
I met Kevin Gillard a number of years ago and this is his testimonial.
‘4 years ago, I was frustrated in my position at a charity sector organisation and the direction in which my career was going. Being a safe pair of hands at an understaffed but ambitious charity, I had taken on lots of responsibilities that were demanding too much of me, and in which I wasn’t particularly interested. I was genuinely unhappy in my work and so I booked a course of 6 sessions with Neil.
I explained to him that I felt like changing my career drastically in the hope that this would solve the problem. Neil helped me to see that my position had a lot going for it, and that I was valued, but badly deployed. We came to the conclusion that I should stay where I was, take control of my career, and explore the opportunities ahead of me.
Over the next three years I transformed my role into something I enjoyed, working purely on areas that interested me, and that developed my skills – web development and social media. I also went part-time and started my own business called Twittorial (www.twittorial.co.uk), helping businesses to make the most of social media.
It’s not part-time anymore; I spend every day developing websites, mobile phone apps and CRM solutions, along with social media workshops for businesses. A lot of it within the charity sector still. I learn something new every day, and that’s what gives me a buzz at work. Neil helped me to work this out through some careful examination and reflection, and I shall be forever grateful for the help he gave me in such a short amount of time.’
Isn’t it funny how life can work out if you have your own individual plan, some reflection on what will really work or not (good coaches challenge as well as ask questions) and being brave and taking action. When I came to the stage of wanting to revamp my website, I didn’t want to spend weeks on it, so what better way than get a web designer who has been coached by me to rewrite it from a coachee’s perspective. Kevin now hosts my website and shapes my Meaningful Moments and keeps my distribution lists up to date.
So, if you want to change your life or just question it in a completely confidential space, contact me at neil@nvwsolutions.co.uk or have a look at my website www.nvwsolutions.co.uk. I normally have a coffee with you first to ensure you know how the coaching process works and to ensure we will get on. Simples!
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