How I became a coach

I have always enjoyed working. I used to congratulate myself that I didn’t ever ‘hate’ work or dread Mondays. Lucky me! That said, at every change point or pause point in my career I would consider teaching. I felt there was something missing in terms of being able to give back or help others. Teaching is in my family…however as I got older, I really wasn’t convinced that I wanted to be in a noisy classroom.

So I carried on. I had what many would call a successful career. I continued to move through various roles in the advertising, marketing and technology world…learning, growing and changing as I went. I always enjoyed building relationships, working in a team, creating things, being innovative, passionate, energetic – I liked bouncing off other people. I worked in various roles and sectors, from advertising to charity work, digital marketing to forming a technology consultancy. I even did 5 years as a NED for the Halle Orchestra, what a fabulous, enriching experience that was.

After a couple of years off to start a family, I found an exciting marketing role in a start up called Purple.ai in 2012. I stayed for many years as we developed, scaled and grew. It was only when 2019 came around and we were all forced to suddenly do everything from home that I really began to question where I was at and what I was accomplishing.

My role at that time was a Partnerships Director. I was travelling the globe, often meeting new people and seeing new places, getting involved in round table events or speaking from a stage to crowds of people about technology. I loved being part of Purple, something so exciting, and bringing it to people around the world. Once Lockdown hit, I moved from that to constant video calls, day in day out. It was a shock. I realised, from doing video introductory calls repeatedly, that it all had started to feel pretty meaningless. For the first time – ever, I longed for the times I could be with my family and away from my screen and from work.

I turned to a few things during this time to find consolation and more meaning. I started to write…and went on quite a number of reflective writing courses. I read a lot of books. My thoughts were starting to turn regularly to mentoring or coaching. A friend of mine offered me a couple of coaching sessions and I jumped at the chance. After the first 60 minutes session, my world had turned upside down, and I knew that I wanted change. I spoke to my boss there and then about the change I was looking for – lucky for me, he had always been supportive and is still today. Four months later, I was enrolled in my first coaching training course. I went on to coach all of the Purple executive, and then extended this to work with the leadership team as I became more qualified and experienced. To my surprise – and absolute delight – I was invited to stay on and coach as an internal coach on a full time basis at the start of 2022, working with all the people at Purple and with the teams also.

So I’ve now been coaching people at Purple for over a year, and it’s been nothing but an honour to have had the opportunity. I love what I do. I am constantly surprised every day at what my ‘coachees’ bring to me, how powerfully I can support them and how much I learn from them. Little did I know when I started this journey that I would grow in so many ways, ways that I could never have imagined. And there is more to come!

It’s been a wonderful journey so far, I feel so grateful to be on it. The next chapter opens here…with my own coaching business. So moving to part time with Purple, I am now open to work with both corporate and individuals. If that sounds like it could be you, get in touch!