I’m a huge advocate for coaching. And yes, that probably sounds obvious coming from a professional coach, but I haven’t always been one.
Here’s how I fell in love with coaching…
My story began back in 2006, when our CEO brought in a coach to support our management team. I still remember sitting in that first session, saying quite firmly, “I don’t know what this coaching stuff is about, and I don’t do this!”
Yes – I was that mandated client. 🙂
It still makes me smile. To this day, the coach (now a good friend and colleague) and I laugh about that moment. She smiled kindly and said, “Give me three sessions. If you still feel the same after that, you can stop.” She offered three, but it really only took two sessions to win me over.
I have a wonderful memory of one of our sessions in which we were exploring the multiple roles I fulfilled. The coach placed several chairs around me – each one representing a role I held at work: Finance, HR, Operations, and so on. As I moved between the chairs, she asked me thoughtful, solution-focused questions about each role.
It was such a simple exercise, yet it changed everything. Physically shifting between the chairs helped me see each role clearly and how they connected. It gave me perspective, focus, and direction.
From there, coaching completely won me over. Those early sessions, and the coaching that followed, had a profound impact on my professional and personal development. It helped me grow into new leadership roles, it supported me to find a rhythm as a working mother, and provided a safe space to explore new directions with confidence and clarity.
To be more specific, here’s how I experienced the benefits of coaching in my work life:
At the time, I was working in Agile environments and loved how Agile thinking valued simplicity, collaboration, curiosity, and adaptability. I soon realised how closely this aligned with the Solution Focused Brief Therapy approach – as both trust that people are resourceful and capable of finding their own best way forward.
When I began combining these ideas, everything shifted, and it transformed the way I worked. I saw that coaching isn’t just something you do, it’s a way of being. It is a mindset that shapes how we listen, ask questions, hold space for others and how we approach our work.
Meetings, for instance, can become more purposeful and engaging. Performance reviews turn into genuine growth conversations. Even difficult discussions start to sound different, being grounded in curiosity rather than blame. Questions like “What’s working, even just a little?” or “What do we want to see happen instead?” begin to move people forward together.
These few examples of what might change in the workplace are the reason I am passionate about sharing my story, because every conversation that sparks insight reminds me why I fell in love with coaching in the first place: it helps people, teams, and organisations find their best next step, simply and powerfully. If my story resonates with you, maybe it’s time to explore what coaching could unlock for you, your team, or your organisation.