Full Transcript for Episode 26 – From competition to coaching: Louise Nicholson on performance, potential and personal growth

of what motivated them. 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:52.959 And I could just like I so enjoyed it. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:55.360 I found it so interesting. 00:05:55.360 --> 00:06:03.199 So it was all about business, but business is all about people, and it was all about getting to know those people. 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:11.360 And I got to know some really interesting sort of senior executives at a very, very, deep and personal level. 00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:25.920 And as we worked in partnership with them, and at that point it was it was called consulting, we were offering them this assessment, we were working with them on their own self-development, but also their team's development. 00:06:25.920 --> 00:06:32.639 But you know, those that relationship over time to me, became coaching. 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:39.920 And I remember thinking, well, I really should explore coaching. 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:43.120 Because I'm not a qualified coach. 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:47.040 And I think you can become one. 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:49.680 I need to work out if that's possible. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:51.040 How would I do that? 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:57.600 And I guess that's yeah, probably moves us into the next conversation where I came across the AoEC. 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:11.839 Looking back from this vantage of hindsight, I heard you say that it only fully or you only fully realise that importance of those formative experiences. 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:19.600 Now, how how did a coaching approach first show up in your development? 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:33.519 I wonder of the balance of instruction and coaching approach in, for example, the support you got in your horse riding, or was it during your undergraduate or your master's, or is it was it once you entered the professional world? 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:34.480 Yeah. 00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:42.160 Do you know now that you've asked that question, so I definitely had coaching support whenever I was horse riding. 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:50.639 But it was much more balanced between some of it was instructional, some of it was really about improving my capabilities. 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:53.600 I was being taught something very specific. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:08:01.120 But there was, of course, then a greater element of this person is beside me on this journey. 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:11.680 This person isn't the one doing the competing, but wants me to do as well as possible, when I have the chance to shine. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:14.160 So I think that's where it comes from. 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:35.679 But I also believe that actually my path through life probably didn't have support like a coach, and I think it's the lack of that drew me towards it. 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:41.039 If I think of my I mean, I will share a personal thing at the moment. 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:43.440 My parents passed away when I was quite young. 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:49.200 And so I guess I've had to do a lot

for myself by myself. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:09:19.279 And I think whenever I saw the benefit of having a coach or a support network or seeing how that could sort of further enhance seeing how I was able to work alongside senior executives on them discovering about what motivates them, of them becoming more self-aware, and that I was having a real instrumental part in that. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:24.879 I was just like, well, there's something to this. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:41.279 So it's yeah, actually, I think that there is an element of it that came from my eventing career, but there's an element that the lack of really drew my attention to like this is something really powerful that people should have. 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:46.559 And I guess it makes me believe that coaching should be available for everyone. 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:49.919 You know, we often position it at the senior executive level. 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:52.960 It's almost like here's your reward once you get there. 00:09:52.960 --> 00:10:12.320 And I wonder, you know, that's and perhaps there is a space for AI and that will hopefully make it more accessible to people at the lower, or the beginning stage of their career, because I just think coaching is not just for those at the top. 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:17.840 It really is, a way for for anyone at any stage of their career. 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:31.519 So I hear in your consulting work that you were beginning to explore coaching and thoughts around how you might develop in that space. 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:36.639 How did you go about looking for ways to develop within coaching? 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:44.320 I think I was aware of the profession, but I didn't know anyone who was a coach. 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:46.480 I knew of plenty of consultants. 00:10:46.480 --> 00:11:04.399 And I guess my own boss at that time, in many ways, was acting like a coach, but it was, very muddled between coaching, mentoring, consulting, he was probably undertaking a number of different roles. 00:11:04.399 --> 00:11:20.960 But I really felt that I think, I did it, I did a little reading and I was like, I think this coaching thing is answering the questions for me that I need because I'm working with these executives over a long period of time. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:24.480 They know their businesses better than I do. 00:11:24.480 --> 00:11:30.320 Yes, I've consulted with them at the beginning and I've talked about what I know about human motivation. 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:32.320 So we've shared that knowledge. 00:11:32.320 --> 00:11:39.039 The consulting part of our sort of relationship is ended, and I'm now working alongside this person. 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:52.000 So I was just like, I think if I had more understanding of what I'm not offering, and if I had more tools or techniques or a model or framework, I think I could do this job I'm doing better. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.840 And so I just took to the internet and I did

some research. 00:11:55.840 --> 00:12:09.679 And at the time I was working and living in London, and this was pre-COVID days, so everything was still really done in- person, and there was open events on, and I went to a number of them in London with different coaching companies. 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:17.360 I think even at that time, I didn't quite realise the distinction between life coaching and executive coaching. 00:12:17.360 --> 00:12:29.120 I think I ended up going to an open day somewhere that was much more on the life coaching side of the spectrum and going, this is absolutely not what I'm looking for. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:40.799 And I went to one of the open days that the AoEC ran in London at that time and attended, and I was like, Yeah, wow. 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:50.320 And you know, I know that other participants will often say this that there was a live coaching demonstration, and I thought, yeah, I want to be able to do that. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:51.840 How do you do that? 00:12:51.840 --> 00:13:03.840 I think also I remember there was alumni there, so I really liked my time and my opportunity to have a conversation with somebody who'd been through the programme. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:09.440 Didn't really necessarily want or need to know too much more from the faculty at that point. 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:13.519 I wanted to hear from someone who'd been through it and how were they using it. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:16.000 And it really strengthened my commitment. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:25.360 And by total coincidence, that was exactly the time that Ireland had just opened up its operations and they were about to run their launch programme. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:27.600 And so that was brought to my attention. 00:13:27.600 --> 00:13:32.799 And I was like, well, then it's meant to be because I was like, I would love to do this back in Ireland. 00:13:32.799 --> 00:13:39.039 I've been working for a long time in London, but I'd love to know my home network better. 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:43.759 I'd love to know professionals living and working in Ireland. 00:13:43.759 --> 00:13:47.200 Just yeah, I just thought it's meant to be now. 00:13:47.200 --> 00:13:51.200 So probably whatever dates they had have proposed, I would have been on board. 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:53.840 And so that was just really fortuitous. 00:13:53.840 --> 00:14:02.879 But I guess that is also what gave me that introduction to the AoEC in Ireland, because I was a formative part of that. 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:04.879 I was part of that launch programme. 00:14:04.879 --> 00:14:09.600 I remember it was your colleague Moira that came over and co-delivered it. 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:16.320 So I got to meet Moira and I really got a lot from it. 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:21.679 And I think it was at a point where I was going to break out and become self-employed. 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:31.679 So I was leaving that employment in London, and the programme itself, the

Practitioner Diploma, started asking me all of those questions that I needed to ask myself. 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:36.000 Didn't know I needed to ask myself them, I hastened to add. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:50.559 But I think that's what was so great about the programme for me is not only did I come away with the qualification in coaching, I guess a professional development piece, but I got the personal development that I didn't know I needed. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:14:54.320 Yeah, so it was definitely the right time. 00:14:54.320 --> 00:15:02.879 And I think look everything, a lot of the time, you know, when you need something, you feel like it's the right timing and all the pieces fall into place. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:07.759 But it's because you're you're ready for it in whatever format it shows out. 00:15:07.759 --> 00:15:28.639 And it was, I think the professionalism of what the AoEC was offering, that it's an executive coaching programme, that it felt rigorous, it was even accredited back then. 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:37.679 It just felt like this is the calibre of qualification that I need to do in order to work with the kind of clients that I want to work with. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:52.639 Yeah, and I really hear in your description the value of that balance between the professional and personal development elements, and that it's something that I consistently hear from participants nowadays, too. 00:15:52.639 --> 00:16:11.200 And the opportunity to work with Moira Halliday, our now ex-director of programmes at the AoEC, and someone that I certainly benefited from having the opportunity to work with too when she was in the organisation. 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:30.720 I hear you saying it happened at the time that you were looking to go independent, and I wonder what happened post-diploma and how did you get started in that independent way of working with the diploma in place? 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:32.000 Yeah. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:45.440 Well, I made sure I had one client that was going to come with me, so I didn't just take a leap of faith and hope that the masses would come. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:50.559 I sort of had had one piece of work that was coming with me that I knew would sustain me. 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:56.320 And it was a crossover bit of work between my consulting and this sort of new coaching idea. 00:16:56.320 --> 00:17:12.720 And then I actually my first, I'd say my first real client that was nothing to do with historic connections was the practice client that I asked to join me for the Practitioner Diploma. 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:19.200 And we did the practice, the allotted hours that we'd contracted for to support the programme. 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:26.559 Then we had a conversation saying, now yeah, I'm qualified and would you like more? 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:36.000 She had asked for more, and that was my first like actual paid bit of work that was outside of what I'd done historically. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:44.480 And it's been a journey of hard to build a business and make it sustainable. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:55.200 And I think for me, I knew early - actually, I will say why I knew early on, I knew that I couldn't be a coach 24-7. 00:17:55.200 --> 00:18:04.720 No one can be a coach 24-7, but I knew it wasn't, I couldn't do it as the only part of my job. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:17.279 Because, and that will go back, like my understanding of that goes back to my understanding of human motivation and my own profile, and knowing what I need to do to feel satisfied in life. 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:24.640 Coaching in my mind, I can fit into one of those boxes or one of those barrels that I need to satisfy. 00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:37.359 And there's that barrel has got something to do with my need for wanting to help others, wanting to feel like I have impact, wanting to feel like I have influence, wanting that sort of fits neatly there. 00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:50.880 But there's other elements of my personality or my motivation as I know it and and that is why I choose to also do other work, like run the AoEC operations in Ireland and Northern Ireland. 00:18:50.880 --> 00:19:02.000 There's part of me that's really good at logistics, really good at like pulling programmes together, organising, being doesn't really require me to have great people skills. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:06.240 Like that part of me, I just need to like sit down, get stuff done, tick my boxes, get through. 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:10.559 And so that's why I also do these other roles. 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:22.240 So I'm not a coach all of the time, I'm also a programme manager, I'm also faculty, which is training, which again in my mind is a different box. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:35.759 And so I have a varied job which suits me and the coaching is probably the piece I get the most satisfaction out of. 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:36.640 Is that true? 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:40.640 Yeah, do I get satisfaction out of all of them in different ways? 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:48.640 I guess the coaching is probably the most impactful, and it's the one that you can kind of talk about in a more grandiose way or something. 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:56.400 But I get satisfaction in knowing that everyone submitted their essays on time - things like that. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:20:04.079 But yeah, so that's I can't remember exactly what your question was that led me to that conclusion, but I hope I've answered it. 00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:05.200 Yeah, absolutely. 00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:13.680 And staying with your coaching for a moment, what do you say when asked to describe the type of coach you are? 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:16.400 Yeah, good question. 00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:32.480 I think in this day, most of my clients are probably senior executives, and they are dealing with the business environment of today, which is we all know is deeply uncertain, highly complex, and really fast-paced.

00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:44.880 And I think that uh when I'm talking about coaching, it it is this slowing down and allowing people to think more deeply and providing that space. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:53.920 And I guess that takes you away from maybe when I first qualified, it's the need to, you know, you're always looking for the perfect question. 00:20:53.920 --> 00:21:15.200 And I'm really now at a space where like I want people to sit with things, to have the sounding board, to explore why they're doing things rather than just getting caught up in the sort of intensity of it all. 00:21:15.200 --> 00:21:19.279 So I think that is part of what I offer. 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:33.119 I think that I really enjoy people, I really am curious, and I really I like to get to know people and I like to build the relationship. 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:35.759 So I guess my coaching is very relational. 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:44.160 I want people to trust me, to want to share it with me, to know that they're going to get that space. 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:47.759 So the relationship is a big piece of it as well for me. 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:53.359 And then there's sort of the undeniable. 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:57.759 So how are we going to do this better? 00:21:57.759 --> 00:21:59.599 Like there's just there's always this edge. 00:21:59.599 --> 00:22:01.119 To me. 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:06.960 And I think I intentionally attract those clients. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:09.359 That was a question that I actually struggled with. 00:22:09.359 --> 00:22:10.960 I think whenever I did the Practitioner Diploma. 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:20.960 I think I really had it was never going to suit me to work with clients that I didn't feel had a certain degree of self-motivation. 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:25.359 And I think there are coaches for all people at all places in their life. 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:27.519 But I really wanted to work with driven people. 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:28.960 And I was like, what am I going to do? 00:22:28.960 --> 00:22:30.799 It's like they're not driven. 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:33.279 Like, how can I inspire them? 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:39.039 I just remember someone saying to me, So, don't coach them. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:42.559 And I was like, Oh my goodness, what a light bulb. 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:43.839 Yeah, I don't have to. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:45.519 Like, I'm I work for myself now. 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:50.400 Just need to put it out there of the kind of client that I want to work with. 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:59.599 And people who come with energy, bounces off my energy, and we just both want to have a good time when we're coaching. 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:06.400 I always warn people that it won't always be good because if we're doing real work, it should, or and it will be hard. 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:10.799 So I can't promise that every coaching session is going to be great fun. 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:15.759 But I kind of promise overall, I think we're both going to get a lot from this. 00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:20.000 And I guess that's sort of what I put out there. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:23.759 And I ask people about like, do they want to be challenged? 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:34.000 It would be, I suppose I want to have permission to challenge people, so I will share my ambition for the coaching. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:37.759 And I want to know that that matches with theirs. 00:23:37.759 --> 00:23:40.079 I want to know that we're a good fit. 00:23:40.079 --> 00:23:42.559 I don't want to waste their time. 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:44.480 I don't want to waste my time. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:51.359 And so that's what I put out, and you know, most of the time. 00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:53.519 I do try to remain curious. 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:57.759 I've also learned through coaching that you can't judge people immediately. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:00.480 You know, you have to to get to know. 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:09.759 So while there is that sort of chemistry session, and that's important and what you get from that, I think people need to also give coaching a chance. 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:17.359 They need to sort of see what it feels like and have a couple of sessions to really know that's going to work for them. 00:24:19.440 --> 00:24:31.839 And coming back to your work with the AoEC, what led you to get involved as a leader in Ireland and also as a faculty member? 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:36.799 I just really loved the material. 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:41.200 And I'd never been in a faculty role before. 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:44.559 I'd never been any kind of teacher of anything. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:50.799 I mean, I guess as a consultant you are to a degree, but not in the the way I thought about it. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:56.400 And I yeah, I was like, oh gosh, imagine like other people can benefit from this. 00:24:56.400 --> 00:25:04.079 And you know, I could like I know, I guess I know at the moment, like as a graduate, I know more than people who haven't done it. 00:25:04.079 --> 00:25:07.839 So then I was like, so okay, that gives me a certain amount of knowledge. 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:16.559 And I just find as I sort of became a little bit involved, I shadowed the programmes and they were all run in-person at the time. 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:20.720 I just delivered a little bit of something that I had an interest in. 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:25.440 I said, Oh, that wasn't so bad, and people didn't hit me. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:34.240 And I just realised that I could do it and that I became less worried about doing it perfectly. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:50.000 And I love the fact that we always have at least two members of faculty because where I teach something, share something where my excitement lies is very different from maybe my co-faculty member, and I think that's really, really important. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:26:04.640 I think that people graduate

towards different people for different reasons, and that having different members of faculty involved really helps people learn because they can see all those different sort of vantage points. 00:26:04.640 --> 00:26:16.640 So I don't know, I just started doing a little bit, dipped my toe in, find that I quite like doing it, found that participants didn't hate me, and just become doing more and more. 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:27.759 And I think the role of becoming head of AoEC, I don't know, I just I'm from Ireland, I just love Irish people. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:33.119 I love being able to, like I love the conversations whenever there's a prospective participant. 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:40.240 And I don't know, it's a bit of a stereotype, but like Irish people like we like to talk and we like to get to know each other. 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:48.400 And part of me having this background in horses means I've been to every obscure back place in Ireland at some point. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:51.839 There's been a horse competition there for sure. 00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:56.640 So I always have, like, oh, you're from, Tullamore. 00:26:56.640 --> 00:27:02.240 Well, did you ever do you know the event like across in you know Joe McGarty's place? 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:14.799 And you know, people do, and it's a real Irish, Northern Irish thing to try and we always get to know people on like this personal level outside of work, outside of professional practice, and I really enjoy that. 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:47.759 And I think and that's probably a part of why I was like, well, I want people in Ireland, in Northern Ireland, to have this same opportunity that I found in London, and I think was something that percolated up in the bigger cities where there's a lot more businesses, and the idea of coaching came, and so it's taken a little longer for the marketplace to mature, maybe in other areas, and I just thought, well, everybody should have this opportunity, and I can help. 00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:49.279 I can help do that. 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:51.200 So that's why. 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:51.920 Yeah. 00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:58.559 And how frequently do you have the opportunity to deliver the Practitioner Diploma in Ireland? 00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:03.359 In Ireland we run the open programme twice a year at the moment. 00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:07.119 We do a spring cohort and an autumn cohort. 00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:15.359 And we do in-house if there's the request, so we can run it entirely in-house for an organisation based in Ireland or Northern Ireland. 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:18.319 But the open programme, we do two cohorts a year. 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:28.559 And then we do run ad hoc, we'll do the Team Coaching Fundamentals, or we might do a Gestalt, so we do other things as a next step for our alumni. 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:31.200 And we do lots of again. 00:28:31.200 --> 00:28:36.720 I think people really like to get together in Ireland. 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:40.960 So we do do alumni events, and I think that really makes a difference. 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:56.400 And I think everything post-COVID, because so many people don't work, aren't as office-based, like people are looking for a community, and I think our alumni group brings a sense of community as well to people in Ireland and Northern Ireland, yeah. 00:28:56.400 --> 00:29:01.119 And I mean, I really love the variety of participants as well. 00:29:01.119 --> 00:29:03.599 Like it's so interesting to me. 00:29:03.599 --> 00:29:08.480 We've had gentlemen from the Irish Army on the programme before. 00:29:08.480 --> 00:29:13.119 We have lots of people actually from the education sector. 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:25.039 So Ireland has really picked up on this, and there are school principals becoming qualified as coaches so that they can use it to build a coaching culture within their school. 00:29:25.039 --> 00:29:36.960 And of course, there's people from HR, OD, people setting up on their own, consultants wanting to just have the the toolkit of coaching, they're not practicing coaches. 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:47.200 I really love that variety, and I really think that it's a skill for life, it's not just a skill for business. 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:58.720 With the Practitioner Diploma, which parts of the programme particularly speak to you or do you enjoy supporting other people to experience? 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:14.160 I think there's one exercise that we do, and I won't go into detail because I won't give it away, and maybe other people will have talked about it before, but it's the famous Who am I exercise. 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:16.559 And it is just life-changing. 00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:18.720 It's a life-changing exercise. 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:27.519 So that was wonderful to do personally, and is a joy to deliver as faculty, like just a joy. 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:34.799 And anybody that goes in the programme, I don't know one person that hasn't got something from that exercise. 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:37.039 So that's really the standout piece. 00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:42.880 Before I came to the programme, I really didn't know what contracting was. 00:30:42.880 --> 00:30:50.079 I didn't do it, I didn't realise the great value of it. 00:30:50.079 --> 00:30:59.440 And so I guess that's the really important that if you're going to do this properly, that's the value you'll get from that. 00:30:59.440 --> 00:31:08.480 Personally, I love talking about the challenging coaching model. 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:20.559 I really think that people come on a journey with us and we talk about other models, and they're not always ready, like they don't know what's coming next. 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:28.480 And then we talk about this model, and for a lot of people, it just is like the timing of it where it shows up in the programme is perfect. 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:34.880 People are really grappling with different things and

how they coach and how they're going to be a coach and everything. 00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:48.880 And I think that is a really important point for people to start to understand like here's the spectrum, and here's how I might do it and might not, and who's my client. 00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:51.920 So I really like it. 00:31:51.920 --> 00:31:57.200 And also I like visual things, and it has labels and shape, you know. 00:31:57.200 --> 00:32:27.359 I seem to retain that in a way it's not too I guess there's elements of coaching that are a bit more conceptual, and you kind of have to experience it to know what it is, whereas some of the models are much more, yeah, telling you something, and I've got a diagram that helps explain it, and I've got labels that help, and everyone has different styles of learning, and I find that one really enjoyable for me to share with people. 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:30.160 Yeah, that definitely resonates for me too. 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:56.720 I literally this past week have been facilitating a module three and had the opportunity to share the material around challenging coaching and have the experience of the richness and dynamism of the discussion that it elicits because it is points of it are challenging within themselves, which is I guess kind of part of the value. 00:32:56.720 --> 00:33:20.559 Thinking about potential participants for the PD or the other programmes that you and the AoEC at large offer, what do you feel it's worth participants knowing that is maybe not evident through the website or the open events? 00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:30.240 It is really hard to say, but I think it is the unsaid what people get out of this. 00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:34.480 It's the personal development that you get out of it. 00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:39.279 So you'll still come away with skills, with the Practitioner Diploma I'm talking about. 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:46.400 You come away with skills, you'll also come away with a qualification, so that's valuable to you, you know you have, you know, have that. 00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:57.119 And certainly if you're someone that wants to go on and become accredited, it's really important that you have a good quality qualification behind you. 00:33:57.119 --> 00:34:13.119 But even if none of that matters to just do a piece of development work on yourself and get some extra skills on the way, I just think it's great. 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:16.480 There's no loss to being good at coaching. 00:34:16.480 --> 00:34:24.000 I am I hope a better sister because I'm a coach. 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:26.000 I hope I'm a better wife. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:28.960 Question mark, because I'm a coach. 00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:32.480 I really hope I'm a better parent because I'm a coach. 00:34:32.480 --> 00:34:43.119 So if I never ever coach another working professional in my life, I'm a better listener. 00:34:43.119 --> 00:34:50.480 I don't feel the pressure of needing to know all the answers anymore. 00:34:50.480 --> 00:35:01.360 And I'm probably more open to being creative than I would have been before. 00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:04.800 I would have been a bit like, oh no, I don't do creative. 00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:08.159 That's not my skill set, that's not my strength, that's yeah, it's not me. 00:35:08.159 --> 00:35:12.079 Somebody else needs to be creative and I'll do the other stuff. 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:21.280 But I'm probably having gone through the programme and worked on creative techniques and been encouraged to experiment, Louise, just experiment with it. 00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:24.960 I'm probably a bit braver in that area now. 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:35.039 So for all of those reasons, you get this whole other bit, this whole other personal piece out of doing the programme. 00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:40.559 And I don't know that we talk about that, and it's not really it's not really, I guess, what we're offering. 00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:43.760 It's just like this all this added benefit of it. 00:35:43.760 --> 00:35:48.480 And I think sometimes people are like, Do I really need to have a qualification in coaching? 00:35:48.480 --> 00:35:52.079 I'm interested, but do I need this big programme? 00:35:52.079 --> 00:35:53.679 And am I prepared? 00:35:53.679 --> 00:35:55.840 Does the investment make sense to me? 00:35:55.840 --> 00:36:11.599 And I would just say that well, well, you're going to get everything we describe on the fact sheet, but you're also going to get this super other personal look at yourself, decide what you're doing here in the world to check point. 00:36:11.599 --> 00:36:15.519 And we all need them, we all need to like sit down with ourselves once in a while. 00:36:15.519 --> 00:36:17.039 So that's what it is. 00:36:17.039 --> 00:36:19.360 You just get to book it in, and here's some again. 00:36:19.360 --> 00:36:28.159 What I love is like here's a start date, and here's a finish date, and someone else is going to hold the structure for me, and I'm going to show up. 00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:30.480 So yeah, that's the X Grow. 00:36:30.800 --> 00:36:37.440 Yeah, I really love that description of a structure held for you where you can sit down and have a look at yourself. 00:36:37.840 --> 00:36:38.800 Yeah, yeah. 00:36:38.800 --> 00:36:40.400 I would never do it otherwise. 00:36:40.400 --> 00:36:43.679 And I guess as coaches, we hopefully hold that structure for people too. 00:36:44.320 --> 00:36:45.599 Yeah, absolutely. 00:36:45.599 --> 00:37:04.719 And from your vantage point, with these different roles that you hold and the work that you do in coaching, what might you say about the coaching landscape for those considering it as a part of their work going forward? 00:37:05.119 --> 00:37:05.440 Yeah. 00:37:05.440 --> 00:37:06.559 Yeah, it's a good question. 00:37:06.559 --> 00:37:12.320 I think a lot of people hear AI and think it's going to take all of our jobs. 00:37:12.320 --> 00:37:14.880 So I think there's

fear out there. 00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:16.960 I mean, I don't believe that. 00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:18.880 I don't, I can't predict the future. 00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:26.719 But I think that AI will certainly be a part of the coaching landscape. 00:37:26.719 --> 00:37:38.480 Hopefully it will provide greater access for people, it'll potentially provide support tools for the coaching profession, which will all hopefully enhance our coaching. 00:37:38.480 --> 00:37:50.079 But I absolutely believe that there's still going to be a place for coaches and it will be that relational, human, providing a space. 00:37:50.079 --> 00:38:06.400 I think as AI maybe becomes more of our world, people will actually seek out human connections more often and to a greater degree, especially for reflective practice or self-examination. 00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:09.920 So that doesn't concern me. 00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:18.480 I think the profession as a whole is growing and it's good because it is becoming more professionalised. 00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:22.239 So it's not just I am a coach, you know, I have to be a qualified coach. 00:38:22.239 --> 00:38:26.800 And then once you get a become a qualified coach, there's a whole pathway to accreditation. 00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:36.719 So there's a way to continually show up as a coach and how you might again structure and to keep yourself accountable. 00:38:36.719 --> 00:38:42.880 And I think that's a good part of how the profession is changing over time. 00:38:42.880 --> 00:38:52.079 And also more people know about it, like more people and they don't necessarily, there's still I feel a role to educate. 00:38:52.079 --> 00:38:57.840 I think there's still confusion there, like what's a coach, what's a consultant, what's a mentor. 00:38:57.840 --> 00:39:10.559 But I find that certainly participants coming to explore the programme have a much, much, much greater understanding of what coaching is today than they used to even five years ago. 00:39:10.559 --> 00:39:17.760 And so the idea that people know that it's not, all about giving the answers. 00:39:17.760 --> 00:39:29.199 I think we've moved away from that, but they still haven't quite worked out how they might be a coach and what work they need to do to get there. 00:39:29.199 --> 00:39:37.760 So I think that it's that understanding of because we can do coaching virtually, the world is your marketplace. 00:39:37.760 --> 00:39:45.119 So it's understanding about coaching different cultures, and I think there's different, there's so many different vantage points to to coaching. 00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:51.199 And it's a learning journey, the journey doesn't end. 00:39:51.199 --> 00:39:55.119 That's another reason why I love being faculty. 00:39:55.119 --> 00:40:01.599 It's like dipping back in and hearing those discussions today, because obviously they're very different. 00:40:01.599 --> 00:40:04.880 I qualified, I think, 10, 11 years ago. 00:40:04.880 --> 00:40:11.599 So probably what we were bringing up then is very different to what our participants are showing up with today. 00:40:11.599 --> 00:40:21.440 And so for me to be faculty and be a part of those discussions is really, really helpful and for my practice and really interesting. 00:40:21.440 --> 00:40:41.199 So I think that's really important that people find a way, you don't all need to become faculty, but find a way to like have a peer group or something that helps you just you need to keep touching back in with what's going on, what are people struggling with, what is going on in the coaching world, the coaching landscape. 00:40:41.440 --> 00:40:41.920 Yeah. 00:40:41.920 --> 00:40:54.559 And I think it for me brings up the value of cohort learning and being in community across the programme, something that is central to our ethos at the AoEC. 00:40:54.559 --> 00:40:57.119 And also I heard you mention accreditation. 00:40:57.119 --> 00:41:09.760 What's available in the wider community when you follow structured continual professional development to be amongst people and learn from each other? 00:41:09.760 --> 00:41:19.679 As we begin moving toward the end of our conversation, I wonder what's next for you and your professional development. 00:41:20.079 --> 00:41:23.920 I think it's really important to have your next goal, your next plan. 00:41:23.920 --> 00:41:30.079 It's not that long ago I was accredited with the ICF, with my PCC. 00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:32.639 So it's nice to have that. 00:41:32.639 --> 00:41:37.760 And it's lovely to consider what would be my next milestone. 00:41:37.760 --> 00:41:44.400 So at the moment, what I'm looking at is to become a mentor coach specialist. 00:41:44.400 --> 00:41:50.400 So there's now sort of a formal accreditation you can do from that, which requires additional training. 00:41:50.400 --> 00:42:05.119 So that's probably the next thing on my agenda, which just means that specifically, not only will I be able to be faculty, I'll also be giving very specific feedback on people's coaching and their coaching practice. 00:42:05.119 --> 00:42:10.400 So that's where the next thing that I hope to do. 00:42:10.400 --> 00:42:25.360 And I think that as AoEC Ireland and Northern Ireland, we now have a greater alumni pool like over the years, as we grow and we've done more cohorts that's about looking for what programmes they might like to see in Ireland and Northern Ireland. 00:42:25.360 --> 00:42:32.639 So, out of the sort of AoEC suite of programmes, what is it that we might offer in Ireland and Northern Ireland? 00:42:32.639 --> 00:42:39.280 So we're going to run a Team Coaching Fundamentals in November, and I'm going to co-facilitate on that. 00:42:39.280 --> 00:42:46.719 So I've already done it as a participant before, but I'm looking forward to co-delivering on that and sort of seeing how that feels. 00:42:46.719 --> 00:42:54.320 We're always looking, you know, what would people in Ireland like us to do? 00:42:54.320 --> 00:43:23.039 Then I guess for my myself, I probably need to sit down with a coach and have a little have a little chat because I absolutely think there's parts of my own business that I've, just you gravitate a certain way, certain clients pull you in certain directions, and it's a good idea to stop and take stock and just check that you know, are you traveling in the direction that you want to? 00:43:23.039 --> 00:43:27.039 Or are you being swept along by some some sort of wave? 00:43:27.039 --> 00:43:35.199 I'd love to get, I keep thinking about I'd love to get a bit, I'd love to coach some sporting professionals. 00:43:35.199 --> 00:43:36.960 I just think I'd really enjoy it. 00:43:36.960 --> 00:43:39.280 So that's probably on my to-do list. 00:43:39.280 --> 00:43:45.599 I have coached some wine professionals before, people trying to gain wine some sommelier qualifications. 00:43:45.599 --> 00:43:47.760 Yeah, that was really interesting. 00:43:47.760 --> 00:43:50.559 So, but that's more just yeah, fun. 00:43:50.559 --> 00:44:03.760 I don't see it as like my job, but I yeah, it was almost my giving back because I think that part of us we want we like to to give back in this profession, and some people do and it might be a disadvantaged area. 00:44:03.760 --> 00:44:18.880 We all do like a little bit of ad hoc work here and there, and yeah, I think if I can help people in, be it wine, be it sporting, I don't know, but that's probably where I want to spend a little bit of my time. 00:44:19.280 --> 00:44:20.159 Wonderful. 00:44:20.159 --> 00:44:38.639 Well, a sincere thanks from me and the AoEC at large for spending this time and sharing so openly about your journey and also your various roles in the AoEC and alongside with your own coaching work. 00:44:38.639 --> 00:44:42.639 It's been a real pleasure to learn more about you. 00:44:42.639 --> 00:44:44.880 Thank you very much. 00:44:45.360 --> 00:44:49.039 My pleasure, and lovely to get to know you a little bit better as well. 00:44:49.039 --> 00:44:49.920 But thank you. 00:44:49.920 --> 00:44:52.079 Thank you for your questions and your time.