An Interview with Tom Pilgrem, Leadership Coach
This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Tom Pilgrem, a Career Development Coach for Data and Tech Professionals, sharing his journey from graduate development programs in the UK to his current role as Chief of Staff for The Data School Down Under. His story highlights the importance of nurturing talent and fostering growth through a blend of technical training and Career & Leadership Development Coaching. Tom is passionate about equipping leaders with the skills and knowledge they need in order for their teams to thrive.
Join us as we explore what it means to be a Career Development Coach, Tom’s insights into Leadership, and how his world travel experience shaped his approach to life, and coaching.
Tom, how did you discover Animas, and what made you decide to study for a coaching diploma, given your previous coaching experience?
“I guess I was a coach in a different way. My title was Head Coach of a graduate programme and my role was to recruit graduates, bring them into the business, and then deliver a technical training program over that four-month period where we teach them data analytics skills, as a data consultancy firm. I really enjoyed that part of the role, nurturing their long-term growth and development. It was about giving them the right environment to thrive in, whether that be technical training, career development or wellbeing support.”
“As a leadership team in the business, we all worked with an executive coach. It was eye-opening for all of us and we had the realisation that this is actually really powerful. I enjoyed it very much and had a great relationship with the coach. The question became “how do we distribute this type of coaching across the business?”. The plan was for me to go and get trained in this type of coaching, so more career development coaching, because I had existing skills in technical coaching. It was great to go and get a formal education, including the practice and experience, and then bring that back to the business, delivering one-to-one leadership coaching for various people, each at a different point in their careers.”
What do we mean by Technical and Career Development Coaching?
“Technical coaching is more about in-depth skill development, like learning tools and data analytics to become in the top 10% of analysts in the country within four months. Career development coaching, on the other hand, focuses on communication, pitching ideas, and identifying career aspirations, helping individuals craft their unique paths.”
What are your thoughts on the challenges tech specialists face when moving into leadership roles for the first time?
“People naturally promote good employees rather than the ones who are going to be good managers. Especially in smaller companies, it’s natural to favour the top contributors for promotion. But we soon realise, a couple of years down the line, that maybe it wasn’t the right person to lead the team. In this situation, we’ve got two options: either we recruit someone else, or we support those people to bridge the gap into leadership. How do we actually give those people the skills they need to be managers? It’s a two-pronged approach: formal education, like sending them to external people management courses, and coaching, where we spend sessions talking about their experiences. It’s about developing their own leadership style, not just carbon-copying others, and encouraging a growth mindset across the team.”
What are some characteristics of great leadership?
“A lot of it comes down to the idea of empowerment versus abandonment. Everyone hates micromanagers—that’s one of the main issues. But then you’ve got people who go down the opposite route of abandonment, which is, ‘There’s a job; go and do it.’ It’s almost as if checking in with them would make you a micromanager. It’s about finding the balance between empowerment—giving people what they need and establishing the right frequency for checking in—and simply saying, ‘I’m here to help.’ How do you do that? By saying, ‘We’re going to check in once a week about this, and I’m going to ask you questions, or you can ask me questions.’ It’s about being available to support them and embodying the empowerment side, along with creating a culture where people feel safe to take risks without it coming back on them if it backfires. Also respecting boundaries, like not expecting replies to emails sent outside of working hours. It’s the little things that have a big impact.”
How did your international travels change your perspective on life and coaching?
“India was amazing. It was a proper absence of Westernness. Seeing how some people live was a huge eye-opener. You think about all the other stresses and struggles we might have, and you realise they’re not that big of a problem. We’re pretty blessed with what we have, and it’s easy to take that for granted. Travelling gives you a new lens through which you can see life. It reduces the magnitude of problems you perceived as huge before. It was nice to have a break, to switch off and forget about everything. I think it made me appreciate having a sense of home as well.”
What was your experience of the course with Animas?
“It was fantastic! I think I came into the program for quite a different reason than a lot of people did. I knew that I wanted to go into coaching, and I saw a lot of programs that were much more executive coaching, leadership coaching; all with much more of a corporate focus. I chose Animas because it wasn’t that. It was the broader, more holistic side, which was an interesting angle for me. The skills that we learned were great and very transferable into the type of coaching I wanted to do.”
“The way we set up the triads with observers, and the practice groups in between the training, was tremendous. It was a real safe space. I remember when we were practising together and named specific things that we were going to focus on, to refine our technique. The feedback we shared was then really valuable; everyone was always up for providing helpful feedback and learning from it. I got really good feedback, very strong, and it was always delivered in a kind way, as well. Testament to my fellow coaches!”
What would you say to someone who resonates with your story and is considering training as a coach with Animas?
“My question would be: What do you have to lose by adding all these skills to your toolset? It’s a great thing to add to your portfolio of skills and work. It might get you doing more of the work that you really love without having to make a major change in your career at the same time. Even if you don’t become a full-time coach, it can enrich the kind of work you do. Coaching allows you to engage in some really impactful, meaningful work. It might just be the skill that gets you back to doing more of what you enjoy, add another string to your bow, or it might become a whole new career path. Either way, it’s worth exploring.”
Tom can be contacted via LinkedIn, and if you are inspired by Tom’s journey and would like to train as a coach with Animas, check out our course page for more information!
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