This week for a change, I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Beatrice Redi, to share my story on her show, Coaches Unleashed & Other Stories. I share my personal journey from experiencing burnout in a high-pressure IT role, to discovering the transformative power of being coached and then deciding to train and share the gift of coaching with others. My story is a testament to the impact of coaching conversations and the unexpected doors that can open, including solo travelling around the world, building my own coaching practice and undergoing a career change from IT Leadership to Professional Storyteller. Join us as we dive into my experiences, insights, and the lessons I learned along the way.
David, how did your journey in coaching begin?
“I initially encountered coaching in my old role as an IT professional, five or so years ago. We had a one-to-one developer scheme at work, which I applied for and was successful in securing a fantastic developer called Tom, who was trained in the basics of coaching. Over the next six months, Tom and I met regularly and for the first time, I received coaching.”
“Straight away, I remember thinking I had never felt so heard before and had several realisations and mini-breakthroughs in our conversations. I’m someone who’s super interested in personal development, and coaching is what brought it all together for me. I started to see and feel real progress during and between our sessions.”
“Fast forward six months, after my allotted one-to-one developer sessions came to an end, I sought a private Leadership Coach called Russell who specialised in Resilience. Working with Russell, I identified through the sessions that I actually wanted to train to become a coach myself. This coincided with my decision to take a sabbatical, and so I trained as a coach whilst backpacking through Eastern Europe, taking each module with Animas from various different countries. Despite preferring in-person, the remote delivery style enabled me to travel whilst completing my training, and after racking up 40 practice hours required for qualification, I successfully achieved my Accredited Diploma in Transformative Coaching by the end of the year!”
What were some of the key realisations you had during your coaching sessions?
“Coaching helped me identify that I was repeatedly encountering burnout due to my patterns of behaviour, and the pressure I was putting on myself. It wasn’t the job or the company; it was something about my approach. This realisation was the first step in breaking the cycle. I learned to communicate better with my team and manager, ask for help, and stop trying to be the superhero all the time. This shift helped me move away from burnout and start to make real progress. I’m still working on myself, but I’ve made some great progress and feel as though awareness is key for taking action to change our outcomes.”
How did you decide to train with Animas?
“The decision to train with Animas was not easy. I needed to analyse all the options in detail. Community is one of my core values, and Animas offered a lifetime membership to their coaching community through a platform called Coaches Uncaged. I knew that there would be many tasks associated with building a business after qualifying, but I had no idea just how many there would be! The Coaches Uncaged community have helped massively with topics like sales, marketing and business financing.”
“Their accreditation by all three major coaching bodies (the EMCC, the ICF and the AC) and the training schedule also fitting in with my sabbatical plans sealed the deal. Despite preferring in-person training, the remote delivery worked really well with my travels, and I felt like I was part of something greater than me, more than just a course, a revolution of sorts. I really connected well with the other delegates and two years later I’m still in touch, and have become friends with many of them!”
Can you tell us about your decision to take a sabbatical and what it was like to travel while training as a coach?
“I had this feeling every day that there’s something more I could be doing with my life. If we’re not enjoying what we’re doing, then it’s down to us to change it, as no one’s going to change it for us. Through coaching, I made the decision to apply for and was granted permission to take a four-month sabbatical. It wasn’t easy, and it required a giant leap of faith into the unknown, as I hadn’t done anything like this before, but I set off on my adventure in June 2022 and started as a Workaway volunteer in France.”
“After two weeks of volunteer work, I joined the backpacker circuit, and stayed in hostels through various countries like Spain, Croatia, and Bosnia. I met countless inspirational individuals on the way, and had many deep and meaningful conversations late into the night with others who were on a similar journey of their own. I found that the world is full of people hungry for self-development and keen to have conversations about becoming unstuck and finding the right path. The coaching skills I learnt on the course including active listening, withholding advice, and asking open questions served me extremely well and enabled me to connect and build strong relationships with my fellow travellers.”
“The travel experience was both challenging and rewarding. I remember my first day in Vietnam, landing in Hanoi and feeling like a fish out of water. Fortunately, the people and resources I needed found me along the way. Much like they do when you embark on the journey of setting up your own coaching business. The decision that I took following my sabbatical to leave the world of IT wasn’t easy, but my travels reinforced my desire to pursue a path that aligned more closely with my passions and values.”
How did you transition from IT to becoming a professional storyteller at Animas?
“After my travels, I returned to a new IT job with a new company but soon realised that my heart wasn’t in it. I reached out to Ruth, the MD of Animas, and expressed my passion for coaching and personal development. Ruth happened to be recruiting for a role in the marketing team, and we decided on the title of Professional Storyteller. Now, I get to interview inspirational coaches and speakers, and work with an amazing team, to share their captivating stories through our blog and social media channels. It’s a role that blends my existing skills and strengths with my passion for transformational conversations about personal development; it really is the definition of a dream job!”
What do you love about setting up your own coaching practice?
“It’s a whole new world to me. Marketing, Finance, Sales… They used to be departments in companies I worked in, and what they did was a mystery to me! It’s a huge learning curve. However, I enjoy racking up little wins, like posting a story on LinkedIn that triggers a conversation, attending a business networking event and representing myself as a coach, and then connecting with someone from that event over a coffee. It’s so easy to focus on what we haven’t done yet, and I’m guilty as charged, but it really is important to focus on the small successes in order to build momentum. At the end of the week, month, or year, you can say “wow, look how far I’ve come!” and there was no one huge action that led to a huge step forward; It’s a combination of lots of little baby steps that leads to results.”
What’s next for you in your coaching journey?
“My broad goal is to create a positive impact, helping clients get unstuck and move forward. I’m still defining my niche and refining the sort of people I want to work with. Some of my coaching has been whilst cycling, which I find a great way to help someone move forward, whilst literally moving forward. When you see the insight, the light bulb moment, you can’t put a price on the satisfaction which that creates, for both the coach and the coachee.”
“One day, I’d love to be a professional TEDx speaker, to publish a book, and to start or be part of an organisation that stands for empowering young people and young professionals to see past their limiting beliefs, take a leap of faith into the unknown, and realise what they’re truly capable of! I don’t know exactly how that’s going to work out, but that’s the fun of it!”
Is there anything you’d like to say to our viewers and listeners?
“If any part of my story resonates with you, whether you’re considering going travelling, or training as a coach, or feeling like there’s something missing or lacking in your career, reach out. I’d love to share what I’ve learned and help you to identify what’s holding you back. Together, we can accelerate your progress and that’s a win for us both.”
Are you inspired by David’s journey? Discover how coaching can transform your life and career by exploring our Accredited Diploma in Transformative Coaching. Join our supportive community and start your own coaching journey today!
