It’s International Coaching Week so I’ve decided to write about why I decided to do a coaching qualification alongside my role as a CEO. How I found the time, well… more on that in a future episode!
The honest answer is that my decision came from a few different experiences over time that gradually made me realise I wanted a more structured and intentional way of supporting people.
Working from instinct
A big part of it started through conversations with an external colleague and ally who was moving into a national role. He asked if I would provide some supervision and space for reflection as he stepped into the position, and I was honoured to be asked so happily agreed.
Those discussions were really interesting, and he was kind enough to say he found them helpful. But throughout the sessions I was definitely thinking: surely there’s a way I could be more useful here.
A lot of what I was doing came naturally through experience as a mental health nurse providing support and supervision, leadership and years of working closely with people, but I became increasingly aware that I was relying heavily on instinct. The conversations often leaned towards mentoring – sharing perspective, advice and reflections from my own experience – and whilst that absolutely has value, it also made me curious about how I could support people in a more intentional and skilled way.
Being coached as a leader
At the same time, I’d had coaching and mentoring myself during my first year in post as a CEO through the Charity Leadership Scotland programme, as well as some group coaching through Kate Waterfall Hill’s leadership accelerator programme.
I found both experiences genuinely beneficial.
It wasn’t about somebody giving me answers, although that would have been nice at times! In fact, it was often the opposite. It was having space to think, reflect and properly work things through with someone who listened differently and asked better questions than I was perhaps asking myself.
It challenged me in a positive way and made me reflect on how powerful good coaching can be – particularly in leadership roles, where there can often be pressure to appear certain, capable and clear all the time.
I started to realise that coaching wasn’t just about performance or development in a formal sense. It was also about creating space for people to think more honestly, build confidence in themselves and work through challenges in a way that felt constructive rather than overwhelming.
Wanting to do it well
The more I reflected on all of this, the more I knew I wanted to learn properly.
I started researching coaching qualifications and looking at different providers before eventually finding a course locally that felt like the right fit for me. I was also very lucky to have support from my Board who understood the value of my vision.
Part of the decision was definitely about wanting to strengthen how I support others individually. But it was also more than that.
A lot of my thinking on this is about the environments people work in – particularly purpose-driven environments where people care deeply about what they do and the people they support.
I’m increasingly interested in what helps people perform at their best in these settings, and what role leadership, reflection and coaching can play in that.
I also wanted to think more about what a coaching culture could look like within organisations, and whether there are ways to create more space for reflection, development and supportive challenge in day-to-day work. That’s something I’m still working on, and something I’ll definitely write more about in future.
Listening differently
What I know so far is that doing the qualification has already made me think differently.
About listening.
About resisting the urge to jump straight into solutions.
About how often people already hold the answers they need, but rarely get the space to properly work through them.
And, maybe most importantly, it’s made me reflect more on my own behaviours and how I show up myself. Not just as a leader, but as someone who genuinely wants to support people well.
leading in practice 