Why I coach.

(2 minute read)

I believe in the power of our innate creativity to help us shape, navigate and fulfil our work and our lives.

Coaching is a powerful tool for increasing agency in our professional and personal lives.

It is a process dedicated to helping us work out where we want to go, where we are now and the journey we therefore have to go on to get to our destination. Those who knows me well would tell you that Coaching’s forward-focus, agency-building and action orientation appeals to my pragmatic and strategic mind as well as to my deep love of planning. 

The core conditions of Coaching - acceptance, empathy and authenticity - are consistent with the ideal conditions in a rehearsal room. As a Director, I have always believed my role is to listen intently, ask powerful questions and perceive clearly to encourage the best writing, design and acting from my collaborators. I now bring this approach and experience to my Coaching work.

During my time as Joint-CEO of Paines Plough, one of the parts of the job I found most fulfilling - second only to collaboratively leading with my Co-Artistic Director James Grieve - was working with highly talented people to set ambitious goals and to tackle and overcome the challenges they met on the way to achieving them; to help them realise their potential, to develop both personally and professionally and, together, to create unforgettable experiences for audiences. Coaching is an opportunity to continue this work outside of running an organisation.

Around the time I was moving on from a decade at Paines Plough, I was introduced to Coaching as a formal professional technique that aims squarely to create a safe space and practical process for people to think at their best. As a Coachee, the process helped me manage a shift of focus in my own career, rebalance my priorities, set myself new challenges, improve relationships and come to better understand my purpose. 

So, having felt the benefits of the process myself, and sensing how Coaching brought together my skills as a director with my experience as a CEO, I began to explore how Coaching might enable me to continue to support other professionals. 

In 2019 I completed a Coaching Accreditation with Relational Dynamics 1st (ILM Level 7 equivalent), achieving a distinction.

I now Coach alongside consulting in Theatre, TV and Podcast.

To talk more about Coaching, get in touch.