Why did I stop playing? On reflection I wasn’t inspired by my last coach, I was no longer enjoying the game or the environment, I now realise that I used the excuse of going to university to stop. That was that!

Throughout my professional pharmaceutical career, I have been fortunate to work with a lot of fantastic people who have supported me professionally, provided inspiration as well as an environment to succeed. I believe that our own personal values help to shape and define us. My own values are underpinned by hard work, teamwork and humility. Without a doubt this comes back to my childhood, how I was raised and through the sport I loved.
 

I have been exposed to many coaching models but the one that is so often used and my personal go to model is GROW2. This was introduced to me in my early days as a leader by a well-respected colleague and confidant, Tracy Mellor who worked closely with the developer Sir John Whitmore. The GROW model is so simple yet so powerful, focussing on the Goal, Reality, Options and Will.
 

Any model in isolation will only take you so far, having a coach/coachee relationship built on trust and mutual respect will take you further. I have always found that a good coach can relate to the situation that you find yourself in. They don’t necessarily need to be an expert in the technical space but need to have an understanding and have worked in the environment to understand the opportunities and challenges that are being faced.

Let’s go back to football, after a break of nearly 20 years I rediscovered my passion for football through my then 5-year-old son, who wanted to play for a team and the team needed a coach to take them forward. I stepped up, undertook my FA Level 1 license to coach and we were away. This followed a simple philosophy, learn the game, love the game, play as a team and work for each other. I am now into my seventh season with the team, together we’ve grown, the boys as players and me as a coach. My footballing background has definitely helped as I understand the game from a player’s perspective and I’m stronger in the defending side of the game than attacking. Developing this further I had the opportunity to coach a girls’ team for five seasons and saw them achieve some great things both on and off the pitch, we started from not being able to kick a ball to winning the league over the seasons. 

A few years ago, I discovered the author Angela Duckworth who wrote around the area of Grit, “Coaches have the power to change lives by fostering resilience and instilling a never-give-up attitude3.” If we had given up after that first season, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

From a professional perspective I have had the opportunity to coach numerous talented individuals, some who have remained in my team for several years and have had the opportunity to develop in role. Some have transitioned transversally into other roles within the business, some have developed into global roles, some have developed their career elsewhere. The commonality amongst everybody is development to achieve individual aspirations. My responsibility as a coach has always been to understand these aspirations, provide appropriate challenge, stretch thinking and ask great questions to really understand the motivations. 

My own path and experiences assist in being able to ask the right questions as the right time, supported by a technical understanding of the disciplines worked within. My motivation comes from seeing the glass ceilings being smashed (together we’ve smashed a few) and the sense of achievement through a positive outcome that someone thought wasn’t possible. The never give-up attitude in action.

I’m inspired to continuously improve as a coach, be that through personal development or being inspired by the football team to achieve my UEFA C license through 3 months of hard work and a number of weekends away and even being inspired to get the boots back on and returning to competitive football in Veterans Masters after a 30 year break!

We win or we learn, keep moving forward.

Article sources
1. Vince Lombardi, “What It Takes to Be #1: Vince Lombardi on Leadership” (2003)

2. Cultureamp.com:  "The GROW coaching model: What it is and how to use it | Culture Amp", Accessed August 2024

3. Angela Duckworth, “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” (2016)