I have had a long and interesting career in both the hospitality and education sectors. For the past 5 years I have been in Learning & Development Manager roles where I began to see coaching as the most useful tool when managing teams. Skills can be taught but behaviour is inherent, therefore self-awareness, which coaching encourages, means that you have a sound understanding of who you are as a person and how you relate to the world in which you live. When you are self-aware, you know your strengths and weaknesses and how to manage them. Isn’t it better to manage yourself than to be managed by others? Coaching comes naturally to me, and I have been doing it for over 5 years, but to ensure that I am qualified to lead others in this field I trained with Practical Coach Training to complete an ILM Level 7 Certificate in Executive Coaching and Mentoring. This course meant that experienced coaches demonstrated and then assessed my coaching skills to a high level, so that I am qualified to work and call myself a coach. I search to make a difference to the quality of work and life.