About me
Hi !
I'm Chris, I live in Bristol with my wife Heather, son Charlie and dog Cosmo. I'm 55, and throughout my career I've been passionate about the importance of coaching support, both for my own career development and seeing others develop around me.
My Story
I never knew what I wanted from my career - If I'd had my way back in 1986 I would have taken on a YTS scheme, but thanks to my father I went on to Further Education (and then University) to study Engineering where I picked up a sponsorship. I then joined the civil service where I spend 10 years as an Engineer, before joining the private sector, in which I've now spent 25 years in a number of roles in junior, senior and executive levels. I often describe my career as "squiggly" - but in reality this is the same for a lot of people, as there is this thing called "life" that's runs alongside your work, and as I have progressed the relative priorities of my values have changed.
My job changes to progress my career have not always been planned, and sometimes caused by events outside of my control, whether it be a toxic boss, needing to spend more time at home, mental health episodes and of course our old friend COVID. This has taught me that having a adaptable career plan and not being afraid of change and uncertainty is no bad thing, and that what is important is having a "team" around you to listen, counsel, coach and at times hold you to account. I've been lucky to have this around me, including some excellent career coaches.
What's important other than me nowadays is to ensure that others can benefit from a similar approach - when I started work spending all your career in one place was very much the norm whereas in today's world changing employer is commonplace and employer's themselves are looking for wide ranges of experiences from it's workforce.