The Post: Transformative Coach, FXL Executive Solutions Ltd
The Post Holder: John Kelly
No two days are ever the same for transformative coach John Kelly.
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
I worked for 17 years with C&C Drinks company in roles ranging from Territory Sales Rep to Sales and Marketing Director. I left to establish FXL sales training company which in turn has progressed to an organisation with a focus on bringing the best out of leaders and employees through developing their understanding of the innate brilliance of humans and addressing the causes of why our brilliance doesn’t always shine like it can.
What was your favourite subject at school?
French and History, but I also liked Chemistry and Biology, these subjects fascinated me.
Did you go on to further/higher education, if so, what did you study and where?
I followed my interest in Chemistry and Biology by studying at Queen’s University Belfast for a B.Sc. in Chemistry before completing a degree in Agricultural Chemistry.
How did you get into your area of work?
Seeing the power of transformative coaching in my own life and career convinced me to explore this area further. Moving from a senior commercial role into a training and development role put me further on the path of assisting people to be their best in the workplace. Training on its own was not achieving the capability development results I knew were possible, so coaching was a natural progression to accelerating the development of my clients.
Is this what you always wanted to do?
In many ways it was what I always wanted to do; I just didn’t know it for the first 20 years of employment.
Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
The qualifications that people have in the coaching world are many and varied and there are accredited courses through bodies like European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and International Coaching Federation (ICF).
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
Listening without an agenda is vital in the role.
What does a typical day entail?
I think every self-employed person will say that there is no such thing as a typical day.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
The best aspect of the job is when the person I am coaching has an insight that transforms their life. They wake up to the brilliant truth about themselves and their world changes; what could be better? The challenging aspect of the job is when I get caught up in my own head and believe it is my job to give them that insight. My job is simply to show up as the best version of me and deal with what presents itself at any moment.
Why is what you do important?
Life in general and business in particular seems to have become more stressful for many people. Guiding people to see how naturally resilient we are underneath the worry of our own thoughts has the effect of lessening and even eliminating stress from many of their life situations, thus enabling them to live a happier and more fulfilling and productive life.
That’s why I was inspired to develop Brilliant By Design, our inaugural and innovative one-day event at Titanic Hotel Belfast on September 26. Featuring a variety of inspiring speakers it aims to help individuals and businesses untap their potential to flourish and deliver transformational change in business success, relationships, well-being and creativity.
What advice would you give anyone looking to follow a similar career path?
Find out what makes you come alive and follow whatever career path unfolds for you from that place of aliveness.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you like to do?
A lighthouse keeper or a lead singer in a rock band if I had a better singing voice.
Describe your ideal day off.
Rising without the use of an alarm, reading the morning paper (in print, not online) with a big mug of tea and toasted wheaten bread with butter and strawberry jam. Afterwards a walk on a beach and a swim followed by spa treatments and finishing the day with a meal with friends and family and a decent bottle of wine.
And finally, what’s the key to any successful job search?
The key lies in one of my favourite quotes from Howard Thurman, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
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