Nina Bainbridge is an executive coach who designs leadership programmes and looks to empower people with the skills to transform their everyday conversations in order to solve problems and make lasting connections.

Having worked with young people in a prison and matrons in a teaching hospital, she wants to change the view that coaching is only available to a select few, and encourage a broader range of people to understand the positive impact that it can have on their lives.

Key topics discussed

1. The beginnings and essentials of coaching

• Starting out by solving the problems of Barbie and Sindy dolls as a child
• Learning the importance of being a good listener and not interrupting people while they are sharing
• Bringing humanity to conversations to encourage people to share
• Stepping away from the pressure to rescue your client as a coach

1. Reaching a broader audience

• Coaching in schools to create a coaching culture and reach a younger audience
• How to package coaching into soundbites and onto platforms so that it is accessible and immediately impactful

1. Overcoming self-doubt

• Putting your hand up for development opportunities even though on paper you may not feel qualified for them
• Trusting that your skills and strengths can be adapted in different environments like prisons

1. Seeing the 'ripple effect' of your work

• Working with a teaching hospital with matrons who were under pressure, working somewhere where there is one answer in medical terms
• Getting fulfilment from seeing the transformational journey of others, including impact beyond just their working lives
• Forming a strong bond with an organisation and giving back to the NHS, having received great care

1. The Career Equation in Action

• Skills: Enabling and framing coaching in a way that is meaningful
• Passion: People learning to have coaching conversations
• Impact: Having conversations that ignite people's thinking
• Environment: Human, safe and meaningful

Inspiring takeaways

• The importance of maintaining a human element in all interactions
• Not putting yourself down for finding a difficult environment really challenging
• If you frame your conversations correctly, there is nothing wrong with trying to appeal to a broad range of clients

Actionable Insights

• To learn new skills to broadcast and produce videos to achieve greater impact and online presence
• To use self-belief in innate skills as a grounding for scaling up the business through new connections

Resources and links

• Connect with Nina via LinkedIn or Everyday Coaching Skills
• Discover the Career Equation framework at www.thecareerequation.com

Don’t miss this great episode with Nina Bainbridge on The Career Equation podcast. Hear fascinating insight from her broad range of experiences - from prisons to hospitals - as she shares her journey as a coach who has come to realise the importance of being a good listener and bringing an element of humanity to conversations.