Episode #2: Phil Bolton - From Forensic Accountant to the Go-To Career Coach in London... and on to work with CEOs, MDs and Founders
Phil Bolton is an International Coaching Federation Accredited Master Coach. After training as a forensic accountant and then working as an in-house coach at Deloitte in California, Phil moved back to his native UK and set out to become the go-to career coach in London. Then, after supporting hundreds of clients to take control of their career and find work they love, he started his second coaching business: supporting leaders and organisations that are pushing the boundaries, innovating and aiming to creating a better and more joyful world.
Phil was also fundamental in Robbie’s (and many others’) development and learning as a coach through his now ‘resting’ coach training organisation, The Coaching School. Through that experience and others, he carries a wealth of experience in how to create amazing coaching experiences for clients on everything from holding boundaries with clients, to co-creating and partnership, to sales.
In this episode, we talk about:
- How he transitioned from forensic accountant to the go-to career coach in London, including how he created and developed that niche.
- What he learned about how to structure a coaching engagement for someone changing careers from coaching hundreds and hundreds of people going through transition.
- Why he left behind a full practice working with career changers to shift to working with MDs, CEOs and owners not just coaching them but supporting them across their businesses.
- The ‘hard’ third or fourth coaching session: why his favourite bit of coaching engagements is the moment where clients doubt if the change they want is going to happen.
- What Phil has learnt about sales from 13 years of running his businesses.
- Why building a business that supports his lifestyle and self-care is fundamentally important to Phil.
For more information about Phil, visit www.phil-bolton.com or find Phil on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lessordinaryliving/
For more information about Robbie’s wider work and writing visit www.robbieswalecoaching.com.
Music by My Good Man William: listen to their music on Spotify.
Watch the episode with Phil in video form.
Things and people we mentioned (that you might be interested in):
IPEC coaching training: https://www.ipeccoaching.com/
Rich Litvin: http://richlitvin.com
The Coaching School: http://www.thecoachingschool.co.uk
FULL BIOGRAPHY FROM PHIL
I love my work. I only work with organisations that are pushing the boundaries, innovating and aiming to creating a better and more joyful world. Nothing beats going on the journey of growing an organisation with an innovative and impactful leader. It’s a total buzz to see clients reach the top of the mountain and have huge impact.
Over the last decade I’ve supported the journey of many organisations going from an exciting start-up idea through the scale-up phase to a successful and sustainable organisation. I’ve learned a huge amount about this journey - how tough it can be and what to expect along the way. It means I can act as a guide and sherpa and provide insight on how to avoid the roadblocks and accelerate growth.
As a Master Coach, I support my clients to grow as leaders and to deliver real world results. I have over a decade of coaching, training and facilitation experience and have worked with over 800 clients in that time across multiple sectors – this allows me to draw on a huge range of experiences. I draw on cutting edge learning from psychology, neuroscience and business as well as real world experience to shape my approach.
In my previous life, I worked globally with Deloitte (in the UK, USA and India) for 10 years. I trained as an ACA and graduated to a senior manager in Forensic Consulting. This experience helped me to develop strong commercial skills and to use my strategic mind to break down challenges and create powerful good sense solutions. I also led and managed large global teams – an invaluable learning experience.
I love being entrepreneurial and for the last ten years I’ve been growing my own coaching practice from the ground up and being a Founder of The Coaching School, an innovative training company. To survive and thrive for a decade has shown me how tough and lonely it can be and I’ve picked up some tricks of the trade along the way. I’ve personally experienced the value of structure, personal development and getting the right support and resources in place to thrive.
Outside of Game Changing, I’m a husband, father, runner, climate activist, rubbish golfer and beer drinker based in South West London.