Coach Adrian has a diverse and very unique background which is what makes his approach to Coaching and Training very personable, dynamic, and motivational. Adrian has a natural charisma and seems wise beyond his years but from first meeting him, it is evident that his drive, is to see you achieve your goals and to see you succeed! - - (Scroll down for more)
Full Profile:
Professionally,
he started off his working career in retail management while studying and achieving a National Diploma in Music and Performing Arts
for which, he also secured a university place. Due to life circumstances, Adrian chose not to pursue a degree in the arts but to focus
on practical work options to secure financial income for the start of a young family.
This resulted in Adrian entering an entirely
new and very challenging field of study from what he had previously experienced, in the subject of electronics. Adrian recalls starting
his first day in a training workshop and knowing absolutely nothing about the subject, other than that electricity was blue and dangerous!?
Adrian
realised that to progress in this new subject, he would have to swallow his pride and acknowledge that having studied at college previously,
had no relevance in such an alien and academically challenging subject.
He considers this moment to be one of the pivotal points in
his life, as it was a revelation that, to become a blank canvas (disregard previous ego boosting events), allows for you to acknowledge
the need to ask for help and support. More so, he realised that he was out of his depths with the technical content of the subject
and to stand any chance of re-qualifying, he needed to understand and learn how he learned best.
Through his own observations and self-experimentation,
he developed a successful formula; through learning to modify the way you think, approach new problems, and adapt how ‘you’ suit to
a new concept or environment.
This eventually saw Adrian progress to successfully gain an accredited honours degree and becoming a
professional Electronics Engineer working in the military and aerospace sector in the field of semiconductors. He also sat on the
committee of his professional regional body (The IEE) and actively got involved in strategic/project development.
These activities
presented a platform to expand his experiences of professional practice, strategic development and executive negotiation (including
international). It was therefore inevitable that Adrian would eventually expand his professional drive to achieve great things and
step into the world of politics.
At the young age of 28yrs, Adrian was elected to Leicestershire County Council where he served a full
four-year term of office. In his political capacity, he expanded his experience by actively engaging with his local constituency,
various charities, public & private sector organisations, and championed innovating new ways of working. He sat on numerous strategic
committees (including regional government) and contributed to the development of many unacknowledged projects and activities that
have shaped and benefited many since.
After politics, Adrian acknowledged that his life experiences and professional background was
unique to someone of his age and he wanted to share his wisdom and learning with others which led to him becoming a lecturer at a
large FE/HE college.
Adrian says, "Life has presented me with many challenges for which many of them were personal battles. Every time
I thought I had hit bottom, I always found something in me that would make me get up, brush myself down and start over. Only the next
time, I strive forwards with acceptance of past failures’, new learning from any painful experience and with a greater motivation
to succeed!"
Although Adrian's passion for seeing others grow and develop through learning was his driving force to enter the education
profession, it was abruptly shook up when during his PGCE in adult learning, it was discovered that Adrian was actually Dyslexic!
Adrian
recounts, "This revelation surprised me and I took it in a very negative way. As far as I was concerned at that point, I was broken!
Fortunately, I engaged in an action research project for the second year of my studies, for which I focused on undiagnosed dyslexia
and adult learners. This research allowed me to open many doors and gain a deeper understanding of not only dyslexia but other neuro-diverse
learning differences. My findings were presented at a conference in London where I concluded that, although a potential barrier to
learning it may be, it is not an excuse for failure nor is it a reason, not to eventually succeed!"
Adrian decided that his motivation
to see others achieve and unlock their potential, was only genuinely possible through combining all of his previous experiences and
to pour all his knowledge & efforts into a new business venture and so, Focus Coaching and Training was born.
Adrian concludes,"Everybody has the capacity for growth and often many obstacles can genuinely become new opportunities. I'm often met with verbal
“quotes” of positive thinking and eternal optimism by clients and from other similar practitioners too but, experience has taught
me that, although I agree with much of what they say, there has to be practical action from the client. Much the same way that to
prepare a beautiful meal would require all of the ingredients to be prepared in front of you. However having the ingredients doesn't
mean you can actually cook!
For me, Focus Coaching must always offer practical strategies and solutions to achieve the desired outcome,
which I guess, comes from the engineer in me. In other words, unlike other organisations, we won't only provide the ingredients but
we'll also teach you how to cook with them."
Coach Adrian has a natural charisma and seems wise beyond his years. He has many more
stories and life experiences that makes him and his perspective of life, uniquely different from the competition but more so, there
is a definite sense that what he says is with authority of real life-experience and not a hollow quote from a “Feel good” book. His
personal presence generates a rapport with clients and with the people he meets; the feeling of trust and acceptance of who they are
but also, that what he says is with their wellbeing at the centre of his working practice and with genuine desire to see others excel
and surpass their own self limitation.
