Where Personal Strengths Coaching came from!

Here is Personal Strengths Coaching’s founder, Nic Jackson’s Origin Story. An introduction to her and how Personal Strengths Coaching was born!

Nic Jackson’s Origin Story…

I grew up in villages around Bedfordshire, the youngest of two children. My Mum was a stay-at-home Mum and my Dad was a project manager within BT. I always admired how enthusiastic he was about what he did, the great work relationships he had and how he worked with organisation and order. As a child, I was the one who gave it my all and wanted to understand and seek the why around what I was doing.

Even from early childhood, I have been highly tuned into the people around me, strong relationships were always important to me and I’ve always felt a strong pull to support my friends when they needed it. I’m really interested in what makes people tick – I guess my empathy for humans, how they think, and how they behave started even in my teenage years.

Academically I have always been engaged. I feel like my determination to work hard, face challenges head-on and persevere to achieve my goals has carried me far in my qualification and my career, to owning my own business today.

It’s no surprise I went on to study Psychology at University. People were clearly right at the heart of what was important to me. While working after university to save money to travel, I got my first taste of how my passion would translate into a career. The HR Manager at the distribution centre where I worked took the time to get to know me and, in finding out that I had studied psychology, suggested that HR may be a great fit, and offered me a role to give it a try.

Needless to say, I had found my home. I loved working in HR and continued for years in a variety of generalist roles, particularly in hospitality. In 2012 I completed my Postgrad Diploma in HR Management, and found my true passion in the shape of ‘Learning and Development’.

Years later, I had the defining eureka moment which unveiled the “thing” that would light the flame and send me on the trajectory to running my own coaching business.

I was in my last employed role at Wetherspoons where I headed up the Head Office L&D team. I was tasked with sourcing a 360º feedback tool, I introduced and implemented a tool that centred on a strengths approach. That was it. I was addicted. Oh, what a deep, authentic proposition I had found. During the lightbulb moments with individuals, my heart felt glad that the solution providing the insights for these individuals was based on their authentic selves. Here was a viable, impactful method to creating real change in people. When I saw individuals walk away visibly more confident, with heads held high after reflecting on their unique identified strengths – I was completely sold.

I knew then and there – this was it. This is the future. This is what I wanted to spend my time doing.

When the opportunity came for redundancy I took it and brought together my insights of personal strengths, my pull to develop others and support professionals with their personal journeys of growth and development. My business ‘Personal Strengths Coaching’ was born. I progressed my qualifications to heighten my coaching skills through my ILM Level 7 certificate for Executive and senior level coaches and mentors, giving me some great tools and techniques to support my coaching clients.

Today I balance running my business alongside raising my three young sons, and creating some amazing memories with my friends and family, after all that’s what it’s all about! Thanksfully a mission which is shared by an amazing and supportive husband.