Coaches Corner with Jeremy Lazarus

1. Who or what inspired you to do what you do?
I have a deeply held belief that people can achieve far more than they think they can. In my latter years as a senior finance professional, I was asked to do things which ‘disrespected’ people, which went against my Values and made me want to leave that arena. A series of chance meetings from 1996 culminating with meeting one of Britain’s top coaches in 1999 led me make a decision to quit my finance career and become a coach.

2. What do you find the most challenging about your work?
Coaching (and training) itself is a privilege for me, and there is very little that challenges me about coaching or training. Marketing (as opposed to ‘selling’) is an area where I feel most challenged, as I believe that I am not a natural marketeer.

3. What’s the biggest lesson you have learnt in recent years?
From a business point of view, get really good at marketing, and find a niche. From a personal point of view, the importance of planning for the long-term financially (fortunately I made some plans, many people don’t).

4. If you could wave a magic wand and have one wish for you or your coaching practice, what would it be and why?
I’m focussing more on coaching leaders, and plan to do so for the rest of my life. My wish would be to have the opportunity to coach numerous leaders, and help make a massive difference to them and the people they lead, ultimately to make the world a better place for everyone.