Neil Mackinnon describes himself as a curious human, and his curiosity has guided him throughout a remarkable career in which he has been immersed in creative projects, surrounded by creative people, and focussed on creative potential.

Crucially, he has also spent a great deal of his life listening and being truly present to what has occurred around him, and these qualities aided a sense of catharsis and newfound aliveness when he first experienced coaching.

Neil is one of the new hosts of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, and in this episode he gets to the heart of why coaching has become such a prominent focus of a life in which he has worked as a professional musician, a creative producer for Europe’s largest centre for the arts, and now as a faculty member at the Academy of Executive Coaching.

He explains how skilful coaches helped him access the power and potential of coaching to overcome profound challenges in his work, and how coaching appealed to his sense of adventure and his disposition as a man fascinated by all industries, all people, and all walks of life.

 In this episode, we also talk about:

How to choose a coaching organisation to train with

The hidden messages that lie within our resistance to coaching

Building autonomy through your locus of control

The profound potency of core coaching competencies

Coaching as a relational business, in which your network really matters

Neil, who has his own podcast called Creative Practice, also speaks to the deeper work of coaching, and the change that becomes possible when we find the courage to step into our shadow.

For more information about Neil, visit https://neilmackinnon.net/

For information about Robbie’s wider work, his writing or to buy his books, visit www.robbieswale.com.

Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg

To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.

Things and people we mentioned (that you might be interested in):

- The Academy of Executive Coaching https://www.aoec.com/

- The Coach’s Casebook by Kim Morgan and Geoff Watts https://barefootcoaching.co.uk/product/the-coachs-casebook-kim-morgan-geoff-watts-2015/

- Robbie appearing on Neil’s Creative Practice podcast https://creative-practice.net/2021/01/29/robbie-swale-coach/

- Kate Rees - https://www.katereescoaching.com/

- A Job To Love by Alain de Botton https://www.theschooloflife.com/shop/a-job-to-love/

- Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans https://designingyour.life/the-book/

- Richard Hawley - https://www.frycreative.uk/richard-hawley

- Gaylene Gould on Neil’s podcast, Creative Practice https://creative-practice.net/2021/08/12/episode-13-gaylene-gould/

- Link to the art behind Neil on the wall: Jet propulsion library, NASA https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galleries/visions-of-the-future 

- Jude Kelly https://thewowfoundation.com/about-wow/about-jude-kelly

- The WOW Foundation https://thewowfoundation.com/

- RD 1st Coaching Training https://relationaldynamics1st.co.uk/

- Theatre People, Greg Jauncey's cultural sector HR Consultancy https://www.theatrepeople.uk/who-are-we

- Paul Williamson from The Ambassador Theatre Group https://www.associationforcoaching.com/members/?id=52110032

- ABC Creative Music https://www.abcmusic.org.uk/

- InterMusica https://www.intermusica.com/

- Jerry Seinfeld on The Tim Ferris Show https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/485-jerry-seinfeld-a-comedy-legends-systems/id863897795?i=1000501727043

- The Prosperous Coach by Rich Litvin https://richlitvin.com/book/

- Chilly's Water Bottles https://www.chillys.com/uk/categories/bottles

- The quote Neil mentions at the end: in his book Reboot, Leadership and the Art of Growing Up, executive coach Jerry Colonna writes about this sort of radical self-inquiry: “I laugh loudly when folks suggest that this is some sort of yoga-inspired soft-bellied call to leadership. ‘Namaste my ass,’ I say with my Brooklyn-born chip firmly, squarely, and proudly on my shoulder. ‘Try entering the cave, walking to the dark recesses, and retrieving the treasure wa-a-a-y in the back. Then come tell me about being soft.’”

BIOGRAPHY FROM NEIL

Neil is a London-based leadership and executive coach, accredited by the International Coaching Federation and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council. He works with ambitious individuals, leaders and entrepreneurs, across the cultural and creative industries, tech and beyond. He coaches people to fulfill their potential through helping them establish clarity of purpose, supporting personal growth and enabling valued professional contribution and sustained personal fulfilment.

Following an early career as a professional musician Neil worked in various management and leaders roles in the cultural and creative sectors, including 12 years at London’s Southbank Centre, Europe’s largest centre for the arts. During his time there he discovered coaching through a transformational experience of working with a coach. This sparked a journey of discovery that led to his initial coach training and building coaching skills into his style of leadership.

He now splits his time between his private coaching practice and a part time faculty position at the Academy of Executive Coaching, a leading global coaching organisation offering executive coach training, coaching solutions, executive coaching certification.