Damian Rhodes is an executive coach with a background in management consulting, executive recruitment and public speaking. He has lived and worked in both Hong Kong and the United Kingdom and has worked for CIL Management Consultants (a member of Ernst & Young), Hays Talent Solutions and Robert Half International. He has also sat on the boards of different charitable organisations helping them on an advisory, awareness and fundraising basis.
Damian has been coaching for over eight years and has been a certified organisational coach with the Institute for Coaching & Executive Leadership since 2018, having worked with both individual leaders and management teams. In November 2024, he resigned from his full-time job as a senior finance recruiter to focus 100% on coaching and consulting his own clients. Damian lives near Bath, in the UK, with his wife and four young children. In his rather limited spare time he enjoys coffee, comedy and keeping fit!
What inspired you to become a business coach, and how did your career journey lead you here?
My background includes management consulting (CIL Management Consultants and Ernst & Young) as well as over 20 years experience as an executive recruiter and Talent Solutions Consultant working for businesses such as Hays Talent Solutions and Robert Half International, both in the UK and in Asia (especially Hong Kong).
In both management consulting and recruitment, it is vital to be able to listen deeply and truly understand a situation before offering solutions. I was inspired to become a certified executive coach as an additional service to people I knew professionally. I am fortunate to have a strong network of ambitious people. These include people who had been recruitment or management consulting clients of mine or people placed by me in a new role who had asked me if I could play a role in developing them further.
I made a conscious decision to become a certified executive coach with IECL (Institute of Executive Coaching & Leadership) back in 2017. I became a Maxwell Leadership Certified Team Member in 2022 to further enhance my credentials, not only in executive coaching but also in training and public speaking.
What do you think sets an exceptional business coach apart from others in the industry?
There are three things that an exceptional business coach should have which should set them apart from others in the industry – and they are easy to check before you commit to your coaching sessions.
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A clear focus: What area do they coach in, and do they have experience in it?
In my own work, I am a career coach enabling people to perform at their best, navigating the challenge of transitions and truly integrating work with life. These are all areas that I have deep professional knowledge, built up over the years, as well as lived experience.
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A realistic setting of expectations – where will this coaching journey take the client?
An exceptional coach will lay out a clear programme of what someone can expect throughout the coaching program and have a good idea of where they should expect to be at the end of this, as well as the support and accountability they will receive on the way. It should also be made very clear what coaching is not – for example, I have turned down clients in the past and recommended that they receive counselling rather than coaching at this stage.
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Great testimonials of named clients who can share what impact coaching made.
An exceptional coach will not only tell you about the impact that they can make but can name people (with their permission of course!) who can give a testimonial too. Anonymous testimonials on websites might be of some indication, but look deeper. Do they truly have a track record?
In addition to the above, all good coaches should have the ability to ask powerful questions combined with deep listening skills, guiding a conversation to enable breakthroughs, tailoring their approach to each individual, not seeing their coaching counterpart as one client among many, but giving them their full-attention, not rushing into giving advice based on their experiences but allow space for their coaching counterparts to realise for themselves.
What are the most common challenges your clients face, and how do you help them overcome these hurdles?
My clients are mainly senior executives who are managing multiple challenges at a time – not only professionally but in their personal lives too. Over the last 18 months, some of the difficulties that have come up for some of the truly ambitious people I coach include falling short of targets they have set themselves, failing to secure a dream job and a work-life imbalance.
How do I help these people? I prefer to see the challenges as ways in which I help them help themselves. The ancient temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece, had the words “Know Yourself” carved within it, and I take my coaching counterparts on a journey of self-discovery with specific end-points in mind and actions to take en route. I not only give them an opportunity to pause, reflect, and identify what is truly important to them – but also enable them to find solutions to their most critical challenges and hold them accountable.
Can you share a success story where your coaching had a transformative impact on someone’s career or business?
Yes, I had a client (I prefer the term “coaching counterpart” whom I will call Chris* (*not their real name).
Chris is a successful senior finance professional with a large team underneath them, an impressive CV and a track record of success. To the outsider, there were no significant issues, but Chris was constantly frustrated, lacked energy and had problems in their relationships at work, socially and with their spouse and children too. There was a higher-than-average turnover of staff within their teams, and Chris’ health was suffering as a result.
I worked with Chris and we found out that they were suffering from something I like to call “Toxic Positivity” whereby they expected everything to go 100% as planned, both at home and work. A type of toxic positivity can, ironically, make someone very negative! Chris began to see patterns in their life, repeated over the years and was able to make changes in their mindset alongside specific commitments and day-to-day decisions to which I held them accountable.
Their mindset of toxic positivity was replaced by a far healthier attitude of what I like to call “Joyful Authenticity.”
Joyful authenticity means choosing to be cheerful whilst having a true understanding of a situation, realising that problems will arise, even expecting these, but taking into account that one can make an impact and grow through this.
Chris still plans extensively, both at work and home, but also realises that things will not always go smoothly and has a growth mindset of learning from challenges. I hold Chris accountable to ensure that their stronger growth mindset based on these insights translates into actionable steps to make a difference.
Chris has now secured a new, more senior role within the same group they were working in, having been recognised as having made a significant positive impact on the business and also retaining and growing their best people.
What role does mindset play in professional success, and how do you help clients cultivate a winning mindset?
Mindset is crucial – some people work on their own for years trying to become more positive or resilient but face the same struggles. Coaching enables people to truly know themselves, get deeper insights and enables them to make choices which not only enable them to cultivate a winning, growth-mindset but turn that new mindset into actions which make a crucial difference.
What’s your advice for professionals considering working with a business coach for the first time?
Consider my criteria for an exceptional coach: someone with a proven track record in their area of expertise, a clear pathway and proven recommendations. In addition to this, choose someone you feel you can work well with.
Be open-minded. Be present. Coaching is not just about the hour spent with the coach but the work you do between sessions. Coaching should lead to specific actions that get you closer to your goal.
What’s a skill or quality that you believe every successful leader or professional should develop?
I previously referred to “Joyful Authenticity” and believe that if every leader chose joy whilst at the same time had a firm grasp of reality and how they (and their teams) can continuously grow, then this would have a powerful impact not only on them but those around them.
What are your ambitions for 2025?
In 2025, I choose to be an ambassador of joyful authenticity in three areas:
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Continue to impact more professionals through career coaching to enable them to truly understand themselves, identify their purpose and achieve more with a winning, growth mindset and aligned actions.
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Set up a new management consultancy (independent of any recruitment firm) to enable ambitious businesses, especially SMEs, to elevate their talent landscape through deep insights and practical solutions whilst reducing recruitment costs.
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Be the best husband and father I can be. Being in my fifties and having a young family inspires me to not only plan to be present in their lives but also set a good example of being the best version of myself through prayer, fitness and continuous learning.
Career Step Up would like to thank Damian Rhodes (linkedin.com/in/damianrhodes) for his time and insight in this interview.
He can be reached via phone +44 (0)1225 683 245 or email [email protected]
If you’re a coach who would like to feature in our weekly spotlight on career coaches, please connect and send us a message – we’re waiting to here more about what you do.
This article was first published on Career Step Up.
