In the journey of professional growth, everyone has to start somewhere. For executive coach Suki Collins, her first-ever job was as an Avon Representative at the young age of 16. Looking to earn some extra pocket money, she found this opportunity to be the perfect fit. Little did she know that this experience would lay the foundation for her future endeavors. In this inspiring Q&A session, we delve into Suki’s journey of meeting different people, making a meaningful impact in her community, and becoming an Executive Coach.
DECD: What was your very first job?
Suki:
My first ever job was working as an Avon Representative at 16. I wanted to earn extra pocket money and this was an option to do so. This was my first paid job and enjoyed it very much. I loved meeting all the different people and families. We lived on a large estate; it was easy to make money out of being an Avon Rep. I soon realised that making money was not everything. I used to talk to my customers about their problems and issues when I was visiting them. I became a great listener at a very early age and a great introduction to meeting people from different backgrounds.
I had a privileged background. I went to a great school, I became a prefect at 13 and became a deputy head girl at 16 and remained for two years. I still remember my first headmaster, he trained me on the Art of War – he taught me that as prefect I had leadership responsibilities and that I do not have to go after every battle. He taught us to fight only the battles that we will have a good chance of winning and he also taught me to be fair and transparent.
I got a Science degree and started a career as a mad scientist and while I was in my first year doing a PhD I decided that this was not for me. While I was at university I was working at Marks and Spencer as a Sales Assistant and again I was very lucky. I had great training on the working of teams and sales and marketing. It was a great education to learn to work with people from different backgrounds.
DECD: What inspired you to become a coach?
Suki:
I believe my journey started while I was at school, as a prefect and as a deputy head girl I had to manage teams at a younger age. My management style has been one of asking what they wanted to do and how they wanted to do it. I always asked questions and expected the person I was talking to to come up with their solutions.
I did not know I was coaching until I was headhunted to build a Medical School at Swansea University. I was head of HR and it was my responsibility to make sure we had the right people in the right roles. We wanted to become one of the top Medical Schools in the country, we wanted to be in the top ten in ten years. I spoke to Professor David Clutterbuck and he told me to keep doing what I was doing, that is asking questions and probing further about what the staff wanted to do. He said that this was coaching and that if I keep doing this we will achieve our target of being in the top ten and it worked. I take my hat off to David when he suggested a coaching style of management.
DECD: As a coach what led you to specialise in the particular area that you concentrate on (eg. leadership, personal development etc)
Suki:
As a senior HR professional, I was working with leaders within the University as well as the Health Boards. I was dealing with vice-chancellors as well as pro-vice-chancellors within the university as well as working with the Medical directors and their senior team within the Health Boards. I was coaching them every time we came into contact and it made me realise that I enjoy the level they work at.
I enjoy working at the high strategic level, I can see the strategic vision as well as the details needed to be done. I found myself talking to these senior leaders regularly about their day-to-day challenges as well as working with challenging employees. This wet my appetite to work with senior leaders, especially at the Board level. I love working on their personal development as well as their strategic vision.
DECD: What is the most interesting part of your work?
Suki:
Working with people, My days are never the same. It is the variety and the subjects I coach my leaders and the type of teams they lead. We all share the same infallibility as human beings, the more successful we are, we seem to have faced more demons along the way.
DECD: What is the one project/case that you’re most proud of in your career and why?
Suki:
Building up the Medical School from conception to being at the top in ten years. It is currently in the top five Medical Schools in the United Kingdom.
This was not an easy achievement, I had to learn to coach, negotiate and collaborate with senior leaders within the University as well as senior leaders from two Health Boards as well as the Welsh government. They all had their agendas and I had to find a way to deliver the outcome. It taught me a lot about myself as well as others.
DECD: What are your thoughts on diversity and inclusion in the workplace in today’s society?
Suki:
We have come a long way at the same time we have got a lot to learn.
Our diagnostic skills are advancing and we are constantly identifying that we are not all the same and that we all have our challenges.
To be inclusive we need to ensure that we provide everyone the same opportunities and we allow for the challenges we face every day. Because of the nuances in the challenges we face, it is not always to be precise in our diagnosis.
It is important to understand why we need to be inclusive, in my opinion, the advantages outweigh the costs. Unfortunately, not everyone understands this and we are a long way from being inclusive.
DECD: What about your heritage makes you feel proud?
Suki:
My heritage is Sri Lankan and I live in Wales married to a beautiful Welshman. I am proud of being Sri Lankan as well as being Welsh.
I am lucky I can take the best of both worlds and create a wonderful world for myself. Both countries are steeped in history and share a lot.
Both countries have a lot in common, we are proud of our history and are trying to make our countries better for all our people.
DECD: What do you do outside of work?
Suki:
I love reading and listening to all kinds of music from classical Western music to classical Tamil music. Both genres are steeped in so much history and culture.
The other thing I enjoy is meeting friends and having a great chat. My friends and I can talk about anything for hours.
Suki: What’s the most interesting thing you’ve read this week?
I have read about AI and what it means for us in the future.
Even before the emergence of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, automation, AI and other workplace technologies were bringing major changes to work and employment. Few denied the benefits AI could bring to the workplace, but many questioned just how much we were willing to let technology run our businesses.
But with access to AI now becoming mainstream, the ramifications for the world of work – as well as education – have again become the subject of intense interest and debate.
DECD: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Suki:
Take people as they are and keep an open mind. This advice has served me well over the years.
DECD: What is your favourite movie, book, song, album or quote?
Suki:
Nietzsche’s quote fits in nicely with my philosophy on coaching, “with the help of favourable measures great individuals might be reared who would be both different from and higher than those here to fore have owed their existence to mere chance”. He talks about the individual having the opportunity and the intervention to make a change and become the best version of themselves.
Interested in working with Suki? Find out more about her professional coaching career here.
