In conversation with Lucy Tulloch

Lucy Tulloch began as the head of coach education at the AoEC in January. A passionate coach, Lucy empowers individuals and teams to take charge of their careers. She leads 1:1, group and team programmes designed to challenge and support clients in achieving results, doing more of the work they love, without compromising wellbeing and in environments which enable them to thrive. A post-graduate certified business and personal coach and PCC-accredited member of the ICF, Lucy’s approach is grounded in trust, respect, integrity and courage, she also appreciates humour and fun in the work she does with her clients.

Can you share what inspired your journey from specialist travel and tour operations to executive and team coaching?

What I noticed in my management roles in travel was how easily the middle tier of management gets squeezed - pressured from above by senior leadership and the C-suite, and from below by their teams pushing upwards. I looked at this part of the business and realised these are the people who really need support.

Yet, they often don’t have access to coaching. Instead, they’re sent on generic management development courses that tend to be skills-based or mentor-led. Meeting a coach myself was a turning point. I had this moment of realisation - have I been “trying” to be a coach but without any formal training? That sparked my interest, so I decided to take a short course, something like the equivalent of the AoEC’s Coaching Skills Certificate, to see if this was the right path for me.

I quickly knew it was, so I moved into the coaching space, completed a Level 2 qualification, did a postgraduate programme, and started my own business - with the intention of making coaching accessible to anyone who needs support. Life is hard enough as it is, so why wouldn’t you help people remove obstacles, enable them to help themselves, and do more of what they love in teams they love working with?

That’s what drove me to do it, and eleven years later, I haven’t looked back.

How have your experiences in management, business growth and change management shaped your coaching philosophy?

What stands out to me in this question is that change is inevitable in any organisation. Whether you’re on the receiving end of it or the one enabling it, the journey can be bumpy for everyone involved.

My coaching philosophy is rooted in the idea that we often see problems, obstacles and reasons why things can’t happen. Change can feel uncomfortable, and we may struggle to see how it benefits us. However, if we take the time to understand ourselves better, we can recognise our own resistance to change and, in turn, see the opportunities for growth and development. But that work has to start from within - by looking inward and understanding what is happening for us on a deeper level.

That said, coaching is not therapy. I often use the analogy of coaching being like driving a car. When we’re moving forward, we need to check our mirrors to stay aware of what’s happening around us. Sometimes, we also need to glance in the rearview mirror to see what’s coming up from behind. This analogy has shaped my coaching philosophy because, in conversations with clients and organisations, there are times when we need to look back - not to dwell on the past, but to understand what we can learn from it. By doing so, we can manage change more effectively and adapt to new challenges with greater resilience.

At the heart of my coaching approach is the belief that we shouldn’t be afraid to raise our own self-awareness. This ties back to the core coaching skills - skills that, when recognised and used well, can be applied in so many different ways. If we listen well, ask great questions, stay curious, and use both challenge and support to enable meaningful conversations, we create space for people to be heard and seen, to debate, to explore. These conversations don’t cause harm - on the contrary, they enable business growth, effective change management and stronger leadership.

If we could make these skills part of our everyday norm, it could only be a good thing.

What excites you most about stepping into the role of head of education at the AoEC, and what do you hope to bring to the team?

After about four or five years of working as a coach, I became very aware of the importance of high-quality training and skill development in becoming a coach, as well as the need for supervision to uphold the standards, credibility and professionalism of being a coach. I also noticed that there are many people in the world calling themselves coaches who are, in reality, mentors, advisors, or consultants. Recognising this reinforced my belief that we have a huge responsibility to care for our clients as we work with them.

One of my reasons for wanting to take on this role was to be part of an organisation that shares those values - placing professionalism, training and development at the heart of coaching standards, because I think that’s important. Being in this role within education means I can be instrumental in shaping what that looks like and guiding the journey we take each of our participants on.

Having delivered the Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching for two years, I can honestly say it has been one of the most rewarding times of my life - watching coaches come in at the start of their journey as one person and leave as somebody else. I’m still staggered that I get to be part of shaping and growing that, especially as coaching continues to evolve and training must adapt to meet the demands of an ever-changing world.

What can I bring to the team? Well, I hope to bring a strong desire for collaboration, fostering a culture of trust, openness, and professional standards - things that enable us to keep doing what we do so well and remain passionate about. I also want to support the team in their own growth as coaches and facilitators, helping them work effectively and efficiently while ensuring they can continue running their own coaching practices alongside their work here – because I believe that’s an essential part of who they are and how they facilitate on the programme.

Also, as a member of the senior leadership team, I’m excited about the future direction of the AoEC, and I would love for the faculty to join us on that journey so that we can continue doing great things in the coaching space.

As AoEC moves into its 26^th year, how do you see the organisation evolving to meet the changing needs of the coaching profession?

I think we will continue to be extremely proud of our triple accreditation and remain committed to providing coach training that meets the high standards expected by our three accrediting bodies - adapting alongside them to meet the evolving needs of the coaching space.

When I think about the changing needs of the coaching profession, what stands out to me more than anything is the role of AI - how it might support coaches moving forward, and, just as importantly, what AI can’t replace. That is an area of personal interest and intrigue for me.

At the AoEC, one of the things we share within the senior leadership team is a commitment to agility. We will continue to be responsive to what is needed, ensuring that our programmes remain relevant to our participants. That way, when people join us for their coach training, they can be confident that they are leaving with something truly valuable - something that meets the needs of organisations and equips those who go on to run their own businesses with the skills and credibility that the business world demands.

What have been the most powerful lessons you’ve learned as a coach, and how do they influence your vision for coaching education at the AoEC?

One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned as a coach is letting go of the responsibility for the outcome of coaching. I know this can be a tricky one because every organisation wants to understand the return on investment when they support a team member through coaching. But if we look at it through a slightly different lens, we can recognise that not all outputs are tangible.

As coaches, we don’t always know the full impact we have on our clients, and yet we see them go on to do great work - with greater confidence, whatever their challenge was. We know they go on to make a difference in the world, even if we can’t always measure it with a specific metric. Letting go of responsibility for the outcome allows us to truly partner with our clients, trusting that they already have the answers to their own challenges - they just might not be able to identify them when they first come into coaching. Our role is to facilitate their thinking in a way that enables them to find those answers for themselves.

If we coach from a place of believing we know best, then we’re not doing the right kind of work for our clients. This leads to the need to be open - to coaching itself and to the coaching process - which can feel uncomfortable at times because it is fundamentally different from mentoring or advisory work. But if we can embrace that openness, we can engage in some truly powerful thinking and transformational work together.

How does this influence coaching education? I believe it reinforces the need for highly experiential programmes - ones that provide a safe space to practise, to experiment, and to develop skills through real application. Being coached ourselves - experiencing what it’s like to be on the receiving end - is just as important as learning the theory. That’s something I see as fundamental to how we continue shaping coach education at the AoEC.

How has your work as a coach mentor and supervisor shaped your understanding of what new and experienced coaches need to thrive?

From a supervisory perspective, the learning never stops. The more you go out into the world and coach, the more you're exposed to new challenges, which often raise questions around skills and processes. This highlights the ongoing need for professional development. Coaches, in general, love to keep learning, which is fantastic, and supervision provides a great space for continued growth in this area.

In addition to this, from both an experienced coach’s and a wellbeing perspective, I believe supervisors also have a key role in looking after the wellbeing of coaches. It’s an important part of the coaching journey to recognise the work we need to do to look after ourselves. I often think about the analogy of the oxygen mask: coaches need to look after themselves in order to look after others, especially when we ask our clients to be open and vulnerable in exploring who they are and what they need to do.

It’s easy to overlook this until you start coaching. And that’s why it's crucial to remind ourselves of the important role supervision plays in our ongoing development as coaches. Personally, I found that my coaching practice improved immensely with the help of supervision. Having that space to say, “I wasn’t quite sure how to work with this client”or “I’m noticing this when I work with this client” was incredibly valuable. It allowed me to learn so much about who I am as a coach and how to thrive in this profession.

From a mentoring perspective, I’ve noticed there’s a huge hunger among new coaches to learn from those who’ve been in the field for a while. They want to understand how to run a coaching practice or how to be an internal coach. Mentoring offers an essential opportunity for continuous reflective practice: “What am I doing? What can I do better?”It’s the perfect space to explore how you coach and what you could do differently.

In my own practice, I’ve found that sometimes you can fall into a pattern or a particular way of coaching that might become a habit. While this may reflect who you are as a coach, it’s also easy to get stuck in a routine or even develop bad habits. Mentoring gives you a chance to break out of that and explore what else you could include in your approach.

Finally, supervision also provides a space to talk about business development - how to run your coaching business, how to grow it, and how to continue evolving professionally. It’s a wonderful opportunity to use supervision to reflect on how you’re running your practice and what you can do to expand it further.

You have gone onto be accredited with the ICF at PCC level and are a member of EMCC. Why was becoming accredited important to you and what value has it brought your practice?

I joined the ICF as soon as I had completed my Level 2 accreditation for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I wanted to acknowledge the work I had done, and becoming an accredited member felt like a badge of honour - recognition that I had achieved a certain level of coaching skill.

From a commercial perspective, running my own business, it also felt like a badge of credibility when securing work with organisations. It aligned with the values that are important to me - standards, professionalism, and quality - so that was a key factor in my decision. I have continued my journey with the ICF, progressing through ACC and then onto PCC, and I would love to achieve MCC in the future. I am also a member of the EMCC, and my Master certification is almost complete.

I think being part of these professional bodies is important because they provide support, additional training and opportunities for collaboration. We should be proud of the achievements we gain through rigorous coursework and assessment - it adds a level of quality and professionalism that really matters. This is especially important in a field where many people call themselves coaches without necessarily having gone through the same level of training and education.

In your own coaching work, who are you working with and what type of coaching services are you offering?

The type of clients I’ve worked with has changed significantly over the last 10 years. As I’ve discovered more about who I am and how I coach, my approach has evolved.

During the pandemic, I realised I had a real passion for career transition and progression. The pandemic threw many people a curveball - some lost their jobs, while others had to adapt as organisations changed how they worked. Hybrid working also made visibility more challenging, leaving some struggling to feel seen and recognised for promotion or career progression. This led me to focus on what might be considered career coaching, helping people navigate transitions in a more straightforward way - whether that’s moving into a new job or shifting into a different sector.

From an executive coaching perspective, my work has also involved supporting individuals in the last 10 years of their careers, up to retirement - helping them to thrive at a senior level, enabling more women to join boards, and working with organisations to improve communication and team dynamics.

While I consider myself a career coach, my work extends beyond that. It’s about helping individuals, teams and organisations to perform better, to be happier in what they do, and to focus on their strengths. It’s about fostering creativity and rethinking traditional ways of working - challenging the mindset of “that’s the way we’ve always done it” or the idea that a job description has to look a certain way. For example, if we have a neurodivergent person whose strengths align with only part of a role, why not rethink the structure and shift responsibilities in a way that plays to everyone’s strengths?

Ultimately, my work is about enabling individuals and teams to play to their strengths, supporting accessibility and inclusion, making resulting in more enjoyable work and enabling people to thrive. That’s what drives me now.

How do you think the role of coaching will develop in response to the future of work?

I’ve been reflecting a lot on the idea of coaching as a line manager because it presents a real challenge. Coaching, by its nature, involves confidentiality and not directing clients - or in this case, team members - towards a specific outcome or solution. That can sometimes be at odds with the role of a leader.

Yet, at the heart of coaching are some fundamental skills - listening well, asking thoughtful questions and being genuinely curious. I think about this in relation to how we run meetings. Do we have a clear goal? A clear objective? Do we have the right people in the room, and do we know what we’re trying to achieve by the end of it? These core coaching skills are not just essential to coaching itself - they are also vital to how we operate within business.

Coaching has a key role to play in the future of work. If we can harness these skills more effectively, we will be able to tackle many of the challenges we face in the workplace - whether that’s reducing conflict, building trust, or making work environments more accessible. Ultimately, it’s about enabling people to play to their strengths. Whether someone formally considers themselves a coach or simply applies coaching skills in their role, the impact on the workplace can be transformative.

What would you like your professional legacy to be?

I would love my professional legacy to be that I played a part in shaping the coaches of the future and that every person or organisation that I work with experiences the power of coaching.

Our deepest thanks to Lucy for sharing her expertise and insights into coach training and work as a ICF Professional Certified Coach.