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So, hello everyone, it's Mandy and Judith back again to unveil some more insights. Hello. Um, before we explain a little bit about what we are doing back here, um, firstly just wanted to thank everyone who's given us fantastic feedback on the first series. It's been really gratifying to know that it's been useful for some of you. and for those of you who haven't had the first series, just a reminder that it was set up to tackle some of those really naughty business issues that get chucked at. In market research. So we are looking at things from both the client side and an agency side perspective. Um, do go back and have a, have a listen and download. So, Judith, why are we back then? Wow, why are we back? So as part of that lovely feedback that we got, um, there, there was a bit of a, uh, request for a second series, and we'd love to do that. But, um, we don't have time to do a full series. We've both got other projects on the go, but what we have done is put together some bonus episodes and these are about people with, non-traditional jobs in the market search sector. And, uh, we hope you find them really, really interesting. because it's all about the, the wonderful contribution that they make. Well, we really hope you enjoy the, the episodes and do let us know what you think. So Judith, Who is our guest this week for our podcast? So our guest is Rachel Fraser from Harvest Moonrise, and um, she's a coach And, um, the reason that I thought that she would be a great person to interview for the podcast is not just'cause I have been working with her recently, uh, uh, helping people with their confidence and content. But, um, a little plug there. but also, because she's a super interesting person because she started in the industry as a researcher and she has made a sideways move and she is now a coach, a leadership coach for primarily people in the industry. And so she's got a perspective from sort of the traditional route. Through research and also through what she does now, which is very much an adjacent role, but it's a really incredibly important role because, she helps people to shine and to, to be the leaders that our industry needs. So, um, that's why I thought that she'd be a great interviewee and I think she was. It's, it's, it's really interesting. I've heard so much about coaching recently. Um, there, there's a loss of it about, and it's a good thing too, I think. And in fact, one of our other interviewees is also, also talks about coaching, I think, um, in one of the later episodes. So yeah, really looking forward to, to hearing more. So I went to my career library at university and I looked at. Loads of different industries and the one that really stood out to me was marketing, and I thought that's where my skills might lie, not knowing that market research was part of that. Anyway, applied for lots of grad schemes and was accepted onto the Millward Brown grad scheme, which was an amazing Start into the industry three year program there. And then I had a classic route through research. I went to Synovate, then I went client side to Cadburys for a while, into a brand consultancy. Clear. And ended up at Simpson Carpenter, running their quant team. And was part of the senior leadership team there. So that's my potted history through insights. Wow. That sounds like a really fun career. So, you thought you were going into marketing, but then year ended up in market research. Were you surprised? In hindsight. I don't know, do you end up where you're supposed to be? Perhaps we end up drawn to places where we feel we fit. I think there's a lot in that so, do you want to talk a bit now about your current role so now I'm a leadership coach and I support the insight industry, which is obviously why I'm talking to you today. Um, and between those two careers, I went to live in Tokyo for a couple of years and that was quite life changing on many levels. It's where I discovered coaching and the power of coaching. What it can do. And I think also being in another country that's wildly different to the. You just start to think about different perspectives. Once you're out of your comfort zone, that's where all your growth and potential lives. I'm like, this is so exciting. Coaching's the way to get people there. They don't have to go to Japan for two years through coaching, you can enable yourself to stretch your comfort zone and unlock some of that potential, find new perspectives. So I was like, this is so exciting. This is what I wanna do. So I threw myself into the training and I've now sort of brought all of that experience back to my. 20 years of life and insight and brought the two together. So I, I'm really excited about what it can do for the, the sector. Amazing. It's great when you love what you do and you really believe in it, like you believe in the impact it can have. The best thing about. What I do is that you get to see the people you work with, grow. You get to see them come alive. You get to see them change their mindset. You get to see them put things into action that they would never have done on their own. And it's just so joyful to see, to me at least to see people. Fly and just really discover things about themselves that they never knew. Um, I mean, one example I just thought would be useful, a nice little story is, um, one of my clients who absolutely brilliant at what she does. Brilliant. So efficient. So smart. But then through the process of the coaching, you know, she wanted to advance, but something was in the way. But she was sort of, you know, mentioned how she was reading all these interesting articles on the sidelines of the hockey match at the weekend watching her kids. And I was like, no, not everyone does that. And, and she actually had a really strategic mindset, but she wasn't using it. She wasn't bringing it into the workplace, and she didn't see herself like that. Anyway, we started bringing in these Friday afternoon deep thinking sessions where she would go through all the stuff she'd been reading, what she thought was really interesting, and then she'd look at what was coming up next week in terms of her meetings and what she could take and apply to those meetings in the following week. So she started bringing it into her role. And slowly through action, through actually doing things, she started to believe that actually I'm a bit of a strategic thinker here, and everyone started to listen. Anyway, long story short, she got promoted to the board, um, into her dream role and has since been promoted again she's just that one thing she unlocked in her mindset. Where can I sign up? That sounds amazing, Rachel. So, all right, so there must be some tough bits as well. What do you find difficult about it or challenging? I think with coaching, you coach a person or a group of people, but there's a ripple effect. You know, like if you throw something in water and you get those circles, those ever decreasing surfaces, there's sort of a ripple effect that moves out. And that's what happens with coaching. So you coach that person, but the impact on them will have an impact on the people around them, like their colleagues or their family or their friends. And you never get to see that. You don't see it, you don't hear about it. And there's a sort of a, it's not, it's not a challenge, it's just a sort of sadness. So I, I can only wonder, um, and it probably sounds a bit sappy, but I do feel a bit sad. I'd love to see what those, those ripple effects might be. And, um, is there anything that's really surprised you about the role that you weren't expecting when you went into it? yes, because weirdly I was a massive skeptic. So I think when you are totally convinced by something, when you started out skeptical, and a few of my clients have been that way, that that sort of proves it to you, you know? I but I've become a bit of a, well obviously cheerleader champion for all things coaching. You know, that's really surprising to me actually to hear that because, you know, from having got to know you, um, recently, I would say that, you know, you are such an advocate for this and for the process that it, it amazes me that you were skeptical about it to, to go into it, but actually what, what a great endorsement that. That, you know, you genuinely were skeptical about it and you've been so won over. Um, and now you are so, so positive and so convinced. So, okay. What advice would you give to anyone who is thinking of getting into a similar role, I would say two things. So the first one I would say is get some really good gold standard solid training for two reasons. One, it's not a very well regulated industry. Anyone can call themself a coach, and they do, and I really do think true coaching. You've got to be properly trained and you need to experience that yourself so that you can coach others. The second reason is that you'll have a network. So I've got an incredible network of other coaches. We learn from each other, we inspire each other. We do group supervision to make sure we're on point. We're always sharing, and I think it can be a sort of loan profession a little bit, and it's really important to have that support network around you as well. The second thing I would say is if you're wanting to go into coaching, it's possibly a good idea. If you, if you don't have financial needs, fine, just go for it. If you do, and most of us do, then I would say try and do it alongside what you're doing currently and fit it in that way. Oh, brilliant. That's, that's great advice. Okay. And And what is it about the sector that you enjoy? I think it's the people. I just find it such a welcoming industry. I think people are interesting, they're smart, they're curious, and down to worth and just goes right back to the beginning of my career. Like I just feel like it. I fit. Um, and how do you see your role progressing as the sector changes? Yeah, I mean, I think it's a really interesting and challenging time. Uh, you know, there's so much uncertainty, whether that's macroeconomic uncertainty or this huge transformation that AI will obviously bring to the industry. There's a lot to navigate. So think with that as the backdrop. What excites me and what I think I can bring in terms of my role in that are two things. So I think the first thing is supporting business owners, business leaders at the, top of the organization to navigate that uncertainty with clarity and with confidence, and. To make sure that they're focused on being busy on the right stuff and they've got the right team in place to enable them to do that. So that's one thing. And I think the other piece is then accelerating the human impact of the other people in the organization, the other leaders in the organization. You know, there are things AI can't do. So we've really gotta lean into that I think now, and build those human skills. You know, relationship building, problem solving, innovative thinking, engaging storytelling, commercial understanding and context, all of that stuff. It takes you usually 20 years on the job to learn that stuff. Right? But I don't think we've got time to wait. So what I think I can bring is accelerating that. So that people have those skills now, and to me what's exciting about coaching is training's, brilliant, love training, but sometimes it can stop when you leave. The room can be a bit academic. Mentoring is very important. However, that's someone else has lived life, not yours. Not your role, not your context. The thing about coaching is it's always personalized to that business, to that person because just by its nature it is, and you are able to. Take people on a more personalized journey of behavior change, so there's more longevity in the process. We're about building systems and habits and behavior change. How are we gonna be as a sector now? How are we gonna be as leaders in this sector, and how can we accelerate that human impact within all of this change? Lovely. Big questions. So, is there anything that I haven't asked that you think would be, useful for people to hear, I would say you need to start always with self-awareness. You've got to know yourself. What do you love? What energizes you? What are you good at? What do you hate? What de-energize you? It's a really great place to start and there's really simple tools out there. You know, working with a coach will be the most powerful thing, but there's loads of other things you can do. Simple things. You can use tools and assessments. To just get a sense of, right, who am I who am I at my best? And how am I gonna shine and What's my best fit? And I think if you can get that self-awareness in place, then decisions become a lot easier and a lot clearer. The path becomes a lot clearer. So start there. Love that. That's so helpful. Thank you. That's amazing. Gosh, I must admit was, yeah, she's really, um, she's so eloquent, isn't she? I, I love talking to Rachel and she, she's, she's really interesting and she's got, she's got so much to say. Yeah, I think as you said at the start, because she's got the market research experience and she's, she's done lots of different roles in the industry. Um, really got a sense of her understanding some of the challenges that, that people who come to her for coaching might be facing within our industry. And I think that's what makes it really fascinating from a, a, a, a different sorts of roles within our industry point of view. Yeah, and I think that she's, you know, it, it's a really strong position to be in, you know, because you could have a leadership coach that's come from anywhere and that would be fine. But I think that the reason that she's so effective is because she does really understand our industry, and as you say, she does understand the challenges and that occupying that little niche, I think is really powerful. Yeah. One of the things that struck me right at the start of her interview, she talked about her life changing moment when she was in Tokyo, I think it was. Um, and I did reflect on how many of us have had those moments where we've thought, oh, actually I. That would be really amazing. I'd rather, I'd really love to do that. And then obviously not, not all of us then, you know, take up on that moment and, and, and change our, our careers. But, um, I thought that was inspiring because it has made me think, um, actually there's, there's a lot to be said for embracing that and moving forwards and maybe trying something different and moving. Towards a Ukraine. Yeah, absolutely. I agree. And actually I think, um, uh, one of the things that she said that really struck me about that was that she'd been such a skeptic beforehand as well. And I mean, that actually surprised me because she's such an evangelist for coaching and the whole process now. And, um. You know, I kind of thought that she'd always been that sort of a person who, who, you know, really believed in those sorts of things. But, but I think that's even more powerful in a way that she, she had to be convinced herself and, and, and now she's convinced she's, you know, it's, it's a really strong, strong reason for carrying on with that. Yeah, absolutely. And the other thing, I think she said that that really powerful story she told about her client, um, uh, who was, who was doing lots of things on the sidelines of the football pitch and not really thinking about bringing that into the business. And the, the whole sentiment of unlocking someone's potential is not necessarily fundamentally changing the way someone does something. It's really just sort of being able to see that potential and helping them to unlock it and to apply it, um, and really kind of freeing up. I think it's such a wonderful. Skill to have, um, such a gift to give the industry as well. So that was some that really struck me. the other thing that really struck me was the great story she told about the client that had, um, been reading things at the side of the football pitch and then hadn't really thought about bringing those into the business and how Rachel really helped her to unlock that and, and really unlock her potential. And I think that really struck me because sometimes it's not about completely changing someone's fundamental. Approach or a fundamental way of being. It's just sort of being able to spot little things that can help them kind of unlock something. Um, so I think that really, yeah, that, that was very impressive and, and very inspiring. Yeah. Yeah. I think, I think it's that, you know, those things are in you all the time, and it's just a coach's role is to help you find them within yourself, isn't it? Rather than to, yeah. You know, it's not a teaching role where they give you the knowledge or the information. It's helping to sort of find that in you and, and bring it out, which is, you know, it's a real scale. Yeah. Yeah. Well, full disclosure, I mean, it's a, it's a career that I am quite interested in myself. Mm-hmm. And like I keep thinking one day I might, um, do the training. So, you know, her point about do gold standard training, um, also sat with me as well to just rock up and, and, uh, you know, have a go. Um, so yeah, I think it's kind of directly inspired me, so. All good. Oh, wow. Amazing. We should talk to Rachel. Oh, maybe I will. Maybe I will. Okay. So I think that's, that's it for the, this week's episode. Um, and it remains to be said. Thank you very much for listening. Um, please download, like, subscribe, et cetera. And uh, we'll be with you with another episode soon. Thanks all. You certainly will. Thank you. Bye-bye.