Interview with Gerard O’Donovan – CEO of the Noble Manhattan Group
I was honoured to interview Gerard who is the founder and CEO of The Noble-Manhattan Group – Europe’s premier and longest established professional coaching and coach training organization, Founder and CEO of The ALPHA Group – the leading Peer to Peer group to help owners of SMEs in 21 countries, Founder and CEO of Coach Radio International – The leading personal development internet-based Radio Platform, Non-Executive Director and Past President of the IIC&M (International Institute of Coaching and Mentoring) The World’s leading accreditation body for professional coaches and the Chairman of the ICN – International Coaching News- World’s largest Coaching Publication.
1. Where does your passion for coaching come from?
Coaching is all about helping people and it is one of the very few professions in the world where you can get total and complete satisfaction of the work you do, and you can also see tangible and immediate results with the people with whom you work – this obviously results in feelings of great satisfaction, motivation and passion.
2. How did you start your journey/career in coaching?
It actually started by accident; I was at a large tradeshow in 1995 and heard an American lady talk about life coaching, which I had not come across before. I felt very inspired to find out more.
3. What are the outcomes of coaching in your life?
It helps you to question with great clarity the things you do and why you do them – and helps you to become much more empowered, especially in the area of setting and achieving goals for yourself, your family, your business and your future.
4. Who are the clients that you currently work with, and who have you previously worked with?
My clients are incredibly varied; from unemployed people and single mums right up to incredibly successful businessmen and government ministers – I enjoy coaching this wide range of people.
5. How does coaching make a difference to your clients’ lives?
Coaching is all about empowering people, giving them back the power to take control of their own life and also to have the belief that they can achieve and make whatever changes they wish.
6. What motivated/motivates you to become the best life coach in Europe?
To be honest I don’t want to be the best life coach in Europe, I simply want to be the best coach that I can be – it is all about getting better, learning more, keeping up with current practice and trying to ‘walk the walk’.
7. What is not well known about you and Noble Manhattan that you would like to share with the public?
My favourite hobby is adventure motorcycling. Every year I go away for a few weeks on my own, on my motorcycle, to remote parts of the world.
Regarding Noble Manhattan – it also owns one of the largest magazines and radio stations within the coaching world.
8. You have a lot of expertise in coaching, what is your next big goal that you would like to achieve in the next 10 years?
Through our division called The Alpha Group I would like to help 1 million business owners throughout the world to develop and grow their businesses in order to become a force for good within the business world. I feel passionate about this because I can relate very easily to t
