A peerless track record of success has seen the work of a world-class business coach recognised at a prestigious awards ceremony.
John McHale, who hails from Scawby in North Lincolnshire, scooped the award for Best Client Results for the Europe, Middle East and African region, at the Business Excellence Awards BizX2022 held at the International Convention Centre in Farnborough.
Hosted by ActionCOACH, the annual awards celebrate the success of both its network of business coaches and the thousands of companies they support around the world. To John’s surprise, he garnered not one but two trophies at the event, as he also received an ‘ActionMan’ award.
John said: “The ‘ActionMan’ awards are voted for by the ActionCOACH community, for services to fellow coaches, so it makes it extremely special to win one. That left me feeling very humbled, so I was absolutely stunned to be announced as the winner of the Best Client Results category too.”
This isn’t the first time John has garnered this particular accolade – for which around 400 ActionCOACH members are eligible – as he triumphed in the same category in 2019. He added: “It’s great to see Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire leading the way, and my personal success with this award is testament to all the great things achieved by my clients in the past year.”
And John’s clients – which are all SMEs based in the Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire area – also dominated the night, with nine nominations and one winner – Julie Priestley, Managing Director of DBS Digital, a digital agency based in Lincoln, who walked away with the Best Company Culture award.
Julie said: “Myself and the DBS team are absolutely thrilled to win this award, being recognised for the work we have done feels incredibly rewarding.
“At DBS we are all about the people. We support our team members through one-to-one coaching to create goals for themselves and for the business, and give them the tools to be the best they can be.
“Since working with John the business growth has taken on a life of its own. John has taught me that my belief really is my greatest power, and he provides me with the support I need when I need it, holding me accountable and encouraging me to be the very best version of myself.”
John’s award cements his standing as one of the best ActionCOACH coaches in Europe, and the results he has delivered with his clients speak for themselves. His role as a business coach is to support business owners to firstly envisage and then achieve their goals, and this has included one company progressing from a standing start to turning over £5 million in three years under his mentorship.
Another client, Melanie Tillett, who runs Tillett’s Clothing in Cleethorpes, was shortlisted for three awards at the National Business Women’s Awards in 2018 and won the Influential Business Woman of the Year category.
John amassed a wealth of senior management experience working at Tata Steel in Scunthorpe, until 2014, when he decided to leave the corporate world and instead put his expertise to use supporting burgeoning business people.
Since then, he has helped clients – who currently range from engineering specialists to funeral directors, retailers and fulfilment centres – think big and achieve their dreams. He puts his success down to not just his obvious business acumen, but his passion for helping others to build their businesses.
So what’s the secret of his success? “It’s because I care,” he said. “I can quickly get to the root of complex problems, and then support my client with identifying the solutions, along with devising a plan for how to fulfil their goals. Sometimes, I think I believe in people more than they believe in themselves, so it’s about transferring that belief, and helping them develop the courage they need to succeed. That’s when amazing things start to happen.
“Working with SMEs is so enjoyable, I get to work with different people and teams every day – it’s fabulous.”
There are of course many business coaches available, so why should anyone choose John? He said: “I always tell people to check out other coaches, then come and meet me, then make their decision. At ActionCOACH we offer a guarantee that if you don’t make back the money you’ve invested in us within a year, we will repay you the difference.
“Working with me, you get a marketing director, sales and finance director, training coordinator, partner, confidante, mentor and friend, all focusing on you and your success.
“Winning these awards is a huge recognition of the effort and work put in by all of our clients, as well as my team – Catherine McHale, Nicola Jackson and Mairead McHale. Thanks also go to my coach from New Zealand, Bruce Wilson, and to Ian Christelow, Julie Wagstaff, James F Vincent and the whole of the ActionCOACH UK team.”
The awards ceremony took place on March 31, and formed part of a two-day conference attended by more than 1,500 delegates that featured keynote speakers including Chris Voss, Noel Fitzpatrick and Sarah Beeny. Next year’s conference has already attracted a line-up of distinguished speakers including Mary Portas, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Lord Coe.
Any business owners wishing to enquire about John’s services can contact him by calling 01724 231282 or 07795 046345, or emailing johnmchale@actioncoach.com