What is a Creative Coach?

‘So what exactly is a creative coach?’ a friend once asked me. ‘Does it mean you coach creative people? Or you coach creativity? Or you coach in a creative way?’

‘Yes,’ I said.

Because the way I do it, Creative Coaching is all three at once.

My clients are experienced professionals in the arts and creative industries – including art, music, literature, the performing arts, TV, film, architecture, design, fashion, luxury, advertising, marketing and creative entrepreneurship.

The one thing they all have in common is a desire do something extraordinary with their lives.

They have a dream – or the inkling of a dream – so big that it fires them up, and also scares them.

I help them pursue their ambitions in three main areas:

Creativity Coaching

Many of them come to me for help with their creative work – they want to raise their game and do the best work of their career. We look at any aspect of their creative process – carving out time to create, overcoming creative blocks, finding new sources of inspiration or dealing with their Inner Critic.

Creative Career Coaching

Some of them say, ‘Actually my creative work is fine. It’s all the other stuff I need help with’. So we work on the big-picture vision for their career, as well as specific areas such as public speaking, networking, collaboration, sales, pitching, proposals, and other areas where communication skills are crucial to their success.

Creative Leadership Coaching

I help creative leaders, directors and producers create something bigger than themselves. Having studied the creative economy at Master’s level, I understand the context of the creative industries, so I can help them with their strategy as well as their creativity.

And whatever else they work on, I help my clients work on themselves – their personality, mindset, beliefs and values, motivation, confidence and courage. Because when you are a creative professional, YOU are the biggest asset in your career (and potentially the biggest liability).

If that sounds a little daunting, what can I say? Welcome to the creative life. :)

But coaching can also be very enjoyable. In fact, I have a solemn agreement with each of my coaching clients that we are going to have FUN on the journey. And we do!

So… being a Creative Coach means I work with creatives, on their creativity (and other things).

Do I do it in a creative way? Well, here’s what some of my clients say about my coaching style…

‘What is Mark like as a coach?’

Inspirational and practical, a cheerleader and a taskmaster – not to mention a genuine person who is completely present and engaged in every session ~ Adam Green, Vogue’s theater critic and frequent contributor to The New Yorker

He is hyper-responsive, super aware, and you better prepare to be challenged by his questions all the time. Mark does this with a positive, uplifting, and sincere attitude I never experienced in a human being before. ~ Holger Nils Pohl, Visual Strategist

He tells stories, quotes poets and makes jokes. All this breaks down walls, lightens the air and helps you learn. ~ Aron Leah, Illustrator and Owner, Fried Cactus Studio

Mark always helped me find my own truth, set my own goals, and clarify my direction. I will always treasure the time we spent together. ~ Laura Davis, author of The Burning Light of Two Stars and The Courage to Heal

Mark is a poet, and his artist’s spirit resonated with my own… Our sessions were just as likely to include poetry readings, discussions of David Bowie, self-compassion, and magic as they were to dig into business strategies and productivity advice. ~ Shawn Feeney, Motion Designer, Musician and Visual Artist

What I like the most about Mark’s coaching style, on top of the British accent(!), is how he is a creative himself. While I’m in visual design and not poetry, I felt we really had a common ground, an understanding of the not so black and white world of creativity. We were speaking the same language. ~ Laurie Millotte, Designer and Founder, Outshinery

Like the best teachers, he understands how to reconnect you with knowledge you already have. He doesn’t prescribe, he doesn’t advise. He guides, gently. He encourages, deliberately. He’s open. He’s intuitive. He’s occasionally hilarious. He’s an enabler of extraordinary acts of creativity. ~ Layne Mosler, Author and Writing Coach

Mark is patient, kind, professional, helpful and inspired. He has a keen insight into how we work as creatives. He knows why we do what we do. I don’t know how he does it, but I’m forever grateful. ~ Josh Casaubon, Artist (Musician, Idea Man and Actor)

The kind of creatives I coach

Many of my clients have never worked with a coach before. They are seasoned creatives who don’t look like the kind of people who ‘need’ coaching – they are self-starters who may have achieved great things already, at least in the eyes of other people.

But they are not satisfied with what they have done before. They know they are capable of more. Deep down, they are ready for a big change.

Yet many of them are not used to asking for help, partly because they know there are no cookie-cutter answers to the challenges they set themselves.

For some of them, it’s also because the higher you fly, the fewer people there are who you can really open up to about your work and the challenges it involves.

And this is exactly the kind of person I love to coach.

I work with creative high achievers, because I’ve always felt the drive to make the most of my own creative talent.

I know there aren’t many sources of help that are designed for people like us. So I’ve made it my mission to provide this for my clients.

My coaching is bespoke for every client. I’ve read a lot of books and trained in many different approaches, but the heart of my coaching is improvisation.

There is no script, no step-by-step process for this work. For every session, each of us needs to show up with full presence, an open heart and and open mind – because that’s how the magic happens.

Could the magic happen for you?

Right now, I don’t know. I’ve never met you, so I can’t make any promises. But I know how we could find out…

If you’re intrigued by the possibility that working with me could be a life-changing and career-changing experience for you, then I have some coaching questions for you to answer here.

I will treat your answers, and anything else you share with me, as strictly confidential.

And if, after reading your answers, I think we could be a good fit, I’ll be in touch to arrange a time for us to have a real conversation about your creative and career ambitions.

Are you ready for an adventure?

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Mark McGuinness Creative Coach

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Creative Coach | Mark McGuinness