My Career Story: Me and My Dreams were Poles Apart

Written by: Andy Kowalski

Have you ever been told you would never amount to much? For many, those words become a ceiling whilst for Andy Kowalski they only fuelled him further. Andy spent decades being underestimated by peers, his teachers and even his own manager and that didn't stop him from progressing in his career journey founding his own STEM coaching practice!

If you ever felt like someone else's opinion or the actions of others are standing between you and your dreams, this article is for you!

1. The Call: Fighting Against Setbacks

One of my earliest memories was being frustrated from being put down by peers saying I would never amount to much due to my Polish background. Even at school we Poles (who were born in Loughborough) were told to go back home as the war ended, with “get lost,” often being shouted at us! No point in arguing as they would not listen and neither did the teachers who were complaining, too.  This was my first exposure to racism.

The thing is challenges didn't just start and stop in my youth! They continued as I got older, finished my studies and transitioned into my career path. Here are just a few of the other challenges I had to navigate:

• A bit separate from my career but later in life I was told that I would never pass the driving test, proved them wrong and got a pass the first time.

• Once, I was told by my line manager that I was not intellectual enough to acquire a Management Diploma offered by Loughborough University. I proved him wrong by obtaining an ILM Diploma in Management from Loughborough College two months ahead of the expected finish time for the course!

• Managed to complete a 9-month course in 6 months and obtained a Diploma in Management Coaching and Mentoring from the ILM 

2. My Pit: The Struggles I Faced

I alluded to it in Section 1 but one of the biggest challenges I faced during my career journey was working under a toxic manager. So, in about 2010/2011 when all staff had to undergo Personal Development Reviews which were both imposed and led by the same line manager who had previously done his best to belittle me and set ridiculous targets to achieve. Doggedly, however, I did not succumb to his methods and found a way to get out of all of the elephant traps he set for me.

One of the ways I got around this was to go on a Navigator Personal and Professional Development Course which was designed for men to empower them and tackle challenges such as, modern masculinity, mental health, stress management and overall work-life balance. Tim Ellis, the course instructor, was an inspirational course leader and speaker who raised our spirits and showed us hope. He did this by having us aim high in the organization for whom we worked, thus creating a strategy for us to put into practice so I was building my career confidence each day!

As time progressed, more staff left the department because of the toxic atmosphere which led to 10 people leaving in 2014, and I made a conscious decision to get out in April 2015 (by which time I would have 40 years of service under my belt). It wasn't as simple as that:

A few weeks before I was due to retire, I slipped on the stairs at work and fell, sustaining a head injury which fortunately was not life-threatening.

I was carted off to Leicester Royal Infirmary Accident & Emergency where I received a CT scan and got stitched up then, sent home.

I survived and finally departed about three weeks later (after a few days back at work to tidy up all loose ends), packing up my worldly possessions and driving away into the sunset!

3. The Search: Driving Away into the Sunset

I knew what had appealed to me most and decided to take my coaching and mentoring skills to the next level while helping people at the same time. I had some discussions with a very trusted friend and mapped out a strategy on how I was going to get there along with deciding upon the things I needed to do to enact it. So, that's what I did next:

One of my postgrad friends supported me and created a letterhead and website on Wix for my coaching practice.

I also had a lot of support from the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LIEP) by way of having my own advisor who mapped out a strategy on how to move forward who gave me 1-on-1 support and mentoring for the duration of the programme. I also was granted the opportunity to attend a number of courses that LIEP ran which taught me much about marketing my services and using Social Media Marketing (SMM).

Upskilled my coaching talents by doing an online course on Three-Dimensional Coaching which had both human and holistic dimensions.

Reached out to my network for advice especially my academic colleague who was a professor and dealt with entrepreneurship at the university.

He advised me that if I wanted to stand out in my field, I need to stand out period!  So, I contacted the CPD Standards Office in Richmond, Surrey to get the forms, fill them in, and in a couple of months I became accredited!

Then, my biggest milestone arrived as I started to support my Polish friends and the local Polish community with their career challenges and two recently arrived Poles became my first clients!

One of the biggest lessons I learnt as I stepped into the business world was the importance of upskilling as I continued to refine and improve my presentation skills and as well as upgrade my LinkedIn profile and website with a more market-friendly appearance with the help of the Marketing Officer for the local Chamber of Trade and Commerce.

4. The Breakthrough: The Turning Point in my Journey

I guess things really changed when people started finding me on LinkedIn and asking for me to do various assignments for them and getting paid for them! Some of my biggest achievements to date includes:

1. Once I was asked to write an article for SMT Schools magazine with particular emphasis on STEM applications aimed at younger people which can be found here: https://www.smtmagazine.co.uk/importance-of-stem-subjects/

2. In January 2020, I was asked to write and then present 6 mini-lectures on how chemistry is applied in real-life situations to create products and services for mankind’s use.

3. Two articles I have written were published on the Polish Business Link website: one which I had written on the Congress I had attended in November 2019 and a second on a Branding workshop in December whose aim was to raise your brand as a service-based business.

4. Afforded the opportunity to support the next generation where I spoke in front of an audience of Year 12 students passing on my industry knowledge and answer their questions

5. Now, I'm currently reviewing an e-book on Health & Safety including how we can utilise AI & technology within the field.

I even was featured in the local business newsletter on Leicestershire Live

5. The Next Step: How Can I Help You?

"Where there is a will, there is a way!"

If there's one lesson I've learnt throughout my journey is that there is a way as long as you apply yourself and have the will to achieve what it is you want. That's the lesson I want to pass onto you, the next generation!

No matter where you come from and what your career challenges are, I can and will help you overcome them! So, feel to reach out to me via my email: andykowalskiconsulting@gmail.com

P.S. Although my coaching and mentoring is focused on STEM subjects I will help anyone so don't hesitate in emailing me.

If you have any further questions, also feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn below

Andy Kowalski

©Andy Kowalski MRSC MIScT MinstCPD FCMI