Amy Bradford, founder and CEO of Bradford Consultant Group, recently received her professional coaching certification to further her career.
She started working in the agricultural communications industry in the 1980s.
“I started on the print side and worked for Illinois Farm Bureau,” Bradford said. “I was responsible for writing press releases and working with media to convey priority messages.”
After that, Bradford expanded into broadcast journalism.
“I was a producer and host for a daily talk show on the RFD Illinois Radio Network,” Bradford said. “After that, I went to work for the Illinois Department of Agriculture as their issue management liaison. I worked across the different government agencies on behalf of the Illinois Department of Agriculture to champion their priority issues and collaborate with farmers and agricultural businesses to set a policy direction for the Illinois agriculture industry.”
She also spent time with GROWMARK, Inc. as their corporate communications manager and with Farm Credit. She retired from her position at GROWMARK, Inc. in 2023 and started her own business.
“I wanted to be able to launch fully into the consulting space through strategic communication, media, public relations and leadership development,” Bradford said. “I had spent all this time in corporate America, and it was a natural progression to help advance others in agriculture by helping them develop these types of skills.”
Bradford pursued the certification to build her own skills to better serve her clients.
“The program I am certified in is called primal question coaching, and the idea behind it is that there is one thing that drives people from childhood all the way to adulthood,” Bradford said. “It drives your behavior and decisions, and I was trained to help people identify what that is. There are seven primal questions that you can ask to determine what drives you.”
Her clients take an assessment to identify their primal question and how it impacted them as children and in their adult lives. Bradford advises others who may be interested in a professional coaching certification to jump in with both feet.
“Investigate it and see if there’s a coaching certification program that really fits you,” Bradford said. “Google it, talk to others who’ve gone through a program, and just see what it might offer you.”
