Our Mission

To inspire Software Developers to take responsibility for their own wellbeing & performance by providing the tools to improve their mental and physical health.

Our Vision

To provide support and guidance on wellbeing & performance that helps create modern software developers who put people before technology.

Who

I’m Richard Donovan and I formed RD Coached following a software development career spanning over 2 decades. I started at the bottom, I’m self-taught and I had no degree. I’ve worked through the ranks, I’ve led teams and my most recent position was as a Software Architect for a global FTSE 100 company. I regularly workout and I love playing squash and golf.

I’m a licensed Mindspan Peak Performance Trainer and Coach and I’m a Personal Trainer and online fitness coach.

WHY

As a Software Developer, I recognised early on that my mental and physical wellbeing played a huge role in my performance. The more I looked around, the more I could see developers struggling with their role, not from a technical perspective, but because of their mental and physical health.

It was hard to admit, but for a large part of my career, I struggled with self-doubt, I lacked self-belief and my confidence was low. After speaking to countless developers, it seems I wasn’t the only one.

  • I hated speaking up in meetings and kept my ideas to myself
  • I dreaded people reviewing my code and took feedback personally
  • I struggled to engage with my teams socially which impacted team communication and collaboration

That all changed when I started to work on my wellbeing, both physical and mental. I put some structure around my workouts and I soon started to feel more confident. However, the biggest shift came from working on my mindset. I started to believe in myself and everything improved from there. These issues are not well recognised in our industry and I believe I can have a big impact on those who feel like I did.

RD Coached was formed to tackle all things wellbeing & performance for software developers; including, mental health, physical health, leadership, team culture and ways of working.

Our Core Values

People before technology

In an extremely technical industry, we focus on software developers as people first.

Seek first to understand

Everyone has a different mental map of the world and our first job is to understand yours.

Relationship builders

We see relationships at home and at work, as being fundamental to your wellbeing.

Simplicity

We believe the simplest approach is often the best approach.

Responsibility

Take back power from the outside world by taking responsibility for your own thinking, choices and actions.

Small incremental change

Just like in software development, the easiest way to make a change is to keep it small and incremental.

Richard helped me to re-focus my personal and professional goals by listening to what had to say and encouraged me to make positive steps towards achieving them. More importantly, with RD Coached, I changed my outlook on various aspects of my life and feel like I can look forward with enthusiasm, confidence and purpose. Thank you!
Steven Bogan  Lionweld Kennedy Flooring Ltd
RD coached has helped me immeasurably, I had no idea how important mindset was to success. I am now armed with the tools to succeed at anything I put my mind to. It’s the greatest feeling in the world, to have the self-confidence to be my best self.
Michael LakeDigitive
Richard has helped me gain perspective and feel less overwhelmed when in times of stress and worry.  RD Coached continues to support me in understanding more about myself and how I react to situations.  This has proved very helpful and I cannot thank him enough.
Helen InglisThe Norfolk Academy of Gymnastics
Richard is a very enthusiastic and inspiring trainer and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to others.
Fiona Garwood Norwich Sunblinds

ARE YOU READY TO UNLOCK YOUR POTENTIAL?

Get In Touch