The person behind the coaching

About Michał

Michał Niezgoda

My story

Built in the real world,
not the classroom

My coaching is shaped by 11 years inside Amazon and AWS — one of the most demanding, high-performance organisations on earth. I know what it's like to lead under pressure, to navigate complex organisations, and to be genuinely accountable for results.

I started my Amazon journey on the operations floor managing 250+ associates, then moved into L&D, designing and scaling leadership development programmes across a 4,000-person organisation. I've delivered coaching and learning to leaders in over 16 countries across EMEA, North America, and APAC.

As a member of Amazon's Global EQ Leadership Core Team and an Emotional Intelligence Evangelist certified through Oji Emotions, I led a network of 130+ EQ Champions across EMEA — building what I believe to be the most scalable model for making emotional intelligence a real organisational capability, not just a talking point.

I'm an AWS Hiring Bar Raiser, which means I understand what excellence looks like when stakes are high. That same standard shapes how I coach: curious, direct, and always focused on what will actually make a difference.

My coaching philosophy

Coaching is not advice.
It's better than that.

I work from the ICF competency framework, which means I hold my coaching to a professional standard. But I also bring genuine sector knowledge — because context matters, and leaders deserve more than generic questions.

Evidence-based

Every approach I use is grounded in research — positive psychology, motivational science, emotional intelligence frameworks, and behavioural change models that actually hold up.

Genuinely human

I don't believe in cookie-cutter frameworks applied to every client. I meet you where you are — your context, your challenges, your goals. That's where real change starts.

Results-focused

Good coaching isn't about feeling heard — it's about changing what you do. Every session ends with clarity, not just reflection. We track what's shifting and hold you to it.

Professional journey

Where I've been

Sep 2024 – Present

Senior Trainer & Coach

Amazon Web Services (AWS) · London & Global

Designing and delivering sales methodology programmes across AWS's global field organisation. Coaching customer-facing leaders at scale. Driving adoption of executive engagement approaches using cloud technology.

Jan 2020 – Sep 2024

Leadership Development Specialist | EQ Champion | Hiring Bar Raiser

Amazon · Cambridge, UK

People Development Roadmap Owner for a 4,000-person organisation. Led a network of 130+ EQ Champions across EMEA. Member of Amazon's Global EQ Leadership Core Team. AWS Hiring Bar Raiser. Launched the StoryTagger storytelling platform — globally recognised by Amazon.

Feb 2017 – Jan 2020

Senior EU Operations Development Partner | Global Technical Training Expert

Amazon · United Kingdom

Transformed technical training across Amazon's EU Operations. Introduced a new LMS and Leadership Development programme scaling across 5 tenants and 60,000 users throughout EMEA and North America. Co-designed the "Learn by Doing" programme.

Jun 2015 – Feb 2017

Area Manager | Customer Fulfilment Operations

Amazon · United Kingdom

Led 250+ associates. Reduced outbound concessions by 30% YoY. Built the people-first foundations that now shape everything I do as a coach.

Sep 2012 – May 2015

Graduate Management Trainee

Edinburgh Napier University

Led the "Continuous Improvement Parents" programme. Conducted MSc-level Action Research on Lean methodologies. Awarded MSc in Management.

Credentials & Certifications

Qualified to do what I do

🎓 ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC)
🤖 AWS Certified AI Practitioner
💡 Emotional Intelligence Evangelist (Oji Emotions)
🏢 AWS Hiring Bar Raiser
📋 PRINCE2® Foundation
🎓 MSc Management (Edinburgh Napier)
📚 MSc Applied HR (Exeter, in progress)
🌍 CIPD L7 (in progress)
Work with me →