Coach Development

When listening for metaphors within our clients’ language, we might catch their more obvious metaphoric phrases. Hilary Oliver's article, A Picture Paints a Thousand Words provided some examples, such as “The sun is setting on my work”, as someone expresses what it’s like for them to head into retirement. However, there’s a good chance that we’re failing to notice the more subtle metaphors that are sprinkled throughout their dialogue. Read that last sentence again. Did you notice the metaphor? I said, “metaphors are sprinkled throughout their dialogue”. What gets conjured up for you when you think of sprinkling? For me, ...

In every coaching conversation, something more than words is at play. Beyond the client’s agenda and our chosen approach, subtle shifts of energy, emotion and unspoken meaning unfold between coach and client. These live dynamics, sometimes fleeting, sometimes intense, can unlock powerful insights when a coach is ready to notice and work with them. Coaching in Real Time is a two-part CPD series designed for coaches who want to deepen their ability to work with what is emerging in the moment. By focusing on presence, emotion and the coach’s own self-awareness, the series explores how to respond to what is ...

Part of the ICF Core Competencies state that coaches should undergo regular reflective practice to enhance their proficiency, however, I know that many people are not natural reflective practitioners. Reflection is a skill, like many others, that needs to be honed through practice and understanding. It also requires some time and space which, in the modern world of work, is often lacking. To think about why it is so important and to raise awareness of why we should make time for it, I have been ruminating on what we actually know about the benefits of reflecting. “Reflective practice significantly enhances ...

A beautiful braid of belief, blessings and the best bits of being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) A Highly Sensitive Person (HSP) My nursery school teacher said I quietly took everything in, and if anyone ever thought I wasn’t switched on, they’d be very mistaken. Later, I remember I’d come home from school, do my chores, crawl behind the sofa, dark and warm, and I’d go to sleep until dinner. Nowadays, I can feel anxious about time with my in-laws knowing they’ll talk over each other, knives and forks clanging on plates, voices getting louder. I can pick up on ...

Have you ever paused to consider what you’re communicating to your client through your coaching presence? Initially, this might seem like a strange question; surely, coaching presence is simply about how you’re showing up and being with your client in each moment during a coaching session. However, as you deepen your understanding of presence, it takes on new significance and walks hand in hand with who you are as a coach and your coaching philosophy. What is Presence, Really? Etymologically, presence derives from the Latin word praesentia. Prae implies a sense of being in front of something, and sentia relates ...

Originally posted on writewithai.xyz "Can an algorithm inspire a breakthrough moment of self-belief?" What happens when ancient wisdom meets silicon certainty? As I witness the explosion of AI coaching tools, I'm struck not by questions of replacement, but by deeper wonderings about the nature of human connection and how wisdom emerges between people. The truth I've observed through years of coaching is both humbling and profound: wisdom doesn't flow from coach to client like water from a vessel. Instead, it emerges in the space between two human beings who meet as equals, each bringing their whole selves to the conversation. ...

At Coach Advancement, we value our alumni and have worked hard to create meaningful ongoing support to those who have trained with us. Some of the benefits our alumni can take advantage of are quarterly Coaching Clinics, participation in Coaching with Conscience projects, Coaching Circles, Book Club, discounts on programmes and more!  Today we’re going to take a closer look a the Alumni Book Club. We are currently in the midst of our ninth book and interest continues to grow around this offering. Books have long been a source ...

What do you notice? Do you remember those puzzles from childhood – spot the difference? The photos above are almost the same view on different days – apart from the obvious me swimming in one of them, what else do you notice? Things change over time. Reflecting gives us an opportunity to notice, to recognise, to explore, to think. The luxury of space to wonder… I reflect a great deal now but didn’t really when I was younger. Though reflecting on that statement, it is not quite true! I reflected but in less structured ways perhaps. As an individual, I ...