HOME OF COURAGEOUS COACHING

Empathy is at the heart of courageous coaching, but let’s be honest, it’s not always easy to practice.

As coaches, we talk a lot about confidence. Building it. Lacking it. Helping clients find it. But confidence is slippery. Some days it’s there, some days it’s not. Sometimes it turns up when we least expect it. Other times it disappears just when we need it most.

As coaches, we know that thoughts aren’t facts. We know that our inner critic can be loud, persistent, and convincing. We know how powerful the stories in our heads can be, and how quickly they shape our sense of who we are and what we’re capable of. And yet…

“In order for me to be connected to you, I have to know who I am. I have to be connected to myself.” This quote from Brené Brown has been on my mind a lot lately. I believe it. I feel the truth of it. But actually living it? That’s something I’m still figuring out.

If you’re a coach, chances are you already know: giving advice is one of the hardest habits to break.

Last year, I wrote about the two faces of self-compassion—tender and fierce. Tender self-compassion is the gentle voice that says, “It’s okay to rest,” or “This is hard, and you’re doing your best.” But fierce self-compassion? That’s the part that says, “Enough.” The part that draws a boundary, asks for payment, or finally sends the email that’s been sitting in drafts for days.

“When we see that someone's hurt or in pain, it's our instinct as human beings to try to make things better. We want to fix, we want to give advice. But empathy isn't about fixing. It's the brave choice to be with someone in their darkness—not to race to turn on the light so we feel better.” — Brené Brown

I remember early on in my coaching journey, how obsessed I was with more. More models. More techniques. More frameworks. My shelves were stacked with books, my notebooks overflowing with diagrams and clever acronyms.

As coaches, we know that growth often happens in the space between certainty and curiosity. Yet, when it comes to creativity, many of us hesitate

If I had a pound for every time I’ve compared myself to another coach, I’d have a very healthy CPD budget. Comparison is everywhere. It...

As coaches, we guide our clients to navigate challenges with kindness and understanding

One of the cornerstones of coaching is being non-judgemental. It’s what creates the safety clients need to open up, explore, and grow....

Have you ever found yourself saying to a client "I'm going to take off my coaching hat now and put on my mentoring/day job/<insert other>...

Welcome to my first article of 2025. I am sending you all my warmest wishes for the new year. I've thought a lot about what I wanted my...

This will be my last article for 2024. So as the year winds down, I'd like to invite you to pause, reflect, and take stock of the path...

I have a 'love/hate' relationship with perfectionism! I often refer to myself as a 'recovering perfectionist', but maybe that makes it...

I've been thinking a lot recently about curiosity, not least because it's a value of mine but also because it's an important part of my...

Practising them not just professing them Let's talk about values. You may do values work with your clients, maybe you work with...

We all know that trust is a must have in our important professional and personal relationships, but trust tends to be a vague concept. ...

There are a number of myths that surround the emotion of vulnerability. One of those myths is that vulnerability is synonymous with...