279: Empowering Performance: Building a Coaching Culture from the Ground Up

In the first episode of Building Successful Coaching Cultures series, host Rosie Nice speaks with Anna Skeats, CEO of the Rainy Day Trust and former CEO of The Mason Foundation. From her early career supporting vulnerable communities to building a national charity from scratch, Anna's leadership has always centred on empowerment over direction.   Anna challenges the myth that coaching cultures tolerate underperformance, sharing how coaching approaches actually create high-performing, effective and motivated teams by encouraging the skills and strengths already within individuals and teams. Drawing on her experience at the Mason Foundation, she explores how trust, psychological safety, and clear expectations work together to drive inclusion, accountability, and impact.   Throughout the conversation, Anna reflects on the realities of embedding a coaching culture in practice, the importance of listening and responding to real needs, and the incredible results she's experienced. Her insights offer practical guidance for leaders seeking to create sustainable organisations without losing focus on performance, accountability, or impact.   You will learn:   ·       How coaching cultures enhance performance and empower teams ·       How psychological safety and trust unlocks capability ·       Leadership starts with listening – Responding to real needs, rather than assumptions     "I found that the way to empower people to make change was to listen, learn, and respond, not just tell individuals what to do."   Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content.   For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:  https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-building-coaching-cultures-empowerment-leadership-trust

In this episode of our A Day in the Life series, host Maxine Bell interviews new coaches and life partners Amanda Pennington and Chris Bibbo. They share their journeys into coaching after long careers in the nonprofit sector and reflect on how coaching supported them through major life transitions, including a bold move from the USA to Portugal. The conversation offers an honest, inspiring look at how coaching helped them navigate uncertainty, personal change, and professional reinvention.   Amanda and Chris also speak candidly about the realities of building a coaching practice, from attracting clients to hosting their first live offering, the Life Blueprint Workshop, where they found immense joy witnessing their clients' breakthroughs. They explore the emotional heart of coaching, emphasizing self-awareness, courage and compassion to help clients find purpose and meaning in their lives. Their story highlights how coaching is not only a professional path but a powerful tool for resilience, growth, and meaningful connection — for both clients and coaches.   Amanda and Chris's warmth and passion for coaching will encourage new coaches, enthuse experienced coaches and ignite those of you looking for authentic, meaningful coaching.   You will learn:   ·       Coaching is an impactful, supportive tool for courage and resilience in life transitions. ·       Building a coaching business requires persistence, experimentation, and a willingness to learn through doing. ·       How coaching assists, us to listen to our courageous hearts, and not just our 'monkey minds.'     'Seeing a client's life open up brings me so much life. It's an honour and a privilege to be part of that.'   Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content.   For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:  https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel_day-in-the-life-of-coaches-new-coaches-transitions-growth

Join host Rob Lawrence, for a special, inspiring episode where we bring back all six hosts from our 2025 podcast series to share their incredible journeys. This heartfelt conversation dives into their experiences, insights, professional and personal growth, as well as the ripple effects of stepping outside their comfort zones to share their passions.   Our 2025 episodes covered diverse yet deeply connected and important topics, including: ·       Self-Awareness: Insightful Tools for Growth: Explore a range of self-awareness tools for growth. ·       Coaching for Good: Innovative coaching that transforms lives by working for social good. ·       Coach as a Leader:  How coaches inspire and equip leaders to apply coaching mindsets and skills. ·       Supervision Uncovered: Explores the impact of supervision on coach development, skills and wellbeing. ·       Neurodiversity in the Workplace: Hear real stories, insights, and strategies to build truly inclusive work environments that benefit everyone. ·       Love in Coaching: The impact of consciously bringing love into your coaching practice. This conversation warmly celebrates collaboration, diversity, innovation, and the power of sharing stories to inspire positive change and development within coaching and the wider individuals and systems it impacts. Listen to reflect, be encouraged and maybe inspired to reach out to us with your own podcast series idea and contribute to future conversations: [email protected]   "Just do it. The excitement might feel like fear, but hosting has been such a thrill and a joy for me".   Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content.   For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:  https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel_insights-reflections-hosts-2025

In this solo closing episode of the Love in Coaching series, Helena Clayton weaves together the key themes from previous conversations, reflecting on how coaching is evolving beyond performance-driven outcomes towards deeper, more human-centred practice. She explores the importance of coaches doing their own inner work — developing self-awareness and understanding how personal histories and relationships with love shape the way we coach.   Helena considers the ethical and relational implications of bringing love into coaching, including flexible contracting, empathy, and the courage required to work more boldly in organisational contexts. She also reflects on gender dynamics, particularly the role of men supporting men in this work and invites coaches to consider whether explicitly naming love is necessary — or whether it can be embodied through practice. The episode widens the lens to include broader social, global, and spiritual perspectives, highlighting love's connection to meaning and presence in coaching.   The episode concludes with practical reflections on how love can be embodied through care, deep listening, and acceptance, alongside book, podcast, and workshop recommendations and an invitation for listener engagement — affirming love's growing significance in coaching practice and the wider world.   You will learn   ·       How coaching has evolved from performance focused to deeper explorations of identity, meaning and human connection and why love is involved ·       Why coach's self-awareness and inner work are essential to understanding how love shows up in practice ·       Bringing love into coaching requires ethical courage, relational sensitivity and awareness of wider social and spiritual contexts     "I have a feeling that conversations about love are the most important ones to be having right now."   Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content.   For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:  https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-love-in-coaching-love-matters-leadership

In this episode, our host Helena Clayton is joined by coach, supervisor and coach trainer, Ian Mitchell for a rich and thoughtful conversation about the place of love in coaching. Ian shares his journey from the financial sector into coaching and supervision, alongside insights from his research into spirituality and love in leadership. Together, they explore what it means to bring love, intimacy, and tenderness consciously into coaching relationships, and why these qualities matter in work with leaders and coaches, particularly in our troubled world where the desire for meaning and purpose, over performance is growing.   The discussion centres on the lived experience of coaching rather than technique — highlighting mutuality between coach and client, the courage required to stay present with vulnerability, and the role of porous boundaries in enabling genuine human connection. Drawing on influences such as Martin Buber, adult development theory, and therapeutic perspectives, Helena and Ian reflect on how a coach's inner world, reflexivity, and willingness to engage with shadow shape the depth and impact of coaching conversations.   You will learn:   ·       The role of love, intimacy, and tenderness in shaping our coaching stance ·       How love is expressed through a coach's action logics and developmental capacity ·       About mutuality between coach and client and establishing porous boundaries   'For me, a revolution of tenderness would be great in the work that we do.'   Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content.   For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:  https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-love-in-coaching-adultdevelopment-tenderness-intimacy

In episode four of our Love in Coaching series, host Helena Clayton speaks with veteran coach and educator Aboodi Shabi about love and spirituality in coaching. They explore how the profession has evolved from a performance-driven model to one that embraces the full depth of human experience. Aboodi shares why love—expressed as compassion, presence, and genuine care—is central to transformative coaching in the current world we live in, and how spirituality can provide grounding and insight for both coach and client. He also discusses the courage required to bring these themes into organizational contexts that often focus more on productivity than humanity.   Aboodi emphasizes the importance of coaches doing their own inner work, humility and holding space for clients' full selves. Helena and Aboodi examine the importance of vulnerability, creating space for silence and stillness, and embracing diversity and inclusion in practice. They also contrast human coaching with AI-driven models, highlighting that authentic presence and heartfelt connection remain irreplaceable. This episode offers inspiration and practical insight for coaches seeking to integrate love, spirituality, and deeper human awareness into their work.   You will learn:   ·       Why love is foundational to modern coaching ·       Why coaches' own inner work is essential to enable them to hold an authentic, healthy presence and meaningful engagement with clients ·       How it is possible to bring love and spirituality into organizational contexts   'We all learn to harden our hearts to deal with the world, and it costs us connection and love.'   Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content.   For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:  https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-love-in-coaching-spirituality-love-presence

In this episode, host Helena Clayton is joined by the founder of Mobius Executive Leadership, Amy Elizabeth Fox to explore the field of trauma-informed coaching, vertical development, and the urgency of doing deep inner healing work with senior leaders.  As organizations face greater volatility and complexity, Amy reflects on the role of emotional and spiritual development both in the maturation path for coaches and practitioners as well as in the development journey for leaders.   They delve into how understanding trauma, building emotional literacy, and developing presence can fundamentally shift the culture of leadership and organizations. With insights from decades of integrating psycho-spiritual development into executive work, Amy explains why examining and healing trauma is no longer optional for modern executives who want to create impact, and how coaches must do their own inner work to serve with integrity and impact. They explore the specific practices for expressing love in the workplace and how the qualities of tenderness, candour, and wholeheartedness can transform leaders and teams. Amy discusses the power of collective healing, the importance of practitioner communities, and the role of authentic story work in building trust and intimacy in organizations.   From understanding trauma at an individual and systemic level to expressing love in practical, grounded ways, this episode is a guide to cultivating the transformational capabilities needed to lead in a complex world.   You will learn   ·       The importance of trauma literacy for coaches and facilitators ·       The need to undertake healing in group contexts not just private therapy ·       The relevance of vertical development in a less predictable volatile world     'I have a strong conviction that the level of emotional immaturity and regression from which most leaders are operating is a sort of invisible pandemic.'   Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content.   For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:  https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-love-in-coaching-leadership-vertical-development-trauma  

What if the real turning point for male leaders isn't more strategy—but more love, presence, and emotional courage? In this powerful episode, leadership coach and host Helena Clayton talks with high-performance coach and men's mentor Craig White, whose work guides successful men —especially those in their 40s and 50s—towards deeper emotional connection, self-acceptance, and authentic leadership. Craig explores why many men feel disconnected from themselves, and their emotional lives and relationships, and how balancing masculine and feminine energies can dramatically expand a man's capacity to lead, relate, and thrive. Craig opens up about his own transformative journey and shares the somatic, holistic practices at the core of his coaching, helping men shift from "head to heart" and reclaim relational presence.   The conversation dives into the role of love in men's development, reframing love not as softness, but as a powerful polarity—presence, connection, trust, playfulness, celebration, and accountability and firmness. Helena and Craig explore the value of men-only spaces, the necessity of vulnerability in leadership, and the profound impact of embodied practice on emotional expression.   This episode is an invitation for male leaders—and those who coach or support them—to consider how love, in its grounded and courageous form, can fuel personal transformation and more human, impactful leadership in organisations.   You will learn:   ·       Why male leaders are discovering that success isn't enough ·       The importance of somatic coaching practices in helping men shift from head to heart. ·       How holistic inner work, balancing masculine and feminine energies, creates better leaders and healthy masculinity    "If a man loves who he is, if he is kind to himself, if he accepts himself, then he will be like that in relationship to others."   Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content.   For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:  https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-love-in-coaching-male-leaders-emotional-presence  

In this thought-provoking episode, host, Helena Clayton sits down with coach, supervisor and author Clare Norman to explore the transformative power of love in coaching, leadership, and organizational life. Drawing on their 15-year professional connection, they unpack how love—specifically agape, unconditional love—differs from empathy, compassion, and care, and why naming love explicitly can shift the depth and quality of coaching relationships. Claire shares real-life examples about how coaching and supervision becomes a deeply human-centred practice when viewed through the 'lens of love.'   Together, they explore the practicalities of integrating love into coaching and the ethical boundaries needed when working with themes that can intersect with trauma, mental health, and personal history. The conversation highlights how love can become a bold revolutionary force in organizations and a catalyst for improved workplace culture and humancentric leadership —while also reinforcing professionalism, ethical rigour, and psychological safety. This episode offers both challenge and inspiration for coaches and supervisors seeking to work more bravely and compassionately.   You will learn: ·       How to introduce love as a professional coaching lens ·       The importance of inner work for this work - in breaking down a coach's barriers to being loving ·       The importance of ethics and contracting when bringing love into coaching and supervision   'I notice an extra notch in myself as I'm listening with love or through a stance of love; there's just something additive in that listening.'   Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content.   For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:  https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-love-in-coaching-ethics-supervision  

In this episode, host Helena Clayton sits down with executive coach, supervisor and trainer Marie Quigley for a powerful conversation about bringing love—courageous presence, authenticity, and deep humanity—into coaching. Marie reflects on her own evolution from traditional, performance-driven coaching to a more holistic practice that balances high challenge with deep compassion. She shares how integrating love not only supports clients more fully but also expands a coach's own capacity to hold complexity, uncertainty, and emotion. Helena and Marie explore the shifting landscape of coaching in a world shaped by global tension, organizational pressure, and rising client needs. They discuss why clear, intentional contracting—at both the beginning and end of a coaching relationship—is an act of love, creating psychological safety, transparency, and shared responsibility. Marie also offers a glimpse into her forthcoming book, Fierce Love, and invites coaches to experiment with bringing more love into the coaching space. This episode challenges coaches to show up more bravely, embrace relational depth, and use love as an active force for transformation. You will learn: ·       How actively bringing love into the coaching space along with challenge and provocation can create deeper transformation in clients ·       Why good contracting is a foundational act of love in the coaching relationship ·       Love is coaching is part of the evolving of coaching to more holistic, relational approaches 'If we want to do brave things in our coaching practice and our clients want to do brave things, then we really have to contract for a different approach to how we have conversations with each other.'   Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content.   For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit:  https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-love-in-coaching-coaching-contracting