#110: The One Thing That Solves Most Coaching Problems: Contracting Well

After seven years, 133 episodes, and hundreds of hours of conversations with some of the world's most interesting coaches, The Coach's Journey Podcast is coming to an end. When I started the podcast in 2019, I didn't know how to make a podcast. I certainly didn't know where it would lead, who I'd meet, or how big a part of my life it would be. Seven years later, I'm a different person. In this final episode, I look back on the journey and share six of the biggest lessons I've learned. Not just about coaching and building a coaching business, but about making things that matter, the choices we make along the way, and how the work we do changes who we become. This includes the businesses I’ve decided not to build, the things that surprised me the most and the tension between following my energy and sticking with things long enough for them to be significant. This is a goodbye to the podcast, but not to the work. The conversations we've created will remain here for coaches to discover, revisit and learn from. Thank you for being part of the journey. If you like this episode, you’ll love Robbie’s ebook, An Introduction to The Coaching Business Flywheel, visit https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/the-coaching-business-flywheel For more information about Robbie, visit https://www.robbieswale.com/ Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com. Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg

As we wrap up The Coach’s Journey Podcast after seven years, we’re sharing some of our favourite episodes from the back catalogue… Unleash Your Complexity Genius is the fourth published work by Jennifer Garvey Berger, the co-founder and CEO of Cultivating Leadership, and when she says that her books are getting shorter there is a sense that it's because she's honing in on the rich essence of her life's work. In this episode of The Coach's Journey Podcast, Jennifer and I share a conversation that traverses adult developmental theory, complexity, vulnerability, and the transformative power of community and of "fierce friendship". We explore the junctures of growth that often appear as binary choices, and how the way forward tends to spring from a more balanced or holistic approach. Jennifer pulls these strands together into something of a manifesto for the power of connection between coaches, leaders and people who together can hold uncertainty, and support each other to dream bigger and create a future filled with possibility – even as the world around us changes beyond recognition. In this episode, we talk about: The necessary terror of change Developmental theory The trap we fall into when comparing ourselves to others The simplicity on the far side of complexity Polished and unpolished vulnerability, and how to create more love in organisations Jennifer also shares personal reflections on growth, and the inspiring story of how she came to live and work with her friends in a shared house in France. To learn more about Jennifer, visit https://www.cultivatingleadership.com/team-member/jennifer-garvey-berger or https://twitter.com/jgberger. For information about Robbie’s wider work, my writing or to buy my books, visit www.robbieswale.com. Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com. Download the free ebook, An Introduction to The Coaching Business Flywheel, at https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/the-coaching-business-flywheel Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg

As we wrap up The Coach’s Journey Podcast after seven years, we’re sharing some of our favourite episodes from the back catalogue… Jamie Smart, Sunday Times best-selling author, speaker and coach, got to where he is today through a series of moments of profound realisation and insight. The first of which was a calling to public speaking even though he was terrified of it at the time. In 2003, Jamie started the company Salad, and quickly grew a tribe of over 80,000 people who devoured his articles and personal development products. Salad soon became one of the world’s leading NLP product businesses but, despite its success, Jamie once again found himself looking for something more. In 2008, a series of significant insights brought him to a new paradigm, the principles of CLARITY®. He stopped teaching NLP, sold Salad, and never looked back. Today, Jamie has five books to his name. He works with individuals and businesses helping them create the results that matter to them as well as running professional development workshops. He has appeared on Sky TV, the BBC, and in numerous publications including The Daily Telegraph. In this episode, we talk about: The two most valuable things that anyone can learn - the truth of how our experience is created and who we really are. Why he recommends working with a package model over charging by the hour - how to avoid losing your business over night. The breakthroughs in psychology that he believes are as significant as the discovery of germs were to medicine. The five questions to ask yourself and your client at the beginning of a new engagement. Plus, we find out about childbed fever in the 1800s and what we can learn from four-year-olds.

As we wrap up The Coach’s Journey Podcast after seven years, we’re sharing some of our favourite episodes from the back catalogue… Claire Pedrick was speaking at the ICF Conference in 2019 when a publisher approached her and said: “Have you got a book in you?” That book is Simplifying Coaching, and in it Claire offers a rallying cry for filtering out the noise of the coaching industry and honing in on the very human essence of transformative conversations. In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, Claire traces the steps that led her into a burgeoning coaching landscape around the turn of the century and reflects on the precious lessons learned from moments that sometimes felt like missteps. She shines a light on the “guru-ing” and “pedestal-ing” that can lead to problematic power dynamics in coaching, and shares the foundational values such as equity and fairness that underpin the success of 3D Coaching and saw her recognised with the 2022 Outstanding Contribution to Coaching Award from Henley Business School. Claire is a master of the art of communicating complicated things simply, but admits it took a long time to have the confidence to cut through complexity and offer straightforward truths when coaching or mentoring coaches. Listening to her speak, you cannot fail to appreciate the fundamental importance of her approach, which is explained with refreshing clarity. In this episode, we talk about: Whether we have to be the things we want to develop in people The impact of modelling the boundaries we set The holy ground in the coaching space and how to interact with it Being wise about how many coffees to have with someone and still call it work Learning how to be silent and how to wait while coaching clients are doing good work Claire also talks about how to value your time, how to balance delivery and business development, and the importance of – as coaches – telling the truth about ourselves. To learn more about Claire, visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairepedrick/ For information about Robbie’s wider work, my writing or to buy my books, visit www.robbieswale.com. Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com. Download the free ebook, An Introduction to The Coaching Business Flywheel, at https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/the-coaching-business-flywheel Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg

As we begin to wrap up The Coach’s Journey Podcast after seven years, we’re sharing some of our favourite episodes from the back catalogue… Ruth Rochelle’s life and career changed when, in 1979, she met Ariana Huffington and took part in the first Insight Seminar ever to happen in the United Kingdom. Ruth describes this moment as her invitation into self-reflection, the start of her career, and the time when she started to become the leader in her own life. In Café Royal on London’s Regent Street, with 100 people – including some famous names – she had an experience she calls mindblowing and heart-opening, revealing deep truths that had previously been hidden from view. In this episode of the Coach’s Journey Podcast, Ruth sheds light on the vast worlds of discovery that opened up to her following that first Insight Seminar, which propelled her into a career as a global facilitator and as a renowned expert on conscious leadership in teams and organisations. Ruth tells host Joey Owen how her remarkable appetite for learning and exploration also led her to study Internal Family Systems, which now underpins her work as an accredited master executive coach, IFS practitioner, systemic team coach and coaching constellations practitioner. In this episode, Ruth and Joey also talk about: Psychosynthesis and other therapeutic models that are harnessed by coaches How to shift from protective behaviours in order to stand up in your authenticity The ripple effect and how it can amplify both our limiting patterns and our effective ones The way systems theory can help us stay in balance and adapt to our current truth Ruth ends the podcast with a truly vital message about the parts of ourselves that we bring to interactions with others and the roles we all have to play in taking humanity forward. For more information about Ruth, visit https://www.ruthrochelle.com/ For more information about host Joey Owen, visit http://www.joeyowencoaching.com/ Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com. Download the free ebook, An Introduction to The Coaching Business Flywheel, at https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/the-coaching-business-flywheel Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg