The Coach's Journey - build a coaching business with integrity Robbie Swale

Clare Norman is a master certified coach with the International Coaching Federation, whose latest book, The Transformational Coach, maps out a journey to coaching mastery that begins with unlearning the old beliefs and mindsets that are not serving you or your clients, in order to reset and replace them with a new set of thought patterns.

In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, Clare shares some brutally honest financial advice for coaches and talks through the developments in contracting, process and values that helped her go from coaching internally in a large corporation to building and running her own business as a coach, coach trainer and supervisor.

Clare also flies the flag for mentor coaching, telling host Neil Mackinnon why she believes it is the best way for a coach to “sharpen their edge”, and she generously shares wisdom on how new coaches can successfully position themselves in a fast-changing industry.

Is the mass-marketisation of coaching de-valuing the practice? Or does widening access to coaching help everyone?

Tori Jeffers is a Professional Certified Coach who has amassed over 1,000 hours of experience in just three years. In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast she explores the shifts in the coaching landscape that are transforming the industry.

After spending more than a decade pursuing her passion for conservation, which took her to Madagascar and the Amazon to work with sea turtles, sharks and monkeys, Tori found herself in a battle with burnout.

In conversation with Ruth, Tori describes how the roots of her coaching career reach all the way back to her first job in conservation and a manager who shared approaches and tools that made a lasting impact.

Tori discusses her current coaching work with BetterUp, reflecting on the experience of coaching through an organisation rather than establishing a private practice, and also explains how she co-founded and organisation that supports emerging environmental leaders.

Would you like to have more fun while still working in your zone of genius? Are you concerned you might need to shake things up to avoid becoming a boring coach?

Ruth Saville’s advice to coaches everywhere – including herself – is: misbehave more. Listen to your inner rebel. Dance in the moment and create systems that work for you.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced Ruth to step back from her successful performing arts franchise and examine the toll her work was taking on her life, she has followed her inner seeker into the world of personal development and coaching.

In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, Ruth takes Robbie back to the small towns in the north of England where they both grew up, retracing the steps of a life and career that began with a focus on helping people to express themselves through dance, theatre and music.

Ruth, who is one of the new hosts of this podcast as well as her own show, Women of a Certain Age, is now focusing on working with emerging leaders in all fields, having arrived in her zone of genius, taken her own approach to mastery, and become anything other than boring.

 In this episode, Ruth and Robbie also talk about:

Big hairy audacious goals (BHAGs)

Cults, pyramid schemes and other perilous industry pitfalls

How to accept who you are, in order to know what you can do

Ways to market yourself without exploiting others

Taking a step back to spot the signs of burnout

Ruth also grapples with the models and methodologies that can fuel or frustrate new coaches and unpacks problems that have plagued certain sections of the coaching industry, making important distinctions about the ways in which different practitioners work.

For more information about Ruth, visit https://www.daretorise.co.uk/ .

For more information about this episode’s host, Robbie Swale, 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

To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.

Things and people we mentioned (that you might be interested in):

- You Will Be Found from Dear Evan Hansen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq9FlLVh6yg

- Gretchen Rubin and the Four Tendencies: https://courses.gretchenrubin.com/4tc/ and her book Better Than Before

- Gallup coaching https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253958/become-coach.aspx

- GROW model https://www.performanceconsultants.com/grow-model

- Claire Pedrick and Lucia Baldelli on The Coach’s Journey https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-55-claire-pedrick-and-lucia-baldelli-the-human-behind-the-coach

- Barefoot Coaching https://barefootcoaching.co.uk/

- The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-big-leap-gay-hendricks?variant=32205677625378

- Rich Litvin https://richlitvin.com/

- Animas https://www.animascoaching.com/

Marianne Craig on The Coach’s Journey Podcast - https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-10-marianne-craig-founding-firework-question-everything-where-were-coaches-when-banks-went-down

- Co-active Training Institute https://coactive.com/

- Academy of Executive Coaching https://www.aoec.com/

- Kim Morgan on The Coach’s Journey Podcast https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-25-kim-morgan

- Brene Brown on The Tim Ferriss Show: https://tim.blog/2015/08/28/brene-brown-on-vulnerability-and-home-run-ted-talks/

- Mel Robbins: https://www.melrobbins.com/

- Rachel Hollis: https://msrachelhollis.com/

- Ruth's podcast, Women of a Certain Age: https://www.daretorise.co.uk/podcast

- Ruth's blog on perimenopause: https://www.daretorise.co.uk/blog/an-enforced-perimeno-pause

- The Lighthouse scandal: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65175712

- Ruth's instagram post and the picture of her ag

A quarter-life crisis is a period of intense soul searching that arrives when we are first confronted with the question of what to do with our lives.

That’s according to Chloë Garland, the founder of QuarterLife, a company that works with individuals and organisations to help people in their 20s and 30s not just survive, but thrive.

In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, Chloë sheds light on the generational shifts that have prolonged adolescence, and how many of us encounter our first truly meaningful life choices in our mid or late 20s.

Chloë tells host Alex Whitton how studying philosophy encouraged her to ponder life’s big questions, and how in her first coaching session – at age 22 – she was asked questions she had never considered before.

That session left Chloë feeling ignited, and she describes the unusual experience of being called into coaching at a young age, knowing she had a gift for conversations but perhaps unaware of the profound impact she would have on the lives of young people she would meet along the way.

In this episode, Chloë and Alex also talk about:

• Living emergently, holding goals lightly, and embracing opportunities as they arise

• The jam donut principle of purpose and presence

• The power of metaphors and fables to simplify complex ideas

• Psychodemographics, and how to find your niche

• The value of shared experience in coaching, and the importance of owning your story


Chloë also shares some hugely valuable lessons on growing a coaching business, reflecting on investments, outsourcing, and how the fear of success can be as much of a hindrance as the fear of failure.

The question of what makes a life well-lived is at the heart of Alex Whitton’s work, both as a coach and as the CEO of a charity that supports young people to realise their potential.

In this episode of the Coach’s Journey Podcast, Alex tells Robbie about the story of his career so far, from studying at Oxford University, to his volunteer work with young people, to running a social enterprise and then deciding to become a coach.

He describes how he emerged from a mindset of scarcity into one of abundance and opportunity as he came to recognise his strengths as a coach, which were cultivated through his work with Universify and the MOE Foundation.

Alex shares insights into how he has built his coaching business alongside his work with Universify, and also how he is fulfilling his childhood ambition of becoming an author.

He speaks about the fundamental importance of authenticity, vulnerability and creativity – principles that underpin his writing practice as well as his work as a coach and CEO.

 In this episode, Alex and Robbie also talk about:

- Stories, memories and listening for insight

- How coaching skills can empower young people throughout their lives

- The power of someone taking your dreams seriously

- Taking a bigger-picture view, in order to see your own abundance

- A highly effective way to invite people to be coached and enhance your agency as a coach

Alex also offers a refreshing approach to framing conversations with prospective clients, capturing the spirit of co-creation in a way that has universal appeal.

Jo Wright admits she had to get her dad’s permission before deciding on No More Sh*t Managers: Seven Steps to a Coaching Culture as the title of her book.

Thankfully he agreed and the book has made Jo a bestselling Amazon UK author as her message about the power of a coaching culture spreads to people and organisations around the world.

In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, Jo tells host Alex Swallow about the foundational experiences in early life that instilled her with a belief in the positive change that can happen when people have better conversations.

She describes the life-changing conversations that have shaped her career, from managing a small team and noticing her flair for mentoring, to co-founding a coaching business and magazine that helped propel the industry forward by creating digital coaching solutions.

Jo’s book is a love letter to humanity, and what shines through in this episode is her desire to help as many people as possible, by making sure that coaching – and the life-changing experiences it offers – is for everybody.

Having embedded coaching cultures in some of the world’s biggest organisations, she is succeeding in her aim quite spectacularly.

 In this episode, Jo and Alex also talk about:

The human development that takes place when training as a coach

How far we can go when we’re willing to be vulnerable

The fundamental importance of maintaining hope that things can be better

The value we invest in ourselves and how our clients experience our personal growth and self-development

Jo also shares some invaluable advice about getting your work out into the world, generously opening up about the steps she took to reach her audience.