The AC Podcast 275: Tenderness, Mutuality, Bravery: Redefining Coaching Relationships with Ian Mitchell
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.'
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