Coaches Rising

The days of certainty, of reliability in the external world are indubitably over, and our clients are having to navigate their lives within the context of these shifting times. What does that mean for coaching? How can we meet these complex needs and best serve our clients in these times? In this conversation with coach Steve March we unpack the implications of the global moment for coaches and coaching strategies, solid versus fluid identities, fragmenting versus integrating approaches, parts-driven strategies, fragility and resilience, and what kind of coaching can best support people in the current context. Steve March is the originator of Aletheia Coaching and founder of the Aletheia Coach Training School. Previously, from 2009-2019 he was senior faculty for New Ventures West. He specializes in coaching leaders stepping into new and/or expanded roles and leaders who are burned out (or on the way to becoming burned out). He brings a deep and rich background of sixteen years working in the field of software development as a software engineer, quality manager, senior process consultant, and manager of organizational development.

In this enlightening discussion, internationally recognized psychotherapist Kim Barta shares insights on the evolution of shadow resolution. He explains tailored therapeutic approaches, emphasizing the importance of relationship-oriented coaching. Barta delves into shadow dynamics and their impact on therapy, urging coaches to recognize their biases and projections. He explores deep-seated issues affecting clients, advocating for a holistic approach to personal growth. Learn how to transform misunderstandings into meaningful connections on the journey of self-awareness.

Psychotherapist Kim Barta discusses the concept of shadow and the different forms it can take. They explore the intersection of shamanism and psychotherapy, symbolic perception, split ego states, and the importance of doing inner work. They also discuss cultural differences in relationships and the potential harm of solely relying on release techniques. The chapter concludes with a mention of The Art of Developmental Coaching program and its focus on deep beliefs.

In these times of rapid and chaotic change, how can we help leaders understand, embrace and even flourish in complexity? In this conversation with executive coach Carolyn Coughlin we explore how we respond to complexity, what “complexity fitness” is, how adult development relates to complexity, arriving in context and fostering fluidity, testing patterns and moving towards “complexity genius”. Carolyn Coughlin has been an executive coach, facilitator, and leadership development specialist for over 15 years. With her fellow Cultivating Leadership partner Jennifer, Carolyn co-designed and runs the Growth Edge Certification series. She writes and talks about developmental coaching, why and how it can be such a powerful support to growth, and how, in particular, she thinks it might hold promise for shifting the gender imbalance in our leadership ranks. Carolyn is a Certified Somatic Coach and a certified user of the Global Leadership Profile, the Leadership Circle, and the Myers Briggs Type Indicator.

Silicon Valley stands for fast-paced change; what can we learn from a consulting firm working with seed and other early-stage companies at the heart of the evolving world of business and organizational culture? In this conversation with executive coach and leadership development consultant Matt Auron we dive into the approach of his consulting firm Evolution and its roots in integral theory, the potential of these times for cultural experimentation, holistic coaching in organizations, using the “I, We and It” framework, business mirroring life, inductive versus deductive methods of leadership, and finding the core patterns with our clients. Matt Auron is an executive coach and leadership development consultant. He is the co-founder and managing director of Evolution, a coaching, culture and leadership development firm. As an author, he has been featured in publications such as Training and Development as well as the Organization Development Practitioner. Matt has been trained and mentored by luminaries in the field of organization development such as Peter Block, Chris Worley and Edie and Charles Seashore and continually learns and integrates current thinking into his coaching practice such as neuro-leadership and mindfulness.

In order to foster resilience and ingenuity in these times we need to replace our obsession with decline and collapse with a focus on transformation and potential. In this conversation with meta-cognitive teacher and author Bonnitta Roy we explore the impact of our subjectivity on the personal and collective levels, moving beyond the dominant models of change, shifting from complex adaptive systems thinking to complex potential states, types of conflict, the core-communal and cosmopolitan self, and the potential in the decline of the West. Bonnitta Roy teaches insight practices for individuals who are developing meta-cognitive skills, and hosts collective insight retreats for groups interested in breaking away from limiting patterns of thought. She teaches a masters course in consciousness studies and transpersonal psychology at the Graduate Institute. Her teaching highlights the embodied, affective and perceptual aspects of the core self, and the non-egoic potentials from which subtle sensing, intuition and insight emerge. Bonnitta is the author of the popular Medium publication Our Future at Work. She is an associate editor of Integral Review where you can also find her articles on process approaches to consciousness, perception, and metaphysics.

As we develop into higher stages of adult development the need for us as coaches to understand where we ourselves are developmentally and how to best support our clients through the shift from one stage to another becomes an ever more nuanced endeavor. In this conversation with teacher and coach Alexander Love we explore working with the evolutionary impulse in coaching, the ascending and descending streams of growth, the journey through developmental levels, and working with late Subtle and early MetAware clients. Alexander Love, M.Ac, PCC, NCC, is a renowned teacher, acupuncturist and coach. He is on faculty at the Newfield Network, a leading coach training organization. Alexander is a developmental coach who specializes in transformational shadow work. He works with a wide range of individuals spanning the developmental spectrum which includes providing support for those in the latest stages of human development. Currently, Alexander is working on a book that is a synthesis of eastern wisdom with western developmental research to provide the coach with a deep understanding of how we grow up through stages of meaning making and how this knowledge is essential for supporting our clients.

Models of adult development haven’t been around that long, but possibly the most complex and constantly evolving of these is the Stages model. In this conversation with Terri O’Fallon we explore the Stages developmental model, the nuances of the higher stages, the significance of the transpersonal stage, challenges that come with stage shifts, shadows and incongruencies in stages, coaching clients at higher stages, and the potential and difficulty of integrating metaphysical questions in stage development. Terri O’Fallon, Ph.D. is a researcher, coach and designer of transformative containers. She does ongoing research on the Integral Stages developmental model which supports a MetAware tier with four later levels of development and is a partner of Developmental Life Design, which creates programs based on the STAGES model. Terri is also a co-founder of Pacific Integral and is a certified scorer of the Leadership Development Framework, an assessment tool useful for examining ego-maturity in adults and its embodiment.

When working with trauma there is often a heavy focus on the trauma and its impact - does this need to be the case? In this conversation with Steven Hoskinson we explore the biology of trauma, how to expand our client’s processing capacity, fostering improvisation in coaching, the biological impact of wonder, the iSOMA model, negative reinforcement and the post-trauma growth trajectory. Steven Hoskinson is the Founder, CEO and CCO (Chief Compassion Officer) of Organic Intelligence® (OI) and the nonprofit Organic Intelligence Outreach Institute. He and his team offer the personal resilience 9-Week Online End of Trauma™ Course, the online Coaching Certification Course HEART@Home, and the professional Human Empowerment And Resiliency Training (HEART®).

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Coach the person, not the problem” before. But how do we implement that when faced with powerful client stories? In this conversation with executive coach Marcia Reynolds we explore the foundations of reflective inquiry, extracting meaning from story, helping our clients release identity restrictions and disrupt patterns and the critical difference between paying attention and presence. Marcia Reynolds, Psy.D., MCC works with organizations worldwide, providing executive coaching and leadership training with an emphasis on emotional intelligence. She is the author of four books, the training director for the Healthcare Coaching Institute and regularly works with coaching organizations in China and Russia. She was the 5th president of the ICF Global Board and is currently a lead trainer for the WBECS* "Breakthrough Coaching" Program.