Coaches Rising

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.

What makes the ultimate difference between a beginner coach and a masterful coach? In this conversation with high performance consultant Hans Phillips we explore the shift from good coaching to masterful coaching, the dynamics of ease and flow, integrity in the coaching industry, intuition and ongoing personal development, helping clients with visioning blockages and the importance of having a healthy work/life balance as a coach. Hans Phillips is a high performance consultant who works with clients around the world, supporting them personally and professionally to create and maintain sustainable high performance and the enjoyment of life. His work is based on emotional intelligence, conscious living, ontology, and phenomenology. Hans provides consulting, training, and coaching for achievement-oriented clients, specializing in helping them create new avenues of communication and authenticity as well as creating new velocity in their projects.

In these fast-paced times, coaches can play a crucial role in shaping leadership and organizational change. In this conversation with executive coach Kari Zeller we explore the ongoing shift in business consciousness, what leadership is, stakeholder leadership, partnering with the system, the coaching agenda and creating systemic change. Kari Zeller is an executive coach and CEO of The Granger Network with 20 years of experience catalyzing transformation at the individual and organizational level. Prior to founding her company, she served as a decorated combat veteran, where she learned the imperative of transformative leadership in high-intensity situations. Kari and her team specialize in helping companies thrive in high-pressure situations, such as restructurings, mergers and acquisitions and strategic pivots.

In these particularly challenging times, how can we as coaches help people foster resilience, embodied decision-making and the fundamental needs of safety, belonging and dignity? In this conversation with somatic coach Staci Haines we dive into coaching across social boundaries, addressing conditioned tendencies, fostering resilience, living from past commitments and expanding our somatic capacity. Staci Haines is a national leader in the field of Somatics specializing in social leadership. She is a senior teacher at Strozzi Institute and the founder of generative somatics, bringing Somatics to social and environmental change leaders, and generationFIVE, a community leadership organization whose mission is to end the sexual abuse of children. Her most recent book is “The politics of trauma; Somatics, healing and social justice”.

Our understanding of how our brains work continues to evolve, as well as our understanding of how we create meaning. How can we use advances in cognitive science to help our coaching clients? In this conversation with Amanda Blake and John Vervaeke we dive into cognitive science and how it can help us understand meaning-making, how cognition is not in your head, different forms of knowing, reciprocal opening and narrowing and how cognitive science translates to practical tools for coaches. Amanda Blake is a Leadership Coach, creator of the popular Body = BrainⓇ course on the neurobiology of experiential learning and author of the forthcoming book Your Body Is Your Brain. In addition to teaching about the art and science of embodiment, she works with leaders worldwide to help them become their best self, enjoy life more, and make a bigger contribution. She is a Master Somatic Leadership Coach and holds a degree in Human Biology from Stanford University. John Vervaeke, PhD is an award-winning lecturer at the University of Toronto in the departments of psychology, cognitive science and Buddhist psychology. He teaches courses in the Psychology department on thinking and reasoning, cognitive development, and higher cognitive processes. He also teaches a course in the Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health program on Buddhism and Cognitive Science. He has a popular YouTube channel where he shares his insights and research on these topics. His abiding passion is to address the meaning crisis that besets western culture.

As coaches, it’s important that we are clear on the level of care we are able to provide and when we need to refer a client to another mental health professional. In this conversation with trauma professional David Treleaven we explore the ubiquity of trauma, encountering trauma in a coaching session, resilience practices, dysregulation and nuance and working with the “window of tolerance”. David Treleaven, PhD, is a writer, educator, and trauma professional whose work focuses on the intersection of trauma, mindfulness, and social justice. Born in Toronto, Canada, he trained in counseling psychology at the University of British Columbia and received his doctorate in psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He is author of the book Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness: Practices for Safe and Transformative Healing.

There are many avenues of exploration into the psyche; Inquiry is one that brings an aliveness and immediacy that can give rise to a sense of wonder, possibility and radical awareness. In this conversation with Diamond Approach teacher Dom Liber we explore the practice of Inquiry, how it differs from analysis, the role of somatic sensing and language, applying Inquiry in coaching practice and potential pitfalls for coaches. Dominic C. Liber is an explorer, writer and teacher of the inner world. He follows a lifelong fascination with both magic and mystery, science and sense. He has been on the inner journey teaching meditation for over thirty years, a Diamond Approach student for over twenty years, and a Diamond Approach teacher since 2015. A former actuary and one of the founding partners of LeapFrog Investments, a global leader in impact investment, Dominic now works entirely with the Diamond Approach. He leads groups and works with students mostly in the UK and South Africa.