Back in early February, before the challenges presented by the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, we recorded a new series of in-person podcast episodes with a handful of our brilliant alumni! It hadn’t felt like quite the right time to share them, but having shared the first one last week, here’s the second episode of our bonus series titled “Alumni Conversations”. In this episode Animas Centre Director Robert Stephenson is joined by business coach, speaker, author and founder of Mpower for mums in business Nicola Huelin. Nicola shares her background as a marketing strategist and the transformational journey that led her to coaching, and in turn setting up her business helping mums: Mpower. Nicola touches on the milestones that she reached as part of the journey that led her to where she is today, including beating her fear of speaking and talking for TEDX in Greece, and successfully publishing her own book - two things which she never thought that she would do! Nicola also shares her experience of the Animas training journey, offers tips for those that want to write a book or tackle public speaking, and touches on the importance of perseverance and authenticity in becoming a successful coach. You can find out more about Nicola here: https://www.mpower.academy/ Www.growyourcoachingbusiness.co.uk We hope that you enjoy this episode, and don’t forget to subscribe for a new one each Tuesday! 

Back in early February, before the challenges presented by the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, we recorded a new series of in-person podcast episodes with a handful of our brilliant alumni! It hadn’t felt like quite the right time to share them, but having taken a break last week, we feel that now is the time, and as a result we will be sharing these episodes across the next 4 weeks as part of a bonus series titled “Alumni Conversations”.  In the first episode of this bonus series, Animas Centre Director is joined by transformational coach, creative consultant and Founder of Shift Coaching Prince Laryea. Prince shares his background as a touring artist and the journey that led him to setting up his own business which focuses on coaching creatives as well as some of the key things that he learned along the way. Prince also shares his perspectives around niching as a coach, the nebulous nature of coaching and the importance of aligning our coaching with our skills, strengths and interests in order to not only make it a success, but to truly enjoy the work. He also touches on his training journey with Animas including his key takeaways, and the importance of drawing on your personal network when first starting out as a coach. You can find out more about Prince and his work here: https://shiftcoaching.life/ We hope that you enjoy this episode! Don’t forget to subscribe and follow for a new episode every Tuesday!

In this episode, Animas Centre Director Robert Stephenson is joined by Founder and CEO of Animas Nick Bolton as they share what’s been happening behind the scenes at Animas, and some of the exciting things that are on the Horizons for the rest of the year and beyond! Robert and Nick dive into all of the things that are both exciting and challenging us at the moment, as well as sharing the current purpose and four missions for the business, and touching on the vision for the future of Animas. As part of the discussion they share the impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic on the business, Animas team and community, and speak about the important re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement and what it means for us as a coaching organisation that wants to make a difference. Nick and Robert also touch on some of the current projects around thought leadership and social impact including the upcoming social impact summit which will take place on 22nd September. If you want to know more about what’s happening behind the scenes at Animas, our current focus, and exciting plans for the future be sure to tune into this episode! Nick also founded the International Centre for Coaching Supervision whose mission is to enable coaches from across the world to access an exceptional coaching supervision course through accredited, virtual live-training. If you're interested in training as a coach supervisor you can find out more here: https://iccs.co/

In this episode of Coaching Uncaged Animas Centre Director Robert Stephenson is joined by Director of the Personal Well-Being Centre, programme leader of the Masters in Integrative Counselling and Coaching at the University of East London, and founder of the Personal Consultancy model Dr. Nash Popovic.  Nash explains his three-part Personal Consultancy model that integrates counselling and coaching, revealing why it is such an effective approach for enabling change and touching on the fundamental importance of ‘being’ with our clients before we begin any ‘doing’. Nash shares his thoughts around the lines and differences between coaching and counselling and how both practices are expanding to include elements of the other, offering Personal Consultancy as a forward step towards an integrative approach that combines the two. Nash also shares what’s next for his work, including the development of a training programme in integrative supervision, and his future goal to expand Personal Consultancy to include somatic elements in order to create a truly integrative approach to personal development.  You can find out more about Nash and his work here: https://www.personalsynthesis.com/  We hope you enjoy this episode of Coaching Uncaged, and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button for a new episode every Tuesday!

In this thought-provoking episode of Coaching Uncaged Animas Centre Director Robert Stephenson is joined by coach, experienced executive leader, chairperson for multiple organisations and Founder of Full Colour leadership specialists Srabani Sen as they explore leadership and organisational approaches to greater diversity and inclusion.  Srabani maps her journey from 30 years in executive leadership, and training as a coach through to her startup Full Colour - A  business with the key focus of helping organisations develop strong, energised, effective leaders who understand that diversity and inclusion is central to building high-functioning teams and delivering business success. Robert and Srabani share their experiences around organisational diversity and Srabani offers insights and research around what a greater focus on organisational diversity and inclusion can bring to both leaders, and their organisations.  Srabani shares the way in which she approaches work with her clients, pulling in all of her experience and touches on the importance of always holding the question in her mind: “How can I best serve my client?” She also touches on the notion of getting out of your own way as a coach, the importance of humility for both new coaches and experienced coaches alike, as well as sharing her exciting vision and future plans for Full Colour. You can find out more about Srabani and her work here: https://www.fullclr.com/ We hope that you enjoy this episode of Coaching Uncaged, and don't forget to subscribe for a new episode every Tuesday!

In this fascinating episode of Coaching Uncaged Animas Centre Director Robert Stephenson is joined by coach, author and Founder of Narrative Coaching Dr. David Drake as they dive deep into the narrative coaching approach and what it brings to the coaching dynamic. David shares how his narrative coaching approach grew out of a fascination with the hidden potential in the stories our clients tell us and a desire to move away from a linear, goal-orientated approach to coaching. He also shares what it is that makes this approach so powerful for both the coach and coachee.  Robert and David also explore the tendency to over-exert ourselves as coaches, the power of silence, the importance of building relationships and the magic that happens when we allow our client the space to do the work.  David touches on the work of Carl Rogers, Timothy Gallwey and Lev Vygotsky as well as his own work as he talks about the importance of ‘serious play’, experimentation and crossing thresholds. He also shares some fascinating ideas around rites of passage in coaching and an updated view on the Hero’s Journey.  David also shares his provocative thoughts around masculine and feminine approaches to development, the role of change in coaching, and Integrative Development, his pioneering grounded theory that underpins narrative coaching and opens up a new field of practice. You can find out more about David and his work here: https://www.themomentinstitute.com/ We hope that you enjoy this episode!

In this episode of Coaching Uncaged Animas Centre Director Robert Stephenson is joined by Existential Coach, Trainer and Author Sasha van Deurzen-Smith to explore what we mean by existential coaching, and what existential approaches bring to the coaching dynamic. Sasha shares the work that she is currently doing around existentialism, and neurodiversity, touching on her co-authored project which shines a light on existential coaching for adults with an autism spectrum condition. Sasha also shares exciting news around her work on the intersectionality of the LGBTQ+ community that also have an autism spectrum condition, and being approached to advise for next year’s pride event in Houston, Texas as a result. Robert and Sasha explore what we mean when we talk about existentialism, before diving into fascinating topics such as the dizzying and confusing nature of ‘freedom’ when considered through an existential lens, the notion of valid anxieties as opposed to something that needs to be fixed, and the idea that as humans we are always in the process of becoming, and never in a fixed, static state.  Sasha also shares what’s next for her, and some more information around the upcoming existential CPD course, including some of the key existential philosophical themes and voices that are explored, what’s covered and some of the key takeaways people can expect from the weekend of training.  We hope that you enjoy this episode, and don’t forget to subscribe and follow for a new episode every Tuesday! Find out more about Sasha and her work here: https://sashasmithcoaching.com/ Interested in bring an existential approach to your coaching practice? You can find out more about the upcoming CPD in Existential Coaching here: https://www.animascoaching.com/blog/events/accredited-certificate-in-existential-coaching-2/

In this thought-provoking episode of Coaching Uncaged Animas Centre Director Robert Stephenson is joined by executive coach, coach trainer, author and creative Jackee Holder as they explore Jackee’s life experience and background that has led her to the work that she does now, and how this journey and experience interacts with coaching and the impact of diversity in our here and now.  Jackee shares her journey from part-time youth worker and coach to work around diversity and inclusion for young black students to be mentored within the BBC, offering lots of fascinating insights and perspectives on her experience of cultural diversity both inside and outside of the coaching profession. Jackee touches on her personal approach to the coaching dynamic, the importance of being present as a human being, and really truly seeing people in the space. As well as sharing her thoughts around the landscape of the coaching profession with regard to both class and colour and exploring with Robert what we might do to make coaching, accreditation and organisational membership not just more accessible, but more appealing for BAME coaches. Find out more about Jackee and her work here: www.jackeeholder.com We hope that you enjoy this episode. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button to catch a new episode every Tuesday!

In this episode of Coaching Uncaged Animas Centre Director Robert Stephenson is joined by executive coach, gestalt trained psychotherapist, author and Ashridge faculty member Simon Cavicchia as they explore Simon’s work around gestalt and relational approaches to coaching.  Simon shares his journey from coach and management consultant to gestalt psychotherapist and executive coach, highlighting the work that he is currently doing around relational coaching. He shares what is meant by a relational approach to coaching and the benefits of bringing this work into the coaching dynamic with his clients.  Simon touches on the research that highlights the critical importance of the quality of relationship and dynamics between people in creating conditions for learning and growth, and how the critical factors in determining an outcome isn’t the modality of the coach, nor the type of training or particular theoretical foundations they stand in, but everything to do with the quality of the relationship.  Simon also shares what he loves about having a relational orientation as the unifying lens that allows him to bring different approaches, perspectives and theories into his work, while remaining firmly rooted in paying attention to how to create the optimal conditions in the relationship for change, transformation, learning and growth to happen.  You can find out more about Simon here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-cavicchia-1a6a521/ We hope that you enjoy this exploratory conversation. Don't forget to subscribe and follow for a new episode every Tuesday!

In the third episode of Coaching Uncaged Animas Centre Director Robert Stephenson is joined by executive coach and author Dr. Catherine Sandler to explore psychodynamic approaches to coaching.  Catherine shares her experience of coaching leaders for 25 years and her journey to the work that she is doing now around psychodynamics. She explains what is meant in practice by a psychodynamic approach and the benefits of applying this lens to her work. She also describes the shifts that she has seen around how organisations relate to coaching over time. Illustrating her points with plenty of anonymous examples from her coaching clients, Catherine touches on the importance of our unconscious emotions as drivers of our thoughts, attitudes and actions and explores how coaches can use elements of the psychodynamic approach to help their clients overcome longstanding obstacles and transform their leadership behaviour.  You can find out more about Catherine and her work here: https://www.sandlerconsulting.co.uk/