Advertise on podcast: Coaching Conversations with the AoEC

In this episode, we sit down with Sam Heighway, founder of Be Business Fit and author of The Strength Report 2025, to unpack what 170 UK leaders and professionals told her about coaching in their organisations. The findings reveal a clear appetite for coaching, but also persistent barriers that keep it out of reach for many. We discuss:  Why coaching is a necessity for confident leadership, not a luxury for the fewThe gap between perception and reality: “coaching is for anyone” vs who actually gets itThe hidden costs of not coaching and how to make the ROI casePractical steps to normalise coaching access across all levelsWhether you’re a senior leader, HR decision-maker or simply curious about how coaching strengthens culture and performance, this conversation offers insight, evidence and actionable ideas. You can link with the speakers here:  Karen Smart, faculty, the AoEC – hostSam Heighway, director and founder Be Business Fit - guest panellist You can also connect with Sam via Instagram or Facebook. 

In this episode, we explore how executive coaching can become a powerful and versatile strand in a portfolio career. Joined by two graduates of our Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching programme, we hear how they transitioned from corporate life to building fulfilling, multi-dimensional careers where coaching plays a central role.  We discuss:  Why coaching is a valuable skillset for those designing a portfolio careerHow to make the shift from a single-track role to a more flexible, purpose-led pathThe personal and professional growth that coaching unlocksReal stories of reinvention, resonance and rediscoveryWhether you're actively building a portfolio career or simply curious about what’s possible beyond the 9-to-5, this conversation offers inspiration, insight and practical takeaways. You can link with the speakers here: ·       Lucy Tulloch, the AoEC & Lucy Tulloch Coaching – host ·       Dr Claire Handby,  Dr Claire Handby Business Leadership Ltd - guest panellist  ·       Helen Keddie, Keddie Consultancy & Coaching Ltd – guest panellist To find out more about coach training and coaching, please visit the AoEC’s website www.aoec.com.

In this special B Corp Month episode, we delve into the stories of some of the UK’s top-performing B Corp certified organisations in the Worker category. Through conversations with their HR leaders, we uncover what sets their workplace cultures apart, the innovative approaches they’ve taken to employee development, and the practices that underpin their outstanding employee engagement and satisfaction. Join us to explore the strategies that help these purpose-driven organisations excel and lead the way in fostering exceptional workplaces.  You can link with the speakers here: Karen Smart, head of consultancy/senior faculty at the AoEC – host Victoria Birks, head of operations, Socius – guest panellist Beth Gaudin, director and head of people, Forster Communications – guest panellist About Socius: Socius is an impactful developer with a £2.5bn development pipeline across major UK towns and cities including Bristol, Brighton, Cambridge, Milton Keynes and London. Privately-owned and certified B Corp, Socius partners with global investors to balance profit and purpose whilst delivering inspiring and sustainable mixed-use places. About Forster Communications: Turning your sustainability ambitions into action, Forster Communications is 100% focused on tackling climate change, driving social justice and improving lives. It combines insights, experience and connections to solve complex communications challenges, address barriers that are preventing progress, engage relevant audiences and deliver measurable change for its clients, their stakeholders and society. Forster Communications works with global and local businesses to accelerate positive change through communications strategy and planning, thought leadership, employee engagement and campaigning. With a deep understanding of social and environmental issues and live, cross-sector connections, the company can help you move from wanting to make a difference, to real action and results. To find out more about coach training and coaching, please visit the AoEC’s website www.aoec.com.

Join us as we go behind the scenes of Wavelength Connect, which is a unique executive education and leadership development programme focused on the theme of The Future of Business. Each year they bring together a cohort of 60 leaders from sectors that do not normally interact and provide access to a global array of the most admired, successful, and innovative companies, leaders and thinkers. Across this nine-month, in-person, experiential programme of events, behind the brand visits, peer working groups and executive coaching, leaders are immersed in four key themes: Global perspectives on innovation & agility Culture & future workforce The responsible organisation Personal leadership Having formed a partnership back in 2021, AoEC has been supporting Wavelength Connect participants with top notch, highly qualified, and highly experienced executive coaches to help leaders make the most of the programme and translate inspiration into application. You can link with the speakers here: Karen Smart, head of consultancy at the AoEC – Host Jessica Stack, founder, Wavelength - guest panelist If you would like to know more about Wavelength and the Connect programme, get in touch with the team here. To find out more about coach training and coaching, please visit the AoEC’s website www.aoec.com.

In this episode, we explore the emotional challenges that come with career change, especially when making bold moves such as leaving corporate life to become an entrepreneurial coach or transitioning into a new line of work. We'll dive into the powerful emotions of career transitions and, in particular, into the fears that can hold you back, what to expect during the process, and how coaching itself can provide some of the support needed to make informed decisions. Whether you're considering a career shift or are already on the path, this discussion will offer practical insights to help you navigate the uncertainty and confidently embrace your next chapter. You can link with the speakers here: Sue Reynolds, AoEC & founder of Sue Reynolds Executive Coaching – episode host · Araceli Candeo Bebbington, founder, Power of Change – guest panellist · Jon Palmstrom, founder, Off-Piste Coaching - guest panellist To find out more about coach training and coaching, please visit the AoEC’s website www.aoec.com.

Over the past 25 years, the UK’s executive coaching industry has evolved from a niche service into a cornerstone of leadership and people development. The AoEC has played a pivotal role in this transformation by setting high standards for coach training and accreditation and has helped raise the bar for professional coaching, making significant contributions to the field. We look back at how the industry has evolved during the AoEC’s 25-year history and look ahead at the future of executive coaching in the UK. We will explore its increasing demand driven by the complexities of modern leadership and assess what will be important in its next phase of growth and innovation. You can link with the speakers here: ·       John Leary-Joyce, CEO and founder, AoEC – guest panellist ·       Peter Burditt, owner, Strategic Development Consultants Ltd and non-executive director, AoEC - guest panellist ·       Kaz Hazelwood, AoEC - host   To find out more about coach training and coaching, please visit the AoEC’s website www.aoec.com

Marking Climate Coaching Action Day 2024, the AoEC’s George Warren is joined by Giles Hutchins to discuss his work in helping organisations and leaders learn to attune with the rhythms and ways of nature, so they are better able to adapt to change. Discussing his latest book, Leading by Nature, they also explore how coaches can help support this much needed shift in leadership and organisational design. You can link with the speakers here: George Warren, faculty at the AoEC – Host Giles Hutchins, pioneering practitioner, executive coach, author, thought leader and keynote speaker - special guest panellist  Useful links Find out more about some of the resources mentioned in the discussion here along with some further miscellaneous content: Giles Hutchins’ website https://gileshutchins.com/ Giles’ Deep Dive Immersion – 23 & 24 May 2024 https://thenatureofbusiness.org/2024/02/21/leading-by-nature-a-deep-dive-into-embodying-next-stage-regenerative-leadership-consciousness/ Giles’ blog https://thenatureofbusiness.org/ Giles‘ books including Leading by Nature https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Giles-Hutchins/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3AGiles+Hutchins Giles’ Leadership Immersions LinkedIn Group https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13767578/ Gregory Bateson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Bateson https://batesoninstitute.org/gregory-bateson/ Otto Scharmer https://ottoscharmer.com/ Donella Meadows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donella_Meadows https://donellameadows.org/ James Lovelock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lovelock Fritjof Capra https://www.fritjofcapra.net/ Professor Peter Hawkins https://www.renewalassociates.co.uk/ Climate Coaching Action Day: Hashtag: #climatecoachingactionday Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/ClimateCoachingActionDay LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/groups/8869975/ Twitter:  @climatecoachday Website: https://www.climatecoachingactionday.info/ Coaching in the Climate Crisis – A Certificate in Climate Coaching -  https://www.aoec.com/programmes/certificate-climate-coaching/ Climate coaching related resources from the AoEC –  https://www.aoec.com/coaching-climate/

What does social change mean in today’s world and how does it relate to individual development through coaching? How can coaches act as agents of social and systemic change? We look at how the scope of coaching can impact beyond the individual by touching whole organisations, communities and the world. You can link with the host and guest panellists here: George Warren, faculty at the AoEC - Host Ana Paula Nacif PCC, Quantum Leap Coaching & Consultancy - panellist Tracy Sinclair MCC, Coach Advancement by Tracy Sinclair - panellist Useful links Find out more about some of the resources mentioned in the discussion here along with some additional related content: Coaching with Conscience  ICF Foundation - Coaching for Social Impact  ICF Foundation – Ignite - Engaging Coaching for Humanity and the Planet  Coaching for Social Impact  Coaching for Social Impact Report (BACP)  Coaching Professional (Level 5) Apprenticeship training course  https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/coaching-professional-v1-0 Coachsters – coaching for young people  EMCC Social Responsibility  EMCC Social Responsibility Special Interest Group Humanitarian Coaching Network  Climate Coaching Alliance  Ecological and Climate-Conscious Coaching: A Companion Guide to Evolving Coaching Practice  Coaching for Social Change by Hany Shoukry 

Anti-Slavery Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of the fact over 49.6 million people in the world today, and an estimated 136,000 people in the UK, are trapped in conditions of modern slavery. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The AoEC has made a long-term multi-year commitment to being part of the international campaign to end modern slavery. To help raise awareness of modern slavery in the coaching community, in this episode we discuss how coaching can help those working in organisations on the front line, as well as explore the realities of modern slavery in everyday communities. You can link with the host and guest panellist here: John Gray, senior faculty at the AoEC – Episode host Shayne Tyler, partner at Practical Ethics – guest panellist  Useful links Find out more about some of the resources mentioned in the discussion here: Modern Slavery Act 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/modern-slavery-bill Global Slavery Index https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/ Human Trafficking definition https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/human-trafficking.html Modern Slavery Helpline https://www.modernslaveryhelpline.org/ Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority https://www.gla.gov.uk/ Taken  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taken_(film) AoEC and modern slavery https://www.aoec.com/ending-slavery/

Marking Climate Coaching Action Day 2023, the AoEC’s George Warren is joined by Tabitha Jayne from Earth Self and Lesley Roberts from Coaching Outdoors to look at coaching through the lens of nature. They will explore how coaching practitioners can make the most of what nature can offer them, the client, organisation and the planet. From awakening the senses to the world around us, to bringing the natural world into our coaching conversations, they will share their expertise in how nature and connecting with nature can help improve mental and physical wellbeing and boost creativity and focus. You can link with the host and guest panellist here: George Warren, faculty at the AoEC – Host Tabitha Jayne founding director of Earth Self and author of Nature Embodied – How to Love Life and The Nature Process: Discover the Power and Potential of Your Natural Self and Improve Your Well-Being– panellist Lesley Roberts, managing director of Coaching Outdoors and author of Coaching Outdoors: The essential guide to partnering with nature in your coaching conversations- panellist Useful links Find out more about some of the resources mentioned in the discussion here along with some further miscellaneous content: Walk it off! The effectiveness of walk and talk coaching in nature for individuals with burnout- and stress-related complaints, Agnes E. van den Berg and Femke Beute, 2021 – Ecological and Climate-Conscious Coaching: A Companion Guide to Evolving Coaching Practice by Alison Whybrow (Editor), Eve Turner (Editor), Josie McLean (Editor), Peter Hawkins (Editor)  Nature Connectedness work by Professor Miles Richardson  Jonathan Passmore and coaching outdoors  Climate Coaching Action Day #climatecoachingactionday  LinkedIn: Twitter: @climatecoachday Climate Coaching Alliance  International Coaching Federation (ICF) Code of Ethics  Published work of Stephen R Kellert  Published work of Edward O Wilson Extract from Coaching Outdoors by Lesley Roberts  Coaching in the Climate Crisis – A Certificate in Climate Coaching  Climate coaching related resources from the AoEC 

Coaching Conversations with the AoEC – Podcast Episode 7 – The Future of Coaching Join us as we take at look at how coaching is evolving and ponder what its future looks like. In this episode we explore the topic through a lens of issues including the need to democratise coaching, the climate crisis and anti-racism in the profession. We also examine why a wider step change is needed in the consciousness and philosophy of coaching in order for coaches to be truly in service of others. Our special guests tackle the necessity for coaches to go beyond the client agenda and how coaching practitioners can and should, open and broaden client mindsets. Discover why it is important to continue the journey of learning and why it is legitimate for coaches to bring the big issues facing society into their coaching conversations. You can link with the host and guest panellist here: George Warren, AoEC - Host Hetty Einzig, Coaching Perspectives – panellist Jonathan Passmore, Henley Business School and CoachHub – panellist LINKS Find out more about some of the resources mentioned in the discussion here: Andrea Watts – Collage as a Creative Coaching Tool  Alex Burn – outdoor coaching  Charmaine Roche and Jonathan Passmore racial justice research  Common Purpose - Sky Blue programme  Anti-Racism in Coaching by Charmaine Roche and Jonathan Passmore - Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice  Diversity in Coaching by Jonathan Passmore -  Coaching in the Climate Crisis – A Certificate in Climate Coaching 

Executive coaching has historically been linked with senior business leaders and high-potential employees who are being fast-tracked through the management ranks of organisations. However, recent events have created a new dialogue between employees and employers.  Young professionals are entering the workplace with a different set of expectations as to what their working identity means to them. As Deloitte points out ‘they are more likely to hold true to their ideals and demand accountability’ and will lean into their values when it comes to making their career decisions.  With priorities changing for employees and employers alike, this podcast episode explores some of the reasons why it is good business practice to democratise coaching and give young professionals access to coaching far earlier in their careers. We also look at the value created by equipping young talent with coaching skills and why a coaching approach is central to building key, transferable skills which are crucially needed in the workplace.  Enjoy! You can link with the podcast participants here: Gina Lodge, CEO, The Academy of Executive Coaching (AoEC) Chloe Garland, Founder, Quarter-Life Charlie Stainforth, Founder and CEO, Circl 

With statistics such as one in five people experiencing moderate to severe depression in 2020, what has the Covid-19 pandemic meant for individual and organisational resilience?  We look at how resilience coaching has been used to support workers during the last 18 months and are joined by two coaching professionals to learn more about their involvement with resilience coaching during the crisis. Both panellists have completed the Resilience Accreditation coach training programme and share their experiences of working with the Resilience Dynamic® model and the ‘whoosh’ which is used to chart resilience levels from break down to break even, right up to break through. This episode explores some of the pressure points affecting workers, the most valuable lessons the coaches have learned and shares their insights into how to build a resilience capacity and work best with mental health conditions, stress, anxiety and isolation using a whole person approach.    Enjoy!   You can link with the podcast participants here: Jenny Campbell, CEO, The Resilience Engine Alyson Ainsworth, Alyson Ainsworth Coaching Limited  Emilia Piera-Adamczyk, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust 

As an organisation how do you know you are getting the best return on your investment from the coaching interventions you commission? What value can be demonstrated to the organisation and to the individual or team and can it be truly measured?   Joining Karen Smart, head of consultancy at the AoEC, are Wendy Robinson, head of AoEC Ireland and Northern Ireland and principal consultant with Taylor Clarke and Kate Simpson a qualified coach and group human resources director with Global Switch. Looking at coaching from the view of an independent, external coach and from an in-house perspective, listen as they discuss what a good outcome looks like and how it can be effectively evaluated to ensure that it has achieved the desired results.   Enjoy!     You can link with the podcast participants here:   Karen Smart, head of consultancy, AoEC  https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-smart-aoec/   Wendy Robinson, head of AoEC Ireland and Northern Ireland https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendyrobinsonexecutivecoach/   Kare Simpson, group human resources director with Global Switch https://www.linkedin.com/in/connectwithkatesimpson/ 

John Hill, commercial director of the AoEC is joined by two expert team coaches to explore how teams have performed in the wake of Covid-19.  Join them as they discuss their experiences of the changing needs of teams with a look at how the shift to virtual working has impacted performance and what working through covid has meant for teams – how agile have they been, how have they translated the challenge into actions and what learnings there are for team coaches. Enjoy! You can link with the podcast participants here: John Hill, Commercial Director, AoEC  Michele White, Owner, People and Development Ltd