The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins

What becomes possible when the first question in a coaching session helps a client arrive more fully?
The way we open a coaching conversation matters because it can shape where a client places their attention, how present they become and what they feel able to explore. Yet it is easy to fall into familiar habits and rely on the same dependable opener without considering whether it is right for the person sitting in front of us.
In this episode, we explore a collection of powerful coaching questions designed to create greater focus, depth and possibility. Some help clients sort through competing priorities, while others connect them with what feels most alive, what they need to leave outside the room or where courage might take the conversation. We also consider how a coach can listen beyond the words, noticing shifts in energy, emotion, hesitation and body language.
We discuss questions that support progress when a client feels overwhelmed, as well as those that make space for uncertainty, unfinished business or challenges they have been trying to resolve alone. Questions such as "What part of you most needs a voice today?" and "What have we not explored yet together?" can help clients reconnect with overlooked parts of themselves and open areas they may now feel ready to discuss.
We also explore how to strengthen the coaching alliance by asking what the client needs from us in that moment, whether that is challenge, compassion, silence or help slowing down. These questions are not intended to be used mechanically. Our hope is that this episode helps you expand your coaching toolbox, move beyond habitual openers and choose questions that reflect the client, the purpose of the session and how they are arriving that day.
Coaching Questions Explored:
Of everything that is competing for your attention right now, what feels most important for our conversation today?
What feels most alive for you today?
Before we begin today, what do you need to leave outside the room so you can be fully present here?
If we were courageous today, where might this conversation take us?
If you could make progress on one thing today, where would we focus our conversation?
What feels uncertain, unfinished or unresolved at the moment?
What have you been trying to resolve yourself that remains unresolved?
What is unresolved that you have been working on alone?
What part of you most needs a voice today?
What have we not explored yet together that would be helpful for you?
What would you like me to be particularly mindful of as your coach today?
What is possible for you here today?
What conversation have you been avoiding with yourself or someone else?
Timestamps:
00:01 Why the opening question matters
01:47 Moving beyond habitual coaching openers
02:24 Sorting through competing priorities
03:22 What feels most alive today?
05:15 Leaving distractions outside the room
06:48 Inviting courage and vulnerability
08:29 Focusing on progress and momentum
09:43 Welcoming uncertainty and unfinished business
11:22 What has the client been resolving alone?
12:10 Giving different parts of the client a voice
14:10 Exploring what has not been discussed yet
15:04 The power of possibility
15:42 What should the coach be mindful of?
18:07 Holding silence and strengthening the coaching alliance
19:38 What is possible today?
20:31 The conversation the client may be avoiding
22:51 Choosing questions that support the coaching goal
23:56 Finding the right coach training programme
Key Lessons Learned:
The first question in a coaching session can shape the tone, direction and depth of the entire conversation.
Using the same opening question with every client can create stale coaching patterns.
A client's energy, hesitation, emotion and body language can provide as much information as their spoken answer.
Some clients need help sorting through competing priorities before they can identify a meaningful focus.
Coaching questions can invite courage and vulnerability without assuming the client already feels courageous.
Progress-focused questions can help overwhelmed clients move away from broad goals and towards achievable momentum.
Acknowledging uncertainty and unfinished business can help clients feel understood before attempting to create solutions.
Asking what a client has been handling alone can surface opportunities for support, connection and shared exploration.
Questions about different parts of the self can help clients reconnect with voices that have become quiet or overlooked.
Asking the client what they need from the coach strengthens the coaching alliance and supports effective re-contracting.
Powerful opening questions should remain connected to the client's wider coaching goals and the purpose of the session.
Coaches should ask questions with genuine curiosity rather than delivering them as scripted coaching techniques.
Keywords:
coaching conversations, coaching questions, opening coaching questions, powerful coaching questions, coaching session questions, coaching skills, coaching toolbox, coaching presence, coaching alliance, psychological safety in coaching, coach and client relationship, professional coach training, client self-awareness, coaching session openers, how to start a coaching conversation,
Links and Resources:
https://mycoachingcourse.com

What if retirement was not the end of your working life, but the beginning of a more meaningful way to contribute? Retirement planning often focuses on pensions, savings and when we can afford to stop working, but it also raises important questions about purpose, identity, connection and how we want to use the experience we have built throughout our careers.
In this episode, we explore coaching as a retirement strategy and how it can create a gradual, purposeful transition into the next chapter of life. Many experienced leaders and professionals are not ready to stop contributing. Instead, they want greater flexibility, autonomy and the opportunity to use their knowledge in work that feels personally meaningful.
Coaching can provide a bridge between full-time employment and retirement, but it takes time to build. Completing a rigorous coaching qualification, developing confidence, gaining experience and creating a trusted network can take several years. Starting early allows people to shape a retirement that feels exciting and sustainable, while creating the option of additional income through flexible, low-cost work.
Coaching can also form part of a wider portfolio that includes mentoring, consultancy, board advisory work, facilitation, training or volunteering. It offers a way to continue helping others grow, remain connected to a professional community and contribute on your own terms. Ultimately, coaching as a retirement strategy is about creating more choice, purpose and possibility for the future.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and episode introduction
00:07 Why coaching can support retirement planning
01:37 Designing the next chapter of your career
03:59 Avoiding the retirement cliff edge
04:28 Coaching as purpose, income and insurance
06:51 Building experience, a niche and referral networks
07:22 When learning and helping others are your hobbies
09:43 Coaching as a vehicle for meaningful impact
10:35 Creating a portfolio retirement strategy
12:58 Connection, community and wellbeing after work
14:11 Giving back through coaching and volunteering
16:37 Creating options for an uncertain future
18:30 Coaching course quiz and next steps
Key Lessons Learned:
Retirement planning should include purpose, identity, wellbeing and connection, as well as financial preparation.
Coaching can create a gradual transition from full-time employment into more flexible and meaningful work.
Starting coach training several years before retirement provides time to qualify, practise and build professional credibility.
A clear coaching niche is often built around the experience, expertise and interests developed during a previous career.
Existing professional relationships can become valuable referral routes when building a coaching practice.
Coaching can provide an additional retirement income without the overheads associated with many other businesses.
A retirement coaching practice does not need to be entirely commercial. Coaching skills can also be used within mentoring, volunteering and community work.
Coaching can complement consultancy, facilitation, training, board advisory work and speaking as part of a portfolio career.
Professional supervision and coaching networks can provide valuable connection and support after leaving employment.
The objective is not to predict every detail of retirement. It is to create enough options to respond confidently as life changes.
Keywords:
coaching as a retirement strategy, retirement planning, purposeful retirement, coaching qualification, becoming a coach, retirement career options, portfolio retirement, portfolio career, executive coaching, career transition, coaching business, flexible retirement income, meaningful work after retirement, professional coaching accreditation, retirement wellbeing, coaching after a leadership career, planning for retirement, second career after retirement,
Links and Resources:
Coaching course quiz: www.mycachingcourse.com
Book a call: www.igcompany.com/ILMcall

How quickly can you train as a coach without compromising the quality, depth and credibility of your learning?
It is one of the questions we are asked most often by people considering coach training. On the surface, it sounds like a practical question about dates and deadlines. Underneath it, there is often a much bigger story.
Many people have been thinking about becoming a coach for several years. They have researched courses, imagined a different career and questioned whether coaching could become part of their future. By the time they finally decide to take action, they are ready to begin immediately.
We understand that feeling. Zoe reflects on how she can spend a long time thinking through a decision, yet once she has made it, she wants everything to happen straight away. Jo shares a different perspective. When she trained as a coach, she wanted a rigorous and challenging programme that gave her enough time to absorb the experience and grow through it.
In this episode, we explore the different routes available for becoming a qualified coach and explain how long each coaching qualification can take.
For someone seeking foundational coaching skills, an ILM Level 3 Certificate in Coaching can potentially be completed in as little as three months. It provides a recognised coaching qualification and can be a strong route for people who want to introduce coaching into an existing role, develop their communication skills or explore coaching before committing to a deeper programme.
The Level 3 route can also work well for professionals who already support people in another capacity. This could include counsellors, teachers, nurses, physiotherapists, driving instructors or practitioners working in wellbeing and personal development. They may already have considerable experience working with people and want to add a structured coaching approach to their existing skills.
For those wanting to become an independent coach and support clients through more complex personal or professional change, an ILM Level 5 or Level 7 coaching qualification may be more appropriate.
These programmes offer a deeper, highly experiential coach training experience. Learners are coached regularly, practise their coaching skills throughout the programme and work with a larger number of practice clients. The training explores areas such as mindset, identity, beliefs, values, emotions and sustainable behavioural change.
The fastest completion time for the Level 5 programme has been around nine months, while the Level 7 programme has been completed in approximately twelve months. More commonly, learners complete Level 5 in around twelve to eighteen months and Level 7 in approximately sixteen months to two years.
The length of coach training depends on several factors. The format of the programme matters, as weekly evening sessions will create a different timeline from intensive full-day training. The availability of practice clients also plays a part, along with how many coaching relationships a learner feels able to manage alongside work, family and other commitments.
There is flexibility within the process. Learners generally have up to three years to complete their qualification, and additional support may be available when unexpected life events affect their progress. The aim is not to force every learner through the same timeline, but to provide a pathway that allows them to complete their coaching qualification in a sustainable way.
We also discuss an important misconception: you do not necessarily need to wait until every assignment has been completed before beginning to develop your coaching business.
While learners are building their coaching hours, they can start exploring their message, audience, services, branding and pricing. Practice clients may ask to continue working together or recommend the coach to someone else. With the right insurance, ethical boundaries and transparency about where they are in their training, learners may begin taking paid clients during their qualification.
The real question is therefore not only, "How quickly can I train as a coach?"
It is also:
What type of coaching do I want to offer?
How deeply do I want to develop my skills?
What learning environment will help me thrive?
How can I begin creating my future while I am still training?
Speed matters, particularly when you feel ready for change. However, choosing the fastest coaching course is not always the best strategic decision. The right programme should reflect the type of coach you want to become and the clients you hope to support.
One of the most interesting things we see is that people often begin their training eager to qualify quickly. Once they are immersed in the programme, meeting other coaches and experiencing their own personal development, many of them no longer want to rush.
Coach training can become far more than a professional qualification. It can reshape how you listen, communicate, lead, think and relate to the people around you.
You can begin training as a coach as soon as you make the decision and enrol. The length of the journey will depend on the route you choose, but the learning and transformation can begin from day one.
Timestamps
00:00 How quickly can you qualify as a coach?
00:54 Balancing speed, credibility and depth
02:13 Why people delay the decision and then want to move quickly
03:36 The ILM Level 3 coaching qualification
05:41 Practice clients, supervision and flexible learning
08:04 The deeper experience of Level 5 and Level 7 training
08:52 Typical completion times for each qualification
11:14 Building coaching hours around work and family
11:48 Extensions, unexpected life events and learner support
13:02 Building a coaching business while training
15:26 Why shortening the timeline should not reduce quality
15:37 How coach training begins from the moment you enrol
17:51 Personal transformation during coach training
19:22 Choosing the right coaching qualification for your goals
Key Lessons Learned
An ILM Level 3 Certificate in Coaching can potentially be completed in around three months.
Level 3 training is well suited to people seeking foundational coaching skills or adding coaching to an existing profession.
Learners wanting to offer transformational coaching as an independent practitioner may benefit from a Level 5 or Level 7 qualification.
A Level 5 qualification commonly takes around twelve to eighteen months, while Level 7 may take approximately sixteen months to two years.
Course format, personal capacity and the availability of practice clients can significantly affect the completion timeline.
Coach training should be selected according to the type of coaching you want to offer, rather than speed alone.
Learners can begin developing their coaching business, services and positioning while completing their qualification.
Ethical practice, appropriate insurance and transparency are essential when beginning to work with paying clients during training.
A coaching qualification can create personal transformation as well as professional development.
Many learners begin wanting to qualify quickly but later value having more time to absorb and enjoy the experience.
 
Keywords:
how quickly can I train as a coach, how long does it take to become a coach, coach training, coaching qualification, become a qualified coach, coaching certification UK, accredited coaching course, ILM Level 3 coaching, ILM Level 5 coaching, ILM Level 7 coaching, transformational coaching, professional coach training, start a coaching business, coaching practice clients, online coaching qualification,

What changes when the person being coached is responsible not only for their own performance, but also for the direction, culture and future of an entire organisation?
Executive coaching uses the same core coaching competencies as other forms of coaching, but the context is often more complex. Senior leaders may be navigating organisational change, board relationships, stakeholder pressures and strategic decisions while also experiencing uncertainty, reduced confidence or questions about their future.
This is why executive coaching often becomes a whole-person experience. Senior leaders have few places where they can speak honestly without being expected to already have the answers. Coaching offers a confidential space to slow down, reflect and explore how leadership responsibilities are affecting identity, wellbeing, relationships and sense of purpose. It can also involve a three-way relationship between the coach, the client and the sponsoring organisation, requiring clear agreements around confidentiality, objectives and outcomes.
Executive clients are often highly capable action takers, so coaching is not always about creating another action plan. Progress may come through challenging assumptions, separating facts from interpretations and identifying the patterns shaping how a leader thinks, communicates and responds under pressure. The coach may move between coaching, mentoring and acting as a thought partner, while continuing to support the client's own thinking and decision-making.
In this episode, we also explore ambiguity, burnout, organisational systems and the knowledge that can support coaches working at this level, including leadership psychology, group dynamics, power and authority. We discuss how the ILM Level 7 qualification can prepare coaches to work not only with chief executives and board directors, but also with senior leaders responsible for significant teams, budgets and organisational outcomes. Executive coaching may take place at the highest levels of an organisation, but at its heart it remains deeply human.
Timestamps:
00:01 Welcome and episode introduction
00:55 The similarities and differences in executive coaching
01:30 Moving beyond performance metrics and strategy
03:14 Why executive coaching requires a whole-person approach
04:00 Who executive coaching is for
04:35 Organisational change, politics and stakeholder dynamics
06:17 Self-worth and identity outside the organisation
06:54 How leadership changes can surface insecurity
08:00 Becoming a thinking partner for senior leaders
09:22 Why executives may not need traditional accountability
09:51 Coaching the individual within the wider system
11:39 Identity, influence and leadership agency
12:20 The ripple effect of coaching across teams
13:31 Moving between coaching, mentoring and thought partnership
15:50 Three-way contracting and organisational sponsorship
17:51 Why executive coaching engagements are often longer
20:09 Ambiguity, paradoxes and complex decision-making
22:21 The human reality behind executive leadership
23:35 Burnout, reflection and constructive challenge
25:00 Leadership psychology, systems and group dynamics
27:03 Why executive coaching can be so rewarding
27:40 Who the ILM Level 7 qualification can prepare you to coach
29:00 Finding the right coaching qualification
Key Lessons Learned:
The core coaching competencies remain the same, but executive coaching takes place within a more complex organisational context.
Executive coaching often focuses on the whole person because leadership responsibilities affect identity, confidence, wellbeing and relationships.
Senior leaders frequently need a confidential thinking space more than they need another action plan.
Executive coaches must be able to move between the individual client's experience and the wider organisational system.
Three-way contracting requires clear agreements around confidentiality, objectives, reporting and the expectations of the sponsoring organisation.
Executive clients often bring challenges involving ambiguity, competing priorities, political dynamics and decisions with far-reaching consequences.
Constructive challenge can help leaders identify assumptions, explore alternative perspectives and develop greater flexibility in their thinking.
A coach does not need to be an expert in the client's technical field, but knowledge of leadership psychology, group dynamics and organisational systems can strengthen the coaching relationship.
Executive coaching can create a ripple effect because leaders often take ideas and insights from coaching back into their teams.
Executive coaching is not limited to chief executives. It can include anyone with significant responsibility for people, budgets and organisational outcomes.
Keywords:
executive coaching, executive coach, leadership coaching, senior leadership coaching, executive coaching qualifications, ILM Level 7 coaching, coaching senior leaders, organisational coaching, leadership development, executive presence, systems thinking in coaching, three-way coaching contract, coaching in organisations, leadership identity, coaching organisational change, executive wellbeing, coaching and burnout, coaching skills for leaders, transformational coaching, coaching qualifications,
Links and Resources:
Find the right coaching course quiz: www.mycoachingcourse.com
Book a call about the ILM coaching courses: www.igcompany.com/ILMCall

What happens when a coaching client does not realise that the frustration, resentment or overwhelm they are carrying is actually pointing towards a boundary that has been crossed?
In this episode of The Coaching Crowd Podcast, we explore how to coach boundaries in a way that feels practical, ethical and deeply human. Boundaries can sound simple on the surface, but in coaching conversations they often reveal something much more complex. They connect to values, relationships, communication, emotions, beliefs, burnout, people pleasing and the way clients understand their own needs.
We begin by reflecting on what boundaries really are. We describe them as the guidelines that help other people understand how to be in relationship with us. They communicate what we are comfortable with, what we are not comfortable with, how we want to be treated and what matters to us. Yet many of us rarely define our boundaries clearly, even for ourselves.
Throughout the conversation, we explore why boundaries show up so often in coaching. A client may come to a session saying their manager keeps giving them unrealistic deadlines, or that a friend, partner or family member is asking too much of them. They may not use the word boundaries at all. Instead, they may talk about feeling angry, resentful, exhausted, overwhelmed or close to burnout. As coaches, these emotional cues can help us gently notice where a boundary may have been crossed.
We also discuss the different types of boundaries that may be relevant in coaching. These include communication boundaries, emotional boundaries, time boundaries, physical boundaries, energetic boundaries and professional boundaries. Breaking boundaries down in this way can help clients move away from a broad, abstract concept and begin to understand what is actually happening in their day to day lives.
A central theme in this episode is the idea of a boundary audit. What boundaries does the client know they have? Which boundaries have they never consciously established? Who knows about those boundaries? So much conflict and confusion can arise because boundaries are assumed rather than communicated. We may expect others to behave as we would, only to feel hurt or frustrated when they do not.
We also explore the reality that setting a boundary can create change in a relationship. If a client has always been available after work, always said yes, or always taken responsibility for other people's needs, then communicating a new boundary may come with a cost or consequence. Coaching can provide the safe space needed to explore those consequences, prepare for them and understand what support the client may need.
Another important part of the conversation is the difference between boundaries and control. A boundary is something we set for ourselves. It clarifies what we will allow, what we will not allow and what action we may take if that boundary is crossed. Control, on the other hand, is about trying to dictate what another person must do. Helping clients understand this distinction can be powerful, especially when they are navigating complex relationships or workplace expectations.
We also talk about permeable boundaries. Some boundaries are firm, while others may be more flexible depending on the situation. For example, a client may have a boundary around not working in the evening, but occasionally choose to respond to something because it feels right in that moment. This can be useful, but it can also create confusion or drift. Coaching can help clients explore whether they are acting from choice, pressure, fear or habit.
Towards the end of the episode, we share coaching questions that can support boundary exploration. Questions such as "What boundary are you currently avoiding?", "What are you protecting?" and "What would be the hardest boundary for you to enforce?" can help clients connect with what they need. We also explore the use of metaphor and visual thinking, helping clients imagine boundaries as walls, screens, dotted lines, protective bubbles or something entirely personal to them.
This episode is a reminder that coaching boundaries is rarely about giving clients a script for saying no. It is about helping them understand their values, recognise their emotional signals, explore their beliefs, process the discomfort and build the confidence to uphold what matters to them. Healthy boundaries create clarity, safety and more sustainable relationships, both personally and professionally.
Timestamps
00:00 | Introduction to coaching boundaries
00:06 | Why boundaries are showing up in coaching conversations
00:24 | What do we mean by boundaries?
01:34 | Defining boundaries for ourselves
02:10 | How to recognise when a boundary has been crossed
03:41 | Communication preferences and boundary breaches
04:45 | Different types of boundaries
06:40 | Using a wheel of life style approach for boundaries
07:23 | The idea of a boundary audit
08:40 | How assumed boundaries create confusion
09:42 | Communicating boundaries in relationships
10:30 | The cost and consequence of creating a new boundary
11:19 | Signs a client may need stronger boundaries
12:20 | Boundaries, people pleasing and burnout
13:38 | Values, needs and emotional reactions
14:25 | Temporary, flexible and permeable boundaries
15:57 | How permeable boundaries can create confusion
17:28 | The risk of boundary drift
18:20 | Boundaries versus control
19:20 | Upholding boundaries and managing consequences
20:13 | Beliefs that make boundaries difficult
21:55 | Shame, difficulty and emotional safety
22:43 | Coaching questions for boundary exploration
23:28 | Exploring hard and achievable boundaries
24:57 | Using metaphor and visual coaching tools
26:57 | Emotions Coaching Practitioner training
Key Lessons Learned:
Boundaries are guidelines that help people understand how to be in relationship with us.
Clients may not name boundaries directly. They may present with resentment, anger, overwhelm, burnout or people pleasing.
A boundary audit can help clients identify which boundaries they already have, which ones they have not communicated and where confusion is arising.
Boundaries are often linked to values. When a value or need is not honoured, the client may experience a strong emotional reaction.
Healthy boundaries create clarity and safety, rather than pushing people away.
Permeable boundaries can be useful, but they can also create confusion if the client is not clear on when and why they flex them.
Coaching around boundaries often involves exploring cost, consequence, beliefs and emotional discomfort.
Boundaries are not the same as control. A boundary is about what the client will allow or choose, not about forcing another person to behave differently.
Clients may feel shame when they struggle to uphold a boundary, so coaches need to create a safe and non judgemental space.
Visual metaphors can help clients explore boundaries in a more embodied and creative way.
Keywords:
How to coach boundaries, Coaching boundaries, Boundary coaching, Healthy boundaries, Emotional boundaries, Professional boundaries, Communication boundaries, Time boundaries, People pleasing and boundaries, Coaching questions for boundaries, Values and boundaries, Boundaries versus, control, Emotions coaching, Coaching clients with overwhelm, Coaching burnout, Coaching emotional wellbeing,
Links and Resources:
Emotions Coaching Practitioner Training: https://igcompany.com/emotions-coaching