The Coach's Journey - build a coaching business with integrity
Robbie Swale
112 episodes
2 weeks ago
What does the future of coaching look like… and what can we learn from those who helped build it?
Ruth Rochelle returns to The Coach’s Journey Podcast to reflect on how the coaching world has evolved over the past four decades and where it might be heading next.
Prompted by a listener’s question, Ruth shares stories from the early days of coaching - when it was more movement than industry - through the professionalisation of the 1990s to today’s fast-changing, tech-enabled landscape. Alongside the history, she offers her vision for what’s emerging now: deeper work, greater humanity, and a renewed sense of trust.
Ruth and Joey explore how coaching has shifted from performance to presence, from achievement to wholeness, and from certainty to curiosity. They discuss scepticism in the early days (and now), the rise of coaching bodies such as the ICF and EMCC, the impact of technology and AI, and why compassion and simplicity remain at the heart of great coaching.
In this episode, Ruth talks about:
Why the earliest coaching approaches focused on the inner game and self-belief
How the field grew from informal practice to global profession
The evolution from performance and achievement to whole-person coaching
Why trust, compassion, and presence still matter most for coaches today
Ruth also invites every coach to listen inwardly and lead the way forward for the profession.
If you’ve ever wondered how the coaching profession began - or where it’s going next - this conversation offers wisdom, warmth, and hope for coaches building meaningful, sustainable practices in a fast-changing world.
For more information about Ruth, visit https://www.ruthrochelle.com/
For more information about host Joey Owen, visit http://www.joeyowencoaching.com/
Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com.
Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg
To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:
FREE Ebook: An Introduction to The Coaching Business Flywheel: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/thecoachingbusinessflywheel
Ruth Rochelle on The Coach’s Journey Podcast (previous episode) https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/78-ruth-rochelle-insight-seminars-systems-theory-and-the-path-to-our-current-truth
International Coaching Federation (ICF) https://coachingfederation.org/
European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) https://www.emccglobal.org/
Tim Gallwey – The Inner Game of Tennis https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/1447288505
Robert Kegan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kegan
Suzanne Cook-Greuter https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-cook-greuter-60056322b/
Bill Torbert https://gla.global/team_member/professor-bill-torbert/
For more on Adult Development on The Coach’s Journey, see our interview with Jennifer Garvey Berger https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-42-jennifer-garvey-berger-the-answer-to-either-or-is-both
Sir John Whitmore – Coaching for Performance https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coaching-Performance-Principles-Personal-Professional/dp/1473658128
The Coach’s Journey Podcast with Ruth Rochelle and Joey (video version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kby9-D_5JwA
BIOGRAPHY FROM RUTH
For more than 25 years Ruth has been a coach – an executive and team coach, workshop facilitator, transformational coach and coach supervisor – with private clients and with organisations.
Ruth is an Accredited Master Executive Coach with APECS, an IFS (Internal Family Systems) Practitioner with the IFS Institute and a Coaching Constellations Practitioner, and her clients have included creative professionals, start-up founders, senior managers, young emerging leaders, celebrities, coaches, and many more.
Ruth supports her clients to create and achieve their visions, enrich their relationships, navigate changing circumstances, embark on new life directions, start and grow businesses, address specific challenges, experience greater wellbeing and connect to a meaningful purpose.
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What does the future of coaching look like… and what can we learn from those who helped build it?
Ruth Rochelle returns to The Coach’s Journey Podcast to reflect on how the coaching world has evolved over the past four decades and where it might be heading next.
Prompted by a listener’s question, Ruth shares stories from the early days of coaching - when it was more movement than industry - through the professionalisation of the 1990s to today’s fast-changing, tech-enabled landscape. Alongside the history, she offers her vision for what’s emerging now: deeper work, greater humanity, and a renewed sense of trust.
Ruth and Joey explore how coaching has shifted from performance to presence, from achievement to wholeness, and from certainty to curiosity. They discuss scepticism in the early days (and now), the rise of coaching bodies such as the ICF and EMCC, the impact of technology and AI, and why compassion and simplicity remain at the heart of great coaching.
In this episode, Ruth talks about:
Why the earliest coaching approaches focused on the inner game and self-belief
How the field grew from informal practice to global profession
The evolution from performance and achievement to whole-person coaching
Why trust, compassion, and presence still matter most for coaches today
Ruth also invites every coach to listen inwardly and lead the way forward for the profession.
If you’ve ever wondered how the coaching profession began - or where it’s going next - this conversation offers wisdom, warmth, and hope for coaches building meaningful, sustainable practices in a fast-changing world.
For more information about Ruth, visit https://www.ruthrochelle.com/
For more information about host Joey Owen, visit http://www.joeyowencoaching.com/
Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com.
Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg
To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:
FREE Ebook: An Introduction to The Coaching Business Flywheel: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/thecoachingbusinessflywheel
Ruth Rochelle on The Coach’s Journey Podcast (previous episode) https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/78-ruth-rochelle-insight-seminars-systems-theory-and-the-path-to-our-current-truth
International Coaching Federation (ICF) https://coachingfederation.org/
European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) https://www.emccglobal.org/
Tim Gallwey – The Inner Game of Tennis https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/1447288505
Robert Kegan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kegan
Suzanne Cook-Greuter https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-cook-greuter-60056322b/
Bill Torbert https://gla.global/team_member/professor-bill-torbert/
For more on Adult Development on The Coach’s Journey, see our interview with Jennifer Garvey Berger https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-42-jennifer-garvey-berger-the-answer-to-either-or-is-both
Sir John Whitmore – Coaching for Performance https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coaching-Performance-Principles-Personal-Professional/dp/1473658128
The Coach’s Journey Podcast with Ruth Rochelle and Joey (video version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kby9-D_5JwA
BIOGRAPHY FROM RUTH
For more than 25 years Ruth has been a coach – an executive and team coach, workshop facilitator, transformational coach and coach supervisor – with private clients and with organisations.
Ruth is an Accredited Master Executive Coach with APECS, an IFS (Internal Family Systems) Practitioner with the IFS Institute and a Coaching Constellations Practitioner, and her clients have included creative professionals, start-up founders, senior managers, young emerging leaders, celebrities, coaches, and many more.
Ruth supports her clients to create and achieve their visions, enrich their relationships, navigate changing circumstances, embark on new life directions, start and grow businesses, address specific challenges, experience greater wellbeing and connect to a meaningful purpose.
#110: The One Thing That Solves Most Coaching Problems: Contracting Well
The Coach's Journey - build a coaching business with integrity
19 minutes 2 seconds
1 month ago
#110: The One Thing That Solves Most Coaching Problems: Contracting Well
What if almost every coaching challenge you face in your practice could be solved with better coaching contracts and clearer agreements?
That’s what Robbie dives into in this short episode.
Drawing on his own coaching practice, experiences in supervision, and lessons learned from mentors and peers, Robbie explains why contracting with clients is one of the most important skills a coach can develop… and how better contracting could have solved almost every challenge he’s ever brought to supervision. He shares how he builds contracting into every part of his work: from the very first client conversation, through re-contracting midway, to closing an engagement with clarity.
Robbie explores the written coaching agreements he uses, the questions he asks clients, how he contracts with stakeholders while keeping confidentiality intact, and why he has stopped sending written coaching notes. Along the way, he also reflects on ICF ethics, the role of supervision, and what really matters for coaches who want to build a meaningful, sustainable business.
In this episode, Robbie talks about:
Why most coaching challenges come back to contracting and agreements
The questions he asks to set up effective coaching contracts
How he re-contracts with coaching clients partway through an engagement
The importance of private goals when coaching within organisations
Why he stopped sending coaching session notes and what he does instead
How ethics, supervision, and simplicity shape his coaching practice
If you’ve ever wondered how to contract in a way that supports your clients, strengthens your coaching practice, and makes your work more impactful, this episode offers plenty to take away.
Download Robbie’s ebook, An Introduction to The Coaching Business Flywheel, here.
Buy The Coaching Business Flywheel Booster Pack - including all the emails Robbie sends to his clients at every stage of his business, plus a flowchart, coaching agreements and his favourite emails for creating clients.
For more information about Robbie, visit https://www.robbieswale.com/
Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com.
Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg
To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.
THINGS ROBBIE MENTIONED THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN
The Coaching Business Flywheel: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/the-coaching-business-flywheel
Robbie’s article about starting coaching sessions well: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/writing/how-to-start-your-coaching-sessions-so-they-practically-run-themselves
The Coaching Business Flywheel Booster Pack: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/the-coaching-business-flywheel-booster-pack
Robbie’s Meaningful Productivity workshops: https://www.robbieswale.com/meaningful-productivity-workshop-series
The video version of this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhjuhKWx9iA
Episode #8, containing this and lots more nuts and bolts of coaching: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/robbie-on-structure-first-conversations-marketing-price
Simon Feldman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonfeldman/
Robbie’s video with ways of talking about coaching: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/106-how-to-lead-a-powerful-first-conversation-with-a-potential-coaching-client
Robbie’s video about endings and reflecting on coaching: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/91-how-to-create-a-powerful-ending-to-a-coaching-engagement
Miles Downey – Effective Modern Coaching - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Effective-Modern-Coaching-Developing-Professionals/dp/1441186102
Robbie’s conversation with Miles Downey on The Coach’s Journey Podcast - https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/ep-14-myles-downey
BetterUp https://www.betterup.com/
64 Million Artists https://64millionartists.com/
The ideas of Zone of Genius and Zone of Excellence: https://www.robbieswale.com/the-12-minute-blog/2022/2/3/the-zone-of-genius-the-most-powerful-thought-experiment-for-personal-transformation
Mike Toller on The Coach’s Journey Podcast: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-32-mike-toller
International Coaching Federation (ICF) Code of Ethics https://coachingfederation.org/ethics
Free Ethics Training from the ICF https://learning.coachingfederation.org/products/ethics-training
The Coach's Journey - build a coaching business with integrity
What does the future of coaching look like… and what can we learn from those who helped build it?
Ruth Rochelle returns to The Coach’s Journey Podcast to reflect on how the coaching world has evolved over the past four decades and where it might be heading next.
Prompted by a listener’s question, Ruth shares stories from the early days of coaching - when it was more movement than industry - through the professionalisation of the 1990s to today’s fast-changing, tech-enabled landscape. Alongside the history, she offers her vision for what’s emerging now: deeper work, greater humanity, and a renewed sense of trust.
Ruth and Joey explore how coaching has shifted from performance to presence, from achievement to wholeness, and from certainty to curiosity. They discuss scepticism in the early days (and now), the rise of coaching bodies such as the ICF and EMCC, the impact of technology and AI, and why compassion and simplicity remain at the heart of great coaching.
In this episode, Ruth talks about:
Why the earliest coaching approaches focused on the inner game and self-belief
How the field grew from informal practice to global profession
The evolution from performance and achievement to whole-person coaching
Why trust, compassion, and presence still matter most for coaches today
Ruth also invites every coach to listen inwardly and lead the way forward for the profession.
If you’ve ever wondered how the coaching profession began - or where it’s going next - this conversation offers wisdom, warmth, and hope for coaches building meaningful, sustainable practices in a fast-changing world.
For more information about Ruth, visit https://www.ruthrochelle.com/
For more information about host Joey Owen, visit http://www.joeyowencoaching.com/
Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com.
Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg
To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:
FREE Ebook: An Introduction to The Coaching Business Flywheel: https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/thecoachingbusinessflywheel
Ruth Rochelle on The Coach’s Journey Podcast (previous episode) https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/78-ruth-rochelle-insight-seminars-systems-theory-and-the-path-to-our-current-truth
International Coaching Federation (ICF) https://coachingfederation.org/
European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) https://www.emccglobal.org/
Tim Gallwey – The Inner Game of Tennis https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/1447288505
Robert Kegan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kegan
Suzanne Cook-Greuter https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanne-cook-greuter-60056322b/
Bill Torbert https://gla.global/team_member/professor-bill-torbert/
For more on Adult Development on The Coach’s Journey, see our interview with Jennifer Garvey Berger https://www.thecoachsjourney.com/podcast/episode-42-jennifer-garvey-berger-the-answer-to-either-or-is-both
Sir John Whitmore – Coaching for Performance https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coaching-Performance-Principles-Personal-Professional/dp/1473658128
The Coach’s Journey Podcast with Ruth Rochelle and Joey (video version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kby9-D_5JwA
BIOGRAPHY FROM RUTH
For more than 25 years Ruth has been a coach – an executive and team coach, workshop facilitator, transformational coach and coach supervisor – with private clients and with organisations.
Ruth is an Accredited Master Executive Coach with APECS, an IFS (Internal Family Systems) Practitioner with the IFS Institute and a Coaching Constellations Practitioner, and her clients have included creative professionals, start-up founders, senior managers, young emerging leaders, celebrities, coaches, and many more.
Ruth supports her clients to create and achieve their visions, enrich their relationships, navigate changing circumstances, embark on new life directions, start and grow businesses, address specific challenges, experience greater wellbeing and connect to a meaningful purpose.
