These are strange times to be alive, and that includes being alive and working as a coach.

When I heard that Katie Harvey, who has racked up over 14,000 hours of coaching and 13 years of supporting other coaches, was putting together her thoughts on how to coach during a time like this, I invited her back on the podcast straight away.

In this episode, Katie and I speak about the various ways that our coaching and our practices have changed or been affected by the coronavirus outbreak, and give some advice and suggestions to other coaches for how to survive and even thrive amidst the uncertainty: as individuals, in our coaching practices, and as an industry.

In particular, we talk about:

- How, more than perhaps ever before, coaches have a shared context with their clients, and the implications of this for our work.

- How to manage the start of a coaching conversation, the client’s agenda and the need to address the greater context.

- How to deal with technological problems when coaching online.

- The implications for coaches as self-employed entrepreneurs, and in particular the importance of questioning our assumptions around what this will mean for our businesses.

And we finish with a conversation about the opportunity that the current situation presents for coaches individually, and for the coaching industry as a whole. As Katie says, ‘The opportunity for coaching here is absolutely huge: it’s up to every one of us to take the opportunity to help our profession grow in whatever way lights your fire.‘

For more information about Katie, email her at [email protected].

For information about Robbie’s wider work and writing, visit www.robbieswalecoaching.com.

Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg

Things and people we mentioned (that you might be interested in):

~6: The preview of my book, which I have shared in case it may help you or someone you know in these times of uncertainty: The Power To Choose Preview - https://www.robbieswalecoaching.com/writing/2020/3/23/why-am-i-sharing-parts-of-my-forthcoming-book-the-power-to-choose

~6: The latest articles in my blog: Things Get Broken by the Dark Times. But Things Get Made In Those Times, Too - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/things-get-broken-dark-times-made-those-too-robbie-swale/; Now Is The Time To Focus On Stability And Order: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/now-time-focus-stability-order-robbie-swale/; and What Did You Do During the Coronavirus Pandemic: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-did-you-do-during-coronavirus-pandemic-robbie-swale/

~6: The offer of coaching from myself and some trusted colleagues: https://www.robbieswalecoaching.com/coaching-for-uncertain-times

~7: Katie’s document for coaches, which inspired this episode: Coaching In These Unprecedented Times: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d286f97132cd000011e67f4/t/5e834324602f5702ab67febb/1585660709398/KHC_Coaching_Unprecendented_Times.pdf

~15: Unlocking Leadership Mindtraps by Jennifer Garvey Berger - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NWWRXC5/

~46: Rich Litvin - http://www.richlitvin.com/

~48: BetterUp - https://www.betterup.com/

~51: My 12-Minute Articles - you can read the latest ones on my LinkedIn, here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbieswale/detail/recent-activity/posts/ and read a little about the process here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/power-commitment-robbie-swale/. The ones I have written about the coronavirus outbreak are linked to here: https://www.robbieswalecoaching.com.

~52: Mike Toller - http://www.michaeltollercoaching.co.uk/

~55: aim-you - https://www.aim-you.com/volunteers1

~58: The offer me and two colleagues made: Coaching for Uncertain Times - https://www.robbieswalecoaching.com/coaching-for-uncertain-times

~60: Kubler-Ross Change Curve - https://www.cleverism.com/understanding-kubler-ross-change-curve/