The coaching posture: a shift that elevates performance
| Dear leaders, |
| In this month of May, coaching takes the center stage! This year the ICF Converge Summit welcomes professional coaches to Paris for 3 days of continuous learning. It’s also a time for me to step back, listen, learn alongside my fellows and make inspiring connections! |
| This month, I want to take you behind the scenes of coaching: what really happens in a coaching conversation. And why, as a leader, your own coaching posture matters. |
| Those of you who have benefitted from professional coaching know its benefits. It is a structured process grounded in listening, trust, and a strong alliance and a space for reflection, perspective, and growth. It’s a partnership where the coachee, supported by their coach, explores what needs to emerge, shift, or transform. A professional coach is here to create the conditions for real thinking and meaningful change. Not to give answers, but to help you find your own. Concretely, a coach helps you: – clarify what’s really at stake – step back and see situations with a fresh perspective – identify your internal and external resources – explore your real levers for action – move forward towards change – consciously chosen, not imposed The role is to build your autonomy, your clarity, and your sense of responsibility. The coach offers you a space that is both safe and demanding. A space where you can think freely and move forward with intention. A space where listening, empathy, and care are at the heart of the relationship. What makes coaching truly effective is the balance between: quality of presence(deep listening, trust, attention) and strength of structure (a clear framework, strong ethics, and strict confidentiality). |
| Whilst the ICF deontology and core competencies guide my practice, I also seek inspiration from The Center for Creative Leadership. In one of the most recent articles on coaching they highlight several key focus areas in executive coaching that drive meaningful outcomes – reinforcing the depth and impact of this work. |
| We know that in organisations not everyone can benefit from professional coaching. However as a manager, you can develop a coaching posture to support your team members growth. In this article, I show you how simply you can adopt this posture – in your day-to-day, through practical shifts and proven models. |
| Professional coaching, as we practise it at The Laughing Willow, is a living, demanding, and deeply human approach. It fosters both individual and collective transformation, with a sense of joy and awareness. Our different types of professional coaching: Individual coaching At The Laughing Willow, it is above all a meeting. A trusting relationship, built step by step, where you become a full participant in your journey. There is no magic formula. Only powerful questions, a benevolent mirror, “meta” pauses and transformative realisations. Grant yourself space. Breathe. Step back. Shed the unnecessary. Individual coaching, whether for business or personal reasons, is a unique support system that allows you to clarify, align, and transform. Team coaching A team is an ecosystem. Sometimes fluid, sometimes dysfunctional. Team coaching aligns objectives, eases tensions and strengthens cohesion and communication. It also reactivates the desire to do things together, with meaning and pleasure. Organisation coaching Transforming an organisation means transforming relationships, postures and systems. Organisational coaching is used during reorganisations, cultural changes or profound transformations. It helps managers and teams to develop a clear vision, mobilise talent collectively, and cultivate healthy, sustainable dynamics. At The Laughing Willow, we cultivate a coaching posture aligned with our philosophy: tailor-made, co-constructed support for lasting change. |
| Different sectors: EdTech, luxury, FMCG, defense, senior care. Different formats: consulting, individual coaching, executive team coaching, collective intelligence facilitation. Different challenges: new leadership teams, transformation journeys, onboarding of a new CEO, business expansion.. |