The Coach's Journey Robbie Swale

A quarter-life crisis is a period of intense soul searching that arrives when we are first confronted with the question of what to do with our lives.

That’s according to Chloë Garland, the founder of QuarterLife, a company that works with individuals and organisations to help people in their 20s and 30s not just survive, but thrive.

In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, Chloë sheds light on the generational shifts that have prolonged adolescence, and how many of us encounter our first truly meaningful life choices in our mid or late 20s.

Chloë tells host Alex Whitton how studying philosophy encouraged her to ponder life’s big questions, and how in her first coaching session – at age 22 – she was asked questions she had never considered before.

That session left Chloë feeling ignited, and she describes the unusual experience of being called into coaching at a young age, knowing she had a gift for conversations but perhaps unaware of the profound impact she would have on the lives of young people she would meet along the way.

In this episode, Chloë and Alex also talk about:

• Living emergently, holding goals lightly, and embracing opportunities as they arise

• The jam donut principle of purpose and presence

• The power of metaphors and fables to simplify complex ideas

• Psychodemographics, and how to find your niche

• The value of shared experience in coaching, and the importance of owning your story


Chloë also shares some hugely valuable lessons on growing a coaching business, reflecting on investments, outsourcing, and how the fear of success can be as much of a hindrance as the fear of failure.

The question of what makes a life well-lived is at the heart of Alex Whitton’s work, both as a coach and as the CEO of a charity that supports young people to realise their potential.

In this episode of the Coach’s Journey Podcast, Alex tells Robbie about the story of his career so far, from studying at Oxford University, to his volunteer work with young people, to running a social enterprise and then deciding to become a coach.

He describes how he emerged from a mindset of scarcity into one of abundance and opportunity as he came to recognise his strengths as a coach, which were cultivated through his work with Universify and the MOE Foundation.

Alex shares insights into how he has built his coaching business alongside his work with Universify, and also how he is fulfilling his childhood ambition of becoming an author.

He speaks about the fundamental importance of authenticity, vulnerability and creativity – principles that underpin his writing practice as well as his work as a coach and CEO.

 In this episode, Alex and Robbie also talk about:

- Stories, memories and listening for insight

- How coaching skills can empower young people throughout their lives

- The power of someone taking your dreams seriously

- Taking a bigger-picture view, in order to see your own abundance

- A highly effective way to invite people to be coached and enhance your agency as a coach

Alex also offers a refreshing approach to framing conversations with prospective clients, capturing the spirit of co-creation in a way that has universal appeal.

Jo Wright admits she had to get her dad’s permission before deciding on No More Sh*t Managers: Seven Steps to a Coaching Culture as the title of her book.

Thankfully he agreed and the book has made Jo a bestselling Amazon UK author as her message about the power of a coaching culture spreads to people and organisations around the world.

In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, Jo tells host Alex Swallow about the foundational experiences in early life that instilled her with a belief in the positive change that can happen when people have better conversations.

She describes the life-changing conversations that have shaped her career, from managing a small team and noticing her flair for mentoring, to co-founding a coaching business and magazine that helped propel the industry forward by creating digital coaching solutions.

Jo’s book is a love letter to humanity, and what shines through in this episode is her desire to help as many people as possible, by making sure that coaching – and the life-changing experiences it offers – is for everybody.

Having embedded coaching cultures in some of the world’s biggest organisations, she is succeeding in her aim quite spectacularly.

 In this episode, Jo and Alex also talk about:

The human development that takes place when training as a coach

How far we can go when we’re willing to be vulnerable

The fundamental importance of maintaining hope that things can be better

The value we invest in ourselves and how our clients experience our personal growth and self-development

Jo also shares some invaluable advice about getting your work out into the world, generously opening up about the steps she took to reach her audience.

When Alex Swallow sees people doing great work, he experiences an almost evangelical urge to help bring others into connection with that work.

His ability to do just that, and to boldly spread the reach of ideas, initiatives and projects worth championing, led him to become The Influence Expert – a coach and thought leader who helps individuals, companies and institutions to grow and deepen their impact on the world.

Alex is also one of the new hosts of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, and this episode is a chance to hear about the journey he has been on, from being the first in his family to go to university, to becoming the chief executive of a national charity, and to writing his first book, How To Become an Influencer.

The conversation between Alex and Robbie explores influence, authenticity, and the philosophies and principles that shape our view of the world and the work we do in it.

Alex shares insights into how he has used social media to great effect in his career, and how he has carefully aligned himself with communities of people who are fuelling the next steps of his career as a coach, influencer and writer.

 In this episode, Alex and Robbie also talk about:

The ‘golden threads’ in our experiences that lead us into the future

How humans get trapped by simple stories, and how that can limit our view of the world

The importance of agency, and how we can give it back to our clients

Why, how and when you might be a better coach than even the most experienced practitioners in the industry

Feedback, and how communities can enrich our practice

Alex also speaks about the new book he is collaborating on, which is tantalisingly focused on a particular method for getting clients.

This episode is sponsored by Heyday: https://heyday.xyz/ New developments in artificial intelligence make the news headlines so often that many people – including coaches and their clients – are wondering just how AI advances will affect their jobs, their careers and their lives.

In this sponsored episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, AI expert Samiur Rahman offers a rare insight into the way machine learning is shaping the future of coaching by fuelling the creation of tools that can save coaches time and improve their productivity.

Samiur is the co-founder of Heyday, an AI thought partner that helps coaches and other knowledge workers by generating automatic session notes, detecting patterns in client conversations, and aggregating information about clients.

In conversation with Robbie, Samiur opens up about the impact coaching has had on his journey through a career in which he has founded two start-ups and worked in others, and how he sought out the coaches who could bring out the very best in him.

He also describes the development process that led to Heyday’s creation, which involved careful consultation with coaches and produced revelations about the way practitioners work and their most pressing needs.

In this episode, Samiur and Robbie also talk about:

The power of coaching for new managers and founders alike

How the coaching we need changes at different stages of our careers

The ways AI and machine learning are likely to disrupt the world of work and the coaching industry (and the ways they aren’t)

What strange and admirable qualities coaches have, from the perspective of someone who has studied them as customers.

Samiur also describes how Heyday, which offers a free two-week trial to all new sign-ups, has changed the lives and work of coaches who use it, and the impact upon their clients.

Despite being told that one day coaching would lead her to burn out, Katie Harvey has discovered that the opposite is true: coaching gives her energy.

Now into her third decade as a coach, Katie has carefully honed a practice that enriches her life and allows her to express her core values through her work, and in this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, she explains how she did it.

Katie reflects on how coaching has helped her to move beyond a binary view of the world in order to sit more comfortably with seemingly conflicting truths, such life being both painful and beautiful, or people being both loveable and difficult.

This is Katie’s third time as a guest on the podcast, and host Joey Owen helps her unpack the story of the years since her first appearance, over four years ago, and her second, which came at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Alongside her work with individual clients and with leaders, and the coaching she delivers at Coach U and London Business School, we were excited to hear Katie is finally writing the book she speaks about in her first appearance on the podcast, which she hopes will bring her into more connection with coaches and help them achieve a sense of integration.