What if your greatest growth came not despite the crisis, but because of it?
This question shaped the heart of a recent conversation I had the privilege to host with two inspiring alumni of both our Coaching for Development and Professional Coaching Course programmes: Hannah Gredley and Olga Klimanovich.
In our webinar, From Crisis to Confidence, we explored how coaching can serve as a profound companion in moments of personal and professional disruption. With openness and courage, both Hannah and Olga shared how crisis became the unlikely doorway to deep inner growth, through the Integral Coaching approach we teach at the Centre for Coaching.
Alongside these stories, my colleague (and sister) Janine Ahlers, Managing Partner of the Centre for Coaching South Africa and Switzerland and Course Leader for Coaching for Development, offered a concise overview of the programme that formed the backdrop to these transformations.
From Crisis to Confidence: Reflections on Growth, Resilience, and Coaching
In a world marked by disruption and unpredictability, how do we remain grounded? What helps us navigate the spaces between what we knew and what we must now become?
These questions sat at the heart of our recent conversation, where we explored how moments of uncertainty can serve as powerful catalysts for personal transformation. With courage and candour, our guest speakers, Hannah and Olga, invited us into their journeys — each shaped by personal crisis, each renewed through the practice of coaching. Here are some key insights they shared:
1: Personal Crisis Can Be a Catalyst for Growth
Hannah and Olga spoke candidly about how their initial encounters with coaching came not from a place of certainty, but from a profound need for clarity and direction. Both experienced moments of feeling untethered — professionally, emotionally, existentially.
What emerged was not simply a solution to a challenge, but a deeper relationship with self: one grounded in presence, resilience, and curiosity.
2: Integral Development Unlocks Holistic Transformation
Drawing from their experience in the Coaching for Development journey, Hannah and Olga described how Integral Coaching supported change across multiple dimensions: cognitive, emotional, somatic and relational.
By working across the whole person, they cultivated sustainable shifts — not only in how they coach, but in how they live, lead, and relate.
3: Slowing Down Builds Confidence
One of the most resonant takeaways was the practice of slowing down. In a world that often celebrates speed and productivity, both guests reminded us that confidence often grows in stillness.
Whether through mindful eating or intentional walking, they found that stepping back created the space for greater awareness, clarity, and groundedness.
4: Emotional Intelligence Starts in the Body
Hannah shared how somatic awareness reshaped her relationships and deepened her emotional intelligence. By noticing bodily sensations and patterns of reaction, she was able to pause, reflect, and respond differently.
This attentiveness to the body is a vital part of coaching. It allows us to meet others with empathy and insight — because we’ve learned to meet ourselves first.
5: Community Is Essential for Sustainable Learning
Hannah and Olga reminded us that transformation doesn’t happen in isolation. Through peer coaching, mentorship, and reflective dialogue, they discovered the power of learning within a supportive and engaged community.
This collective journey cultivated not just individual growth, but a shared sense of accountability, presence, and momentum.
6: Presence Is More Powerful Than Technique
Perhaps the most profound insight was this: effective coaching is not about doing more, but about being more fully present. Confidence is not the absence of fear — it’s the willingness to meet oneself honestly, and to support others in doing the same.
It is this inner work that lends credibility, compassion, and precision to the coaching relationship.
An Invitation
If you’re curious about how coaching might serve as a path to your own growth — whether as a leader, practitioner, or human being navigating complexity — we invite you to learn more about the community of practice we’re cultivating through the Centre for Coaching.
Our six-month Coaching for Development programme is one doorway. But the deeper invitation is to reconnect with what matters, expand how you lead, and transform not just what you do — but how you are.
Warm thanks to Olga and Hannah for generously sharing their wisdom and vulnerability, to Janine for bringing her clarity and insight, and to all who joined us in this powerful conversation. May we continue to meet the unknown not with fear but with presence, inquiry, and the support of a community that sees who we are becoming.