A funny thing happened on my way to the Bank of England

Last Thursday evening, I had an unexpected experience which taught me that you don’t always know the effect that you have on people’s lives.

I was meeting Coachsource colleagues at a venue  close to the Bank of England, some of whom I have worked alongside for nearly 20 years. I had a real urge to capture the moment with a photo. I asked a man standing nearby if he would mind taking a group photo.

As I asked, the man smiled and, in that moment, we recognized each other. He kindly took the photos and as he handed back the mobile to me, he simply said “Thank you for coaching me all those years ago because it made a huge difference for what was going on for me at that time. I feel more confident and more at ease as a leader now than when we first met.”

As I made my way home, I reflected on my happy encounter and what I remember of our time together. This leader had worked for many years in a large organization, and it was a time of great change and uncertainty. It was hard for him to know who to confide in, hard to get a different perspective on difficult situations and hard to create the thinking space to work through how he wanted to show up as an inspirational senior leader.

At a time when many are speculating on whether AI agents will replace human executive coaches and in what capacity, my encounter with my old client crystallizes what is the essence of impactful coaching. This is the importance of a confidential space, a real connection that creates trust between two people and finally, a human seeing the potential of another, encouraging them to believe in themselves and to move forward with clarity and confidence.

Thanks to the Coachsource humans: @Brian Underhill and @Charmaine Kwame for bringing us together again.