Episode #27: Robert Stephenson - How to Say Yes and Become a Conduit for Change

Saying yes has shaped Robert Stephenson's life.  Accepting opportunities and seeing where they took him propelled Robert as he became a trained actor, a narrative coach, and the director of Animas Centre for Coaching - one of Europe’s largest coaching schools. While this optimistic disposition has guided him through a career that he thinks of as "a quest", he has not shied away from difficult conversations around diversity, inclusion, and even climate within the coaching space. He shares his own experiences to help create vital dialogue that is free from shame and embarrassment, and to break down barriers in the industry. He now leads a coaching community at Animas that is constantly evolving as its many thousands of members learn and grow, and is the host of the Coaching Uncaged podcast. Robert draws on his theatrical roots as he brings the spirit of improvisation and creativity to coaching, helping people channel their passion, work from their emotions, and live their stories. In this episode, we talk about: The vital role of creativity in coaching Recognising that coaching moves at a separate speed from the world and how jarring it can be to move from on speed to another The Hero’s Journey and the narratives we are all part of (or think we are) The power of saying yes and how Robert decides whether to say yes or no Making room for improvisation and experimentation as we build our coaching businesses Why Robert is so energised by conversations about diversity and inclusion in coaching, and how he has brought his coaching skills to those conversations Robert also speaks articulately about his journey as a leader, his role in the spectacular growth of Animas, and how he and his colleagues inspire and motivate the community. For more information about Robert, visit: https://www.animascoaching.com/about-animas/our-team/robert-stephenson/ or https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/coaching-uncaged/id1326900151 The Inclusion Summit Robert mentions in the episode is set to happen in August 2021 on Thursday evenings. Details are still to be confirmed, but visit the Animas website or follow the Animas social media accounts to stay up-to-date. 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 To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community Things and people we mentioned (that you might be interested in): ~10: Creative Partnerships https://www.creativitycultureeducation.org/programme/creative-partnerships/ ~10: Mathilda Joubert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathilda-joubert-8299705/ ~13: Coaching for Dummies https://www.dummies.com/business/management/coaching-mentoring-for-dummies-cheat-sheet/ ~13: The Grow Model https://www.performanceconsultants.com/grow-model ~15: London Coaching Group on Meetup https://www.meetup.com/London-Coaching-Group/ ~15: Nick Bolton, founder of Animas https://www.animascoaching.com/about-animas/our-team/nick-bolton/ ~20: Nash Popovic https://www.uel.ac.uk/staff/p/nash-popovic ~23: Narrative therapy and narrative coaching https://www.bacp.co.uk/bacp-journals/coaching-today/july-2015/the-stories-we-tell/ ~25: Joseph Campbell, The Hero's Journey https://qz.com/1436608/this-classic-formula-can-show-you-how-to-live-more-heroically/ ~42: David Shephard https://performancepartnership.com/about-us/david-shephard/ ~49: Celia Greenwood https://www.wacarts.co.uk/homepage/ceo-and-founder-celia-greenwood-steps-down-this-month ~55: Unclassified theatre company http://totaltheatre.org.uk/archive/features/treading-boards-or-treading-water-mime-mainstream ~65: Chris Grady http://www.chrisgrady.org/ ~66: Nick Bolton’s retirement letter https://www.animascoaching.com/blog/an-open-letter-from-nick-bolton-on-his-animas-retirement-282/ ~1.05: Liz Gilbert https://www.elizabethgilbert.com/ ~1.30: Coaching Climate Alliance https://www.climatecoachingalliance.org/ ~1.35: Animas Impact https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/animas-centre-coaching-launches-new-social-impact-arm-emma-koubayssi/ ~1.35: Animas Creating Space https://www.animascoaching.com/creating-space/ ~1.38: Sonia Gill at Heads Up https://ukheadsup.com/about-us/meet-the-team/ ~1.42: Transactional analysis https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/types/transactional-analysis ~1.43: How to Have Impossible Conversations, by Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/43885240-how-to-have-impossible-conversations ~1.46: Jackee Holder http://www.jackeeholder.com/ ~1.46: BACP feature by Robert, on diversity and inclusion in coaching https://www.bacp.co.uk/bacp-journals/coaching-today/january-2021/a-wealth-of-experience/ ~1.50: Robert's LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-stephenson-2491a21 ~2.04: Che Walker's Revolution events https://www.wacarts.co.uk/homepage/revolution-review ~2.09: Steve Chandler https://www.coachingprosperityschool.info/

Om Podcasten

Coach’s Journey founder Robbie Swale and a team of hosts interview coaches about how they created a successful business and how they create impact for their clients. Through these conversations, you can learn how each coach came to coaching, grew their coaching practice and found their way to the successful business they have today. Each interview, like each journey, is different. But each is also packed with insights, tips, suggestions and ideas to grow your coaching business and have even greater impact creating change in the lives of your clients. Past guests include life coaches, business coaches, executivecoaches, career coaches, leadership coaches and more. Some are household names; some are coaches you’ve never heard of. All of them share ideas on the key topics for creating a coaching business: money, fees, impact with clients, training and more. About Robbie: Robbie Swale is a leadership coach, podcaster and the author of four books. He has trained with masters in the field of coaching and building coaching businesses, including Rich Litvin, Robert Holden and guests on the podcast like Katie Harvey and Myles Downey. He is the creator of The Coaching Business Flywheel, which attempts to boil down everything he has learned from many years supporting coaches to grow their businesses and interviewing amazing coaches on this podcast, into one simple, actionable model. Subscribe and read more about the podcast, The Coach’s Journey Community and get the free ebook An Introduction to The Coaching Business Flywheel at www.thecoachsjourney.com