Returning to Work After Major Life Events: A Leader's Roadmap
by Bruno Vinel
When leaders return to work after major life events — illness, burnout, bereavement, divorce, or caregiving — the outside world often expects a rapid comeback. Something neat. Something confident. Something that leaves the pain at the door.
How to Future-Proof Your Career After 45
by Bruno Vinel
At the midpoint of our careers — often around age 45 to 50 — many senior leaders find themselves standing at a curious threshold. The children are grown or nearly so. The mortgage may be close to being paid off.
Why Success Doesn't Always Feel Like Peace
by Helena Chan
Many of the people I work with aren't looking for more success.
They're looking for themselves.
They've built successful careers. They've become the person everyone relies on.
You've Done The Work. So Why Are You Still Like This?
by Sharn Somasiri
You've read the books. You've done years of therapy or coaching. You can explain exactly why you are the way you are. You could probably write the psychology essay on your own patterns.
And yet, the same situation comes up, and your body reacts exactly the way it always has.
Why You Freeze And Then Replay It For A Week
by Sharn Somasiri
You're in the moment. Someone says something. And instead of the sharp response you'd planned, nothing comes out. You go quiet, agree to something you didn't want, or just leave the conversation.
Then for the next week, your brain runs the replay on a loop.
The Argument You're Having With Someone Who Isn't There
by Sharn Somasiri
Have you ever caught yourself mid-conversation with someone who isn't in the room? Defending yourself against something they haven't even said yet. Rehearsing your response to a comment that hasn't happened.
Do have arguments in your head about something that hasn't even happened yet?
by Sharn Somasiri
You know that moment when you’re clearing up the kitchen after dinner, you’re sorting the dishes, loading the dishwasher, and wiping the counters down?
And all of a sudden, you catch yourself having an argument in your head, with a family member who left you feeling frustrated.
Let’s retrain your nervous system to respond the way you want it to. Article 2/2
by Sharn Somasiri
In part 1 of this article, we learned to interrupt an unhelpful reaction from our nervous system or an intrusive thought. That should allow you to bring your mind and body back to a calmer place.
Now, from that calmer place, let's get curious.
Let’s retrain your nervous system to respond the way you want it to. Article 1/2
by Sharn Somasiri
Have you had a tricky moment this weekend? A moment that made you feel anxious? A situation you walked into already feeling tense?
Most people don't realise that when you feel anxious or tense, it's not always the present moment causing it.
Experiencing difficult conversations
by Zoë Hughes
I recently had a difficult conversation with an important person. It was something I had put off (for some very logical and valid reasons)... however the delay didn't make it any easier.
In fact, the more time that passed the more anxious I became.
Creativity is a powerful tool
by Zoë Hughes
After working through resistance, I've recently re-learnt the lesson that tapping into my creativity makes me feel amazing: on top of the world!
Why was it that this feeling alone hadn't been enough to keep the creativity habit flowing and consistent? This got me thinking, why is it that something so positive can be so difficult to do?
A thought that has stuck with me is that it takes COURAGE to be creative.
The Strength That Kept Me Going
by Palina Sezdzina
For most of my life, being strong felt like the right thing to do.
When I moved to Germany, I didn't really have another option.
There were documents to figure out, a new language to navigate, a career to build, and a life to create from scratch.
The Glass Cage
by Sharn Somasiri
If you have experienced race or gender based discrimination at work, you already know the calculation.
Do I speak up? And what will it cost me if I do?
Your job. Your reference.
The Fugue (my articles are not lectures on how to improve your life. Just poems which go deeper)
by Tim Clapton
There is a sadness
found in a cavity between the soft body
and the smudged edges of the soul.
Some believe it ought not be there,
that it is best scrubbed clean and made nice.
Interview about ICF Converge Summit in a Paris 2026
by Nurzhamal Khibassova
Dear colleagues, hello!
What does the future of coaching look like through the eyes of a participant in ICF's largest international event? ????
We invite you to watch a new interview with Nurzhamal Khibasova, who participated in ICF Converge Paris 2026 and shared her insights on professional trends, the development of AI in coaching, international experience, and ideas that can be useful to our community today.
Guilt comes from when your actions don't align with your priorities
by Esther Winslow
You have a goal you keep meaning to start. Every week you carve out the time, and every week something else fills it. It's Sunday again and your friends have invited you out at the time you'd set aside.
Imagine a world in which you could were excited about your next step...
by Esther Winslow
Imagine jumping at the idea of a promotion instead of feeling dread at the prospect of more responsibility.
Imagine walking into a difficult client meeting and knowing you're going to be able to take their negative feedback as helpful learning instead of wanting the world to swallow you whole.
I Thought I’d Feel Ready By Now
by Palina Sezdzina
For a long time, I thought confidence meant having no doubts, no fear, and always knowing the right next step.
I also thought confidence would naturally come once I completed my coaching certification.
What changes when you stop freezing around your mother-in-law?
by Sharn Somasiri
Picture the next family dinner. She makes the comment — the one about the potatoes, or how her son always loved her cooking. And for the first time, nothing in you drops. Your shoulders stay down. Your voice is there when you reach for it.
A Pack of Tissues - A Poem
by Tim Clapton
We meet most mornings
facing each other in the same
train carriage.
We are an assortment of builders and teachers,
the odd receptionist and civil servant
on the seven-eighteen commute
to our daily work.