Coaching and Mentoring Best Practice - Both Sides of the Coin

Data suggests that, each year, between 8,000 and 10,000 people globally are completing coach training in a desire to enter the profession. There are hundreds of courses to choose from, with a big price difference. As an aspiring coach, which one is worth investing your time and money in?  In this month's Both Sides of the Coin, host Jenny Butter is in the hot seat. As an experienced coach, she is asked questions by one of her clients, Myriam Carillo, who is exploring a career change into coaching. Myriam has done lots of research into coach training options and wants help understanding which is the best course.

In 2025 there are approximately one hundred and twenty-four thousand professional coaches worldwide, a 15% increase since 2023. This figure encompasses a broad range of coaching practices beyond just life or sports coaching, reflecting the overall growth of the hundreds of millions of pounds coaching profession.  Yet, many people who claim to be coaches are not properly trained, certified, or accredited. This has huge potential to damage the industry's reputation. For coaches who want to signal to new clients that their time and money spent on coaching sessions will be worth it, what do they need to do to stand out in the crowded market place? Joining Podcast Host, Jenny Butter, in this month's episode are Aurora Dawn the Business Director at the International Authority for Professional Coaching & Mentoring, and Monika Braglewicz an Accredited Breakup & Divorce Coach. 

At some point in our lives, every one of us will experience grief. Be it the death of a family member, a friend or pet, a divorce, an estrangement from parents, or a redundancy, there will be times when coaching can be the key to creating a new future. Joining podcast host, Jenny Butter are Lisa Heacock and her client Ellouise. Lisa is a grief and life coach and Ellouise came to Lisa after the loss of her brother. 

Flower Evelyn, a dance instructor turned embodiment coach, uses movement and nervous-system practices to help clients. Mark Walsh, embodiment coach and author, trains coaches worldwide and runs a six-month facilitator course. They discuss embodiment coaching fundamentals, remote body-based techniques, cultural differences, training structure and how somatic work enables breakthroughs.

In this episode, we learn about the saboteur within and how coaching can turn these tendencies into positive thinking. Joining podcast host, Jenny Butter, are John Rice and his client Jim Hartshorne. John coaches people to enable them to improve their mental resilience. One of his CEO clients, Jim, has over 25 years of global experience in the Supply Chain industry and he is now an MD of a major 3rd Party Logistics Company.

When you coach clients, how often is there an underlying issue that blocks them moving forward? It doesn’t matter whether the person is a C-suite or junior staff, until the root is found and the paradigm shifts success doesn’t occur. In this podcast, host Jenny Butter, learns from the pioneer of transformational coaching, Keith Merron, and one of his clients, Shane Emmons, about how this process positively alters lives.  

How self-aware are the people that you coach? Do they live their lives, purposely? In this episode of Both Sides of the Coin, we get some top tips on how to coach our clients so they can intentionally, live a life of purpose. Joining host, Jenny Butter, are Dr Barbara Mutedzi' and her client Dr. Tinashe Johnson. Barbara is a Conscious Leadership & Neuroscience-Based Coach who works with business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs to achieve greater impact. Her client Tinashe, is dedicated to providing evidence-based, world-class dental experiences and philanthropically expanding this to populations who have never had the opportunity to meet a dentist before. 

Do you have clients whose partners are often away with work? Many couples experience short periods apart, however, there are a lot of professions that mean partners are away for longer periods, often months and years at a time. In this podcast, as coaches, we get some top tips about how to work with couples and families who live in split locations. Joining podcast host, Jenny Butter, are Rhoda Bangerter and Florence Reisch. Rhoda is an expat coach who works with people whose partners are often away from home, helping them navigate the stress and use the distance to their best advantage. Florence, also a coach, received coaching from Rhoda to help her prepare for her husband living in another country while she and her children lived in a third country.

Mary Sorley, a St. Paul violinist, teacher and conductor, and Paul Boehnke, a life coach and former classical musician, discuss reprogramming negative self-talk. They explore how practiced thoughts form, a four-phase coaching process, spotting physical cues, crafting resonant affirmations, treating mental practice like instrument training, and handling setbacks with steady practice.

Whether you are a newly qualified coach or have hundreds of clients under your belt, there are always things to learn, and quick tips that we can implement, to improve the coaching experience for our clients. In this episode podcast host, Jenny Butter, is joined by coach Niroshan Silva and his client Irfan Ahmed. Niroshan has over 12,000 coaching hours and has transformed the lives of over 530,000 people. Irfan has been a client for several years and he shares what within the coaching process he has found particularly helpful.