When Coaches Stop Listening to Themselves
A few months ago, I was working with a coach on my 1-2-1 Persional Mentoring Programme.
Susan was the kind of coach other people recommended without hesitation.
She was thoughtful, calm and quietly confident ; the sort of coach who made you feel truly seen and heard.
She had regular referrals, a full diary and strong client feedback. On the surface, everything was working.
But during one of our sessions, Susan shared something that I wasn’t expecting.
She said, “I’m not sure where I am in my coaching anymore. I’m still showing up but it’s as if I’m following a script. I feel like I’m just going through the motions.”
She was aware that something had changed and not in a good way.
It wasn’t that she was struggling or failing. She wasn’t doubting her credentials or her experience.
She was still doing the work and doing it well. Her clients were still getting results but she’d stopped listening to herself. Somewhere in the rhythm of back-to-back sessions, client care and staying on top of everything in her business she had become disconnected from something essential – her own presence in the coaching process.
Sense of Disconnection….
That sense of disconnection is something many experienced coaches feel at some point in their journey.
Not because anything is wrong, but because they’ve been holding space for others for so long, they’ve stopped making space for themselves.
The truth is that real, impactful coaching requires more than just showing up and asking powerful questions.
It needs depth, energy and connection but we often don’t notice when they are running low.
We get so caught up in supporting our clients, meeting deadlines, delivering effective sessions and running our businesses,
that we forget our own growth and replenishment need attention too.
We start to tread water and our coaching sessions become more structured than intuitive.
We still show up, but not with the same energy or clarity. We’re giving, but we’re not receiving.
We begin to miss the joy, the creativity, and the deep sense of being with our clients.
Time to Breathe
What Susan needed wasn’t another technique or credential.
She needed time to step back and breathe; to reflect and reconnect with her presence and her purpose as a coach.
And perhaps you do, too.
Pause, Replenish, Grow
That’s why I created La Dolce Vita for Coaches as a rich, restorative experience designed for coaches who want to pause, breathe, grow and come back to the heart of their practice.
Held in a stunning former ducal palace in Pisa, now a 5-star luxury hotel, this training combines deep coaching development with the kind of restorative experience that most coaches rarely give themselves.
You’ll explore innovative approaches like Coaching in Colour, NLP in Coaching, and The 6 Cs of Coaching Mastery, all grounded in the ICF Core Competencies but brought to life in a way that is fun and innovative.
You’ll also have time to journal on the sun-drenched terrace, reflect with other brilliant coaches, eat beautiful food, and have uninterrupted time to simlpy be.
It’s a rare opportunity to refocus your coaching practice, reignite your sense of purpose, and return home not only refreshed, but realigned.
If you’ve been holding space for everyone else, maybe now is the moment to create some for you.
Because the most powerful coaching doesn’t come from doing more —
It comes from being fully present. Starting with you.
If you want to join us in Italy…… there are just a couple of places still available.
You can find out more by clicking on the link below.
La Dolce Vita for Coaches
📍 Pisa, Italy | 🗓 October 2025
Join us → www.cathdaley.com/la-dolce-vita
I’d love to have you come and join us for what I know will be an extraordinary experience!
Uneil next time
Cath
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