Behind the Scenes of 2025
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
Release Date: 12/29/2025
Accelerate your Coach CPD in 2026
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
2026 CPD Accelerator: What if the way you approach your CPD this year could fundamentally shape your confidence, energy, and impact as a coach? In this episode, we sat down to have an honest, grounded conversation about what continuous professional development really looks like for coaches in practice, not theory. As Master Accredited Coaches and founders of an accredited coach training provider, we reflected openly on our own CPD journeys, including the years of intense learning, the quieter phases focused on business growth, and the moments where CPD crept up on us through deadlines,...
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Behind the Scenes of 2025
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
What does a year of growth really look like when you step away from the highlight reel and tell the truth? As we reach the end of 2025, we wanted to pause and pull back the curtain on what this year has genuinely been like for us behind the scenes. This episode is an honest, reflective conversation about the reality of running a values led coaching business through a year of challenge, change, and deep learning. We talk openly about the tension between what people often see from the outside and what it has actually felt like to be inside the business. This year has asked a lot of us. There...
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Eight or so Christmas Coaching Questions
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
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Answering Questions from our Listeners
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
What happens when coaches slow down, listen deeply, and answer the questions they are rarely asked out loud? This episode felt different from the outset. This week we sat down without scripts, without rehearsed answers, and without certainty about where the conversation would land. What we had instead was trust. Trust in the coaching process, trust in each other, and trust in the questions our listeners brought to us. We invited our listeners to share the coaching questions they find themselves holding, whether that is something they wrestle with in sessions, reflect on in supervision, or...
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What Stage of Coach Maturity are you at?
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
Have you ever paused to consider where you truly are in your growth as a coach and what your current stage of development reveals about the way you show up for your clients? In this episode, we walk through the evolving arc of our professional identity and the way our presence deepens as we move from doing coaching to being a coach. It is a journey rich with curiosity, discomfort, insight, and ultimately, transformation. During the conversation, we unpack the three broad stages of coach maturity. We explore the ways we develop from novice coach to intuitive practitioner and eventually to a...
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Training to be a Coach after Burnout
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
Have you ever reached a point where burnout reshaped your sense of who you are and what you want next in life? In this episode, we explore the tender, transformative journey that so many people move through when they decide to train as a coach after experiencing burnout. This conversation matters because burnout rarely leaves life untouched. It rewires priorities, reframes identity, and forces us to acknowledge that our wellbeing is the most important asset we have. Throughout the discussion, we reflect on why individuals arrive at coach training following burnout and what they discover about...
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Is the Coaching Market Saturated?
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
Have you ever looked around at the growing number of coaches and wondered whether there is still space for you to build a thriving practice? In this episode we explore one of the most common concerns we hear from aspiring and experienced coaches: whether the coaching market is saturated. It is a question often rooted in fear and uncertainty, particularly for those stepping into the profession for the first time. As we reflect on this conversation, we notice how often this question reveals something deeper. It is rarely about the market itself. It is usually about whether there is space for me....
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Is Coaching Who You Are or What You Do
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
Have you ever wondered whether coaching is something you do or something you are? In this episode, we dive into a powerful identity-based question that often emerges when people consider a future in coaching: is coaching fundamentally a skillset, or is it an expression of who we are at our core? We explore how coaching can be seen as an external activity, a profession where we learn models, techniques and structures to support people with their goals. Coaching becomes the thing we do to make a living, with our craft built through continuous learning and development. At the same time, coaching...
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How to become an ADHD Coach
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
Have you ever felt drawn to help others navigate the unique challenges and strengths that come with ADHD, yet wondered what it truly takes to call yourself an ADHD coach? In this episode, we explore one of the questions we’re asked most often; How to become an ADHD coach. As more people receive ADHD diagnoses, many coaches are curious about how they can ethically and effectively support this community. Through our discussion, we share insights from our experience as accredited training providers and as coaches who work extensively in the neurodivergent space. We begin by unpacking the...
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How to Train as a Coach when Working Full Time
The Coaching Crowd® Podcast with Jo Wheatley & Zoe Hawkins
Have you ever wondered how people manage to train as a coach while juggling a full-time job, family, and everything else life throws their way? In this episode, we explore one of the most common questions we hear: How can I train as a coach when I already work full time? We know from experience that most people who come to train with us are balancing busy lives, full-time jobs, caring responsibilities, and personal commitments. And yet, many find that their coaching qualification becomes the highlight of their week, a time to step into a space that’s entirely for them. We talk about the...
info_outlineWhat does a year of growth really look like when you step away from the highlight reel and tell the truth?
As we reach the end of 2025, we wanted to pause and pull back the curtain on what this year has genuinely been like for us behind the scenes. This episode is an honest, reflective conversation about the reality of running a values led coaching business through a year of challenge, change, and deep learning.
We talk openly about the tension between what people often see from the outside and what it has actually felt like to be inside the business. This year has asked a lot of us. There have been moments of momentum and celebration alongside periods of complexity, uncertainty, and sustained effort that few people ever witness.
We reflect on how a trip to Dubai at the start of the year became a catalyst for significant shifts in our thinking. Stepping into a different environment gave us the space to see long standing business bottlenecks with fresh eyes. What had felt heavy and immovable suddenly became solvable. That experience reshaped how we approached systems, automation, and the role technology plays in supporting rather than draining a coaching business.
We share what it took to bring our Neurodivergent Inclusive Coaching programme to life, both in its full facilitated form and later through the Essentials offering. These programmes hold enormous meaning for us, not only because of their impact on coaches and clients, but because of the care, collaboration, and emotional labour involved in creating them well. This year reminded us why programme creation is so demanding and why integrity in delivery matters deeply to us.
Much of 2025 has been about strengthening the foundations of the business. We talk about the unglamorous but essential work of refining processes, documenting systems, onboarding team members, and rebuilding parts of the business from the ground up to support scale. This included changing payment systems, migrating our website from co.uk to com, securing trademarks, and rethinking how we structure qualifications and CPD.
Alongside all of this, there has been personal growth. We reflect on stepping back into facilitation, reconnecting with learners, and the fulfilment that comes from being closer to the heart of the work. We also share how this year has prompted bigger questions about brand identity, marketing, and how we want to be known as a global coaching organisation.
This episode is an invitation to reflect on your own year with honesty and compassion. Whether you are running a coaching business, leading in an organisation, or navigating change, we hope our reflections offer reassurance, perspective, and a reminder that progress is often quieter and messier than it appears.
Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome and why we reflect at the end of each year
01:24 Why 2025 felt challenging as well as successful
01:54 The Dubai trip that changed how we saw our business
02:53 Gaining fresh perspective on systems and processes
05:17 Launching our Neurodivergent Inclusive Coaching programme
06:42 Creating accessible pathways through Essentials
08:04 Rebuilding systems and standard operating procedures
09:52 Moving from co.uk to com and what it represented
11:48 Returning to facilitation and reconnecting with learners
14:32 Securing trademarks and protecting the brand
15:29 Refreshing our ILM Level 3 coaching qualification
16:55 Corporate partnerships and ripple effects of coaching
18:22 Scaling responsibly and supporting hundreds of learners
21:29 Looking ahead to 2026 with clarity and optimism
Key Lessons Learned:
- Stepping away from the day to day can unlock solutions that feel impossible when you stay too close
- Strong systems are not restrictive, they create freedom and sustainability
- Inclusive programme design requires time, care, and collaboration
- Scaling a coaching business often means rebuilding rather than adding on
- Reconnecting with clients and learners keeps the heart of the work alive
- Brand decisions are as emotional as they are strategic
- Continuous improvement is demanding but deeply worthwhile
Links and Resources:
www.igcompany.com/ilmcall
www.mycoachingcourse.com
Keywords:
coaching business growth, behind the scenes coaching, neurodivergent inclusive coaching, coaching qualifications UK, coaching CPD programmes, emotional coaching practice, coaching business systems, coach training programmes, coaching leadership development, The Coaching Crowd podcast,