
The Coaching Method - Why Coaching Skills Matter More Than Certification Alone
Why Coaching Skills Matter More Than Certification Alone In this episode of The Coaching Method, Olga Kuvshinova Shahzeidi speaks with Katherine Lord, Master of Social Work and the Community and Partner Engagement Leader at the International Coaching Federation, about why coaching skills matter far beyond the coaching profession. Katherine shares how her career led her to ICF. Today, she supports organizations developing internal coaching programs while pursuing her own ACC credential. She explains why coaching is not only a profession, but also a leadership skill, an empathy skill, and a powerful way of relating to clients, colleagues, family members, and children. You’ll discover: Why coaching skills are valuable in social work, leadership, parenting, and everyday conversations How “thought partnership” creates more possibility than a problem-solving mindset How Katherine used a 20-minute walk with her four-year-old to practice asking questions instead of immediately giving answers Why it is important to distinguish between “coach mode” and “wife mode” How identifying core values can bring clarity to difficult personal and professional decisions Why women balancing career, motherhood, and family responsibilities can benefit from thinking backward from the future Why organizations may need to look beyond traditional ROI when evaluating the value of coaching Katherine also discusses her own core values - leadership, integrity, and joy - and how they guide her choices, relationships, and responses to challenging situations. But this conversation explores motherhood, career transitions, workplace culture, self-discovery, values alignment, professional identity, and the pressure to make the “right” choices in a busy season of life. For coaches in training, working parents, women navigating career change, leaders, and anyone interested in more meaningful conversations, this episode offers a simple but powerful reminder: questions lead to connection, simplicity can reveal truth, and one of the most important questions we can ask ourselves is: What do you want?
- Transcript