In our fast-paced world, maintaining clarity and focus requires more than just willpower—it demands conscious protection of your internal environment. Your inner landscape, comprising thoughts, emotions, and energy, serves as the foundation for every action you take towards your vision. Understanding Your Internal Environment: Why Protecting Your Energy, Mind, and Spirit Matters Your internal environment—comprising your thoughts, emotions, and energy—is the foundation for cla

Resentment, anger, and envy can feel like heavy burdens that drain creativity and joy. Emotional baggage often weighs us down as we strive for change in life or career. This post explores how awareness of what we carry empowers us to move forward with clarity and grace. Recognise the Weight Identify the emotional burdens holding you back Name Your Experience Label feelings without judgement to gain mastery Choose Growth Transform pain into wisdom for the journey ahead Naming,

The Art of Subtle Excellence So it's 3am and I find myself thinking about the invisible work in coaching. And then suddenly a mnemonic was born. GAPS! So here I am taking the imperfect action of bringing my early hour morning framework thinking to you hot off the press! In the world of coaching, it's often the subtle elements that make the biggest difference. The nuanced gestures, the carefully chosen words, the quality of our presence—these are the elements that distinguish

Every meaningful programme has a heartbeat, and Vision to Viability was born from a deeply personal journey through uncertainty and discovery. This is the story of transforming confusion into clarity, and isolation into community. The Journey Through the Maze There were moments early in my career when I felt profoundly disillusioned, standing at crossroads without a clear map forward. I possessed the skills to coach effectively, carried a burning passion for transforming live

Originally published for EMCC 2024- European Mentoring & Coaching Council UK Coaching supervisor Crystal Small brings a metaphorical and playful exploration to this question. She invites the supervision cynic or sceptic to accompany her through a three-act play which explores the benefits of supervision for coaches. And as with any good play, Crystal invites you, the audience, to make your mind up at the end. Read on for an innovative, theatrical take on why supervision matte

Years ago, I sat at a desk twelve floors up, gazing out at a beautiful London skyline. It was a moment in a career I had built with dedication. I was surrounded by a team I respected and milestones I was genuinely proud of. And yet, beneath that sense of accomplishment was a whisper that something was missing. This wasn’t the story I thought I’d be living. In fact, I’d never really had a script for my career at all. I wasn’t one of those people who always knew they wanted to

(A thought piece for coaches who love the craft… but occasionally roll their eyes too) Let’s be honest. For all the talk about curiosity, presence, and partnership, there are moments in coaching that make even the most serene professional want to quietly close their laptop and whisper, “Did that really just happen?” You know the ones. The moments that stretch the very fabric of our patience, that test our capacity to stay professional while our inner coach is having a full-on

A thought piece for reflective coaches Coaching, at its heart, is fuelled by curiosity. It helps us step into another person’s world, listen beyond words, and follow the quiet trail of meaning that can lead to insight and change. But lately, I’ve been wondering, can curiosity ever go too far? I’m not talking about clear boundary breaches or ethical violations. I mean the subtle moments that often slip past unnoticed. The moments where a question feels just a little too sharp.

By Crystal Small | Intentional Steps Ltd “Let’s make this a safe space.” We say it often — in coaching, in leadership, in teams. The...

By Crystal Small | Intentional Steps Ltd There was a time when self-improvement felt liberating — the thrill of discovering that growth...

Artificial intelligence has quickly become part of our working lives. It powers scheduling tools, handles data analysis, drafts emails,...

The Invisible Tax of Context Switching We've elevated multitasking to an art form in modern workplaces. Job descriptions celebrate...

Picture this scenario: your most technically brilliant team member receives a well-deserved promotion to management. Six months later,...

The Hidden Levers of Peak Performance In the relentless pursuit of productivity, most organisations are measuring the wrong things...

When I first began my coaching practice, I naively believed that success was simply about having enough clients and generating sufficient...

Every coach faces moments when something in a session strikes a personal chord—when a client's story echoes our own struggles, when their...

Have you ever started your day with the best of intentions, only to find yourself derailed by emails, interruptions, or a sudden crisis?...

I used to be great at negotiating with myself. Personal deadline? Extend it. Important task? Tomorrow’s fine. It was as if I’d discovered...

Have you ever decided you’re going to “eat healthier” and suddenly the universe seems to conspire against you? You walk into a café and...

I recently had a truly fantastic coaching session with Freya Blom  that left me reflecting deeply on the roles I’ve carried through...