Coaching for humanitarians: tools and techniques to foster resilience and growth

How can coaching help humanitarians navigate change, build confidence and foster personal and professional growth?

Together with coaching expert Charlotte Balfour-Poole, we explore the transformative power of coaching in the humanitarian sector in a two-part podcast.

In this first instalment, Ka Man Parkinson sits down with Charlotte Balfour-Poole, Head of Coaching at the Humanitarian Leadership Academy (HLA).

• Discover coaching tools and techniques to manage wellbeing during times of change, build resilience and unlock growth.
• Gain insights on coaching techniques in action from Charlotte leading a flash coaching session.
• Hear inspiring reflections from Natasha Nishimwe (Save the Children International) on how coaching helped her overcome self-doubt and grow both personally and professionally.

Whether you’re embarking on a coaching journey for yourself, or curious about how to integrate coaching tools into your daily practice, this podcast offers invaluable insights to support your personal and professional development.

“It is really uncertain times and we are seeing a lot of people navigating a lot of change within the sector. And I talk about sort of seismic shifts that people are experiencing. So, I think often people are looking for a silver bullet or the answer. But actually we’re working in a world where there is increasing uncertainty, increasing complexity and that kind of systemic dynamic that’s at play. Coaching doesn’t have all the answers, but hopefully helps people to find the answers from within as well.” – Charlotte Balfour-Poole

💡 Part two – Coaching for humanitarians: Natasha’s journey of discovery and transformation

Tune into part two to be released for International Women’s Day 2025! Natasha shares her full story as an inspiring female leader – she opens up about how coaching supported her through career transitions, strengthened her confidence, and helped her navigate professional challenges.

Key words: coaching, humanitarians, systemic change, burnout, global solidarity, diversity of thinking, wellbeing, mindfulness, behavioural change theory, deep listening, three stage process, GROW model, human connections, AI for coaching, Gestalt coaching, creative coaching techniques, self-limiting beliefs, imposter syndrome, professional confidence, women in leadership.

Episode chapters

[00:00 – 01:39] Chapter 1: Introduction & episode overview

[01:40 – 25:59] Chapter 2: How coaching can support humanitarians & an introduction to coaching models

[26:00 – 39:06] Chapter 3: Deeper dive into coaching tools and techniques for humanitarians

[39:07 – 53:39] Chapter 4: Coaching demonstration – a flash coaching session & conversation reflections

[53:40 – 64:50] Chapter 5: Real-life impact – the start of Natasha’s coaching journey

[64:51 – 66:17] Chapter 6: Closing reflections

Listen to the episode now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Buzzsprout

About the speakers

Charlotte Balfour Poole

Charlotte Balfour-Poole has over 17 years experience in the humanitarian sector and is currently Head of Coaching with the Humanitarian Leadership Academy in Save the Children. She leads an ambitious and complex Senior Leadership and Coaching portfolio spanning both internally and externally developing and ensuring a strategic and comprehensive coaching offer is available across the humanitarian sector.

Previously Charlotte was Global Head of Humanitarian Education for Save the Children (SC) and the Director of the Humanitarian Technical Unit. Charlotte began her career as a Humanitarian Education Response Advisor deploying to a vast array of complex, protracted and sudden-onset humanitarian crises as part of SC’s Global Emergency response team designing, delivering, coordinating and monitoring high quality and appropriate education responses in humanitarian settings.

Charlotte is passionate about education and leadership (especially girls Education & Women in Leadership). She is a qualified Coach, as well as an Associate Trainer with RedR, Mentor and facilitator, focused on individual, team and Leadership Coaching. She is currently studying for a Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership Coaching and also holds an MSc in Child Development and Postgraduate Certificates in Humanitarian Leadership, and Leadership Coaching. Charlotte is based in Wiltshire, UK.

Natasha Nishimwe

Natasha Nishimwe is a humanitarian professional with over a decade of experience in international NGOs, focusing on communities and children. She’s dedicated to enhancing aid sector effectiveness through impactful partnerships. A quick learner and self-motivated, she excels in sustainable development, youth engagement, women’s empowerment, and localization, with strong skills in partnership management, strategic planning, and communication.

Her career began in 2014 with Save the Children in Rwanda/Burundi as an education intern, later becoming a book publishing officer, and by 2018, the Organizational Capacity Development and Partnership Coordinator. In 2022, she joined the global team as Global Partnership Advisor, contributing to projects like the partnership E-learning and FlexOm. In 2023, she became the Regional Civil Society Partnership Advisor in Senegal, advancing localization and partnership strategies. Since January 2025, she is the Lead, Strategic Programme Partnership in the global team.

Natasha holds a bachelor’s in Development Studies, speaks English, French, Kinyarwanda, and conversational Swahili, and is pursuing a postgraduate certification in Coaching and Mentoring for Leadership from Leeds Beckett University via HLA sponsorship. Natasha is currently based in Dakar, Senegal.

Ka Man Parkinson

Ka Man Parkinson is a Communications and Marketing Specialist at the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, where she leads the creation and management of digital content, including the Fresh Humanitarian Perspectives podcast and the HLA webinar series. With nearly two decades of leading international marketing and communications campaigns in the international education and nonprofit sectors, Ka Man has worked with organisations such as the British Council and three UK higher education institutions.

Driven by a passion for creating positive impact, Ka Man is dedicated to developing engaging, audience-focused communications that informs, connects and inspires global communities. She holds a BSc in Management and IT, an MA in Business and Chinese, and a Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Diploma in Marketing. Ka Man is based near Manchester, UK.

Discover more

In case you missed it, listen to Charlotte and Ka Man’s podcast episode from April 2024: Coaching and mentoring: tools to support every humanitarian

Listening to lead: Kate Beale on leadership, collaboration, and global humanitarian action – a podcast episode which Ka Man highlights in this episode.

Coaching and mentoring at the HLA webpage

NGO Coaching website

Women in Leadership (WIL) Network

YouTube playlist featuring three Poetic Unity performances which Ka Man and Charlotte mention in this podcast discussion. These performances were part of the inaugural Humanitarian Xchange 2024 event in London.

Did you enjoy this episode? Please share with someone who might find it useful!

Feedback/enquiries: please email info@humanitarian.academy or connect with us on social media.

The views and opinions expressed in our podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of their organisations. 

Episode transcript – Coaching for humanitarians: tools and techniques to foster resilience and growth

00:00 Chapter 1: Introduction and episode overview

[Intro music]

Ka Man [Voiceover]: Welcome to Fresh Humanitarian Perspectives, the podcast brought to you by the Humanitarian Leadership Academy.

[Intro music ends]

[Background music begins]

I’m Ka Man Parkinson and I’m delighted to bring you this special two-part podcast featuring a deep dive exploration of coaching for humanitarians. In this first episode, I speak with Charlotte Balfour-Poole, who is the Head of Coaching here at the HLA.

Charlotte shares her expert insights on coaching for humanitarians, walking me through the coaching process together with some key techniques, and she even guides me through a flash coaching session to demonstrate some of these techniques in action.

We also share a part of Charlotte’s conversation that she has with Natasha Nishimwe from Save the Children International, based in Senegal. Natasha opens up about how coaching helped her to overcome self-doubt, build confidence and grow both personally and professionally. Natasha’s really truly inspiring and I encourage you to tune into episode two to hear their full conversation.

So whether you’re considering embarking upon coaching yourself or looking for practical ways to integrate coaching techniques into your work, we hope that this episode inspires you. I always feel uplifted after speaking with Charlotte and about her work, and I’m sure that you’ll feel that way after hearing these conversations that she has together with Natasha and me. I hope you enjoy!

[music ends]

01:40 Chapter 2: How coaching can support humanitarians & an introduction to coaching models

Ka Man: Hi Charlotte, welcome back to the podcast!

Charlotte: Hi Ka Man, it’s lovely to be here with you today.

Ka Man: Oh, thank you for making the time. So it only feels like a few months ago that we recorded our last podcast conversation, but can you believe it was April 2024?

Charlotte: I can’t, I can’t quite believe that. It does, yeah, as you say, a lot’s happened, hasn’t it in the last year.

Ka Man: Absolutely, time has flown.

Charlotte: Yeah.

Ka Man: So what’s been happening for you since then, and what’s been keeping you busy work wise?

Charlotte: Yeah, so I think we’ve really seen seismic shifts in the sector actually just in that time. And I wonder if that’s why the time has just flown. It’s felt very busy, which is kind of the opposite of how I’d like it to feel in a role such as mine. As Head of Coaching, it should feel quite calm and quite thoughtful. But I think we’ve also had a lot of reactive work that’s been happening, so lots of work requests for individual coaching, team coaching. And then also looking a lot more systemically and into the sector more broadly.

So one of the really exciting things that’s been happening is we’ve had eight researchers undertaking some research this year, looking at coaching and leadership in the humanitarian sector. So we’ve just finalised those research pieces have been finalised and the topics, so there’s some really interesting stuff emerging from those. And I, you know, this research is really quite groundbreaking and radical, and because as we sort of found, there is really limited research on coaching in the humanitarian sector. But as we know, yeah, a lot of demand.

Ka Man: That’s really interesting and exciting, Charlotte, I really look forward to hearing the insights that emerge when you’re ready to share that. Thank you.

And like you say, there’s just been so much going on, both at a systemic level and at the individual level as we collectively respond and navigate these changes. So I think conversations around professional and personal development and navigating change are more crucial than ever. So I’m glad that we have this opportunity to talk about coaching, and how it can support humanitarians in this way. So I’m keen to learn more about the potentially transformative impact that coaching can have.

Charlotte: Yeah, I think that’s such a key point Ka Man, and you know it is, it is really uncertain times and we are seeing a lot of people navigating a lot of change within the sector. And I talk about sort of seismic shifts that people are experiencing. So, again, I think you know often people are looking for a silver bullet or the answer. But actually we’re working in a world where there is increasing uncertainty, increasing complexity and that kind of you know systemic dynamic that’s at play. And so yeah, coaching doesn’t have all the answers, but hopefully helps people to find the answers from within as well.

And I kind of talk about the two different ends of coaching. So one is very kind of performance, quite perfunctory, kind of, very objective and quite comfortable I’d say because it’s, you know, very focused on that task – what’s the task, what’s your challenge? And we kind of take that up right across to kind of the other side of the – I’m creating a visual of a rainbow or an arc with my hands – but yeah, sort of that other end of the spectrum is a much deeper and almost kind of soul searching element where yeah, people are invited to kind of actually have space for reflection, perhaps on issues that they’ve never even thought about or they’ve never been asked questions that that really can help unlock some those misconceptions, or those things that are holding them back personally, and how that helps raise self-awareness for them as individuals. But then how that implicates teams and systems that they belong to.

So yeah, it’s a very, you know, there’s a whole range and again what I would say to people is, you know, different people are at different stages and I normally invite people for sort of six sessions because I think that helps people to go on a journey. It’s not a one quick-fix conversation. And we’ll probably talk a bit more about some of those, you know, more sprint methodologies that might help solve a particular issue or, yeah, be very focused on a solution. Or as well thinking about, you know, people working in crisis and how they actually just might want a partner to think with over a particular challenge, ethical moral dilemma, which we know, so many humanitarian leaders are facing daily. But just having somebody who’s yeah, kind of on the balcony to provide that different perspective, to look at a problem can be really, really, yeah, incredibly powerful.

Ka Man: Great. Thank you, Charlotte. So thanks for illustrating, outlining what coaching might entail. I like the, I’ve actually drawn [laughs] a little rainbow on my notepad here – as you were talking, and I’ve put, you know, different stages. And that’s a really nice image in my head of sort of when we bring that up alongside the idea that coaching can be transformative, I love this sort of image that you’ve conjured up of, very optimistic, colourful kaleidoscope. So yeah, that’s really nice. I just wondered if you could maybe share what coaching doesn’t involve, what’s sort of out of scope of the coaching process?

Charlotte: Yeah, so I think often people sort lump coaching and mentoring together. And, you know, mentoring is much more directive and much more around a specific issue. So for example, you know, I might want to be mentored to kind of know how to better undertake podcasts or something or something very specific. So you know, I would see you as the expert and me as the beginner and I’m really that advice.

Whereas in a coaching conversation or a relationship, it’s much more about us as equal partners and me literally as the coach being your sounding board or your thinking partner. So my job is to really kind of suspend any judgement, suspend any of my own thinking and thoughts, and really focus on what I’m hearing, what I’m noticing, what’s missing, what’s not coming up. You know, what those patterns of thinking might be, what’s holding you back? So yeah, coaching is quite a transformational process, but very led by the individual and that the client or the coachee, whatever you want to call them, it is, you know, they bring the wisdom and my view is that they have the wisdom within them to find the solutions for themselves.

And again, a coach will hold you to account. They will sum up, they will provide, you know, actions, reflections, but they won’t do the work for you. And I think that probably links into you know a lot of behavioural change theory. That we’ll probably all know this, that you know, we’re all quite stubborn as individuals and being told to change isn’t going to drive our change. We’ve got to find that within and find out what those barriers and those yeah, hurdles are to us achieving that transformative change that, yeah, fundamentally believe, you know, every human has that potential in them. It’s the job of the coach to unlock that and partner with them, alongside them.

You know, the whole, you know, debates that we’re having about localisation – well hopefully they’re not debates anymore – but I think it’s really a beautiful tool to you know not, to ensure that we do have global solidarity and that we don’t become individualistic and only look after our own or only look after our own society and communities, but actually that we bring in wisdom from other communities, other differences, and again offer that that thinking space, that shared thinking and collective space that we can create together. That’s what we know, that’s where better solutions emerge from. So it’s kind of, yeah, in line with by most I kind of call it diversity of thinking is the most beautiful tool that we can we can have. And how do we ensure that in humanitarianism.

Ka Man: Thank you, Charlotte. That really resonates everything that you’ve just shared and when you were talking about that sense of global solidarity, that’s obviously more important now than ever as we navigating these changes. And that in the sector and that diversity of thinking is so important. And that was a theme that came up in my podcast conversation with Kate Beale, who is a leader based in Washington DC, and she’s worked within US Senate, USAID, and one of the sort of themes that emerged from is that no matter what role she was in, she’s always really emphasised listening to people, diversity of thoughts, you know across the board. People who don’t think like us, maybe people who might not even be seen as someone who would partner with us, but sort of eliciting their thoughts and ideas, so that can be incorporated into our thinking, and maybe bring on board an unlikely ally. I thought that really resonated with me and that I can see how that is sort of dovetailing into this conversation that we’re having today.

Charlotte: Completely and I think, yeah, there’s never a time more, greater or more pressing than now you know in that, in society we’re seeing this sort of polarisation of ideas and actually, yeah, inviting in that difference and inviting in those, you know, it doesn’t mean we need to agree. But again it’s to kind of coin the, you know, the phrase the rest is politics. You know, we disagree agreeably and that we learn to kind of find solutions and look at things through different perspectives. And I think that’s one of the probably you know the greatest privileges and insights that you know coaching provides. You know it’s obvious in a mentor relationship you get as much from that relationship as you give. But similarly in coaching it’s, you know, that ability to be in a space where you are suspending judgement and holding space for someone else. Actually, really challenges and provokes you to think and question your own assumptions or your own kind of limiting beliefs and think, oh, I haven’t thought about it like that from somebody else’s perspective, what would it be like to walk in someone else’s shoes? And you know what’s, and to really kind of, yeah, get yourself into the thinking of someone else.

And I think yeah, as you as you’ve said, like the world needs more of that where we, you know, we’ve got two ears to listen and only one mouth to talk, so let’s make sure we’re doing more listening than we are talking.

And yeah, hearing the voices of people whose lives are, you know, the most at risk or the most in need. And what are those solutions that that are coming from those individuals? And I think you know that’s such a basic fundamental principle of humanitarian aid, whether that’s carrying out a needs assessment but making sure the needs of the most affected communities are taken on board. And that the solutions emerge from within, not top-down. So again, I think that’s why, you know, coaching can be such a powerful tool in facilitating those better conversations and those better thinking spaces.

Ka Man: Absolutely. So just now while you were outlining what coaching might entail, you mentioned that, obviously this varies, but typically there may be six sessions. I wonder if you could talk us through that a little bit more. I know that each coaching journey will be different, but could you outline what some of the sort of key stages of the process might typically involve?

Charlotte: Yeah, sure. And again, as I say this, there’s so much in terms of kind of tools and techniques that I could talk about there, but I think probably one of the most kind of fundamental essentials is the what’s called the three stage process. And what that kind of entails is really a chance to explore. So in that exploratory phase, what is the issue that’s emerging here for the client or the coachee, what’s really coming up for them, and again giving them a chance to kind of – so they might say, well, you know my issue is X. But actually once they start unpacking and exploring that with somebody else, actually, there’s more to that, or there’s some complexity or there’s some nuance. Or actually it’s not about that issue, it’s about some interference with that issue. So and I think sometimes we rush that exploratory phase. And this is where I think that the approaching comes in. As humanitarians we want to rush to solve something, and we want to rush for a solution or an action or a, you know, we sort of say we’ve got to be reactive, we’ve got to be responsive. But actually holding and suspending that desire in us is so critical, so allowing that proper exploratory phase.

And again, a simple way which can do this is by asking a very simple question and what else, and what else, and at times it can be irritating because you’re like, well, there is nothing else. OK, great. We know we’re done now it’s almost sort of like the seven why’s. So, you know, really delving deeper, deeper, why? Why is that happening? Why is that? Why is that like that? And so that exploratory phase is the first phase.

And then there’s the second phase is of that three stage process is really taking time to understand. So again, like you know, why does that relate to that in that way, what’s happened in the past? What have you done well, that served you well, that could you could be bringing into this current situation? So again understanding and exploring some of those possibilities.

And those two stages, I’d say are the important and should not be rushed.

And then the third stage is the action piece. So OK, what can you practically do? What have you got in your gift at the moment? What could you try? What have you? What do you want to do this week? What’s the first step that you’re going to take? So again, kind of driving the individual to create their own actions and come up with their own plan.

And then ah that job is saying, OK, well, you know, you’ve listed, you’ve listed a lot here. What’s reasonable? Actually you’re going to be able to do all of this week. What’s the first smallest step that you can take? How can you break that down? So I often use that as a kind of broad framework to kind of, yeah. And then I bring in all sorts of different, yeah, different ways. And I there’s a beautiful quote by Carl Jung that you might have heard me say before, but learn your theories and techniques as well as you can and then be prepared to set them aside when you meet the miracle of the living soul in front of you.

And I think that really embodies our coaching philosophy, so it’s not about hard and fast techniques. Yes, we’ve all got those tools and techniques in our toolbox, but again, it’s about, you know, all the things like having a self-awareness, holding that space, listening, listening deeply, listening even more deeply. And working with what’s in front of you and again that kind of rainbow analogy or that I kind of used earlier that that, you know the other end that is a technique called Gestalt coaching and that really you know focuses on what you’re observing. So you know, I might say to you: Oh, Ka Man, I noticed that what I’ve said has made you, you know, feel really sad. What are you holding on to? What’s happening? So and again it’s all about knowing who the client is in front of you. So some people might be very uncomfortable with that, and you probably wouldn’t start off with something like that.

And then on the much more kind of basic scale you’ve got, the kind of people will probably be familiar with a GROW model. So looking at you know, what’s your goal, what’s the realities? What are the options? And then what’s the way forward? So that’s quite, you know, simple tool that people can use in you know everyday conversations.

And again for me this is not about just having expert professional qualified coaches. This is also about how does everyone have better kind of what I’d call core coaching skills in their own toolbox to have better conversations, to listen better. And yeah, I think I probably mentioned Nancy Klein in my in my last talk with you. But you know she talks about beautiful attention, listening with beautiful attention to ignite the human mind and I think that just, yeah, sums it up so, so beautifully.

Ka Man: I love that. I love the quotes that you wove into the discussion there and I’ll be looking those up. I’ve not heard of the GROW model before. That’s so simple, so simple, and like you say, you don’t have to be a coach per se to be using that. Anyone can use that.

Charlotte: Yeah, I think also using it for yourself, so you know even just saying, right, what’s my goal here? What am I? What are my realities? What are my options? What are my ways forward? You know, sometimes when we’re experiencing stuckness, we just aren’t asking ourselves the right questions. And we’re kind of like you, and again thinking about you know that we’re in at the moment navigating uncertainty change how that dysregulates us.

And I’m not a neuroscientist, but I’m fascinated by, you know, what that does to our our human state and. And you know what we know from the neuroscience is that actually it does suspend the brain. And stops the brain being able to think so it’s almost like we go into this, you know, fight with flight state and we just sort of freeze panic. So part of coaching again is that ability to calmly, kind of, calm the parasympathetic nervous system. You know, often I’ll people will arrive in a coaching session, rush. They’ve kind of been back-to-back meetings we live in chaotic world. We’re constantly on, you know, everyone’s at us at different, through different channels. And I just say to people, just breathe like, just arrive and take a breath and find your feet on the floor, ground yourself. And you know that just helps the brain, the body, the head, heart and the gut just to calm and be in this space that. Yeah, that’s a, it shouldn’t feel like an hour of our lives, it’s such a gift, but people sort of say, gosh, it’s such a privilege to be in this space. And this, you know, hour of being heard and being listened to and what that what that does for the brain is just yeah, sensational and quite exquisite.

Ka Man: Absolutely. I’m thinking as you’re speaking that we had a catch up just in the, early in New Year, didn’t we, we were, just sort of catching up how we were doing. And we’re both saying, oh, we’re just really tired. We’re really tired. The break’s sort of really highlighted, the break over the new year, really highlighted how tired we were and our systems needed a bit of a reset. And since that conversation I’ve been trying to practice the things that we were talking about like, you know, take a breath before diving into the tasks for the day. And rather than just trying to plough through as many things as possible. You know, seeing.

Charlotte: Love it.

Ka Man: Yeah, so.

Charlotte: What’s been working for you?

Ka Man: It’s like. There’s ebbs and flows, right. Just sharing a little something I’ve got like these flash cards in front of me. I received these as a gift a long time ago, but they’ve just resurfaced after our, you know, New Year’s intentions. And I’ve got one flash card that says: I’m focused and motivated and the other one says: I give myself permission to pause. So sometimes [laughs] when I’m feeling a bit like ahh there’s so many tasks I like, look at those going. You can be focused and motivated, yet still pause. In fact, that’s like integral to being focused. So yeah, I just thought I’d share that.

Charlotte: Yeah, it feels like a beautiful message for, yeah, people in, across the globe, who are yeah, finding it hard and finding it hard to pause, I think. And you know we’ve yeah, lost the art of being able to breathe. And exactly as you say, yes, we can be focused and productive and actually we that we will be more productive and more focused if we give ourselves break and also a chance to recharge. And that needs, yeah, rest and restoration. And I think about finding what works for you, isn’t it? What are your, what are the tools and techniques that you can adopt and adapt? Maybe that’s yeah. We need a whole session session on that. But yeah, I think bringing bring kind of some mindful techniques into humanitarian responses are so needed. And in a world which feels ever faster, that we yeah, find that space to, to breathe, to pause. And just restore and that doesn’t mean that we’re not going to be providing for the needs of others. It’s just making sure that we, you know, put our own oxygen mask on and are able to better to serve.

Because I think, yeah, as humanitarians, if we’re not fit to serve, and there’s a lot of theory around this for coaches as well, like, they need to be regulated and in their best place to be able to serve others. And like I said to you, like at the end of last year, I sort of thought gosh, I’m glad I’ve actually not got anyone that I’m coaching this week because I feel dysregulated. I’m so overwhelmed. So yeah, being in our best states to serve needs of others, I think is really, really crucial.

Charlotte: Love your little cards, I’ll get myself a pack of those.

Ka Man: [Laughs] Yeah. Do you know I’ll photo and share them with you. You can look at them on your phone [laughs]. But one of the words you just said is another one of the cards actually, it’s the word restore, that I think that that one resonated with me. Like you say, you have to restore to be able to do a good job, to support others.

Charlotte: And it’s a marathon, even though, you know, we work in urgent humanitarian response and crisis, it is a marathon. And I think if anything we’ve seen that over, you know, the last few years that the scale and the scope and the complexity of emergencies is only getting more difficult. And yeah, I think the incidences of burnout within the sector are so, so high at the moment. So again, what are the tools that we can create? What are the spaces that we can create for people to be able to better restore and go steady, a bit, a bit steadier and a bit slower to yeah, not burnout and to, yeah, we’re in it for the long haul. Humanitarian needs are always going to be there. We can’t just sprint to the finish and be like, great we’ve done. We’re off to a tropical island to relax like it doesn’t work like that.

26:00 Chapter 3: Deeper dive into tools and techniques for humanitarians

Ka Man: Absolutely. So you have just outlined already a few sort of tools and techniques that are commonly used in coaching and you’ve sort of highlighted a bit of a structure. Now given your extensive background in humanitarian work and as a coach, I wonder if you would highlight any tools or techniques that you think particularly resonate or are particularly relevant to humanitarians?

Charlotte: Well, it’s a great question. I mean, I think I think as we’ve just said, like the GROW model can just be such a simple one. I’m probably a little bit allergic to it now, but I think that’s only because I probably you know, my natural preference is probably to go deeper. Because I know the power of being able to go deeper and where that transformation can happen for people. So you know a good day-to-day conversation. Yes, GROW model is fabulous and very useful. And again, all these techniques have their own their own merits.

I think also the other thing is thinking about some creative techniques. And I think I was talking to someone about this this morning actually. But you know what we’ve talked lots in the humanitarian sector times is it’s very heavy and it’s very serious. And actually we can still have moments of playfulness and moments of joy.

And if I think back to my humanitarian career. I’d say that’s probably one of the defining things in amongst deep, deep hardship, incredibly challenging times. There have been glimmers and magical moments of, you know, people. People just bringing such joy and humour and whether that’s been intercultural, whether that’s been, you know, through meeting communities and whatever it’s been. Those are kind of the moments, then, that restore and recharge you. So yeah, for me it’s about how do we how do we bring that playfulness? And likeness back into what we’re doing. And one of the ways is, I mean we had a fantastic person that we’ve worked with on some of these creative methods and it’s something that I now run as kind of short sessions with people, you know, just even poetry. So it might be, you know, I might just sort of have, you know write a line to tell the sights and the smells that you can see at the moment. You know we just run through a few prompts, and then before you know it, people have crafted a most beautiful poem, and then you can go deeper, you can take, you know, explore that further.

And I think also using sort of metaphor and analogy. So like, you know, like I just sort of did, but you know, it’s the rainbow. And then from that you’ve taken something so and, again you can use that in a check in you could say you know what’s your, how are you arriving today, can you describe yourself in a weather pattern? Or could you, you know, could you describe you know what it smells like to for you today? Like, not the actual smell, but what’s what are those sights and sounds and smells that you’re arriving with today? And again, it just allows that deeper level of check in.

So and those are things that you can do wherever you are in the world, you don’t need anything, you don’t need any tools, you don’t any you know, resources. It’s yeah, a very simple one.

And another lovely kind of exercise, creative one that I often work with people to do is a letter to future self or a letter to my, you know, younger self. So if I was, you know, if I was my 20 year old self now, what would I be telling myself? So I think again, humanitarians can be incredibly harsh on themselves. And you know, I’ve not done enough I should be doing more.

But actually you looked back and you were 20 year old self. You might be feeling incredibly proud of where you are now or what you’ve achieved. All those small moments that you’ve managed to make a difference. And that’s enough as well. Sometimes I think we think we’ve got to change the whole world and it feels such an angry place and we feel so responsible for the weight of the world. But actually sometimes having the humility to just see from our small little place and our small little sphere of influence, what are the small things that we can do? You know, small changes that you can make.

Ka Man: Thank you, Charlotte loved hearing about those creative techniques. Some of what you described like tell me what today smells like or something for you. I like that, it kind of reminded me of, like, mindfulness techniques, that sort of bringing you into the present because as we talked about, we’re, many of us are operating at, like a million miles an hour a day. So sort of getting to intentionally slow down and checking in with yourself, I think it’s really interesting and simple to do. It’s just having the time and space to do that and having that intention.

And when you mention poetry, I love that. And I immediately thought of the Humanitarian Xchange, the inaugural Humanitarian Xchange in London, which was, wow, it was exactly one year ago, February 2024. And one of the highlights of the day, for me and for many of the delegates in person and online, but I think it’s particularly for the people in person, was the poetry. We had three…

Charlotte: Poetic Unity.

Ka Man: Yes, exactly, Poetic Unity! So for those of you who were not able to attend or join online, there are recordings of the poems on our on the HLA YouTube channel. So I definitely recommend that you check them out. And there were three beautiful poems that just really resonated with everyone in the audience. I think a lot of people felt emotional. We were there to hear and listen and discuss and debate, and obviously that was expected, but I think it was so unexpected to hear this poetry and I think it everyone, it was that that sense of solidarity in the room. It’s like, oh my goodness, this is exploring the thoughts and the feelings that we’re all facing and having right now, but it’s just expressing it in a way that – it was so powerful, wasn’t it?

Charlotte: And it’s so funny you said that because I was clearing some videos from my phone last week. And I came across the ending as well, which was a like an opera kind of singer. And it just again, it’s, you know, it was so powerful. Yeah, how those, you know, how music or poetry can kind of unite us. And also make sense sometimes. So I think, yeah, the poems that were, you know, they were written by people who aren’t in the humanitarian sector but had kind of got a flavour for it. And yet what they said was so spot on and I think yeah, as you say, everyone felt that instant kind of connection and resonance. Which is very difficult to get otherwise.

So again, I often think about it. You know, when people are teams of visioning or trying to align around work, you know bringing in those creative methods can actually create, easily create alignment very quickly. And so where you’ve got discordance, what are the things that bringing you, how do you get a team to write a poem together collectively, and they take it in turns? Or they write different lines. And again it wires the brain very differently. So yeah, I think it’s just reminding ourselves all of those available to like and giving ourselves permission to use creativity and playfulness and joy. And if we can all bring that in in different ways, it just provides lightness. We’re all human, we love, we love fun. We love joy. It doesn’t all need to be despair of misery. And we talk about, you know, reenchanting the sector. And I think that’s, yeah, it’s such a fundamental part of our work. And it was interesting because someone I I spoke to recently, she said I can’t thank you enough for the coaching. It’s given me hope where I felt like we we’d just been sort of abandoned and no one was kind of looking at our, you know, a neglected crisis. And sometimes there’s, you know, there’s certain contexts that are in on the global stage and at the forefront of our news. But actually, there’s still harrowing and desperate situations. The humans right across the globe. So again, back to that solidarity point of, you know, how do we bring hope and joy for communities or individuals or teams who might feel, yeah, quite lonely and isolated. At times where, yeah, it feels overwhelming.

Ka Man: Yeah, like you say, it goes back to that sense of human solidarity and connection and why we’re all here and.

It’s not about, you know, because our sector is full of jargon, isn’t it? There’s like a certain language and ways of speaking and working and the due diligence and all these things. And it’s like, obviously, they’re essential things that have to be done. There’s a way that has to be, we have to communicate. But just stripping that away and making it really like, why are we here? What’s our mission? Why? Who are we trying to? Who are we here to serve? You know, that’s always a powerful reminder. Yeah.

Charlotte: Yeah. And I think exactly as you said that we we sometimes over complicate it, but fundamentally it’s you know it’s it’s collaboration, it’s hope, it’s human connection, it’s heart, it’s soul. And yeah, for me there’s something about you know, coaching as a possibility to bring that soul back in because, yeah, without it, I think. Yeah, it’s very heavy and mechanistic and loses the very, the very essence of what we’re trying to do, which is, yeah, around humans. And I think that’s really interesting as well how we, you know, think about technology and AI and you know, lots of people say to me well, why wouldn’t you you know, offer AI to get coaching available to everyone and democratise coaching. And I’m super interested in this area because again that’s that is my mission. I would love for everyone to have it. But again, there’s something about the human to human relatability that is, yeah, of the of the essence of, of what we’re doing.

Ka Man: Absolutely. I think for me, because I’ve had a little dabble with various little chat bots and even just when you’re using ChatGPT, you know you’re just asking it things and it can obviously sort of generate really interesting or you know very comprehensive responses. But it’s not actually got meaning behind it, it’s just this, it’s just an algorithm, putting words together. And so you know that it’s something that’s like a good sense check, but not actually, there’s not actually a real connection. There’s not really actual meaning behind that. And obviously there’s a way to go before we can really, arguably. People behind this would would say that it’s still there’s still value there and maybe I’ve just yet to see that application. But yeah, I think somehow this combination of human and integration with the AI think arguably there’s still some way to go.

Charlotte: Yeah. And I think it again. About how. We use both and not, you know, throw one out, but I think it’s and it’s still exploring, you know, if you think about how fast technology is evolving and moving, you know AI a year ago couldn’t even really ask you a coaching question, whereas just in a year, you know, it now is able to, but yeah, there’s a lot of people that debate it will never, ever replace the human connection.

And I think again for us it’s about how can we be smart to use AI in a way that works for us. And I think also you know for me there’s a huge. Still, technology divide for a lot of communities. Actually, the access to AI is, you know, isn’t there. That demands having a phone, a computer, a laptop, and a good internet connection, and not to mention all the kind of ethics around data centres and storage of, you know, data and the environmental impacts that that has so. It’s a super interesting emergent area and something I’m really yeah. Keen to learn more about as well.

Ka Man: Yeah, absolutely. Like you say, we can’t discount it, it’s the reality of the ways of working now and how we can incorporate that to supercharge what we do, rather than take away from it. Yeah, I’ve loved this conversation. I wish I could dig deeper into some of those, but we’ll move on to the next section, which is a bit of an experimental segment for the podcast.

39:07 Chapter 4: Flashing coaching session

So Charlotte and I are going to engage in what Charlotte’s termed a flash coaching session. So Charlotte’s really excellently described and outlined some of the processes and tools and techniques that may be incorporated into a coaching conversation. So we’re going to do a bit of a, demonstrate this through a bit of role play. Hopefully provide some useful insights into what the process may look like. So like I say, it’s a bit of an experiment. Charlotte and I have had a brief chat about this ahead of this recording, but otherwise this is a sort of spontaneous and authentic exchange. So let’s give it a go and see how it goes. I’m willing to be the Guinea pig here for the benefit of listeners. And Charlotte, I know you’ll be kind to me, won’t you?

Charlotte: I will be kind and I think that’s interesting, even just picking up on that, like how you know immediately people get a bit nervous as well when you know in these situations when it’s about your own self. So I think maybe just to say, you know, this is this is a kind of experiential and quite unusual way that we do it. So we’d contract first and kind of make sure what’s in scope, what’s out of scope and things around confidentiality etc. So I think it’s, it’s just really important to say that up front because I think that’s yeah, that’s such a fundamental part of you know, making you feel comfortable and giving you the space where actually this is your conversation and nothing you know, the what I sort of say is, you know, the only times I’d ever need to sort of say something as if something was illegal or, you know, obviously working to Save the Children that there’s child protection issues, but otherwise, you know, this conversation would, yeah, 100% remain confidential. And I think that allows you just to breathe, but maybe just in the interest of time, and yeah, a bit of a flash coaching session.

So this might be a tool that you might want to use in crisis settings as well. And again, something that you could easily do with peers. So think about, you know, I’ve got this issue, this is what’s emerging, so. So shall we take away. I wonder Ka Man, what’s emerging for you today, what would you like to discuss.

Ka Man: Yeah. An area for development that I would like to bring to our conversation is around advocating for myself and my work because I think that this is an area that resonates with me personally and professionally. And I think it will be valuable for lots of our listeners. Particularly in the context that we mentioned at the start of the conversation where there’s a lot of change. So you really want to demonstrate the value of what you do with internally to your organisation. And also advocate to external audiences as well to demonstrate the impact.

And the reason why I’m bringing this up is even though I work in communications and in a former life, more in the marketing side of things, this sort of aspect of what I’m seeing as self promotion doesn’t necessarily come very naturally to me. And in fact, I’d say sometimes [laughs] outright now I don’t like it, and that’s the whole host of reasons I’m you know, so. I just wondered if. Something that we might be able to talk about how I might be able to get more comfortable and used to this, and be more confident in cultivating this practice, while still feeling authentic. Does that make sense?

Charlotte: Yeah, I think that’s a that’s a really interesting topic and a really interesting issue. And I think one that emerges a lot and especially for women kind of you know we, you know, other people might describe you in a certain way and say she’s phenomenal. But yeah for you to be able to say those words, there’s something. There’s something missing, so I wondered, you know, when you are at your best, what does that look like? Can you just tell me about Ka Man on a really good day, what does that look like?

Ka Man: Oh, I think on a good day I am working quite autonomously, having the freedom to shape and drive projects, but it’s also collaborative, so I’m engaging with colleagues. I’m not purely on my own in a silo. I’m checking in with others, others are responsive, providing feedback or expertise and we work together. And I’m able to be creative as well and bring my own sort of ideas and stamp, put my own stamp on what I’m doing.

Charlotte: So that all feels quite that you’re doing all the right things and that you’re clearly, you know, OK, in your job more than OK. I wondered what your what your colleagues would say about you, how would they, how would they describe you?

Ka Man: [laughs] Oh, I don’t know. This one’s a trickier one! Um, I would say that people say that I’m probably a self starter, that I sort of run with things. Hopefully they’d say that I’m quite trustworthy. And if I say I’m going to do something that I sort of, I’m accountable and I show up and I do what’s needed.

Charlotte: And that’s so interesting. How easily you were able to tell me both of those things, but the premise of our kind of what we’re talking about is that that doesn’t come easily. How how comfortable was that to talk about other people’s kind of perceptions of you or yeah, you at your best.

Ka Man: Oh, that was OK actually, because I’m talking in general terms. Yeah, if you ask me what would they say were my shortcomings or weaknesses, I’d find that quite difficult [laughs]. Not because I don’t think I’ve got weaknesses or shortcomings, but because, yeah, I’m just trying to think of, draw on the positives, which is easier because it’s what they saying about me.

Charlotte: And I think sometimes it’s, yeah, what’s that limiting belief then in terms of you, what’s stopping you believe what they say about you to be true?

Ka Man: Umm, I think that I think that I might ask, I might sort of also feel like Oh yeah, you know, I’m trying my best. I’m working as hard as I can to do the best for myself and the organisation. But I think what I struggle with is that. And then translating that into a message that I feel comfortable with sharing. You know, because sometimes I’ve got this, if you’re calling it a limiting belief, maybe it’s to do with my upbringing, but I kind of think maybe feel like, oh, you know, through education, you work hard, you get good grades or whatever and that good work speaks for itself and you know, in a very sort of meritocracy like, you know like, that will get recognised and you don’t really need to, like boast? [laughs]

And I know it’s not, and I know the world is, doesn’t operate like, oh, that person’s working really hard, and therefore I think that project is doing really well and therefore, you know, I know, people not necessarily making those linkages. So there is a duty and a responsibility for me to advocate for my contributions and what the organisation is delivering, but yeah, there’s still some kind of like hesitance around that process.

Charlotte: When you when you see people doing this well and in a way that sort of awkward or that makes you think, or you know that’s very self congratulating. What does that what does that look like? What are they doing?

Ka Man: Oh, when people do it well, I think good on them. Good on them! I think it’s a very admirable skill. It’s an art form, I think. They’re weaving it in naturally into conversations. It doesn’t feel like they’re like, you know, literally grabbing the mic off someone saying so, I’d like to talk about me! [laughs]. It’s, they’re weaving it in and relevant channels, whether that is in a team meeting or external speaking engagements, or through articles or whatever format that may be, they’re weaving that in and you’re just thinking, oh, that’s good because they are showcasing their own abilities, but also they’re showing that their organisation is doing great work, so it’s like a win-win situation.

Charlotte: You used the phrase weaving it in beautifully there. You just wove in the weaving in and I wonder if that’s if that’s something you’ve tried before to weave it in for yourself.

Ka Man: Mm, that’s probably a good challenge to set myself. So I feel like when I’ve got the, when I’m asked to say present on something, I’d be happy to sort of present and weave that in. But if I’m not invited to do that, I think I’d feel awkward or uncomfortable at times saying hello can I have this space and time to talk about whatever? Even though if I was the person being asked, I’d probably: Oh, that’s cool, yeah, go ahead, everyone be interested to hear about that. But I think that’s where the blocker lies, when I don’t have that explicit ask.

Charlotte: Yeah. So it’s almost you’re waiting for that invitation.

Ka Man: Mm, yeah.

Charlotte: Then, yeah, but once you’re in that door, you’re confident for this. Yeah, I think we’d probably need a lot longer to explore a little bit what’s, yeah, what’s stopping you open that door? And yeah, what’s really preventing you? And when you have walked through that door or is there anything you know you’re afraid walking through that door.

So, gosh, so rich already the discussion Ka Man. I’d love to have a lot longer to go through that with you. But I hope that gives a bit of a flavour of kind of where we’d go and then and then perhaps we’d sort of conclude with, so you know, from our conversation or what we’ve just discussed, you know what insights, what fresh insights are coming up for you? What new insights are emerging?

You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. And then you might yeah, you might sort of, you know, come up with a few and then say, oh, well, actually I think this is the thing that I want to work on. And then I might say to you, okay you know in between now and the time we meet. You know what are the things that you want to come back to? What are you going to hold yourself to account to do? Is there one meeting that you could try and, you know, knock that door and open that door and get yourself at that table for? So I might give you a kind of challenge, but I know might feel a bit uncomfortable. And you know then we then we reflect back on that in our next session. So that’s not a perfect kind of, it’s tricky to do in the time that we’ve got available, but I hope that gives, yeah, a bit of a flavour and maybe just for you to kind of reflect, how was that for you?

Ka Man: Oh, that, do you know I really enjoyed that! That was really interesting and you know, you asked me questions that I almost knew the answers in my head because I was almost sort of saying it out loud myself, and I could hear it.

Charlotte: That’s the thing, you told me everything. There wasn’t, I didn’t give you a suggestion. I didn’t give you an idea. You’ve had all the answers within you, and yeah, it’s just kind of looking at it from different perspectives. And yeah, I felt very energised by what you were the art of what you were saying and the possible, the art of the possible, of what you were saying. And I think that energy just builds as well. Then it’s like, you know, there’s something about coaching, someone else has got belief in you and they’re holding that belief, and often the person that doesn’t have the belief is us as an individual and we sometimes, yeah. How did that, like, did it feel like you had someone else had your back?

Ka Man: Yeah. No, that was really nice. I mean, obviously it helps that you and I, you know, we know each other, I trust you. You know, even though we’re recording this for the public domain, I felt like, you know, comfortable in sharing what I was saying. And I think that sort of emphasises the importance of finding a coach that you, that, that relationship, that there is that trust and rapport there. So like you said at the start, you would have that contracting process.

Charlotte: Exactly. We’d have a chemistry session as well, so we’d probably have half an hour chat, and I really encourage that. So we’d have half an hour just to kind of get the sense and again. Then if the coachee says, do you know what, that person’s not quite right for me, we will rematch. So that’s a really, really important, important part of the process.

Ka Man: Thank you Charlotte. That wasn’t as scary as I as it may have been! [laughs]

Charlotte: My pleasure. It’s not meant to be scary. And I think, yeah, sometimes. Sometimes people are afraid to even take that first step. So yeah, I think you know again thinking about how people might want to use what they’ve heard today, try that with a colleague, go into the corridor, you know, say to someone, do you have 5 minutes? And just practice listening as well, because I think we don’t practice that often.

[Music]

[Ka Man voiceover] I hope listeners can tell how much I enjoyed this exchange with Charlotte, exploring themes that emerged during our conversation from wellbeing and much needed sense of global solidarity in times of great change. The importance of human connections and building relationships based on trust, not least coaching relationships, and hearing all of those insights on the different coaching tools and techniques that may be involved in a coaching relationship. So we’ll now move on to the final segments of this episode, which is the opening pass of the conversation between Charlotte and her coachee, Natasha Nishimwe. from Save the Children International, currently based in Senegal. Charlotte caught up with Natasha a couple of days after our conversation, and I think it’s really interesting to hear some of the connecting themes that emerged during their conversation. So let’s hear from them now.

[Music stops]

53:40 Chapter 5: Real-life impact – the start of Natasha’s coaching journey

Charlotte: Hi Natasha. It’s lovely to speak to you today and welcome you to this podcast. I wondered as we get started, if you could just tell our listeners a little bit about yourself. Obviously we know each other quite well, having worked together in a coaching relationship. But yeah, if you could introduce yourself that would be fantastic.

Natasha: Hi Charlotte. Thanks a lot for having me. It’s such humbling and a pleasure to be to be here recording this with you. Yes, my name is Natasha Nishimwe. I have been with several Children International for 10 years now, I worked as at the Country Office in Rwanda, then with the global team, then the with the regional team in Western Central Africa and now be training again a global team since starting from July. I got to be introduced to coaching and mentoring in 2022. I knew experience that I did not know anything about. And I’m glad I had to experience it. And yeah, I’ll be looking forward to sharing what I learned, what I went through the experience and yeah, what it did for me.

Charlotte: Natasha, it’s interesting because you said you didn’t know anything about coaching before, so I wondered if you could tell us a little bit more about sort of, yeah, how the opportunity came about, what your perceptions were or misconceptions if there were any?

Natasha: Sure, so how does this start? I join a team in 2022 global team from a country job where I have been just working in my country with the people I know in face to face context and then in 2022 I joined a global team working remotely. A team where it’s very diverse, people from everywhere and all of a sudden I feel it’s like, I feel like, as we say, most of the time I feel like a fraud. I feel the imposter phenomenon. What we call now, the imposter syndrome. And I didn’t know how to react about it, but then I felt like there was something that was limiting me to do things and it was a kind of a fear that what if I expose? What if I say things and they’re not adequate? What if, so I had those limitations and luckily enough, I had the line manager who I was able to talk to and I was able to combine to confide in yeah to yeah to open up and talk to her. And I told her what I was feeling, I actually didn’t know the names of whatever I was feeling. I just said how I felt and she was like by the way, we have a coaching and mentoring service in the organisation. I was like, what’s that? And yeah, she went on. I have. I’ve heard of the word coaching and mentoring, but then I thought it was for really high level people or I didn’t I didn’t think it was for me. I didn’t yeah. So I was like, how does it work? She was like, yes, we will get to see a matching, you apply, you say what you’d like to achieve, what you’d like to? The challenges you’re having and so on.

And yeah, so what I expected when with that discussion before we even get to finding a match and so on is I have this, I have this challenge of feeling not belonging enough, worthy enough, and so on. And that’s making me be limited in what I can do and what I’m capable of doing, so I expected that it was going to be more of telling me how to do things. Yeah, asking me questions, but actually telling me, telling me you should be doing this. Maybe you can read this. Maybe you can practice this. Giving me tools and knowledge of what I should be doing to get to where I want to go. So that’s, that’s what I expect. That’s what I thought was going to be happening. But then things happen differently.

Charlotte: That’s super interesting and I wondered as you went into that process, how did you, how did you feel? Were you kind of excited? Were you doubtful? Were you anything that was sort of worrying you going into that process or were you excited, optimistic?

Natasha: Yeah, I thought that the first step that was hard was to be vulnerable that first time to tell my line manager this is what’s happening. I thought that was the hardest part. And then I was oh, I initially I thought when I told I thought it was going to be her who will be supporting me. But then I was like, oof, I have to, I will have to open up to somebody else that I don’t know, so it’s not even ending here. And yeah, that was what I thought about. And I will have to talk to somebody else, but I don’t know then then would that would that, would that not confirm maybe that really I’m that fraud that I think I am, if I have to re repeat it to somebody else, that I don’t know. So that was the challenge was like who would that person be, how would that happen? Would I be able to speak to them without knowing them or anything? So that was the pattern was easy. Talk about also, yeah, the fact of again, opening up, talking about my background, my work challenge though I was. I thought I was really working, but I thought I could do more much better with some push and some yeah, some support.

Charlotte: That’s really interesting. And it’s, yeah, I guess for me, I don’t see that part of the process and that anxiety and fear that people might have and it’s made me think, yeah, how do we kind of make that even, you know, break down all those barriers, reassure people. Because I think there’s something in what you’re saying, isn’t there, about the relationship with the coach that’s so important. And I was actually looking at some research on this recently, and apparently that is one of the biggest factors that influences a successful coaching relationship is that match. And yeah, whether you feel that you can have that relationship. But also, as you’ve just said, to be able to bear everything again, you kind of. To retell your story or tell your story differently or share your, so so I wondered, yeah, what made that possible? How was that to navigate and how did you overcome that?

Natasha: Yeah. I think the matching went well so I had to like the process was that I make an application. I write down what the changes I was having. What I was hoping for as a result of the of the coaching and and it went through the matching process and I was lucky to matched with you, and I think the first the first session of contracting, yeah, that I think that’s how we call technically. But the introduction, the telling, the reassuring that everything we’re discussing here will be confidential. So one of the worry I also have was like this is under the context of work. So and the results of what we expect to happen after this is that it will be interpreted in how I perform, so somehow I thought before I thought the before the session the first session I was like these things we discussed here we definitely get to my line manager and she will get to know how I’m processing I’m progressing and maybe that we will also be she also need to know how is it. How is that change happening being seen in how I do the work I do? So I was like I was. I was worried with that part. But then with the first session, I was reassured that whatever we discuss here, everything we discussed here will remain here. Be on work, profession or personal, that everything will remain here and nothing is going to be outside. We not be telling anything to your line manager. And that reassured me because I was like, yes, I expect that I will have changes, yes. But what if it does not do the magic maybe I’m thinking it has to do and that I don’t get to do miracles or things wouldn’t feel like a waste of time. It be like it did not produce what was supposed to produce so that that that pressure or that worry came down with that session of knowing that, yes, we will have this many sessions. I think that we’re counting 6. After that, we review, we see if you still want to continue but everything we remain between us.

So that that video reassured me, I think that was that was the part that made me think that, wow, I think this is I think we’re going to have something interesting with this process and and I think also seeing that. I think you are an amazing coach. The way you presented it and I felt safe. And also seeing it’s another woman, I don’t know why it felt much safer that, we can understand each other in many ways. And that and that was a reassuring part as we’re knowing that these things in common, we’re in the same sector, you know the organisation, if I can talk about how things can be overwhelming, I think you will have an idea of what that looks like. And understand and be able to, yeah, to be able to guide and provide the support that yeah, will be needed. So I think that fact of assuring that things remain confidential removed more of the worry that they had before.

64:51 Chapter 6: Closing reflections

[Music, voiceover: Ka Man]:

A huge thank you to both Charlotte and Natasha for taking the time to share their insights with us for this podcast. I highly recommend that you tune in to the second instalment to listen to the full conversation. Honestly, they’re both such inspiring women and it’s such an uplifting discussion to listen to.

So what about you? We’d love to hear any listener feedback. Were there any part of today’s discussion that particularly resonated with you? Perhaps there were some tools or techniques that you’ve been inspired to try? We’d love to hear from you. Send us a message on social media or by email to info@humanitarian.academy

And just before I close, I’d like to share details of our partnership with the 21st Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference and exhibition DIHAD 2025. This event is happening between 29th of April and 1st of May this year in Dubai, so join us HLA representatives together with global experts, organisations and change makers for this year’s event, which is themed Humanitarian Aid and Development in a Polarised World. We hope to see you there.

And thank you for joining us for today’s episode of Fresh Humanitarian Perspectives from the Humanitarian Leadership Academy.

[Music ends]

Note: This transcript was generated using automated tools and is intended for reference purposes only. While efforts have been made to check its accuracy, minor errors or omissions may remain.