When Insight Is Not Enough: How Coaching Can Support Leadership Maturity
Join us as we welcome special guest Bela Stankova.
There are moments in coaching when a leader understands what needs to change, genuinely wants to change, and yet finds themselves returning to the same patterns. Insight is present. Motivation is present. And still, change does not seem to follow.
What might be getting in the way?
In this session, we will explore this question through the lens of adult development and leadership maturity. Drawing on the work of Robert Kegan, Lisa Lahey, William Torbert and other developmental thinkers, we will consider how a developmental perspective can deepen our understanding of what may be happening when familiar coaching approaches are no longer enough.
The focus will not be on diagnosing developmental stages, but on how coaches can become more attentive to developmental dynamics as they emerge in conversation. We will consider what this lens may help us notice, what kinds of questions it opens up, and how it can expand the possibilities available in the coaching relationship.
At the heart of the session is a simple question: What becomes possible when insight is no longer enough, and meaningful change requires a different way of seeing what the client believes they already understand?
Optional pre-reading
For participants who would like to explore some of the thinking behind the session in advance, I have written a short article on the inner work of personal change and the tension between wanting to change and remaining attached to patterns that have helped us feel effective, accepted or safe:
The Inner Work of Personal Change – Who You Are Is How You Lead
Read the article
PRESENTER BIO: Bela Stankova is an executive coach and leadership development practitioner with more than 15 years of experience working with senior leaders across international organisations. She is a Partner at Jonathan Warner, where she is responsible for one-to-one executive development, and has accumulated close to 1,800 coaching hours.
Bela holds two master’s degrees, most recently an MSc in Executive Coaching from Hult Ashridge Executive Education, and is an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and EMCC Senior Practitioner. Her developmental training includes the Subject-Object Interview, the Global Leadership Profile (GLP) and MyWorldView. She is also certified in the NEO PI-3, a Big Five personality assessment.
A particular focus of her work is the intersection of personality and adult development: understanding both the relatively enduring tendencies leaders bring to their roles and the ways they make meaning, construct identity and authority, and respond to complexity. She is especially interested in what becomes possible when leaders begin to see and question patterns that previously felt fixed or self-evident.
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What is the EMEA?
The Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) brings together curious and creative coaches affiliated with the Institute of Coaching in the EMEA Region to explore new ideas, share experiences, and build relationships so that we can bring more value to our clients and develop ourselves.
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