Coaching from the Inside Out: Why Your Core Values Matter More Than You Think
As coaches, we invest deeply in mastering competencies—listening, reflecting, asking powerful questions, and more. These skills matter. However, over time, I’ve come to believe something even more essential: who you are shapes the how and impact of your coaching far more than techniques alone. Our core values are an integral part of that.
When we coach from the inside out, we show up with presence, not performance. We’re not just executing a process; we’re responding with curiosity, humanity, and trust in what wants to emerge. The heART of great coaching is not what you do, but who you are while doing it.
This deeper presence comes when we know our values intimately—when they are lived, not just listed. For me, values like wonder, love, integrity, or courage become quiet guides, shaping how I listen, speak, and connect. They’re especially powerful in those subtle, in-between moments—when I am not “trying” to coach, but simply being with someone.
I remember a recent session where a client was exploring her calling: “Helping people come to freedom.” I felt a gentle nudge of wonder arise in me and asked a question I’d never used before: “What is this freedom? Freedom from, and/or freedom to?” It came from something alive in me, not technique, but a core value. That wondering opened space, and it was kind—a quiet expression of love. It invited something new for the client—and for me.
This is what can happen when we coach from our core values. We move from needing to prove or perform to simply offering what is present and true. Clients don’t just hear us—they feel us. They feel safe. They go deeper. And it is how we coach uniquely. Where have you experienced that?
But when we’re disconnected from our values, we can drift. Coaching becomes more mechanical, less resonant. We may feel off, without knowing why.
So here’s a gentle invitation: Revisit your core values as part of your reflective practice, which is part of “Embodying a coaching mindset” (ICF Core Competency #2). Notice where they’re alive in your coaching (and life) — and where they’ve gone quiet or need clarity. This isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about coming home to yourself and coaching from that place.
Because when your values are embodied—like breath, like rhythm—you’re not just coaching. You’re offering yourSELF. It is also where God lives. And that, more than anything, is what makes transformation possible.
Kind regards,
Wolfgang
P.S. If you’d like to explore this more deeply, join me for a reflective and refreshing workshop: “Coaching from the Inside Out: Why Your Core Values Matter More Than You Think.” The workshop focuses on the importance of our core values in our coaching.
We’ll work with values, metaphor, and presence to help you align your coaching with who you truly are. There will be some required prep work sent ahead of time so you can benefit more from the workshop!
Learn more and sign up here.
