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Description:
As coaches, we work hard to be objective partners: holding safe space, creating a strong container, and offering our clients a powerful mirror. But what if that mirror has an invisible filter?
Every coach carries assumptions about how people change. We may believe, for example, that change comes through sustained, incremental steps. Usually, we don't think much about these assumptions. Yet they influence what we listen for, the questions we ask, the tools we reach for, and even what we believe is possible for our clients.
What might we be missing?
In this interactive two-hour hybrid session, we'll examine our assumptions and explore how they show up in our coaching. Through personal reflection, peer dialogue, and a live coaching demonstration, participants will experiment with listening beyond their habitual models of change.
Participants will leave with greater awareness of their own coaching filters, a broader perspective on how humans change, and two intriguing questions to carry into their next coaching session:
🤔 What might become possible for my client if I stopped assuming I knew how change happens?
🤔 What if the coach's job isn't to make change happen? What if our job is to create conditions in which forms of change we cannot predict become possible?
Facilitated by Jim Herman and Katherine Li, PhD
Jim Herman is a Certified Professional Coach and leadership development facilitator with over two decades of experience helping leaders and teams build clarity, resilience, and intentional connection. He specializes in strengths-based coaching, organizational culture work, and facilitation that supports high-performing teams and sustained behavior change. Jim brings a collaborative, values-centered approach informed by experience in both corporate and nonprofit settings. He holds coaching credentials and continues to serve the coaching community by mentoring peers and delivering workshops that foster practical skills and measurable results. Jim is based in Hawaiʻi and is committed to coaching practices that honor local culture and collective well-being. He currently serves as President-Elect of the ICF Hawaiʻi Chapter.
Katherine Li is a certified professional coach and the Founder of Listening Alliance, where she supports leaders and teams in Hawai‘i to build resilient cultures, improve communication, and cultivate strategic clarity. With a background in organizational development and human-centered leadership, Katherine blends evidence-based coaching practices with cultural awareness to help clients navigate change and achieve measurable results. She serves the coaching community through volunteer leadership, contributes to professional development initiatives, and is committed to advancing coaching excellence across the islands. Katherine holds credentials from the International Coaching Federation and continues to pursue ongoing training to deepen her coaching impact. Katherine is a founding board member of ICF Hawaiʻi Chapter and its Past President.