Beyond traditional coaching: why lasting change requires looking deeper.
If you’ve ever worked with an executive coach, you know the power of focusing on goals, leveraging strengths, and actionable steps. It’s a process that helps identify where we want to go and how to get there. And if you’ve ever been in therapy, you know the value of healing emotional wounds, resolving inner conflicts, and understanding the patterns that hold us back.
For years, these two disciplines have existed in separate spheres (and for many people there is a very strongly held belief that these two disciplins should stay in different spheres). But what if the most effective path to meaningful change lies at the intersection of the two?
This belief is at the core of my coaching practice:
An integrated approach that harnesses the complementary powers of coaching and psychotherapy to support deep, sustainable growth for leaders.
So how does this work?
My coaching remains predominantly present- and future-oriented, with an emphasis on nurturing your strengths to achieve professional goals and lead more effectively.
However, it consciously makes space for the deeper exploration often reserved for therapy.
Why? Because in leadership, to move forward effectively, we must understand what’s holding us back.
This might involve:
Identifing unconscious patterns: like the avoidance of conflict or a need for excessive control—that may be sabotaging team psychological safety or strategic agility.
Revisiting past experiences: not to dwell in them, but to learn from them and reclaim lost confidence, empathy, or courage that can profoundly enrich your leadership presence.
Leadership impact: why depth matters
Leaders who engage in this integrated coaching approach experience:
Enhanced Decision-Making: Greater self-awareness reduces blind spots and emotional reactivity, leading to clearer, more deliberate choices
Stronger Relationships: Understanding your own emotional patterns builds empathy and improves your ability to navigate complex team dynamics and foster trust.
Sustainable Performance: By addressing the root causes of stress or burnout, you build the resilience needed to lead effectively over the long term, not just drive short-term results.
Authentic Influence: Leaders who know themselves deeply inspire greater commitment and alignment.
The primary aim is not to heal acute psychological pain (which is the domain of therapy) but to build a stronger psychological foundation for leadership. I work on understanding the "why" behind your patterns so you can design a more resilient and impactful leadership style.
I know this approach is not for everyone. It’s not for those who want a highly efficient, goal-focused sprint toward a pre-defined destination; a conventional coach would be perfect for that. And It’s not a good fit if you are experiencing persistent distress or find it difficult to function day-to-day; in these cases therapy is the recommended starting point.
My coaching is particularly powerful for leaders who:
Feel a sense of disquiet or stagnation, even if their performance metrics are strong.
Find themselves at a significant point of transition—a new role, a larger scope, or an organisational transformation—with the way forward feeling unclear.
Recognise that their own growth is the starting point for their team’s or organisation’s growth.
Have a nagging sense that there is a "further configuration" of their leadership to be realized—that they have more to give, more to inspire, and more to achieve.
It is for those asking a deeper question than ‘What's my goal?’
Instead, it’s for those asking: What does meaningful success look like for me?
Written by Victoria Mellor, November 2025