#122: Jenny Rogers – Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Getting Coaching Wrong
Throughout a career spanning roles as a teacher, BBC television producer, coach and prolific author, Jenny Rogers has never been afraid of getting things wrong.
In this episode of The Coach’s Journey Podcast, the executive coach, supervisor, trainer and author of coaching titles such as Are You Listening? tells host Neil Mackinnon about the vital importance of experimentation and of embracing our mistakes in order to benefit from a lifetime of learning experiences that make us better coaches and ground us in our humanity.
Jenny flies the flag for a whole-life perspective in coaching, eschewing narrow approaches in favour of a style that acknowledges the way our personal and working lives are inextricably intertwined, and makes room for all the parts of us.
A deep interest in psychotherapy has enriched Jenny’s coaching practice and she highlights the modalities that fascinate her the most, as well as the key therapeutic ideas and techniques that are readily transferrable to any coaching practice.
Jenny also discusses her latest books, which address important questions about navigating boundaries as a new coach and working through the challenges many women face in midlife.
This episode is full of sage advice drawn from a wonderfully diverse, rich career in coaching and creativity, shared by a practitioner whose dauntless spirit of curiosity and passion for understanding human relationships is as infectious as it is inspiring.
Jenny and Neil also talk about:
● The relationship between trauma-aware coaching and psychodynamic therapy
● Nurturing a healthy writing practice and overcoming creative blocks
● How we accumulate rigid ways of thinking, and why it is hard to make change on your own
● The art of embodying a place of non-judgement, and offering challenge with compassion
For more information about Jenny, visit: https://www.jennyrogers.com
For more information about host Neil Mackinnon, visit https://neilmackinnon.net/
Read more about The Coach's Journey at www.thecoachsjourney.com
Music by My Good Man William: listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4KmeQUcTbeE31uFynHQLQg
To support the Coach's Journey, visit www.patreon.com/thecoachsjourney and to join the Coach's Journey Community visit www.thecoachsjourney.com/community.
THINGS WE TALKED ABOUT THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN:
- Jenny Rogers https://www.jennyrogers.com
- BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk
- Delia Smith https://www.deliaonline.com
- Madhur Jaffrey https://www.madhurjaffrey.com
- BBC Two https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo
- BBC Books https://www.penguin.co.uk/company/publishers/bbc-books
- Columbia University https://www.columbia.edu
- Management Futures https://www.managementfutures.co.uk
- Are You Listening (book) https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1115931/are-you-listening/9780241973986.html
- Julia Vaughan-Smith https://www.juliavaughansmith.com
- Nscience https://nscience.uk
- Franz Ruppert https://www.franz-ruppert.de/en/
- Irvin Yalom https://www.yalom.com
- The Gift of Therapy (book) https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-gift-of-therapy-irvin-d-yalom
- Carl Rogers https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Rogers
- Gabor Mate https://www.upaya.org/person/dr-gabor-mate
- University College Hospital London https://www.uclh.nhs.uk
- Guildhall School of Music & Drama https://www.gsmd.ac.uk
- How Not to Be a Doctor, by John Launer https://www.duckworthbooks.co.uk/book/how-not-to-be-a-doctor/
- Barbican Centre https://www.barbican.org.uk
- City of London Corporation https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
- EMCC Global https://www.emccglobal.org
- ILM https://www.institutelm.com
- Coaches Training Institute (Co-Active) https://coactive.com
BIOGRAPHY FROM JENNY
I am an executive coach, coach trainer and supervisor, and accreditation assessor for APECS, the premier coaching accreditation body of the UK. Along with these roles, I am a writer, textile artist, cook, grandmother and keen walker. Thirty five years ago, I was an early entrant to the world of coaching, after earlier careers in teaching, television production and publishing. Typically, my clients are facing a major transition in their lives and find that a coaching perspective is the key to finding solutions that work. As a coach I work with senior clients in the law, medicine, finance, healthcare, performing arts and media along with volunteer roles for severely disadvantaged women. I consider myself to be a leader in a new approach to coaching which combines insights from psychotherapy with the pragmatic emphasis on change that distinguishes the best coaching traditions.
I was honoured to win the Henley Business School Award for Outstanding Contribution to Coaching in 2019. My books include Are You Listening? a book of coaching stories published by Penguin Random House in 2021. I have written 9 other books on coaching, including Coaching Skills: the definitive guide to being a coach. A fifth edition, much updated, was published in 2024. My latest book, Fearless Coaching, will be published in 2026 and a book for women in mid-life (title TBD) in early 2027 by Octopus Books.