Charity Becker: Organisational Coaching, Ethics at work, Work that makes your heart sing
This week's guest is Charity Becker, an organisational coach based in Melbourne with 20 years of experience spanning coaching, coaching supervision, and coach training.
This week's guest is Charity Becker, an organisational coach based in Melbourne with 20 years of experience spanning coaching, coaching supervision, and coach training. After an unconventional path through hospitality, nannying and psychotherapy, Charity was drawn into the world of coaching while managing an executive coaching panel at a major bank, fell in love with it, and has since built a portfolio career as a coach, trainer, supervisor, and faculty member with IECL. Luella and Charity met through IECL's coaching training programs.
In this episode:
• Charity explains the real difference between organisational coaching, mentoring and consulting, and why being given a mentor when you need a coach can be devastating for the person on the receiving end.
• She describes coaching as "a flip" in who holds the expertise: the coach's role is to help people access the wisdom and capability they already have, not to share their own.
• Charity talks about the coaching industry's regulation problem, why ethics matter in a field where anyone can call themselves a coach, and what it looks like to say no to clients even when it costs you work.
• She and Luella discuss the bias towards extroverted behaviour in organisations, the challenges women face when asked to lead in ways that contradict what society has long told them, and the "double glazed glass ceiling" for women who are also introverts.
• Charity reflects on the double-edged sword of working for yourself, including the freedom, the self-motivation challenges, and what she misses about being in a team.
• She shares how a late ADHD diagnosis helped explain earlier struggles with university and formal education, and the unexpected career value of years spent in hospitality.
• She and Luella discuss financial security as the foundation for ethical decision-making at work, and why asking people to challenge the status quo without that foundation is unreasonable.
• Charity's best piece of career advice: do what makes your heart sing.
Charity's coaching philosophy:
"I help you remember that you have hard earned wisdom and ask you questions to draw that out of yourself. So it's a flip in. Who is the expert in the room?"
Resources mentioned:
• Megumi Miki - researcher and author on leadership and the double-glazed glass ceiling for women who are also introverts: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/double-glazed-glass-ceiling-megumi-miki
• IECL (Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership) - global coaching training organisation: iecl.com
In this episode:
• Charity explains the real difference between organisational coaching, mentoring and consulting, and why being given a mentor when you need a coach can be devastating for the person on the receiving end.
• She describes coaching as "a flip" in who holds the expertise: the coach's role is to help people access the wisdom and capability they already have, not to share their own.
• Charity talks about the coaching industry's regulation problem, why ethics matter in a field where anyone can call themselves a coach, and what it looks like to say no to clients even when it costs you work.
• She and Luella discuss the bias towards extroverted behaviour in organisations, the challenges women face when asked to lead in ways that contradict what society has long told them, and the "double glazed glass ceiling" for women who are also introverts.
• Charity reflects on the double-edged sword of working for yourself, including the freedom, the self-motivation challenges, and what she misses about being in a team.
• She shares how a late ADHD diagnosis helped explain earlier struggles with university and formal education, and the unexpected career value of years spent in hospitality.
• She and Luella discuss financial security as the foundation for ethical decision-making at work, and why asking people to challenge the status quo without that foundation is unreasonable.
• Charity's best piece of career advice: do what makes your heart sing.
Charity's coaching philosophy:
"I help you remember that you have hard earned wisdom and ask you questions to draw that out of yourself. So it's a flip in. Who is the expert in the room?"
Resources mentioned:
• Megumi Miki - researcher and author on leadership and the double-glazed glass ceiling for women who are also introverts: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/double-glazed-glass-ceiling-megumi-miki
• IECL (Institute of Executive Coaching and Leadership) - global coaching training organisation: iecl.com
All opinions are the guest's own.
New episodes on a Wednesday, with interviews with leaders or experts every week and a monthly discussion on what we've heard in the last week of the month.
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Career Stories is hosted by Dr Luella Forbes, who works with organisations on leadership, change and storytelling. To find out how she can support your leaders and teams, visit luellaforbes.com/services
More about the podcast: luellaforbes.com/career-stories
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Creators and Guests
Host
Dr Luella Forbes
Dr Luella Forbes is a consultant specialising in Organisational Change and founder of The Career Library and it's podcast, Career Stories.
Guest
Charity Becker
Charity Becker is an organisational coach, and coach supervisor. With an extensive coaching career in private sector and as an independent coach, Charity is passionate about work that works for you.
