Description

🎙 Episode 2 - Grounding, Confidence and Career Growth: How Good Foundations Help Impact in Coaching and Workshops. 

🤔How do you help busy staff engage, grow and make confident career decisions when they’re stretched  and not yet ready to focus? In this episode of 1AM talks, we explore that practical challenge  - something nearly every  for every Head of L&D, OD, organisational  coach and facilitator faces. 

At South London NHS  Mental Health Trust , Amanda Cummins and Karen Nelson and other staff  took part in a coaching programme and a  communication skills workshop — that led to real workplace impact: clearer career direction, renewed confidence, several  promotions, study choices and role changes across the team.

Hosts Andry McFarlane and Rachael Palmer join Amanda and Karen for a 360° look at impact and learning journeys; simple grounding practices that helped staff be focused and resourceful, managers taking part in the same learning as everyone else, and thoughtful workshop preparation that ensured everyone came more ready to learn.

Karen, a woman of colour with lived experience of mental health, describes how being genuinely understood by her coach gave her the skills to ground herself daily — and gave others the confidence to speak up, take initiative and influence colleagues at work. Amanda reflects on seeing every team member make a decisive move in their professional journey — proof of how presence  and confidence translate directly into career growth and talent development.

For internal coaches and trainers, this episode offers practical insights into how to make learning stick in pressured environments by:

• Grounding staff for focus and presence using somatic learning

• Creating psychological safety across identity and lived experience

• Preparing teams before workshops,  so learning lands

• Supporting staff to create the confidence to explore next career steps

• Using Nonviolent Communication to strengthen workplace voices

It’s a reminder that when any learning begins with a good foundation, people don’t just learn better — they also act differently, in ways that have a positive impact on their work and careers.

🎧 We’d love to know your thoughts: What helps you create the right conditions for staff to focus and grow when they are not yet ready for learning?

⏱ Episode guide
00:00 – Introduction: grounding and focus in learning
02:05 – Feeling understood and building psychological safety (Karen)
04:28 – Embedding grounding for readiness to learn (Andry)
09:34 – Confidence → career movement (promotions, study, role changes)
13:52 – Speaking Up workshop: design & engagement
15:17 – Nonviolent Communication: ‘I’ language, needs and requests
16:51 – Commissioning lessons for L&D, OD and coaching professionals

🎧 For coaches and facilitators who want to see visible impact — from confidence to career growth.
📧 andrymcfarlane@gmail.com 📱 @pod1amtalks

Guest Details: 

Amanda Cummins and Karen Nelson at South London NHS  Mental Health Trusthttps://www.linkedin.com/company/south-west-london-and-st-george's-mental-health-nhs-trust/?originalSubdomain=uk

#WorkplaceCoaching #LearningAndDevelopment #CareerDevelopment #CoachingCulture #PsychologicalSafety #SpeakingUp #Grounding #LeadershipDevelopment #WellbeingAtWork #1AMtalks