Professional Practitioner Diploma Programme / “It has changed how I think and work as a coach”

In this interview, we were delighted to speak with Bettina Hausmann, executive coach and founder of bhconsult, about her coach training journey through the Professional Practitioner Diploma in Executive Coaching and how it continues to shape her work with senior leaders today.

What originally brought you to coaching?

I was in my mid-40s, working as a corporate manager, with a young child and dealing with serious health issues. It led me to reflect more deeply on who I was, both as a person and a professional, and what I wanted to do next.

Serendipity played its role. I met an AoEC alumnus in a completely unrelated business context. He showed me a cartoon he had created about executive coaching and what it actually is. I got intrigued. It also helped that my CEO at the time was a trained coach, with a very unique way of bringing strategy and decisions to the surface, rather than telling clients what to do.

At some point, I took the leap, left the corporate world, trained as a coach in London, and set up my own practice. Since then, I have been working with senior leaders to support their growth towards where they want and need to go next. I have loved it from day one.

Why did you decide to join the Professional Practitioner Diploma programme?

Over the years, I had continued to invest in my development, from systemic team coaching to resilience work and NLP. A decade after my initial training, it felt like time to go truly deep again, almost overhauling my identity as a coach and my practice.

The Professional Practitioner Diploma Programme felt different. Innovative, timely, and thought-provoking. I knew it would ask a lot of me. Maybe that was exactly the point.

On a more practical note on the ‘why’: I see myself working more from the Belgian seaside in the decade to come. High quality remote coaching and, why not, walking the talk on the beach, will be part of that mix.

What stayed with you most from the experience?

The exposure to truly novel approaches in a world that has changed a lot since my initial training. The quality of the faculty, with top-level coaches who tended to offer that one line of feedback you do not forget. And the depth of the learning. A huge kudos and thank you goes to John Gray as our master coach here.

The programme asks you to explore new territories and practise with real honesty. It has changed how I think and work as a coach.

We also had a wonderful cohort, continuing to support each other.

What did you realise about yourself as a coach?

First, and that is not nothing for me, that I was already doing a few things well. Getting better did not mean reshaping myself entirely. At the same time, I realised how much there still is to learn. It could even get frustrating at moments.

Now, at the other end of that funnel, I have become more intentional in how I use my coaching skills, and at the same time lighter and more creative.

I believe I now give myself more permission to work in true partnership, that is, side by side with my clients, rather than feeling that pressure to be the one who knows.

I also bring in a new, systemic lens, truly precious when you work with business leaders. You do not only have a client, it is a client in context. In our last session we discovered Ubuntu, an African coaching philosophy, seeing the individual as inseparable from the wider system: “I am because we are”. It concluded the programme with a grounded, human counterbalance to approaches all of us may take on autopilot.

How has your coaching evolved since then?

I guess a very tangible change is that I have slowed down, while staying true to my curious and energetic nature. Luckily for my clients, my questions have become shorter and more focused.

I would say I am also more attuned to micro signals, including contradictions or moments where something important is emerging, including my own stuckness at times. Another big shift has been staying with complexity and discomfort.

Last but not least, I have become more deliberate in how I structure a coaching session. Taking time upfront to clarify what the real question is that we are exploring, building an arc, and closing conversations with more care.

What was challenging for you during the programme?

Time and energy, as always. The structure of the programme helped with that.

Another challenge was engaging with the ICF competencies. As someone who is not naturally process driven, they stretched me. Over time, I found ways to better understand and integrate them, while staying true to my style.

And then there is the work of facing your blind spots. Not always comfortable, but essential if you want to support others in doing the same.

What would you say to someone considering the Professional Practitioner Diploma?

Go for it. It will challenge you, which is exactly what you want if you are already an experienced coach. It will support your growth as a professional and as a person. It is also likely that you build strong, lasting relationships with experienced colleagues.

What makes coaching meaningful for you today?

I work with senior leaders. Being at the top can be demanding and at times lonely. Coaching allows me to support them in becoming the leaders they want and need to be.

For me, it is about being present, helping them navigate complexity, and go for meaningful change, side by side.

The training has also influenced my work beyond coaching, including training and communication. I have become bolder, more grounded, more systemic, and more playful.

Our deepest gratitude to Bettina for sharing her personal journey and experience of coach training at the AoEC.