Vulnerable Authority
The briefing started as one thing. It became something entirely different—and that's where the magic happened.
Working with a current UK banking client, what began as comprehensive discussions about objectives and keynote expectations quickly revealed something deeper. As I facilitated the initial sessions, my skill in reading the room told me the real story: while the content mattered, the emotional and psychological space was equally vital.
I watched leaders split themselves into two: polished professional personas on one side, authentic human struggles on the other. They were navigating unprecedented complexity, but the framework they needed wasn't another presentation—it was permission to be vulnerable in their authority. So I pivoted. In real-time.
From keynote speaker to facilitator. From delivering content to holding space. From one-size-fits-all to responsive, iterative design that met them where they actually were, not where we thought they should be.
The feedback revealed everything: "Your ability to hold space for us to delve into our challenges has been invaluable. It's not just about the frameworks; it's about the connections we're building." Another leader shared: "The way you pivoted from presenting to facilitating made all the difference. It allowed us to connect with the material and with each other on a much deeper level."
Here's what I've learned through this iterative process: the very people who hold space for breakthrough ideas often have no container holding them in their own becoming. They illuminate truths for others while remaining unseen in their own process.
This is vulnerable authority—the willingness to stand in power while remaining open to what wants to emerge. It's where intellectual insights meet emotional experience, where leaders discover their story is their strength.
Threshold coaching grew out of moments like these. Not about adding something new, but about surrendering to what's already there.
Where sacred space design meets speaker mastery, and transformation happens in real-time. Because the world doesn't just need more confident speakers. It needs voices that carry the kind of presence that lingers long after the words have finished.
The work begins this autumn/winter. Ready to cross that threshold?
