A few weeks ago, I found myself in one of the most unexpected coaching sessions of my life — with my mom.
And it all started with a simple, innocent question: “So… what exactly do you do these days?”

If you’ve ever tried to explain a modern, “new-age” career to a parent who has spent their life in traditional business, then you can imagine how this went. My mom is a seasoned entrepreneur — the type who understands profit margins, customers, supply chains, and the grind of making business work. But “executive coach”? “Leadership trainer”? To her, these were abstract concepts floating somewhere between “interesting” and “are you sure this pays your bills?”

She wasn’t doubting me. She just genuinely wanted to understand — because in her world, work is concrete. You do something, someone pays you, and that’s that.

So after fumbling around with definitions, metaphors, and examples that weren’t landing, I finally said:

“Mom… let me show you. I’ll coach you.”

And that’s how we accidentally walked into a structured one-hour coaching session right in the middle of her living room.

I’ll admit — I was nervous. Coaching professionals, emerging leaders, managers navigating conflict or transitions? Easy. That’s my zone. I understand organizations, motivations, workplace tension, people trying to level up. But coaching someone outside that world — let alone my own mother — felt unfamiliar.

Still, I reminded myself of something we’re taught from day one as coaches:
The client is always the expert in their own life. You’re not there to direct — you’re there to partner.

So I began just like I would with a new client: gently, intentionally, with questions that create space rather than pressure.

“If you had a magic wand,” I asked, “and there were no barriers… what would your life look like two years from now?”

At first, she answered lightly. Then slowly, something began to shift. She leaned in. Her voice softened. Her mind started exploring parts of her life she had never paused to examine. And somewhere in the middle of our hour, we hit a breakthrough — one of those quiet, powerful moments coaches know so well.

She didn’t even realize it at first, but I could see it on her face: clarity blooming. Conflicting values she’d carried for years suddenly made sense. Dreams she had tucked away resurfaced. The fog lifted.