Raeanne Lacatena On The Top 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Coaching

An Interview With Chad Silverstein

Business Acumen for Coaches — I am seeing a positive trend in the coaching field, especially as a business coach, towards coaching practitioners beginning to understand, accept and train for the differences between the coaching modality and business ownership.

The world of coaching is undergoing a seismic shift, with emerging trends set to redefine its boundaries and possibilities. From digital transformation and the integration of artificial intelligence to the growing emphasis on mental health and the global rise of coaching cultures within organizations, these developments are reshaping the landscape of personal and professional growth. As we navigate through these changes, understanding the forces that drive the future of coaching becomes paramount. I had the pleasure of interviewing Raeanne Lacatena, LCSW-R, CPC.

Raeanne Lacatena helps experienced entrepreneurs and small business owners reach their greatest expectations while living their happiest, healthiest, and wealthiest lives. Among the business owners she serves are restaurateurs, brick-and-mortar offices like those of physicians and therapists, and online businesses for authors, artists, speakers, and coaches.

Raeanne is a Holistic Certified Professional Business Coach, Licensed Registered Mental Health Practitioner, Reiki Master and mother of three children with two decades of experience in the business coaching and professional development fields, as well as an International Best Selling author of “Cracking the Rich Code” which was endorsed by Tony Robbins. Gain free access to her chapter from the book here: raeannelacatena.com/ebook

Thank you for joining us. To start, could you share your “origin story” with our readers? How did you begin your coaching journey, and what challenges did you face in the early days?

Thank you so much for the invitation! I started my career in the mental health field, specifically in Pediatric Palliative Care. As a mental health counselor in my early twenties, I was so grateful to learn so much from the experiences, modalities of counseling and the families that I served. I learned about life, the big “what’s it all mean?”-type questions, as well as politics, money, insurance, collaboration, coordination, empathy, grief, mental illness, wellness, self-care and so much more. I am grateful for these early lessons in my career, as they also taught me more about who I am, my skills, strengths, boundaries and needs as a helper, which has allowed me to become more effective and specialized in my approach to care. I discovered during this time that I’m an empath, and that I can see and feel things more clearly and acutely than others. While I kept a private practice in mental health counseling open for many years, I knew that something needed to shift in my approach to the helping field when pediatric palliative care became challenging for my own personal wellness, physically, mentally and emotionally. One of my early mentors saw the skills that I had as transferrable and invited me into his business coaching company to help him grow the business and serve clients. I became trained and certified as a professional coach and fell in love with this approach to client care. After about a decade of being an employee of that coaching program and growing the business successfully, I made the decision to take the leap from teaching entrepreneurship into opening my own holistic business and mindset coaching practice in 2020, which is how my business is successfully operating today.

In the early days of coaching, I was challenged with the differences between counseling and coaching. Overtime, I had to navigate the real differences and shift my delivery and approach. Certification and training was helpful in that process, where I really gained knowledge about the most important tools and differences between these approaches. In the early days of business ownership, I was able to step into the full experience of what sometimes feels like a roller coaster of business ownership, which can certainly also be incredibly challenging at times. The responsibility is ultimately yours as the CEO and Owner of the company, and so the results and outcomes of the business, as well as the outcomes for your clients fall on your shoulders. The art of business ownership is fascinating to witness and experience firsthand, and requires different skills and abilities than that of a coach, counselor or service professional.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

I’ve studied business ownership now for 14 years as a business coach, and I’ve definitely seen some trends in the character traits that generate the most successful business owners.

The first trait is definitely commitment. When a business owner has a “half in-half out” mentality, they will have “half in-half out” results! When I observe a business owner who is willing to go all in on both the logistics of what’s necessary to grow a successful business, which I call the masculine side of business, or the strategy, production, momentum, growth, key performance tasks, and trackability in the business, they are far more likely to grow and thrive. However, that’s not the end of the story and unfortunately that is where so many business coaches focus their attention. They tend to tell their clients, do this one particular thing in this one particular way and you will be successful in business.

What they are missing in that equation, is the necessary and critical commitment also to the internal work necessary to thrive. As I mentioned previously, business ownership can be a roller coaster, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, relationally, and financially. The business owner must learn to manage their internal experience of their thoughts, emotions and actions in order to be as successful as possible.

In life, the only thing that we actually have control over is which thoughts we energize or our response to our circumstances. The successful business leader understands philosophically that “thoughts become things” and therefore, they must commit to stewarding their thoughts and emotions to have the greatest possible relationship with their business, and frankly, the results come after the management of their internal world.

Also, the other often missing ingredient in regards to commitment, is the steadfast insistence on integrating the feminine counterparts into business, such as the fun, play, empathy, spontaneity, adventure, willingness to be vulnerable and receive, to name a few. Business is not just about doing; it is also about being the greatest expression of who you choose to be. There are so many ways to integrate the internal work and the feminine side of business, and that’s often when business owners decide to work with me.

They are tired of the status quo, are not interested in being told that there is only one way to do things, they are ready to be their authentic selves and truly discover their own personal business plan that incorporates all of who they are and all of who they strive to be in service to a greater mission. They of course seek financial freedom through their business, however they are also seeking impact and have a big mission to help the world be a better place. They know that a high level of commitment is required to make those high level goals happen.

The next character trait that I witness in the most successful business owners is curiosity, which is one of those highly effective feminine traits of the high achieving business owner. In life and business, we will always be faced with a decision, a problem, bumps in the road or an outcome we would definitely not prefer or have chosen. It’s not always a straight line or perfect science to run a business. However, the most successful business owners greet these problems, decisions or challenges with an air of curiosity, using their imagination, creativity and treat each challenge like an opportunity at minimum to learn and grow, but also as a feedback monitor to peer into how the business and market is performing so that they can get curious about what’s working, what’s not working and what they can do differently. Instead of facing a challenge with frustration, fear, doubt or worry, the curious entrepreneur gets excited to learn what they can do differently moving forward, asks their business, clientele and market great questions and goes on a quest to figure out what’s next. Curiosity allows for more fun, more freedom and more flexibility, which are all important ingredients for success as well.

The last character trait I will comment on for the successful entrepreneur is resilience. With all of the ups and downs, uncertainty, and changes that happen throughout the lifespan of a business, the successful entrepreneur has a baseline level of resilience that allows them to recover swiftly from whatever the market throws their way. Of course, the business owner is human. They will have real, human emotions such as disappointment, anger, frustration or fear from time to time. This is not about bypassing the necessary processing of feelings that creates for an emotionally intelligent human running the business. That said, the awareness of those feelings, the active willingness to process and move through those feelings, and the ability to bounce back with efficiency to return to that curious, exploratory approach to business controls for lost opportunity cost, further damage done or second guessing, doubting or even quitting the path of becoming the greatest expression of the entrepreneur you choose to be.

Can you share your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Why does that resonate with you so much?

I couldn’t possibly claim a favorite! There are so many amazing teachers and mentors who have said such poignant words about life that I love integrating into my life. To share one of my favorites that has stood the test of time would be from William Shakespeare: “Things are neither good nor bad, thinking makes them so.”

I am personally fascinated with the brain, thoughts, emotions and how they affect our lives and businesses. First, I find the inherent neuroplasticity of the brain to be one of the most empowering parts of the human experience. The fact that we have been through so much from childhood, our upbringing, through mentors, teachers teacher, parents, but also traumas and deep pain or patterning from society and culture that co-creates our biases, thoughts, and mindset is a reality. However, the knowledge that all of this is changeable, malleable and moveable is our saving grace, hopefulness hopeful and the promise for our future. Just because we’ve always done something a certain way or tend to see thoughts arise of a certain quality, doesn’t mean we always need to think, feel or behave in those ways moving forward.

Even if a thought arises that we don’t prefer, we get to shift that perspective into a more supportive, loving or empowering thought that supports who we choose to be, how we prefer to think, feel and behave moving forward.

The thought is just a series of neurochemical changes that come from all of this early programming, among other things. Then, human beings have the glorious opportunity to choose what they are going to with that thought, how they are going to interpret and then respond to that thought.

We never have to be stuck. We always have a choice. We can always choose chose a different thought, emotion or response, no matter the situation.

I find that incredible.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

Thank you for asking! Earlier this year, I became an International Best Selling author in a co-authored series, called “Cracking the Rich Code” that was endorsed by Tony Robbins. Currently, I’m just now in the very final stages of development on my next book, called “The Integrated Entrepreneur: Actualize Your Potential, Fulfill Your Purpose” which is scheduled to come out soon!

To bring my next book into the world has been an incredibly transformative process. I’ve deepened my understanding of the value of vulnerability, courage and visibility, all of which are more important character traits of the successful business owner.

The book combines poignant insights with practical exercises to inspire entrepreneurs to embrace purpose-driven business ownership through the depths of self-transcendence, as well as themes such as integration, abundance mindset, and releasing limiting beliefs. In this book, entrepreneurs are guided to align with their mission, transcend default inner programming, create an aligned unique to the individual business process and embrace their innate wholeness so that they can create holistic growth, ripples of positive impact, and a lasting legacy.

Business owners who do the work in these pages will have countless ways to grow, personally and professionally. My mission is to help entrepreneurs become the greatest expression of who they choose to be. By showing business owners that entrepreneurship is really just a brilliantly disguised personal development plan, and how to move through internal work necessary to have the outer results of their dreams, I am confident that the world will become a better place! I wholeheartedly believe that the more people doing what they love, playing full out and living their dreams, the more likely the planet will heal and the more people will be positively impacted by each business owner actualizing their potential.

Without saying any names could you share a particularly memorable success story from your coaching career?

One particularly memorable success story from this work that I do and love, is the experience I had with a bestselling author, actor, podcaster and producer who is also a mother who came to me to help with finding balance in all the moving parts of her life and business. As a naturally creative person, she had a difficult time identifying with the role of the business owner and often rejected the masculine side of business, such as the strategy, numbers, attention to revenue, delegation and tracking that is necessary for any successful business owner with a team and diverse operations. We worked together to help her create new boundaries, build a team of support staff, and find ways to own that business ownership is an inherently creative process. I’m now happy to report that she has a strong support network, her business is producing over the 7-figure mark annually, she has more harmony between her personal and professional life, and she’s leveraged her newfound business acumen to land one of the most highly sought after deals in Hollywood!

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview about coaching. How has your approach to coaching evolved over the years, and what personal learnings have you applied to your own development?

It’s definitely been an evolution overtime in my coaching practice, especially considering I started as a mental health counselor. Even though I was brought into this work as a business coach, I was much more comfortable early in my coaching career working on the business owner mindset and the internal work necessary to be happy, healthy and wealthy. Early on, I did not consider myself an entrepreneur or skilled at the business acumen necessary to grow a business. As I gained my own mentorship and coaching, and as I observed hundreds of business owners over these decades in their business development, I have gained confidence, experience and success in what it means also to be a successful business owner from that masculine, strategic and logistical side of entrepreneurship.

I still use many of the amazing tools and skills that I learned in my years as a counselor to serve my entrepreneur coaching clients. Those skills are so transferrable, useful, effective and evidence based, and as we can expect, entrepreneurs deal with all of life’s challenges throughout the lifespan of their business: grief, loss, anxiety, depression, other mental illnesses and certainly all the transitions and seasons that life brings to us.

My evolution continued as I welcomed three children into my family, as many business owner parents started working with me to learn how to successfully successful integrate their work life harmony, and make sure that their family remained a priority and focus, in addition to achieving their dreams in their career.

Now, as a business owner myself, the experience has deepened from “taught” knowledge to “applied” knowledge, and I can more closely relate to and understand what my clients are going through in real time as I work to grow, scale and expand my own business while also serving theirs.

How do you incorporate feedback into your coaching practice to continuously improve?

Feedback is such a critical part of any growing practice, business and frankly, for life in general. One of my other favorite quotes from an unknown original source is: “Good feedback is great. Bad feedback is good. No feedback is deadly.” As a business owner, sales are one way we can gauge how our business is performing. If nobody is buying what we are bringing to market, that’s feedback! We want to use some of those same principles of curiosity, commitment and resilience to not allow “bad feedback” to send us down a spiral, but instead create anthe open forum for conversation with our ideal clients, customers, and potential clients.

Within my coaching practice, I often end each call with curious value-driven questions that solicit feedback about the value that they’ve received during our time together. I will quite literally ask, “On a scale from 1–10, 1 being no value at all and 10 being the best experience you could have hoped for during our time together today, what would you rate the value that you received on our coaching call?” Leaving enough time to talk about that feedback, and create the space to discuss whatever the feedback might be can be so helpful as you are growing your coaching skills and abilities, but also is critically important to building trust with your client and delivering on the value that you are providing those you serve. The scale from 1–10 is called a qualitative rating scale, where we are taking something that might tend towards subjective and making it more trackable via numbers rating with a clear depiction of the spectrum. I use these types of feedback monitors at the end of sessions, at the end of a coaching contract, at the time of renewal and in many other ways throughout the coaching engagement to continue to hone my skills, attend to the value that the client is looking to create in our work, and build the relationship with my client.

I will also leverage technology to send regular automatic feedback forms, and testimonial requests if someone might prefer to share in a more digital framework.

Can you discuss an innovation in coaching that you believe is currently underappreciated but has the potential to significantly impact the field?

One innovation that I have been observing in the coaching field is the introduction of automation into the software and technological support systems that are currently leveraged by coaches. From a business building perspective, leveraging AI automations, phone/text line automations, social media engagement and DM campaign systems can help to create such a more streamlined approach to lead generation and business building for coaches, which can otherwise feel like a daunting process for some solopreneurs or small business owners.

Automation can also be incredibly helpful for internal processes and systems during the coaching relationship to keep clients accountable to their progress, track where they are in the process and provide the necessary feedback monitoring to increase efficiency in the coaching relationship.

In what ways can coaching address the evolving mental health needs of diverse populations in a digitally connected world?

As a trained mental health therapist, I am very protective and cautious when it comes to mental health needs of coaching clients. There are distinct differences between coaching and counseling, and while there is some overlap especially with the “working well,” I am always wary of thinking of coaching as a replacement for counseling. Even though I have decades of experience in mental health, when I assess a severe persistent mental health diagnosis, a need for medication, suicidality or a trauma impacting the life of a client I serve, I always recommend the introduction of counseling and/or psychiatric support depending on the need at the time. The level of experience and the severity of the situation might warrant an expert to step in and assess for major concerns.

That said, with the increased regulation, certification, training and development available for coaches and many opportunities to branch into a variety of specialties, there are reasonable substitutions and introductions of coaching to help many more people with their wellness, health and general self-care. With the boom of the coaching industry ranging in all different types of support, as well as the press on the mental health industry for available providers for care, coaching can be a great option for someone who is looking to build new routines, create new healthy habits, learn how the manage their thoughts, emotions and behaviors different, or navigate a natural transition in life such as welcome a child, entering college or the workforce, changing their career, getting married or divorced or any number of other natural life changes.

I am a strong advocate for support during these life transitions, and find that coaching can be a far more palatable approach to support for some individuals going through liminal space. With the right supervision, training and development and very good vetting on the part of the client, there are many skilled coaching practitioners that can create a ton of value for people who are open, ready and willing to make a change in their life with support from a coach.

How do you foresee artificial intelligence and machine learning transforming the coaching industry in the next decade?

As I previously mentioned, AI and ML are definitely already making an impact on the automation available to help coaches improve business operations and increase customer satisfaction. With the continued refinement of AI and ML, we will see an even greater accessibility to coaching support through courses and support that more and more people will be able to afford. The human and relationship elements of coaching will never be replaced, as coaching is very much a relationship and service driven industry, however the experience can certainly be augmented through the use of technology.

What role do you believe ethical considerations and privacy concerns will play in the future of coaching, especially with the increased use of digital platforms?

I look forward to the increased ethical and privacy regulations for the coaching industry. The mental health field is so highly regulated in comparison to the coaching industry, which is currently grossly under regulated. There is certainly a standard of ethics in the coaching industry, however there are currently no governing bodies officially upholding these ethics and standards. As a result, there are often flagrant and inaccurate claims from coaches in an effort to sell programs, internal communications are often used for testimonials online without client’s permission and what should be confidential information about revenue, circumstances or other personally identifiable details are sometimes used freely and irresponsibly in the marketplace. We will need to see continued increased regulation in order to control for some of the falsification or inappropriate use of information to be more ethically defined. This will only further enhance the professionalism and respect that the coaching industry deserves.

Could you list and briefly explain “Top 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Coaching” based on your experiences and insights? If you can, please share a story or example for each.

Yes, absolutely! Some of the trends that I am seeing have already been briefly touched on during this interview.

1. Business Acumen for Coaches — I am seeing a positive trend in the coaching field, especially as a business coach, towards coaching practitioners beginning to understand, accept and train for the differences between the coaching modality and business ownership. With the coaching boom that occurred during Covid that only continues to grow, we saw the introduction of droves of new coaches come into the marketplace. Many people came to the field looking for some other way to use their transferable skills during the remote work season of Covid, and they found coaching to be an easy entry point into something new and accessible, without the need for additional training or certification. During that time, I heard many new coaches come to the field on the premise that “people always tell me I give really good advice and I’m a good listener, so I should be a life coach.” What these coaches didn’t expect, is that running a business requires a different set of skills and personality traits to be successful! Unfortunately, many new coaches failed out of the industry or lost a lot of money in the process of building a business. Recently, I’m seeing a welcomed trend of acknowledging the difference between coaching and business ownership and many coaches, sales and marketing professionals who have started to “coach coaches to build their business.” They are seeing the underserved market and responding, and thankfully coaches are now gaining access to training and resources to help them build their business acumen.

2. Training and Development — Similarly, I am also seeing a welcomed trend towards an entire market in the coaching industry for increased training and development. More people are recognizing that not only do they need to increase their business management skills, they also need to learn how to coach effectively and grow their specialty and/or niche in the process. Instead of just “giving good advice and listening,” coaches are slowing down to continue their personal and professional development and work towards gaining certification not only in generalized coaching skills, but also specialty approaches to coaching in an effort to lean into their chosen modality, niches and areas of interest.

3. Increased Regulation — This brings me to the next trend, which is showing a slow movement towards increased regulation of the coaching industry. As I mentioned, there are some pretty egregious behaviors out there in the coaching industry that need to be addressed. As coaches, we are working with people’s lives, businesses, their health, wellness, relationships, finances and brains. Without proper regulation of the industry, there runs the risk of some major damage done. I’ve heard unhappy clients share that they invested over five or six figures in coaching packages, to be completely ignored, dissatisfied or unhappy with their care. There are guarantees and promises being offered without follow through or delivery, and again, the mismanagement of personally identifying details about client’s lives and the absence of appropriate training or expertise. While I know many people will have a negative reaction to anytol brush up negatively against any idea of regulation, there needs to be some kind of oversight when we are entangling ourselves into people’s lives and health/wellness. There is aFor now, t movement of some major multinational companies, such as Google, Microsoft and Apple, as well as governmental agencies and major financial institutions are moving towards favoring, if not requiring, coach certification before employing coaches internally. This is a promising step in the right direction for the coaching industry.

4. Role Clarity — Another related trend that is near and dear to my heart, is the clarity that I am seeing the coaching industry achieve in come to towards understanding the differences between coaching, consulting, mentoring and counseling. As I discussed within regards to the mental health arena, there are just some aspects of wellness that need to be left to those that fully understand, have studied and been licensed to practice in conjunction with those experiencing persistent or severe mental health diagnoses. Coaches should never be diagnosing or prescribing, and for their client’s safety, they should want to bring in an expert to manage severe trauma and mental illness. Coaches should also not be “treating patients” in any realm, physically, emotionally, mentally or otherwise. Coaching is meant to be a relationship where you are partnering with individuals to achieve a set of goals, and relies heavily on drawing out of the client through a series of questions, assessments and tools. Consulting and counseling can be more directive and expert driven, and mentorship is based on existing experience of the advisor. In my own coach training, I was happy to see that certification programs are drawing attention to these differences and bringing the guidelines into the ethics of the coaching field.

5. Accountability — With all of that said, I am also seeing a trend towards increased accountability in and outside of the coaching field. I have seen some trends towards calling some of these coaches who are taking advantage of clients to the carpet publicly, so as to make it known when someone isn’t delivering the care they offered, especially when there is a very high fee collected. Clients are asking for more detailed proof that they will receive what they paid for, asking for testimonials and maybe even guarantees. While the coaching process cannot be fully guaranteed, as it’s a mutual relationship and commitment, there does need to be some onus on the delivery of the coach. I have also seen coaches speak out when they are seeing egregious behavior of their colleagues, as well as a willingness to share feedback more openly so as to “do no harm.” There is a trend towards supportive peer groups, study groups, supervision and coach skills development groups, which is encouraging in the direction of more self-accountability and awareness as well.

How do you envision the integration of coaching within organizational cultures changing the landscape of leadership and employee development?

In its purest form, coaching is about drawing the natural, innate greatness out of people and helping them to self-discover and become more aware about what they bring to the table. Any organizational culture that wants to leverage the power of people, create an engaged ecosystem, with motivated, inspired, driven and committed teams, employees and leaders, would benefit from embracing coaching as a solution. By integrating coaching into the organization there are so many benefits that can come into play: communication improves, employee satisfaction and retention increases, company loyalty increases, and creative, critical thinking flourishes. Coaching supports people in becoming skilled at decision-making and problem-solving, introspection and emotional intelligence grows, and employees are given what they need to operate out of their strengths and bolster their weaknesses in a community of care.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the coaching industry today, and how might we overcome it?

Some of the trends that I went over really highlight the greatest challenges facing the coaching industry today, and we are moving in a positive direction to overcome these challenges. Through the introduction of companies like the International Coaching Federation and other coach certification companies we are seeing an incredibly encouraging movement to better educate, train, develop, lobby and regulate for the coaching industry’s upholding of ethics, standards and accountability.

What is one long-term goal you have for your coaching practice, and how are you working towards it?

I believe that the more people that can be supported in actualizing their potential and fulfilling their purpose, the better chance we collectively have about making the world a better place. When people are living their dreams, striving for greatness, coming from a love and mission driven perspective in their work and being continuous learners, I trust that the collective will benefit. My way of giving to that greater mission of healing the planet is through my coaching work, in hopes to serve more people, make a greater impact and difference in the world.

How can our readers continue to follow your work?

Thank you for asking! I would be honored if anyone would like to follow along my coaching journey! You can find me on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, all @raeannelacatena. There is also a link in my bio that shares a free resource on my website to download a copy of the chapter that I wrote in “Cracking the Rich Code,” endorsed by Tony Robbins. In the chapter, I share the framework that I’ve developed over these 20 years in personal development to help people shift their perspective, thoughts, emotions and actions to achieve whatever their heart’s desire! It’s an incredible business tool, however also helpful in moving towards being the happiest, healthiest and wealthiest expression of whomever you choose to be. By downloading that chapter, you’ll be the first to know when my next book, “The Integrated Entrepreneur” hits the stands!

Thank you so much for inviting me into this conversation!

Thank you for offering such valuable insights into the future of coaching. We look forward to seeing your work continue to reach new heights, and we wish you continued success.

About the interviewer: Chad Silverstein is a seasoned entrepreneur and thought-leader. With over 25 years of business experience, Chad’s entire career has been dedicated to creating a positive social impact in all of his enterprises. His entrepreneurial journey began while in college at The Ohio State University, where he founded Choice Recovery, Inc., which earned national recognition and was twice ranked as the #1 company to work for in Central Ohio. Chad is now a strategic advisor for Authority Magazine’s thought-leader incubator and an Executive Leadership Coach with Built to Lead, where he recently launched an online community for leadership development.

To learn more and connect with Chad, visit www.chadsilverstein.io