Rob Kalwarowsky Of Elite High Performance On The Top 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Coaching

An Interview With Chad Silverstein

Communities — The future of coaching involves communities growing, connecting and learning together. For many of my executives, it’s lonely at the top and, the higher they rise, the sharper the knives around them. They are looking for connection, support and growth with a community of like-minded leaders. As much as we have enjoyed remote work, there is a need and a desire for in-person communities, events and retreats.

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 Rob Kalwarowsky of Elite High Performance.

Rob is a world-renowned leadership coach and TEDx speaker whose wise insights about leadership, mindset, mental health and finding purpose in life create impactful change. Rob was named Top 100 Most Dynamic Leader by Exeleon Magazine and he co-hosts the Leadership Launchpad Project, Canada’s #3 top leadership podcast. Rob comes from a foundation of high-performance as he has a Mechanical Engineering degree from MIT, a 3-time NCAA Academic All-American and was a member of the U-18 Canadian National Water Polo Team.

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?

When I started working, I thought I had it all figured out. Here I was, an MIT graduate with a Mechanical Engineering degree and ready to make an impact in the industry. In my first job in mining, I saved my company millions, which I thought would translate to reaping the benefits and being on the fast track to success…But then it all came crashing down.

I had a passive-aggressive manager who did not accept change, and consistently and relentlessly pushed back on everything I did. Overtime, working in such conditions, resulted in me questioning my choices at work, then my purpose, and then whether my life itself had any meaning. In 2013, 2 years in that toxic environment, I tried to take my life. In movies, when someone hits rock bottom, they find a pearl of wisdom and make a radical transformation. My experience was a little different. I didn’t wake up and quit my job to look for greener pastures. I just got dressed and went to work, like nothing happened. My life was killing me but I couldn’t change my circumstances because I really, truly did not know how to make that change or where to even begin!

So, I kept working, for years. Until one day, after interviewing dozens of experts for my engineering podcast, it all clicked. I had thought the solution to improving my work environment would be in improving processes, technologies, and best practices. All of which were important ingredients, but they’re not the core. The core, I came to understand was culture- and what makes or breaks culture, LEADERSHIP!

Soon after this realisation, I started to look deeper at the quality of leadership around me. I hired my own coach and now-business partner, Susan Hobson at Elite High Performance. She started teaching me what leadership could be and that growth led me to going back into treatment with a psychologist and a psychiatrist to heal my trauma. As I started healing, I was able to see that I had a unique perspective and I could coach leaders to become better change agents in leadership and mitigate some of the conditions I suffered through. I took certifications in high-performance coaching, psychological safety, human-centric leadership, and a range of assessments.

Eventually, I became courageous enough to quit my corporate engineering job and become a professional coach.

The biggest challenge I faced early in my coaching career was imposter syndrome. I limited myself with the coaching strategies that I used, I limited outreach for clients and I limited my social media presence . Through my self-development in therapy and with coaches, I was able to transform my mindset and fully step into building a sustainable coaching business.

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?

• Tenacity — Tenacity has always been a key trait in my success. It’s the ability to stay focused and drive towards a goal but keep innovating & trying new strategies along the way. For me, it has been a key to my success in sports, academics, my mental health and now, in business.

The best example of tenacity is overcoming depression. Since 2012, I have been on a healing journey to improve my mental health. This journey has many moments of despair and hopelessness, one resulting in a suicide attempt in 2013. I have taken 20–25 different medications, have seen many therapists/used many therapeutic modalities, have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, ADHD and OCD. Each time I would try a new medication, I was hopeful that it would work and, when it didn’t, I had to pick myself up off the ground to go try another one. Even when I was seeing an incredible therapist and doing significant trauma healing, I was experiencing the same crushing depression. It took me until July 2021 to experience significant mood improvements. This was after finding an incredible therapist, Belle Hanneman, and a great psychiatrist, Dr. Ganapathy. Without the tenacity to take one step forward each day and keep trying, I wouldn’t be here today having this conversation with you. The tenacity on my healing journey led me to being able to become a coach, move to Costa Rica, do a TEDx talk and many more incredible experiences.

• Curiosity — I love learning and being curious to dive deep into topics has helped me become the coach I am today. An example is exploring Internal Family Systems (IFS) and bringing it into my coaching practice. It started with my therapist sharing it with me as part of my treatment journey. I became curious to learn more about it and in doing so, I was able to connect with the inventor of IFS, Dr. Richard Schwartz on the Leadership Launchpad Project podcast and subsequently, take training/read books/explore it more on myself. Now, I use it with my clients and they have had incredible results from this powerful modality.
• Courage — Without courage, I would not be in coaching at all. My parents taught me the value of a great education, a stable job and minimising risk in employment. After graduating with an engineering degree from MIT, I worked for 10 years in heavy industry as an engineer. I struggled with my mental health and happiness for a huge part of that, always wondering how I could do this until I was 65 years old. The big moment of courage was when I quit my corporate engineering job (where I was making $150,000/year) to launch as a coach with no clients and no guaranteed paycheck. Courage is a pivotal element of my life, becoming a coach and building my practice.

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

“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Most of my clients are very successful leaders when they seek out my coaching. They would be considered successful by most people. Since the pandemic, the biggest shift I have noticed is that these leaders are now actively looking to find purpose and meaning in their lives and not just focus on achieving their company’s bottom line. Not only is this something that I’ve seen and experienced in my own life, Gallup backs it up with their 2023 research noting that a top driver of employee engagement is purpose at work.

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

An area that is showing incredible healing and growth for individuals is psychedelics. Right now, I am working on programs and retreats with a world-class expert in Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) to bring significant and sustainable transformations to our clients very quickly. KAP is not only a great technology for healing, it is extremely powerful for personal transformation and unlocking purpose in life. I’m really excited to bring it to my clients in a legal, responsible and safe manner.

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

In 2023, I worked with a C-suite executive at a world-renowned company. When we started working together, he was going through a divorce and was constantly battling his imposter syndrome so he could make a bigger impact at work. He was struggling with seeing his gifts and to step into his full capabilities that would allow him to perform at his best, lead his team into a digital transformation at his company. After a few months, we started seeing shifts in his mindset, growth in how he was showing up for himself and at work, and he was able to own his role as a leader at work. After 9 months, his career exploded and he was speaking on big stages all around the world at huge conferences as an expert in his field. I’m still amazed by his transformation within a relatively short time frame! His career and impact have taken massive leaps and he is most importantly seeing the value he brings to the world.

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?

I believe that a coach can only take their clients as far as they have grown. I do not mean this in a practical sense like they must have run a billion-dollar business to coach a CEO of a billion-dollar business. What I am referring to here is the coach’s personal growth which unlocks each client’s ability to be at their best and achieve their biggest goals.

A great example of how coaching is different from individual performance is Bill Belichick. As a player, he never won Super Bowls, but he coached teams to 6 Super Bowls and is widely recognized as one of football’s best coaches.

I have always prioritised my own development through working with my own therapists, coaches, taking programs and constantly reading/listening to research, books and articles.

I think about my own development from the perspective of vertical and horizontal work. Vertical work includes deep self-exploration from therapy, coaching and strategies like mindfulness.. Horizontal work involves reading books, listening to podcasts, taking programs to develop understanding on a specific topic/area and researching best practices.

I believe that there needs to be a balance of both vertical and horizontal work. Of course, there are seasons in life where you will lean more heavily on one or the other based on your goals, but I work extremely diligently to constantly develop myself.

My own coaching has evolved to incorporate both vertical and horizontal growth into my work. I use research-backed psychology like Internal Family Systems, emotional intelligence and self-awareness strategies to help my clients grow vertically. This is combined with horizontal growth which involves learning & implementing supportive habits, implementing behaviour change and high-performance leadership strategies like psychological safety, feedback and conflict management.

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

I firmly believe that feedback is the only way to continuously improve and sometimes, it can be challenging to hear but there are always lessons within feedback. I always ask for feedback from my 1on1 clients and on our leadership development programs. When the feedback is good advice, I adjust as quickly as is practical to best support my clients. When the feedback doesn’t make sense to implement during a particular period, I let my clients know why I chose not to adjust. I thank all my clients for providing feedback and I always close the loop on if/what changes I am making based on their feedback.

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

I think Integrating advanced modalities for psychological change into the coaching relationship is an under appreciated area within the field of coaching. Harvard Business Review reports that only 25% of leadership development is effective because it addresses the leader’s mindset. At Elite, we specialise in leadership mindset coaching which allows our clients to get results more quickly, effectively and sustain lasting change long after our engagement ends.

Recently, we have incorporated Internal Family Systems into our coaching which is the most effective modality I have seen to support our clients in achieving bigger results more quickly. I have coached clients who have seen big shifts in as little as 4 sessions which have resulted in increased revenue for their businesses, personal success at work and greater purpose.

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

Coaches are not therapists and coaching does not replace therapy or psychotropic medication. I do recommend therapy to many of my clients as I have experienced the benefits through my own struggles with mental illness. I recommend that all coaches become trauma-informed to best serve their clients and sometimes the best service is to provide clients with the opportunity to seek out reputable therapists.

Coaching can be helpful for people who are upstream of a mental health condition. Many clients come to me with concerns like being stressed, feeling isolated and needing to find purpose. We work on behaviours and the underlying psychology in order to return them to feeling happy, healthy and achieving their goals.

Additionally, as a leadership coach, I get asked by leaders how to manage stress levels within their workforce, promote healthy work-life balance, foster an inclusive environment and be a helpful resource if one of their people approaches them with a mental health concern.

So while coaching is not a replacement to therapy, it is very helpful to address some potential problems before mental health professionals are required or in conjunction with.

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

There are many benefits in using AI that can be helpful in 2024. Examples include using it as a virtual assistant, for scheduling, as a chatbot on the website to answer general questions and supporting the creation of content.

I am aware of several companies out there who are looking to create AI clones of professionals and I have been approached by a few so I can give my clients 24/7 on-demand coaching by an AI version of me. I believe that this will be an avenue that many coaches will take in the future to scale their businesses and, eventually, create AI versions where clients can have 1on1 video sessions with their avatar.

I don’t believe that we will lose the need for human connection and in-person leadership retreats will continue to be a transformative experience that won’t be replaced by AI.

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 believe this is a big concern to bring into the coaching industry. Companies are starting to buy on-demand coaching apps where people can send messages to access micro-coaching as needed. I would have concerns if I was accessing that coaching because I wouldn’t know who has access to those conversations. Would HR, executives, my manager and/or my colleagues have access? Would the coaching company give records to my company if asked? I don’t think coaching can be effective if the clients are worried about who else will have access to their conversations. This vastly limits the conversations that can be had and the coaching that can be provided.

Could you list and briefly explain “Top 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Coaching” based on your experiences and insights?

1. Psychedelics & Coaching — Combining the use of coaching with legal, responsible and therapeutic use of psychedelics to accelerate growth. I have seen significant growth in my leadership with the use of ketamine as part of my mental health treatment. It has given me new perspectives, to find purpose and to grow my impact in the world. I have also seen it in a few of my colleagues and clients when they have partaken in a wellness retreat. We are working with ketamine-assisted therapy leaders to combine the power of psychedelics with Internal Family Systems and leadership coaching to massively accelerate the growth of our clients quickly, responsibly and safely.
2. Advanced Psychological Methodologies — The future of coaching uses advanced psychological methodologies that create sustained behaviour change. These methodologies are beyond reframing, intention setting and positive affirmations. Those tools can be effective but they are not nearly as effective as advanced modalities such as Internal Family Systems and visualisation. Clients aren’t willing to spend years working on their mindset to have small improvements, they want significant results quickly. These advanced strategies give clients the value they deserve and the results they are looking for in an effective manner that lasts long after the coaching engagement is finished.
3. Artificial Intelligence to Add Value — The future of coaching includes the use of AI in order to create more interactive and on-demand moments for coaching. Currently, AI isn’t replacing one-on-one coaching work but it can add value by giving micro-coaching, reminders, accountability and answering questions. In the near future, AI allows coaches to increase their effectiveness and the results for their clients without demanding significant investments of money or time.
4. Cutting Edge Assessments & Real-Time Data — Many clients, especially in the corporate space, like assessments so they can understand quickly who they are, their leadership style, how they will tend to behave and their strengths/weaknesses. Using cutting edge apps and assessments to fully understand the client and their experience is part of delivering top value to clients in 2024 and beyond. Currently, I work with Predictive Index, System3 Leadership Assessments, Fearless Organization Psychological Safety Assessments and an emotion tracking app, SameHere Scale App
5. Communities — The future of coaching involves communities growing, connecting and learning together. For many of my executives, it’s lonely at the top and, the higher they rise, the sharper the knives around them. They are looking for connection, support and growth with a community of like-minded leaders. As much as we have enjoyed remote work, there is a need and a desire for in-person communities, events and retreats.

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

The integration of coaching will improve employee performance and wellbeing, and company profitability. Companies who read the research know that employee engagement is 23% globally and improving engagement leads to huge financial benefits, improved customer outcomes and happier employees. The top drivers of employee engagement are things that coaches support, both for the employee and manager.

According to Gallup, the top 5 drivers of employee engagement are:

1. Purpose from Work
2. Development
3. Having a Caring Manager
4. On-Going Conversations
5. A Focus on Strength

Many of my clients read the research and are taking Elite’s High-Performance Coaching Certification or their leaders are engaging in our Coaching for Leaders program to learn fundamental coaching skills. They are reaping the benefits both personally and organizationally by leading their teams to better results and improved wellbeing.

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

The biggest issue facing coaching today is the explosion of coaching as a popular career. On the one hand, I think this is great for the industry because there is a lot of value a skilled coach can provide for their client and the impact ripples outward. On the other, some people are becoming coaches with limited training and/or without having engaged in coaching themselves to fully understand and integrate the transformations coaching can facilitate. Because of this saturation, there is a lack of ability for clients to differentiate between the skill level of coaches which can lead to disappointment and a belief that coaching is ineffective.

I have personally received first hand feedback to this effect from some of my clients. A recent email I received from a Fortune 500 tech executive after our first session read:

“Thanks for our session yesterday. I have had a few other coaches that I cancelled after 2–3 sessions because they didn’t do anything for me. You’ve given me more in our first session than they ever did.”

There needs to be more effective regulation and an emphasis on continued education with opportunities for coaches to practise what they preach. This will help clients encounter highly skilled coaches who can support their individual growth journey.

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

Many leaders feel isolated and, especially when they are experiencing transformation, they feel a lack of support from their current relationships. Since the pandemic, many of us have gravitated towards the virtual world where we lack aspects of human connection. My goal is to create a tight-knit community where everyone works together to support each other in making a big impact on the world. In January, we launched Legacy League, a community based online platform and we are building a suite of leadership retreats for our clients to meet in-person starting in the fall of 2024.

How can our readers continue to follow your work?

You can book a complimentary consultation to explore working with me. To find and interact with me, you can also reach me in the Legacy League community, the Leadership Launchpad podcast and on LinkedIn.

Check out my executive coaching and leadership development programs at Elite High Performance’s website. For my TEDx talk, How to Deal with an A**hole Boss, check it out here.

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, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com