PODCAST · education
Coaching The Elephant
by René Sonneveld
Navigate life’s complexities with clarity and confidence. Join experienced coach Rene Sonneveld as he shares powerful perspectives and actionable insights for personal growth, harmonious family dynamics, and effective leadership.
Episodes
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Attitude and Attitudinal Development
Attitude is not a fixed trait but a learnable, changeable state - how a person is prepared for whatever the environment presents. Built on the think-feel-act principle, this article maps four stages of attitudinal development, from the challenging state through blocked, avoidant and quitting...
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Why Psychological Safety is Key in Today's Workplace
Teams with high psychological safety keep their people, earn more and are rated effective twice as often. This article uses two nuclear disasters, Fukushima and Chernobyl, to show what happens when authority cannot be questioned and concerns have nowhere to go, and argues that hiring talented...
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Unlock Your Superpowers
Beyond credentials and resumes, every leader has distinctive strengths that shape their impact. Drawing on coaching more than 200 Executive MBA students at Booth School of Business, this article describes how to identify those superpowers through self-assessment, peer feedback and coaching, and…
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The Value of Interpersonal Skills
Only 12% of leaders show effective interpersonal skills, and barely a third of employees trust their leadership. This article examines the two personality dimensions behind those numbers, sociability and interpersonal sensitivity, and argues that trust and a genuine sense of belonging are what...
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The Value of Interpersonal Skills
Only 12% of leaders show effective interpersonal skills, and barely a third of employees trust their leadership. This article examines the two personality dimensions behind those numbers, sociability and interpersonal sensitivity, and argues that trust and a genuine sense of belonging are what...
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The Semmelweis reflex in corporate life and politics
The Semmelweis reflex is our tendency to reject evidence that contradicts what we already believe. From the physician who cut childbed fever mortality tenfold and was institutionalised for it, to Kodak dismissing digital photography, this article traces the pattern through politics and business,...
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The Importance of Psychological Safety
Psychological safety is not the engine of performance; it is the anchor that has to be raised before the ship can move. Using the 1977 Tenerife runway collision, where a flight engineer hesitated to challenge his captain, this article shows how hierarchy silences people, and why managing our own...
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Stewardship and Servant Leadership: Evolving Leadership Styles for a Changing World
Has traditional leadership become obsolete? This article argues the opposite: leadership still matters, but it has to absorb new expectations. It distinguishes leadership traits from leadership styles, and examines social stewardship and servant leadership as two responses to a world that now...
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Remote Teams - The Essence of Communication
Remote work is not a temporary arrangement, and forcing people back to the office is not a leadership strategy. This article argues that communication is the most critical and most underestimated part of managing distributed teams, and offers three practical approaches: deliberate face-to-face...
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Psychological Safety - Fear in the Workplace
Fear has been used as a motivator since the assembly line, and many managers still believe in it. Drawing on Google's Project Aristotle and Amy Edmondson's work, this article explains why fear is counterproductive wherever success depends on learning, creativity or collaboration. It also lists…
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Never change horses while crossing a river
The old riding proverb warns against swapping horses on unstable ground mid-crossing. This article applies it to leadership decisions, through three situations: the MBA graduate under pressure to change jobs, the impatient CEO who learns to pause and analyse, and the change leader balancing...
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How to Build a Culture of Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Telling people to speak up is not enough; organizations have to build the conditions that make it normal. Using the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster as a warning, this article sets out six practical steps for creating psychological safety at work, from leadership modelling vulnerability to...
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Corporate Leaders can draw Leadership Lessons from High-Performing Sports Team Coaches
An accomplished sports coach knows that winning takes more than individual talent. Drawing on years of working alongside elite team coaches, this article examines three skills corporate leaders can borrow: interpersonal skills such as communication, impartiality and cultivating enjoyment,...
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Growing your business with empathy
Empathy is an overlooked engine of business growth. Through the story of Albert Cramer, who sent Warsteiner employees out to see the market through the eyes of outlet owners and drinkers rather than commissioning research, this article shows how understanding the people you serve turns raw data...
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Foundations for a High Performing Team Environment
Sustainable, high-performing teams share three characteristics: culture alignment, positivity and productivity. This article maps four cultural models shaped by hierarchy and rapport - Troops, Believers, Virtuous and Friends - and four team environments produced by the positivity-productivity…
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Fast Track Your Career
Once you have gained your university diploma, your next immediate concern is finding an interesting professional challenge or, in some cases, to start your own business. Because the world has become so "flat" and competitive, once you have found your dream job, you must settle in quickly and…
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Enhancing your listening skills for better communication
The fine art of listening involves more than just hearing what someone is saying; it involves actively engaging with them and truly understanding their perspective. This blog will explore the importance of listening, the benefits of being a good listener, and some strategies for improving your...
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Common Misconceptions About Psychological Safety
In a recent panel discussion on workplace productivity, a vigorous debate emerged regarding the impact of psychological safety versus pressure in achieving high productivity. This article aims to clarify several misconceptions, one being that psychological safety and pressure cannot walk hand in...
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Co-active decision making
In a complex and ever-changing world, business and organizational leaders' need for sound decisions are more critical than ever before. In internal control processes, the four-eyes principle is often used with the understanding that two pairs of eyes see more than one pair. In my opinion, the…
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Mastering Versatile Leadership
Daniel Goleman, renowned for his work on emotional intelligence, highlights the importance of versatile leadership. His research indicates that leaders who get the best results don't rely on just one leadership style; they adapt their approach to various business situations.
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Breaking free: escape being a prisoner of your mental models and hostage of your perspectives-Alex's Story
Is traditional leadership keeping your team from reaching its full potential? In this episode, we follow Alex, a mid-level automotive manager in Irvine, California, who believed authority meant strict control and long hours. While his approach produced discipline, it also drained his team's...
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Breaking Free: escape being a prisoner of your mental models and hostage of your perspectives - Max's Story
In this episode, we meet Maxime ("Max"), a Silicon Valley tech veteran whose promising data-analytics startup hit a wall. Stuck in a rigid mindset and fighting a product-market disconnect, Max was on the brink of giving up. Discover how a pivotal coaching intervention—and three transformative...
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Aspects of high-performing leadership: Group Climate
Managing group climate is no longer a decision according to the leader's preferences. Nowadays, many organizations in different fields measure the satisfaction of their members with team assessments. In a previous blog, we explored the primary dimension of high-performance leadership…
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Aspects of high-performance leadership: Productivity
Organizations frequently solicit leadership and team coaches to help improve three aspects of high-performance leadership. This article focuses on the first of these three: Productivity. Two following audio blogs delve deeper into the other two dimensions: Team Environment and Individual...
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Adaptive Change. It's the People, Stupid!
Visionary business leaders who want to align their company's mission with the stakeholders' interests, i.e., shareholders, employees, clients, suppliers, community, and/or environment, often encounter fierce resistance from within their organization. The change itself does not so much fuel the...
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We Are Not Our Labels
Not every sadness is a disorder. Sometimes what looks like breaking down is the heart trying to make sense of love, loss, and change. This piece is an invitation to listen more deeply before we label ourselves or others.
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The Waiting Game: A Journey Through Procrastination
Procrastination isn’t about laziness—it’s fear wearing a mask, and we’ve all been there: staring at a looming task while finding every excuse to avoid it. This article dives into the emotional roots of procrastination, showing how it affects even the most capable leaders. The key to breaking…
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The sum of all happiness
One of the recurring goals in coaching sessions is to live a happier life. My clients sometimes doubt if happiness exists or if it is a utopia, impossible to attain. The truth is that it exists and is measured all over the world.
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The Power of a Curious Mindset
Curiosity is one of the most powerful tools to help us grow, develop relationships with others, adapt to change, and create innovative solutions. While the literature suggests that we are born with some natural level of curiosity, our life experiences and, paradoxically, our education can make us...
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The Learning Matrix
Learning occurs in stages. It takes patience and time to acquire new skills. Gaining proficiency takes practice. The Learning Matrix, also called the Four Stages of Competence, is a four-stage model that can help to understand the different steps involved in learning and where an individual is in...
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What a 77-Year-Old Professor Taught Me About Success.
On a flight from Paris to Tbilisi, a 77-year-old former Wharton professor shared a lifetime of insight in one sentence: learning matters more than grades, money, status, or achievement. This article explores why capable leaders drift from care into control — and how the discipline of focusing on...
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What I Watch for in the Room
In team coaching, I have learned that my presence begins before I ask a question. It begins in how I enter the room, how I manage my own urgency, and how I notice what is happening beneath the conversation. This article is a reflection on what I watch for in the room, and how that helps a team...
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Performing for the People on the Quay
A joyful dinner in Paros begins with music, laughter, and napkins in the air. But when people on the quay start watching, the energy in the room begins to change. What starts as spontaneous fun slowly becomes a performance. This essay reflects on the roles we play, the audiences we respond to…
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Windmillingness
Windmillingness is the constant motion leaders create when they confuse activity with impact. By filling every silence, solving every problem, and carrying too much of the team’s thinking, they can unintentionally create dependency. I know this pattern because, for years, I mistook my own…
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Let Them Hear How We Think
Children learn not only from what adults deliberately teach them, but also from hearing how adults reason through real situations. In enterprise families, young people cannot be expected to develop judgment if they are excluded from the conversations in which judgment is formed. Preparing the…
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The Future of Work: When Machines Start Negotiating for a Raise
René woke from a strange dream: HR had cut his client's pay because the company's AI had filed for a raise of its own. This episode uses that unsettling image to ask the real question — when machines become colleagues, how do we keep people from becoming line items?
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The Differences between Coaching, Mentoring, Teaching, Therapy and Consulting
A coach has great questions for your answers; a mentor has great answers for your questions. René untangles five disciplines people constantly confuse — coaching, mentoring, teaching, therapy, and consulting — and explains why knowing which one you actually need changes everything about the help...
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The art of negotiating for a salary increase
Most people undersell themselves because they don't know their own worth. Drawing on his ten "commandments" of salary negotiation, René makes the case that the big ask is less about nerve and more about timing, preparation, and proving what you deserve — not what you need.
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Technology and Dehumanization
A coffee run taught René something uncomfortable: most people never looked up to thank the barista — their phones mattered more. This episode asks whether all our connectivity has actually brought us closer, and argues that staying human is a choice technology will never make for us.
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The Work That Does Not Fit in the Gaps
Writing his first book taught René a hard truth: his best work doesn't happen in the cracks between emails. This episode makes the case for protected, unfragmented time — and why the deep thinking that shapes real leadership can't be squeezed into the gaps of a busy calendar.
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How Many Clicks Will You Make in Your Lifetime?
We can order, answer, and avoid almost anything with a click — but trust, growth, and relationships still move at human speed. Through a leader trying to rebuild his team's trust, René shows why the work that matters most offers no shortcut and no "loading complete." Some things are one honest...
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Survivorship Bias - What is your perspective?
Why did WWII engineers nearly armor the wrong parts of their bombers? René uses mathematician Abraham Wald's famous insight to unpack survivorship bias — our habit of studying only the winners — and why copying successful people or companies, without seeing those who failed, leads us badly astray.
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How to get positively to 'No'
We're taught to say yes from childhood — yet the inability to say no can quietly run our lives. After a health scare forced him to change, René shares seven practical techniques for declining with honesty and grace, from setting boundaries to "returning the energy," so you can reclaim control of...
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Embracing Imperfection: How Flaws Add Personality and Depth
In a world obsessed with perfection, René makes the case for the opposite. From the Japanese arts of wabi-sabi and kintsugi to vulnerability in leadership, this episode explores how our flaws build resilience, deepen connection, and make us more authentic, creative, and human.
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Conscious Capitalist Credo
A short, reflective episode. As René begins his year of study to become a certified Conscious Capitalism consultant, he shares the movement's credo — a stirring statement of why business can be good, ethical, noble, and heroic, and how conscious businesses might help billions flourish.
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Conscious Capitalism
What if business could pursue profit and a higher purpose at once? René introduces the philosophy of Conscious Capitalism — its four principles of higher purpose, stakeholder orientation, conscious leadership, and conscious culture — and the companies proving that doing good and doing well aren't...
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Confidence in Action: Lessons from Athletes and Executives
Confidence isn't a gift for the lucky few — it's a skill anyone can build. René draws parallels between athletes and executives, from learning to ride a bike to leading under pressure, showing how small wins, a growth mindset, and the right coach turn self-doubt into steady, durable belief.
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Breaking free: escape being a prisoner of your mental models and hostage of your perspectives - Sofia's Story
Raised on Chicago's South Side and hardened by the loss of a friend to gang violence, Sofia saw the world as us versus them — until a coach challenged her to listen instead of fight. This episode follows her shift from division to bridge-building, and the quiet power of changing the lens through...
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Belonging: The Pillar of Human Experience
Belonging is one of the most underestimated drivers of human performance. René explores how mattering, identification, and social connection weave together to shape our well-being — and what families, teams, and organizations can do to build the safe, connected environments where people actually...
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Always construct, never destroy
Over an Easter lunch, René's friend Bruny shares the belief that carried her from losing everything to rebuilding a thriving business in two years: always construct, never destroy. A reflection on resilience, choice, and why — in a noisy, divided world — the slower, harder act of building is…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Navigate life’s complexities with clarity and confidence. Join experienced coach Rene Sonneveld as he shares powerful perspectives and actionable insights for personal growth, harmonious family dynamics, and effective leadership.
HOSTED BY
René Sonneveld
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Coaching The Elephant have?
Coaching The Elephant currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Coaching The Elephant about?
Navigate life’s complexities with clarity and confidence. Join experienced coach Rene Sonneveld as he shares powerful perspectives and actionable insights for personal growth, harmonious family dynamics, and effective leadership.
How often does Coaching The Elephant release new episodes?
Coaching The Elephant has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Coaching The Elephant?
You can listen to Coaching The Elephant on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Coaching The Elephant?
Coaching The Elephant is created and hosted by René Sonneveld.
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