International Coaching Week 2026
with Sarah Staley
Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2026 • 5:30 PM
Coaching Through Adversity: Helping Clients Transform Disruption into Growth
At some point in every coaching engagement, clients face moments that disrupt their sense of identity, stability, or direction, from career transitions, burnout, personal loss, organizational change, or unexpected setbacks. These experiences often sit at the intersection of leadership development and deeply personal transformation.
For coaches, the question becomes: how do we hold space for these moments while staying grounded in the coaching role?
This session explores how coaches can support clients navigating adversity by leveraging emotional intelligence and trauma-informed awareness within the coaching conversation. Drawing from the research and leadership frameworks explored in Alchemy of Adversity: How Emotional Intelligence Turns Trauma into Leadership Strength, this presentation examines how disruption can become a catalyst for growth when clients develop deeper awareness, regulation, and relational insight.
Participants will explore how the four domains of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, and relationship management, can serve as anchors for coaching conversations when clients are facing uncertainty or rebuilding their sense of direction.
Through discussion and applied insights, coaches will learn practical ways to:
- Recognize when adversity is influencing a client’s leadership narrative
- Support clients in moving from reaction to intentional response
- Hold psychologically safe space for difficult experiences
- Help clients translate adversity into insight, resilience, and leadership growth
This session is designed for coaches who want to deepen their capacity to support clients navigating complexity while maintaining clarity around the coaching role.
About the Speaker: Sarah Staley
Sarah Staley is an executive coach, leadership strategist, and HR executive. She holds the ACC certification through ICF and multiple human behavior certifications, including EQ-i 2.0, Predictive Index, Workplace Big Five, and Positive Intelligence coaching.
Sarah specializes in helping leaders and organizations build cultures rooted in emotional intelligence, resilience, and trust. Her work integrates neuroscience, leadership development, and trauma-informed awareness to help individuals and teams navigate complexity, strengthen relationships, and lead with clarity.
She is the author of Alchemy of Adversity: How Emotional Intelligence Turns Trauma into Leadership Strength, a book exploring how adversity can deepen leadership capacity when integrated through emotional intelligence. Sarah’s work focuses on helping people transform challenge into meaningful growth, personally, professionally, and organizationally.