Unlocking Authenticity: A Deep Dive into Building a Purpose-Driven Coaching Business
Unlocking Authenticity: A Deep Dive into Building a Purpose-Driven Coaching Business
As coaches, we often find ourselves caught in the expectations of others, striving to succeed in a world built on systems that don't always align with who we are. But what happens when we break away from those expectations and start building businesses rooted in authenticity, self-discovery, and personal alignment?
I had the absolute pleasure of discussing this powerful shift with Julia Armet, founder of Higher Playbook, on my podcast recently. Julia's journey from burnout to building a consultancy that focuses on rehumanizing work is nothing short of inspiring, and it brings to light some invaluable lessons for coaches looking to truly stand out.
The Power of Knowing Who You Are
Julia shared her personal experience of learning to honor her true self after facing burnout while operating in environments that drained her energy. This profound self-discovery came after being diagnosed with autism, a realization that enabled her to fully step into her authenticity. In doing so, she not only redefined how she approached her business, but she also empowered others to do the same.
Her story is a testament to how self-compassion and learning about ourselves can fuel greater success in our careers. As Julia put it:
“My commitment with my business was making my work and my impact inseparable. And the way I was able to do that was by honoring what was real, true, and authentic to me."
Building a Business That Reflects Your Neurotype
One of the most fascinating parts of our conversation was Julia’s description of how embracing her neurodivergence transformed the way she approached business. Instead of conforming to a "waffle" world where everything has its compartment, she leaned into her "spaghetti" nature—understanding how everything in her world is interconnected. By doing so, she could design her business in a way that felt natural, fulfilling, and sustainable.
For many of us, this is a crucial reminder: The key to long-term success is creating systems and structures that align with how you naturally operate. Whether you process the world like spaghetti or waffle, finding that alignment allows you to bring your full energy to your work.
Traits of a Coach Who Doesn’t Suck
In the realm of coaching, Julia and I dove into what separates an exceptional coach from the rest. According to her, three essential traits make a difference:
Transparency – Not just in honesty, but in seeing and holding your clients at their highest potential.
Validation – Recognizing that every experience a client has is a valid step in their journey and helps them move forward.
Championing – Being the relentless advocate for your client’s growth, especially when they hit roadblocks.
These traits don’t just create good coaching experiences—they transform them. As coaches, our role is to empower, encourage, and reflect the strength we see in others.
The Importance of Community and Self-Advocacy
Julia's journey underscores the importance of community in building a sustainable coaching practice. Often, when we feel drained or undervalued, our instinct is to retreat. But Julia encourages us to put ourselves in environments that validate and nurture us.
Building a strong community around you can provide the fertile ground necessary to grow both personally and professionally. As coaches, being part of something bigger than ourselves helps us remain aligned with our values and goals while supporting others in their journey.
At the end of the day, building a coaching business isn’t just about systems, strategy, or marketing—though those things are important. It’s about self-discovery, embracing your true nature, and creating space for others to do the same.
Ready to Build a Coaching Practice That Feels Aligned?
If Julia’s story resonated with you, I encourage you to take that first step toward authenticity. Ask yourself: What do you need right now? What’s one small step you can take to align your business with your true nature?
Remember, the key to long-term sustainability in coaching is building something that honors who you are.
Connect with Julia
If you want to dive deeper into creating an aligned coaching practice, be sure to check out Julia Armet’s work at Higher Playbook, where she partners with coaches and organizations to create more authentic, service-based businesses.
Connect on LinkedIn with Julia or check her out on Instagram!
Looking for more inspiration and actionable insights?
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Be sure to follow along for even more content to help you grow, thrive, and succeed!
Show Highlights
1:13 - Meet Julia Armet: Founder of Higher Playbook
4:30 - The Moment That Changed Everything: Julia’s Autism Diagnosis
8:22 - The Power of Self-Discovery in Business Growth
10:34 - The Top 3 Traits of a Coach Who Doesn’t Suck
13:29 - How Community Accelerates Your Growth
16:00 - Overcoming Shame & Judgment in the Coaching World
18:23 - Creating Sustainable Success in Coaching
21:00 - Dealing with Energy Interplay: When Conflict and Peace Coexist
24:00 - How to Build a Business That Reflects Your True Self
26:40 - How Julia Helps Coaches Build Authentic Businesses
29:05 - Where to Connect with Julia & Learn More About Higher Playbook
Full Transcript
Julia Armet Podcast Interview with - Sep 24 2024
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[00:00:00] My commitment with my business was making my work and my impact inseparable. And the way that I was able to do that was by honoring what was real and what was true and what was authentic to me, because I was too drained.
[00:00:15] I was too exhausted. I was too, in many ways, devalued by all of the effort that I was putting in to succeed within another person's world. And in the process of that burnout, it was [00:00:30] really important to me to learn self compassion and learn to really understand myself. And that's when I received an autism diagnosis.
[00:00:38] And being on the autism spectrum and really being able to learn about that, it gave me That then, honestly, allow for me to be a more authentic, empowered business professional. And in the process, empower the authenticity in others, too
[00:00:55] [00:01:00] Mhm.
[00:01:13] Well, hello and welcome back. It's Amanda and you're listening to the Amanda Kauffman show, and we are continuing our segment on coaches that don't And I'm so excited to invite, Julia Armet to the podcast, to come and have just [00:01:30] a nice, frank conversation about what it takes to be a coach that doesn't suck.
[00:01:34] So Julia, welcome to the show.
[00:01:36] Well, Amanda, first I want to say the fact that I got the invitation and it's such an honor and the reality that you and I go way back to 2018 and we really have seen each other's growth on both the personal level and the professional level. It means a lot to
[00:01:52] be able to share perspective because I know our perspectives have definitely evolved since the last time we were able to really connect like this.
[00:01:59] [00:02:00] Exactly. It was telling Julia before we went live that I was. Blown away by her presence in a coaching certification.
[00:02:08] That's where we met and, Julia, just take like 30 seconds and, you know, use that presence to help us understand, like, what is it that you do? You are a full time coach, like share. What is it that you do and who do you help? And, what's your jam these days?
[00:02:23] I'm here to partner with.
[00:02:26] Individuals who are ready to do business [00:02:30] differently, and it's often in those moments where perhaps you've experienced loss, perhaps you are really at that point of knowing that you can no longer operate the ways that you've learned in, the workplaces or the structures You've learned to succeed within often as the high achievers who are finally saying, I can't do it anymore.
[00:02:50] And when they are at that time of rediscovering who they are, I'm their coach to really unmask their [00:03:00] authenticity. And through that process, Co create an authentic service based business where they can really bring their interests, really bring their passions and bring what makes them feel alive to the forefront of what they do professionally.
[00:03:15]
[00:03:15] That's so awesome. And I love the Fact that you and I kind of have very similar missions, but we approach it in such a different way so can you just take 30 seconds and talk a little bit about the business [00:03:30] that you've built over the last few years? Like what's it called?
[00:03:33] And what have you found has helped you hone your abilities and your appeal as a coach?
[00:03:39] That's a really great question. My company is called Higher Playbook. So, higher like the sky, playbook like the sports playbook. And, it's a people and culture consultancy. That is invested in rehumanizing work and I partner with both individuals who are creating service based [00:04:00] businesses and Organizations who are serving their people in culture to create more aligned embodied Workforces and what I do is I empower the identity discovery for professionals over the course of their career.
[00:04:16] And my own identity story has really informed me as I really stepped into higher playbook with this knowingness that it was time to really make our [00:04:30] identities and our impact cornerstones of what we do. A lot of what happened to me in my career was I, Was really conforming to the standard, the expectations of others, instead of being able to lean into that higher playbook, the practical ways of operating and more authentic ways of operating that I actually know now are.[00:05:00]
[00:05:00] Reflective of my neurotype as a neurodivergent individual. I know my motivational wiring. I know how to be fully energetically engaged, but that way of operating wasn't taught in the business world.
[00:05:15] you know, this masculine energy can sometimes be like a waffle, where there's little compartments for everything and it's just all lined up like Lego or something.
[00:05:22] It's just like a waffle. And if you happen to think like spaghetti, where you see how everything is interplayed and [00:05:30] intertwined and affect, each other, and you try to live in a waffle world, sometimes that can be really challenging. So I'm very excited for you, for your work, for your growth.
[00:05:40] I, I'm curious like how much of your understanding now of like how we mask and, and how we show up perhaps. Not in our most authentic, most aligned self, you know, because when I, I can speak for myself when I say when I allowed a lot more spaghetti. It was, it was like magic what I was able to [00:06:00] accomplish.
[00:06:00] And I love living in a world where I'm spaghetti and waffles. Like it's a gross kind of a thing to think of having on your plate, but after coming from a very waffle dominant kind of a place to thinking, it really has been super empowering. So I'm curious about your own experience with that.
[00:06:18] Like, is that something that's unfolded over the past six years as you built your business? Or did you have an inclination before you started? How did that go?
[00:06:26] My commitment with my business was making my [00:06:30] work and my impact inseparable. And the way that I was able to do that was by honoring what was real and what was true and what was authentic to me, because I was too drained.
[00:06:41] I was too exhausted. I was too, in many ways, devalued by all of the effort that I was putting in to succeed within another person's world. And in the process of that burnout, it was really important to me to learn self compassion and learn to [00:07:00] really understand myself. And that's when I received an autism diagnosis.
[00:07:04] And being on the autism spectrum and really being able to learn about that, it gave me That then, honestly, allow for me to be a more authentic, empowered business professional. And in the process, empower the authenticity in others, too. Now to really contextualize that a little bit more, because I want to be able to talk about the spaghetti a bit.
[00:07:27] There's just aspects of the way that I [00:07:30] process information, the way that I communicate, the way that I think, the way that I can occupy time that aren't really traditional. So, rather than see it as, oh, those are my areas that I need to work on so that I can fit into the waffle world, I've been able to say, wow, These are my spaghetti tendencies.
[00:07:51] These are my natural ways of being. And so then the aspect of how do we integrate those natural ways of being into [00:08:00] the service that I provide into the structure of what I have as a business and into the conversations that I hold with people, because it's often just having frames of reference to understanding who you are That then actually support you in creating businesses that are in alignment with how you naturally operate.
[00:08:22] Love this. One of the questions that came up, as being one of the most difficult for people to answer, and I'm wondering if this is [00:08:30] similar for your experience, is what do you want?
[00:08:34] My hypothesis is that we're so, in society, not trained to have our own personal want, you know, to have that identity, it really comes back to, in my opinion, who are you? When you know who you are, then you can know what you want until you know who you are. It's really hard to render an opinion on what you want because you don't know yourself very well.
[00:08:56] Like, what do you think about that?
[00:08:57] The more that you are able to be [00:09:00] honest with yourself, the more that you can actually tap Not just your wants, but your needs. And sometimes being able to serve those needs so that you can then have a full cup to say, wow, what is it that I really want through my own journey?
[00:09:15] I've recognized that what I want is to experience what's possible in the presence of community. A loving community. I feel like when we're able to all be a part of something and all be able to [00:09:30] feel fully expressed in our talents and know that we are a part of something. That is something that I've been fortunate to experience throughout my life.
[00:09:40] And it's not about the destination. It's about cultivating that everyday existence where you are perfectly positioned to play your part and you really revel. And what it is that you are here to share. And it's that desire and genuine passion [00:10:00] to be yourself and contribute, where I believe is the sweet spot for entrepreneurs discovering that takes time.
[00:10:06] And I want to validate anyone who's listening that if you don't know what those wants are yet, I want to honor your needs and really say that. Asking yourself what it is that you need and learning how to become your own advocate is so central to fostering that sense of Belief in self, but also the sustainability of being a service based [00:10:30] professional.
[00:10:30] I love that you brought up the sustainability of it. Because I don't personally think that it's talked about enough in our space. I think there's a lot of things that are talked about that are really not necessarily sustainable. I love what you just brought up about community as well. One of the things that I know I struggled with in my first year A couple years, especially, um, but I often have to go back to and I notice again and again in the conversations that I'm having with others is that they feel like a [00:11:00] level of judgment or a level of shame.
[00:11:02] And you know, before we got on, we were talking in the core energy levels. So if you're familiar with those, awesome. We'll try to keep it plain language here. But our tendency when we're, experiencing disappointment or we're experiencing judgment or we're experiencing shame is to actually withdraw from community and to isolate and to, you know, I, I'm all for alone time.
[00:11:23] I love journaling. And so when I think of a coach that doesn't suck, I think of a coach [00:11:30] who is actually very mindful about being part of something bigger than themselves and being part of community. So what would you say to someone who has lots of really wonderful intention has done the studying does the work, but does tend to pull back from community because they aren't feeling that they are.
[00:11:51] Good enough. I mean that's frankly the number one reason that I hear is like, Oh, I haven't spent enough hours in my business or I haven't made enough money or I haven't served enough clients. [00:12:00] And there's always this criteria that I hear kind of coupled with it for why we're stepping back or why we're pushing our goals out by four to six months.
[00:12:08] It's always four to six months, but like, you know, what would you say to that person?
[00:12:13] I realize that when you're in those moments and you really just want to be alone, that that is honestly sometimes really what it is that you need to take care of yourself. And I think that can coexist with this invitation [00:12:30] to put yourself in an environment that is really validating.
[00:12:34] It's often when we are in an environment that can validate our experience. Where we can really accelerate our growth because we don't just express ourselves. We get to experience other people, hear their lived experience. So if you want to leapfrog in many ways, go from a space of really feeling in potentially that drain devalued, or even real hopelessness or powerlessness, which [00:13:00] is valid as natural.
[00:13:01] We all in our life have those moments of hitting those true points of ground zero. When you're at ground zero, a powerful accelerant to your success is really putting yourself in an environment where. You really are seeing that you are reflected back accurately because that environment is like the fertile ground for you to thrive and really grow into exactly the person you know yourself to be even if in the darkness.[00:13:30]
[00:13:30] You don't even know what that looks like. Trust that the first step is the environment.
[00:13:36] Yeah, I love that so much. I just think it's so wildly true that the first step really is environment. And it could be stepping outside, go for a walk outside. That's a first change to an environment.
[00:13:48] Or, you know, sometimes. I think in some states, some places, maybe your first step into community is more of a one on one conversation with somebody that you feel is a champion, someone that you can [00:14:00] trust, and other times I think that it can actually be easier to be a bit of a wallflower and just like edge your way into a bigger community where there's a lot of chaos and things kind of going on and you're really there to observe is that kind of that first step.
[00:14:14] I think what's important is that you keep taking steps. That you then are in full participation, you know, ideally you're at this place where you get to flow out that same validation, that same acknowledgement, and that same thing that you're looking for, you know, I think that's been [00:14:30] my experience over and over again, is that, Energy attracts energy.
[00:14:34] And so if you find yourself in this like really low energy state, it can be a little scary because you don't want to get it on other people. But the truth is, is that you can shift it out. And the more you're able to give that kind of energy of noticing others and validating others and, you know, celebrating others.
[00:14:54] The more it tends to come back to you. Maybe not linearly, maybe not from the individual you did it with, [00:15:00] but the more you do it in general, the more in general it's gonna come back.
[00:15:04] Beautiful. I love what you said about that one-on-one initiation point, and I wanna add a little detail there because when I connect with individuals who neurodivergent or not see themselves through my representation and visibility, what happens often is.
[00:15:24] Nervous system to nervous system. Community member to community member, wow. Actually being able [00:15:30] to be reflected back accurately. And so, experiencing what it feels like to not be alone because there's somebody else who exists in the world who is like you. That is central to then being able to cultivate that sense of being a part of something greater than yourself.
[00:15:46] If you've lived your whole life in, let's say, a marginalized group or in an underserved group, not recognizing it, giving language to that and then being able to immerse yourself. Whether it's on social media and discovering communities [00:16:00] there, whether it's in Amanda's community, coaches who don't suck, or if it's through partnering with higher playbook and beginning to have frames of reference developed so that you can actually start to see yourself and where you belong in this world and actually go from being that outlier to really integrating into meaningful work where.
[00:16:20] You know, you're making a great contribution.
[00:16:23] I love this. I really believe that the age that we're in right now is so golden for being able [00:16:30] to carve your own path to contribute in ways that, honestly weren't available to our parents, there's so many opportunities to, select.
[00:16:39] Where you're spending your time in a way that's going to feel more congruent for you. The connectivity is insane, right? And the activity is insane. What would you say are the top three traits of a coach who doesn't suck?
[00:16:55] Love it. Love that question. I'm going to say Trait [00:17:00] that really matters for a coach is transparency.
[00:17:03] And I don't mean that in the traditional sense of just honesty and openness. I mean, being able to see beyond the veil and actually see the highest potential of who you're looking at, holding that person in the highest regard and being able to recognize the wholeness of somebody. So that's the first trait.
[00:17:24] I also think in a coach, the quality [00:17:30] of validation and somebody who's validating and really being able to look at every lived experience and recognize how that experience makes perfect sense for where you are. That validation aspect is so transformational. Another trait that I think is central to a coach, particularly, for individuals who want to do things differently [00:18:00] is, When you have somebody who can be a champion, because there are going to be moments on a daily basis where you hit those lows, and when you can really foster that sense of belief and it's coming from the external champion, that's when you can start to build that muscle of being your own champion.
[00:18:20] And that role modeling that ultimately occurs because you're really seeing a person who deeply believes in you. It [00:18:30] ultimately just allows for you to have that strength, especially over time to keep growing, keep building, keep challenging, keep striving, and ultimately, keep discovering and remembering who you are.
[00:18:46] So those would be my three traits.
[00:18:48] I love those. Those are so good. You know, right behind my computer, I have a few reminders just posted as people do. One of them was my favorite. I went to Chat GPT, [00:19:00] and I asked her, because it's definitely she, but who'd you wrong? I gave it a picture of me and I asked her to draw me as the critic with a clipboard and me as the cheerleader.
[00:19:13] So I have them both like there and it's meant to remind me like, Hey, you, you get a lot further with cheering people on, you know, just because you can see opportunities for improvement doesn't mean you can't deliver it in a championing kind of a [00:19:30] way. I do that just to help me kind of stay, stay, you know, cheerful.
[00:19:35] And I find that that reflects back into my own work as well. Like just the reminder to have some fun, you know, when you take things seriously, sometimes you can get a bit serious about it. And that's, I think there's a time and a place for that. And I think when we have a hard time kind of adjusting that energetic thermostat, if you will, that's when we tend to get into trouble and out of alignment.
[00:19:56] We were talking just before we went live. I'd love to [00:20:00] ask you about the idea of energetic interplay. Because we were talking about, this ability to see and to be at peace With what is and how things are going, but at the same time, kind of have that, more conflicted feeling, even as you're accepting piece, I would just love for you to just take a second and explain that because I think that that might be what a lot of coaches who are struggling are contending with is like, and then [00:20:30] experiencing the conflict.
[00:20:31] One of the ways I really explain energy interplay is. Considering the multiple truths that you hold at once. If you can see things through multiple perspectives at once and you come from these emotional states that are in many ways paradoxes When you can actually give names to each of those emotional states and then start to give language to not just [00:21:00] the separate states, but the muscles.
[00:21:02] One example is, we're looking at the muscle of advocacy and why advocacy is so central to who I am. I come from that presence, that level six, anybody who knows energy leadership, consciousness of seeing the whole and seeing truly people for who they are and recognizing in the world injustice, recognizing in the world the barriers [00:21:30] that prevent all people from being able to experience the same access to opportunity.
[00:21:36] I'm going to come from the we and I'm going to fight, and when I come from the we and I fight, that's collective advocacy, a 6 2 interplay, and so we can start to look at any trait, and we can wonder. What's the muscle that is practiced through expressing that trait? And that's the interplay. So I encourage people to just look at what sort of energetic states they [00:22:00] occupy.
[00:22:00] What sort of muscles they flex and know that this dynamic nature of who you are as a human Makes perfect sense because you are all energy all at once and yeah, you're
[00:22:11] You know, I am I love this and thank you for explaining that and giving such a cool example of it because I think a lot of people especially coaches Their heart led they see opportunities in the world for things to be way better.
[00:22:23] And then they experienced the challenge, right? And it's like that challenge of people not understanding what you were talking about, the challenge [00:22:30] of people not necessarily prioritizing things at the same level that you would prioritize them. And just kind of that exhaustion that can kind of come into it.
[00:22:38] So I see a lot of coaches. I call it personal development awareness guilt. And it's basically that experience of the interplay of like, Hey, I know my motives are really good. And like, they're in this higher sense, but because of the conflict I'm experiencing or the frustration or the hopelessness that I'm experiencing at the same time, it can be very confusing.
[00:22:58] It's almost like you're driving a car and you've [00:23:00] got your foot on the gas and the brake at the same time.
[00:23:02] Wow, I want to normalize that because sometimes it's not necessarily just energy, but it could be your wiring and it's biology. So just being able to work with your natural state and being able to know that seeing how you respond and how you react to things I'm going to talk a little bit about self discovery and how it can be used in various contexts.
[00:23:23] It allows you to better know yourself. So lean into those moments of misunderstanding self or not understanding self or [00:23:30] recognizing the complexity of self and knowing that totally is giving you the signs to make sense of potentially how you naturally operate. So this is an opening to your self discovery any time you have that resistance arise.
[00:23:44] So good. Before we wrap up, Julia, how can people follow you? Do you have anything that you'd like to share with the audience?
[00:23:51] I do. I am able to be connected to on LinkedIn. So if you go to Julia Armet on LinkedIn, you can find [00:24:00] me. What I'll also say is go to higherplaybook. com to learn more about my company.
[00:24:05] When it comes to working one on one with coaches, I partner with coaches in personalized ways to. Discover their identities and then bring those identities into how they can authentically impact. So if you want to build a business that is really compatible with the way you think and the way you operate, you can see me as a thought partner who can support you in your self discovery and simultaneously [00:24:30] support you in your business development.
[00:24:32] And I'm just a resource that you can see as just somebody who has gone through it myself and deeply understands the importance of honoring your identity in how you work.
[00:24:43] That's so good. And I hope that if you're listening and that it all resonated, do make sure that you follow up with Julia, like right now, like do it right now.
[00:24:53] Make sure that you are subscribed to be able to catch our next show. And if you would be so kind [00:25:00] as to leave us a five star review, it helps people discover this episode. And I know that there are people who absolutely need to hear. But you had to say today, Julia, thank you so much for joining me.
[00:25:12] It's awesome, Amanda. And I really just love how you connect with people in such a way that builds trust and you're so genuine. This is who she is in real life too. Like the energy of Amanda Kaufman. This is why you built such a successful company, Amanda, that so many people [00:25:30] around the country know you.
[00:25:31] And it's really amazing to be able to say, Oh, I know her.
[00:25:35] Well, I feel the same way. You've created something really, really amazing and I cannot wait to see what you do next. All right, everybody. Thank you for joining and we will catch you later. Bye.
