Boundaries That Build Trust SIG
Boundaries That Build Trust: A Practice Lab for Coaches
Host: Dr. Joan Flora, PCC
Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Time: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Pacific Time
CCEs: TBD
Location: Virtual meeting via Zoom.us. Remember to log in before registering for the event.
***IMPORTANT: After purchasing your ticket, you will be redirected to a Zoom registration form. You must register with Zoom to access the live event.
Replay available to registrants for viewing purposes only (no CCEs)
This is a collaborative experience with ICF Oregon and will be promoted by both chapters.
Description
The Boundaries That Build Trust SIG is a practice-based learning community grounded in boundary tensions coaches encounter in practice. It explores moments of emotional pull, over-responsibility, uncertainty, and relational strain.
This SIG centers common coaching and human scenarios where boundaries are felt before they are clear. Sessions are anchored in situations such as:
👉 Feeling responsible for a client’s emotional regulation
👉 Sensing urgency to fix, rescue, or extend beyond capacity
👉 Navigating client dependency or blurred role expectations
👉 Holding compassion while noticing depletion or discomfort
👉 Staying relational while expressing limits or clarity
Life-Serving Boundaries by Elia Chardé Lowe serves as a shared reference rather than a book study. Boundaries are rarely announced clearly; they’re often felt as shifts in capacity or through emotional pull. This SIG helps coaches notice those signals and experiment with authentic expression in real time.
No prior knowledge of Nonviolent Communication is required. The SIG draws from needs-based awareness as one supportive lens while prioritizing curiosity, experimentation, and developmental practice. Clarity with boundaries grows through noticing and reflection, not perfection.
Who This SIG Is For
This SIG welcomes coaches at all credential levels who are curious about remaining present, relational, and boundaried in emotionally complex coaching conversations. It may be especially meaningful for coaches interested in trauma-aware presence, emotional literacy, needs-informed communication, and sustaining ethical and energetic steadiness in their work. Coaches who notice moments of over-giving, emotional absorption, or the tension between deep connection and sustainability may find this space particularly supportive.
Why Life-Serving Boundaries Matter in Coaching
Life-serving boundaries support:
- Presence without entanglement
- Compassion without self-erasure
- Sustainable service
This SIG invites coaches to practice embodying the same conditions they seek to create for clients — clarity, agency, emotional safety, and trust.
Key Takeaways:
- Recognize early signals of boundary tension in coaching conversations. Participants will learn to notice internal cues such as emotional pull, urgency to fix, over-responsibility, or fatigue that can signal a boundary is needed.
- Strengthen the ability to stay present during emotionally complex moments. Coaches will practice remaining grounded and attentive when clients experience strong emotions or when the conversation creates pressure to rescue or solve.
- Practice expressing boundaries in ways that maintain trust and connection. Participants will experiment with coaching language that communicates clarity and limits while preserving empathy and respect for the client.
- Reinforce ethical coaching practice and clear role boundaries. Coaches will explore situations where coaching may drift toward advising, rescuing, or therapy and practice responses that maintain the integrity of the coaching role.
- Develop sustainable coaching habits that support both the coach and the client. Participants will build greater awareness of their own capacity and learn ways to support clients without overextending themselves.
About Dr. Joan Flora
Dr. Joan Flora, PCC, helps leaders and coaches stay grounded during conflict and emotional intensity without losing themselves. Shaped by early experiences with too-loose boundaries and over-functioning, she now supports professionals in creating life-serving boundaries that sustain connection and self-trust. With four decades in education and coaching, Joan guides leaders to care deeply, remain steady, and lead in ways that honor both self and relationship. Website | LinkedIn
