9/29/2025

This summer, I dedicated time to reading and researching how we, as coaches, can truly support the whole person particularly through the lens of faith, values, and evoking awareness. We often talk about “coaching the whole person,” but what does that really mean in practice? My exploration led me to dive deeper, and what began as study and reflection has now grown into something like a research blog a space to share insights, questions, and discoveries along the way.

For many clients, faith and spirituality are not separate compartments of their lives they are woven into how they make meaning, how they lead, and how they navigate challenges. Yet, research shows that employees and leaders alike often feel they must silence or compartmentalize this essential part of who they are.

The Religion at Work Report (2023) revealed that a large percentage of employees feel unable to express their religious identity in the workplace. And scholars like Bryan Dik, Denise Daniels, and Alexandra Alayan (2024) have noted the gap between theory and practice when it comes to integrating spirituality into organizational life. We know this matters. The question is: how do we, as coaches, respond?

The “Faith at Work” Movement

David W. Miller, in his book God at Work (2007), traces the history of the faith-at-work movement and offers a helpful framework called the Four E’s:

•Ethics – Faith guiding moral decision-making.

•Experience – Finding meaning and calling in work.

•Expression – The ability to authentically express faith identity.

•Enrichment – Drawing strength from faith communities outside work.

This framework reminds us that faith can shape work in diverse ways, not just in overt expression. For some, it shows up in values-based leadership. For others, it’s about purpose, resilience, or community.

Why We Compartmentalize

So why do so many people separate faith from work?

•Fear of bias or conflict: Leaders and employees alike worry that being open about faith may cause misunderstanding or exclusion.

•Uncertainty of boundaries: Without clear models, many hesitate, afraid of overstepping into proselytizing.

•Cultural norms: In Western contexts especially, a long history of dividing the “sacred” from the “secular” has trained us to keep faith private.

Yet when we coach people to wholeness, these divisions create fragmentation. Clients long for integration.

Coaching the Whole Person

As coaches, we have a unique opportunity. We don’t prescribe beliefs. We don’t lead clients toward our own conclusions. But we do hold space for what matters most to them and for many, that includes faith.

The ICF Core Competencies give us powerful anchors for this work:

•Cultivates Trust and Safety help clients feel secure in naming what they truly value.

•Maintains Presence keeps us grounded even when topics feel personal or sensitive.

•Evokes Awareness allows us to ask the questions that expand possibilities without imposing answers.

By using these competencies, coaches can create a coaching experience that is inclusive, ethical, and transformative no matter what faith or worldview a client brings.

Looking Ahead

I believe the future of coaching includes a richer conversation about whole-person coaching. That means embracing clients’ values, identities, and faith as integral to their growth journeys.

This isn’t about pushing a particular worldview. It’s about honoring the fullness of human experience and helping leaders bring their authentic selves into every space including work.

As Fry’s Spiritual Leadership Theory reminds us, hope, vision, and altruistic love are not abstract ideals. They are real resources leaders and coaches can tap into to foster trust and transformation. And as Yosi Amram’s research on spiritual intelligence shows, these qualities can make leaders more effective and whole.

Coaching the whole person is not just a slogan. It is an invitation. An invitation to move past fragmentation, to acknowledge that faith and values matter, and to courageously evoke awareness around the deepest sources of meaning in our clients’ lives.

This is the work that excites me and it’s the work I believe will shape the future of coaching. I look forward to expanding upon this subject.

This is the work that energizes me, and I am convinced it represents an important frontier in the future of coaching. I look forward to deepening this exploration and sharing insights that can transform how we coach the whole person.