Coaching

Introduction SFiO Financial Contributors supported the filming of several sessions at SOLWorld 2025. While not every session could be recorded, we interviewed many of the presenters whose sessions were not filmed. Below you’ll find their interviews — with video, audio, and in some cases slides or an article — offering a window into the ideas they shared. The conversations were hosted by Annie Bordeleau and John Brooker. We hope you enjoy exploring them. Click on a title to open the interview.

↗ Introduction Elvira Kalmar is a seasoned organisational development coach and facilitator who brings warmth, clarity, and curiosity to every encounter. Her work blends solution-focused coaching with a deep respect for the wisdom already present in teams. Rather than offering quick fixes, she invites leaders and organizations to pause, reflect, and create change from within. Elvira’s calm presence and skillful questions turn ordinary conversations into moments of insight.

↗ Introduction Play is often associated with children, but it holds immense value in the context of adult learning as well. This interactive session explored the concept of purposeful play—how it stimulates brain activity, enhances engagement, and promotes deeper learning across all age groups. You can explore the concept of Solution Play, an innovative approach that combines the core principles of Solution-Focused Practice with experiential learning. The use of play or playful activities in teaching, coaching, or therapy is most effective when it is more than a frivolous addition or something to merely “warm up” the team.

Anton Stellamans reviews *Solution Focused Coaching in Asia* (Hogan, Tuomola, Wignaraja, eds.), a collection of 32 case studies showing how SF coaching is practiced across diverse Asian cultures and contexts.

↗ Roy Marriott In this workshop, filmed at SOLWorld 2025 in Mechelen, Roy Marriott invites us to reflect on what it means to listen in a Solution Focused way. He begins with Michael Ende’s story of Momo, the little girl whose extraordinary gift was not advice or wisdom but her capacity to listen. From this starting point, Roy weaves together story, mindfulness, and practice to explore how listening can be both deeply simple and profoundly transformative.

Book by Elvira Kalmár and review by Marika Tammeaid The theme of Elvira Kalmár’s book is compelling: we are all work (r)evolutionists—if we choose to be. It is not worth waiting for change to happen; it is better to start making it happen.

Ania Smolka & Annie Bordeleau ↗ Introduction Fear and hope are powerful forces that shape how individuals and organisations respond to change. In Solution Focused practice, we often lean into the energy of hope, exploring what’s possible, what’s working, and what we want more of. Yet fear also carries valuable energy. It signals what’s at stake, clarifies what matters most, and prompts us to prepare and protect. The real art lies not in choosing between them, but in holding both as part of the same landscape of human experience.

iCreate - Creativity in Work Life. An individual solution-focused coaching process, enhanced by experiential learning techniques (emerging programme)

On 25 October at 18:00 CET. Wim first presented this session at SOLWorld Vienna. The SFiO InterAction editors received so many positive reviews about this session we asked Wim to repeat it online. In this session you will learn to train your ‘noticing muscle’ to become even more skillful and resourceful in it. We’ll have dialogues, share stories, and explore a world of possibilities ... just by noticing.

What if we coach without the idea of past and future, but only in the present moment? On September 19th, Annie Bordeleau and Monica Martin will guide you into a very different SF experiment.