Tune into Dina's Fireside Chats
You’re not alone! Tune in and get inspired by other people’s stories, journeys, and insights as you carve out your own path and write your own story.
Imagine you are sitting around a campfire, enjoying an intimate conversation with…
… someone you always wanted to chat with,
… someone who treaded the path you seek to take,
… someone who lived, and failed, yet holds no regrets,
… someone who dared, risked, lost big, and gained big,
… someone who is just like you and I – both extraordinary and terribly flawed, with a story worth listening to, to inspire, to teach, to reflect.
On this page you find:
Coaching Beyond Tools
A podcast hosted on behalf the Association for Coaching
Episode 5: From fear to love in coaching and supervision with Robin Shohet
Everyone knows that the opposite of Love is Hate… or is it?
What if the opposite of Love was Fear… ?
This is precisely what Robin Shohet and I explored in this final podcast episode.
Robin’s work in the area of supervision is beyond remarkable. And his views and perspectives on coaching and supervision are incredibly deep, refreshing, and thought-provoking.
In this fifth and final episode of the Association for Coaching (AC)‘s podcast series “Coaching Beyond Tools”, Robin and I continue exploring the place of love in coaching, and how fear gets in the way…
I have enjoyed every single conversation with every one of my wonderful guests throughout this series, but I have to admit that my conversation with Robin was the one that probably impacted me the most on a personal level. It’ll become clear how that is, when you tune in.
We spoke about the prisons that coaching and therapy create, maintain, and keep clients in. A confronting thought…
We spoke about fear and judgement vs. curiosity and love, and how many fears we hold in coaching…
We spoke about finite and infinite games, and how this can play out within a coaching relationship.
For episode resources and guest bios, click here
👉🏽 LISTEN NOW
Episode 4: Can love transform coaching and leadership with Helena Clayton
“What’s Love got to do with it?!?”
Can/should there be a place for love in leadership and coaching? This is precisely what Helena Clayton and I dive into in this week’s podcast episode!
I discovered Helena’s work around “Leading with Love” through a mutual friend – Stuart Hillston. Thank you Stuart! ☺️ Her research around love, and subsequent work with leaders around leading from a place of love intrigued me. Love is at the heart of my coaching practice and values, so of course I wanted to learn more. What I did not know is that, Helena and I share many additional passions, including wisdom, and caring for the dying–but that’s for another episode…
In this fourth episode of the Association for Coaching (AC)‘s podcast series “Coaching Beyond Tools”, Helena and I explore what it would look like if we led and coached from a place of love.
We spoke about her personal definition of love – which by the way led to a separate podcast episode, which you can listen to on Helena’s own podcast channel.
I feel I want to let you discover this episode without saying too much about it. But I will share four of my key take-aways with you:
1) I can’t be hurried and loving at the same time…
2) Use of self as one possible expression of love within the coaching relationship… (check out my first episode above with John Leary-Joyce to find out more about Use of self as a coach)
3) Neutrality in coaching is overrated…
4) Healing is a collective endeavour…
For episode resources and guest bio, click here
👉🏽 LISTEN NOW
Episode 3: The spiritual function of coaching with Aboodi Shabi
Can there be a spiritual function to coaching?
Aboodi Shabi and I tackled this question in this week’s podcast conversation.
I discovered Aboodi’s coaching philosophy and wonderful body of work through an interview he gave the Association for Coaching (AC) back in 2015. In it, he said that coaching “has a spiritual function – in a world where loneliness has reached epidemic proportions”. And I found this thought to be both intriguing and resonant for me. So, I was delighted to finally be able to ask him all about it, and how his thinking may have evolved since then.
In this third episode of the Association for Coaching (AC)‘s podcast series “Coaching Beyond Tools”, Aboodi and I explore the spiritual function of coaching, which took us to many unexpected turns, including: (Anti-)capitalism, Bob Dylan’s song “Visions of Johanna”, strandedness, joy, meaning, and mortality…
We spoke about the need to slow down, go deeper, pause, and understand our why.
We spoke about how our scars make us better coaches… and so much more…
For episode resources and guest bio, click here
👉🏽 LISTEN NOW
Episode 2: Intuition & inner wisdom with Maria Iliffe-Wood
I always wondered where Maria Iliffe-Wood goes whenever she has a long pause in an interview or during a coaching session…. so I asked her during our conversation.
“I look to see what the heart is saying”.
If you don’t know Maria Iliffe-Wood yet – I urge you to look her up. She is a wonderful coach, author, and publisher. Her sensitivity, calm, and ability to reflect deeply and express herself with heart are just a few of the things I admire about her.
In this second episode of the “Coaching Beyond Tools” series, Maria and I explore intuition and inner wisdom – why they matter, how they show up for her, and how we can cultivate them as coaches.
We spoke of guiding hands, that subtle noticing, listening – even before the coachee is in the room, groundedness, the need for an “inward outward” look (it’ll make sense when you listen to the episode).
We also spoke about the importance of knowing ourself as coaches, and reflected on the many ways we can do so. And so much more…
Intuition and inner wisdom are one of those things that we can’t fully grasp at an intellectual level – we have to enter in contact with them, experience them, allow ourselves to lean into them, and cultivate them through that continuous “inward outward” groundedness… and it’s a life-long practice!
For episode resources and guest bio, click here
👉🏽 LISTEN NOW
Episode 1: Use of self with John Leary-Joye
Risking being alive… This is one of my many take-aways from my podcast conversation with the one-and-only John Leary-Joyce.
I have known John as my Gestalt coaching trainer, mentor, coach, supervisor, and a wonderfully generous human being. To me, he is the embodiment of Gestalt – be it in his work, his trainings, his supervision groups, or just how he shows up. And he has such a gift and ease to simplify complex concepts in a way that makes Gestalt coaching accessible to everyone. If you have a chance to train with him, I can only recommend it!
In this first episode of the “Coaching Beyond Tools” series, John and I explore “use of self” – a concept that is explicitly highlighted in the AC’s Competency Framework for Coaches.
We explored how use of self may show up in a coaching relationship to expand the client’s sense of awareness. We spoke about the paradox of change, the three types of resonances: perceptual, cognitive, and somatic, clean language and “polluting” the space, what’s my stuff? and what’s my client’s stuff? and so much more…
At the end of the episode, John invites you to try a very simple practice of use of self, which you can start right away!
For episode resources and guest bio, click here
👉🏽 LISTEN NOW
Interview on LinkedIn Live with Maxine Bell
Listen to my interview with AC Podcast Manager, Maxine Bell, to find out more about this series ansd what it’s all about.
Coaching Beyond Tools is a topic that is very close to my heart!
It is easy to lose ourselves as coaches in the fascinating world of coaching models, techniques, acronyms and tools, and forget that the most impactful, significant, and possibly “the” single-most important factor of all is you, the coach. In this series, I invite coaches to reconsider some of the prevailing thinking around what “good coaching” looks like, and to dare to show up within the coaching relationship – beyond tools..
Interviews
On Being a Transition Coach–Interview with Roger Fielding, MCC
December 2024, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by my University of Cambridge coaching tutor, MCC coach, and mentor, Roger Fielding, on being a transition coach.
It was a nice opportunity to reflect on my coaching practice, two years after its launch, and on how transitions have shaped my own life & why I’m probably so passionate about supporting others in that space.
On Becoming a Coach–Interview with the Association for Coaching
August 2023, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by the very talented Agni Skafidas on behalf of the Association for Coaching (AC) on becoming a coach.
If you are looking to become a coach, or are in some kind of a career transition of your own, I hope this interview can support you as you try to find your own answers. And if I can be of service to you, or if you’d like to learn more about my journey, please do reach out! I’m only an e-mail away.
👉🏽 You can access the audio podcast and transcript on my blog!
2024 in review – Interview with the Association for Coaching
The Association for Coaching (AC) ran a special end-of-year episode featuring all five hosts from their 2024 podcast series: MAXINE BELL, Rob Lawrence, Dina Sabry Fivaz, Maisie Barlow, Simone Sweeney. We shared our journeys, the challenges we faced, and the impact of stepping outside our comfort zones to host a podcast for the first time and follow our passions.
Throughout these conversations, one thing became clear: a heart-centered approach is essential for understanding ourselves and finding purpose in a fast-changing world. This honest and moving discussion showcases the power of hope, resilience, and the pursuit of goodness. If you’re searching for inspiration, connection, or insight into how transformative conversations can shape your life, this episode is for you.
For episode resources and guest bios, click here
👉🏽 LISTEN NOW
Singer – Songwriter
I always loved to sing, but only to myself or in the shower…
It was only when I turned 44 that I decided to join a gospel choir, Let’s GOspel, and take singing lessons. Then, one day, I was asked if I could take over a small solo part as our lead choir singer was sick. Fast forward 5 years, I now regularly support my wonderful Let’s GOspel choir with solo performances. I’ve joined a second choir – the Swiss Gospel Singers, performing with Chris de Burgh. And I started writing my own songs after I joined the former rock band, Elves Attack.
You can find a selection of my singing performances on my YouTube channel.
About your host
Dina Sabry Fivaz is dedicated to supporting her clients through life’s transitions, whether professional or personal, because she believes these transitions hold the seed of some of the most meaningful shifts we can make in our lives. And it’s a journey we are not meant to take alone.
Dina is a certified coach from the University of Cambridge, an advanced Gestalt coaching practitioner, a Gallup-certified strengths coach, and the founder of Agape Heart & Soul.
Recognized as one of Basel’s top coaches in 2024, she draws on her rich life experience, cultural heritage, a broad range of studies, and diverse career path across functions & industries, including an almost 25-year career in Human Resources. And she places it all at the service of her clients.
Outside of coaching, Dina is also a wife, mother, daughter, sister, writer, singer, volunteer, and podcaster.
Transitions are the chrysalis from which new life can form… & you don’t need to go through them on your own
Coaching people in transition or in search of meaning is a true passion of mine, because I know that, when we choose to go through that uncomfortable, at times painful, space – that’s when we make the most meaningful shifts in our lives. And it’s a journey we are not meant to take alone. Dina