What if you could share this demanding work — two people, on equal footing, with joint responsibility? That is exactly the idea behind co-leadership. For some it is a model of the future that relieves the burden and improves the quality of leadership; for others it is a construct that only creates extra problems. The IAP podcast Psychologie konkret, produced by the ZHAW, devoted a whole episode to the topic. Host Ellen Gundrum talks with organisational psychologist Dr. Michael Burtscher, who researches leadership and teamwork at the ZHAW, leads an Innosuisse project on how best to staff co-leadership roles — and has worked in a co-leadership arrangement himself. I have summarised the episode’s central ideas and added my own perspective as a coach.

Why co-leadership is becoming more common

The impression that shared leadership is on the rise is not deceptive. Burtscher points to the numbers: an international study from 2023 found that in almost half of the companies surveyed, co-leadership is possible and actually exists. In Switzerland, too, the trend can be traced through hard data — for example in the research on topsharing, the particular variant in which two people share a leadership position on a part-time basis. Over roughly the past ten years there has been a marked increase.

What is striking is who now relies on such models: it is no longer only agile start-ups, but also large traditional companies. Burtscher cites the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) as an example. Shared leadership has well and truly arrived in the mainstream.

A remedy for the skills shortage — not a contradiction

At first glance it sounds paradoxical: we feel the skills shortage, and now two people are sharing a single job? Burtscher turns the argument on its head. When people reach a certain career stage, it often coincides with starting a family. Women and men alike then think harder about how to reconcile work and private life. Where an organisation only knows the strict model of „leadership means one person, working 100 (in practice more like 120) percent”, many well-qualified people are lost to the labour market as leaders — or leave altogether.

Co-leadership is therefore above all an opportunity: an additional model that makes leadership possible beyond the classic full-time solo act, and that keeps talent inside the company. It is a model that makes leadership responsibility compatible with a more self-determined life.

The advantages: flexibility, relief, better decisions

For the people involved, co-leadership brings more flexibility: you can divide up tasks, cover for one another, and not everyone has to sit in every meeting. That makes it easier to arrange working hours and to balance work and family. In knowledge and expert organisations there is a further benefit: if you share leadership, you can keep one foot in your specialist field rather than disappearing entirely into management work.

For the organisation, employer attractiveness rises — and depending on how it is set up, the company gets „two for the price of one”: two people with different competencies and experiences, which can have a positive effect on leadership effectiveness. That shared leadership can improve a team’s performance is also well documented scientifically: a meta-analysis in the Journal of Management shows a positive relationship between „shared leadership” and team performance.

Perhaps the most important advantage is one Burtscher describes from his own experience: relief through shared responsibility. There are issues you can discuss neither with your staff nor with your own superior. Having someone on the same level — a sparring partner with whom you can turn a decision over and back — he found to be a real gain. An additional perspective and more experience often lead to better solutions than you would have found on your own.

No sure thing: why co-leadership can also fail

As appealing as this sounds, co-leadership is neither a cure-all nor something that runs by itself. It can fail too — and the most common reason is a lack of matching on the personal level. Experts speak of interpersonal fit.

An important distinction matters to Burtscher here: matching does not mean putting two people who are as similar as possible together. You need no twins and no clones. It is about a clever mix of similarity and difference — experts distinguish between supplementary (similar) and complementary (contrasting) characteristics:

• Similar the two should be in their values, working style and leadership stance. If one person is highly detail-oriented and the other thinks in broad strokes, or if basic attitudes are far apart, it gets difficult.
• Different their professional skills and experience may — and should — be. That is precisely where a strength lies: more diversity, more angles. Two identical people would squander that potential.

Interestingly, whether a co-leadership consists of two women, two men or a mix hardly matters according to the research — for better or worse. An age gap is no problem either. What really counts is similarity in working style and leadership stance — and open, transparent, reliable communication.

What almost certainly does not work is „two alpha animals”, each convinced they alone hold the truth. Anyone who is not willing to hold back, to let another opinion stand and to make compromises is simply not suited to co-leadership.

What co-leadership needs to succeed

Several success factors can be drawn from the episode:

• A lot of communication and coordination. The effort is regularly underestimated. You feel: „I can do leadership, so can the other person, so we can do it together.” But with two leaders the need for alignment grows. Better to say something twice than to let information get lost — because an incomplete flow of information quickly leads to misunderstandings and conflict.
• A willingness to compromise. You have to be able to let go of your own opinion — for leaders used to deciding alone, often not so easy. Decisions are made together and then also defended together to the outside; half-hearted agreement followed by quiet undermining does not work.
• Appreciation and respect. You have to want the model and be convinced that the other person contributes something you do not bring yourself. Co-leadership imposed from above does not work.
• Clear roles towards the team. A consistent message to the outside is absolutely central. Internally you may — and should — argue, but once the decision is made, both appear as a unit. Otherwise you get what Burtscher wryly calls the „mum-and-dad problem”: staff who ask one leader and, if the answer does not suit them, ask the other a week later. A clear clarification of roles and tasks — who is responsible for what, what the two decide jointly — helps enormously here.

At the organisational level you need a culture that genuinely wants co-leadership (and is not just following the zeitgeist), the acceptance of the level above and of the team (both leaders must be seen as equal) — and the willingness to provide resources. Because coordination costs time. Two co-leaders working 50 percent each are doomed to fail; the necessary exchange requires an overlap. And finally, co-leadership is a development process: hardly any duo works perfectly from the start. Shared support — for instance through coaching in the first year — can make the difference.

Why women above all — and mostly middle management

Two observations from the episode are worth noting. First: co-leadership arrangements currently tend to feature more women — various studies point to roughly two thirds women, one third men. Against the backdrop of better work-life balance, that is plausible. Co-leadership can therefore also be a lever for bringing more women into leadership positions and keeping them there.

Second: topsharing is found above all in middle management. At the very top — think co-CEO — experiences are mixed. In Switzerland, Rivella runs a dual leadership; in the German-speaking world SAP tried a co-CEO constellation years ago, though without resounding success. Burtscher also recalls a historical example: when Apple paired Steve Jobs with Pepsi executive John Sculley in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. The higher you go, the more the qualities in demand can be ones that sit badly with a readiness to share — people who expose themselves strongly. And this too matters to Burtscher: there is no right and no wrong. For some settings, such an exposed personality is exactly right — and then co-leadership may not be the fitting model.

What this means for leaders — and for coaching

One thought from the episode lingers in particular: in the end, co-leadership is relationship work. You spend about as much time with your co-leader as with your own partner. No wonder, then, that it takes interpersonal fit. Co-leadership is often viewed heavily in terms of skills, competencies and framework conditions — all of which matter. But at its core it is a relationship in which psychological factors decide: being able to communicate well, taking on the other person’s perspective, making compromises, sometimes standing behind decisions you would not have made yourself.

This is exactly where I see the connection to my own work. Much of what makes co-leadership succeed can be developed: your own communication, the way you handle control and autonomy, the ability to genuinely let another view stand. These are themes that play a central role in coaching for leaders and executives and in personal and professional coaching anyway — whether you lead as a duo or on your own. Because anyone who practises listening, bringing perspectives together and carrying compromises will, in quite different situations, become a more consensus-oriented, broader-thinking leader. You give up a piece of autonomy — and gain a sparring partner, additional insight and, as Burtscher is convinced, more balanced decisions.

Conclusion

Co-leadership widens the spectrum of how leadership can be practised. It has many advantages — flexibility, relief, work-life balance, often better decisions — and it can even help address the skills shortage and keep more women in leadership. At the same time it is neither a cure-all nor suited to every organisation and every combination of people, and certainly not a sure thing. It needs the right matching, clear communication, resources and the willingness to genuinely share responsibility. Where those conditions are met, shared leadership can be a great gain — for the leaders themselves and for the organisation.

Frequently asked questions about co-leadership

What is co-leadership?
In co-leadership, two people share a leadership position and the responsibility that comes with it on an equal footing. A particular variant is topsharing, in which both share the role part-time. Both models extend the classic picture of „one leader, full-time”.

What are the advantages of shared leadership?
More flexibility and a better balance of work and family, mutual relief through shared responsibility, two perspectives and more experience — and, as a result, often more balanced decisions. For organisations, employer attractiveness rises on top of that.

Why do co-leadership arrangements sometimes fail?
Most often because of a lack of personal fit. When values, working style and leadership stance are too far apart, or when two „alpha animals” are unwilling to hold back and compromise, the model does not work. Underestimated coordination effort and unclear external communication are typical stumbling blocks too.

What should co-leaders watch out for in dealing with the team?
Clear, consistent communication: internally you may debate, but to the outside you appear as a unit. A clear clarification of roles and tasks helps, so that everyone can see who makes which decisions — and which are made jointly.

Source

Psychologie konkret (IAP podcast of the ZHAW): „Co-Leitung: Ist Führungsverantwortung teilbar?”, a conversation between Ellen Gundrum and Dr. Michael Burtscher, published on 5 January 2026. To the episode on Apple Podcasts

More on shared leadership: Job and topsharing in Switzerland (FHNW) · Topsharing — shared leadership (HSLU) · Meta-analysis on shared leadership, Journal of Management

Note: This article is based on a conversation made available by the podcast. The transcript is protected by copyright and has deliberately not been reproduced verbatim here, but paraphrased and edited journalistically.

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Sometimes everyday life leaves little room to maneuver: your calendar is full, your commute is long, or you simply don’t live in Vienna. In-person coaching can then be hard to arrange — but that doesn’t have to be an obstacle. As an experienced life and business coach, I offer professional Online Coaching Vienna that fits flexibly into your everyday life without losing depth or effectiveness.

Who Is Online Coaching Suitable For?

Online coaching isn’t a stopgap solution — it’s a distinct, proven form of collaboration. It’s especially well suited for people who travel a lot for work and don’t have a fixed location where they can regularly attend appointments. It’s equally beneficial for people who live outside Vienna but still want to work with a coach who’s a good fit for them. Anyone who is a parent and has to organize appointments around childcare and family life also finds significantly more flexibility in the online setting. And not least, many people appreciate being able to have the conversation in their own, familiar environment — which can foster openness and focus.

Advantages of Online Coaching

Flexibility: You don’t need to plan any travel time. A quiet room and a stable internet connection are enough. This makes it much easier to fit regular sessions into everyday life — and consistency is a key factor in the success of a coaching process.

Continuity: A business trip, vacation, or change of address doesn’t have to interrupt the process. Online coaching makes it possible to keep the thread going, even when external circumstances change.

Low-threshold entry point: Especially for people who are coming into contact with coaching for the first time, the online setting can be a comfortable way to take that first step — without much organizational effort.

Online Coaching vs. In-Person Coaching — An Honest Comparison

In-person sessions have their own value. Direct presence, non-verbal communication, and the shared atmosphere in the room can make a difference in certain situations. Anyone who has the choice shouldn’t underestimate this aspect.

At the same time, practice shows: online coaching is, in the majority of cases, just as effective as in-person coaching. What matters isn’t the medium, but the quality of the relationship between coach and client, the clarity of the goals, and the willingness to reflect. These factors can be fully realized over a screen or phone as well.

It’s important, however, to know the limits of coaching: online coaching does not replace psychotherapeutic treatment. If you notice that your issues run deeper and require professional therapeutic support, I recommend reaching out to the appropriate professionals. You can find a first overview of contact points at Psychotherapie.at.

How an Online Coaching Session Works

Getting started is simple: you contact me by email and briefly describe your concern. Together we find a suitable appointment. The session then takes place by phone or by video call (Zoom, Teams, or similar) — depending on your preference. Online coaching can be used both as a standalone process and as a complement to ongoing in-person coaching, for example when an in-person appointment isn’t possible.

If you’d like to learn more about the focus of my work, you can find further information at Life Coaching Vienna.

Family Constellation in One-on-One Sessions — Also Available Online

In addition to classic coaching, I also offer family constellations in one-on-one sessions online — using specialized software that makes it possible to visually represent positions and relationships within the system, without any physical presence required. This allows the effect of this method to be used in the online setting as well. You can find out more at Family Constellation Vienna.

Payment

The agreed coaching fee is paid by bank transfer prior to the session. Details will be provided when scheduling your appointment.

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Requirement 1: The Ability to Love Begins With Yourself

Anyone asking what a happy partnership requires sooner or later runs into an uncomfortable truth. Loving another person requires that you know yourself and largely accept who you are. That doesn’t mean being completely at peace with yourself — that’s a lifelong process. It means not expecting a partner to fill the gaps you feel within yourself.

People who barely like themselves often look for validation in relationships instead of real connection. This creates a pattern that keeps repeating: everything feels intense and fulfilling at first, until the validation fades — and then the conflict begins. Self-love is not self-indulgence. It is the foundation that allows you to truly listen to someone, set boundaries, and allow real closeness.

In life coaching, I regularly work with people who want to get to know themselves better. This is often the first time it becomes truly clear what they are actually looking for in a relationship — and just as often, what has unconsciously kept attracting them again and again. This step is frequently the most important one before committing seriously to someone.

Requirement 2: Letting Go of the Perfect Partner

The idea of a perfect person who matches you in every way is tempting. At the same time, it is one of the most common reasons relationships fail before they’ve really begun. Either you keep searching for the ideal image for so long that real, well-matched people go unnoticed — or you start a relationship and remain permanently disappointed because the other person doesn’t match the picture in your head.

No one will be a perfect match for you. Two people always bring different backgrounds, habits, and quirks into a relationship. That isn’t a weakness of a relationship — it’s its starting point. What counts isn’t perfection but both partners’ willingness to grow together. That’s what turns differences into an asset instead of a problem.

Research on couple dynamics — including work backed by professional bodies such as AWMF, Germany’s umbrella organization for medical societies — paints a clear picture. Stable long-term relationships rely less on similarity than on the shared ability to deal with differences. In coaching, it helps to question your own ideal image, distinguishing what really matters from what is simply a projection of old wishes.

Requirement 3: Shared Values, Visions, and Goals

Feelings come and go. What carries a partnership over the long term is a shared direction. That doesn’t mean you have to think alike about everything. But on central life questions — family, finances, where to live, values in how you treat each other — there needs to be at least a basic alignment. Where that’s missing, genuine respect for the other person’s position matters at the very least.

Many couples never openly clarify these questions. You fall in love, move in together — and years later realize you have completely different ideas about life. That’s not a stroke of bad luck, it’s avoidable. Anyone who communicates clearly, early in a relationship, about what really matters to them builds a more solid foundation. That matters more than romantic feelings alone — and it matters even at the stage of choosing a partner.

In coaching, I support people in putting their own values and life goals into words — often consciously for the first time. This process doesn’t just change who someone chooses as a partner. It also changes how they communicate and resolve conflict within an existing relationship.

What Does This Mean for You, Concretely?

The three requirements for a happy partnership can be summed up in simple questions:

• Do I know myself well enough to form a real connection?
• Am I willing to love a real person — with all their imperfections?
• Do I know which values and goals genuinely matter to me in life?

If you don’t have a clear answer to one or more of these questions, that’s not a failure. It’s a starting point. Relationship work doesn’t begin only once something goes wrong. It begins with taking yourself seriously — and being willing to look honestly at what you find.

This is exactly where coaching can be a powerful companion — not as an advisor with ready-made answers. It asks the right questions and supports you in looking honestly at yourself. Anyone willing to truly face themselves, their ideal images, and their own values lays a foundation — one that doesn’t just begin, but lasts.

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1. Set priorities: To cope with stress, sort your tasks by importance and urgency. Focus on what matters and don’t let yourself get distracted by less important tasks.
2. Learn to say “no”: A key to handling stress is learning to decline tasks that exceed your capacity. This protects you from becoming overloaded.
3. Take regular breaks: To cope with stress, breaks are essential. Short pauses during the workday help refresh the mind and reduce stress.
4. Build in movement: Physical activity is an effective way to handle stress. Use every opportunity to move in order to release mental and physical tension.
5. Practice mindfulness: Coping with stress through mindfulness or meditation helps you center yourself and reduce stress. Even a few minutes a day can have a positive effect.
6. Eat a balanced diet: A healthy diet supports your wellbeing and helps you cope with stress better.
7. Get enough sleep: To be able to handle stress, sufficient sleep is essential. It provides recovery and prepares you for new challenges.

Managing Work Stress in Vienna — When Is Professional Support Worthwhile?

With these steps, you can start managing your work-related stress and building a healthier working life.

Are you ready to actively deal with your stress and find more balance in your working life?

Take the opportunity to make use of professional coaching. It’s the first step not only toward managing your stress, but also toward gaining new perspectives for a more fulfilling working life. A coach can help you identify your individual challenges and develop effective strategies tailored specifically to your needs.

Take charge of your professional wellbeing now!

Get in touch with me for a no-obligation initial conversation to find out how coaching can help you handle stress better and turn your work back into something you enjoy. It’s time to put yourself and your wellbeing first. We look forward to accompanying you on your path toward a less stressful, happier working life.

When Professional Coaching Really Helps With Work-Related Stress

Work-related stress is part of everyday life for many people. Yet it’s often ignored for too long. When your own strategies no longer work, professional support makes sense. Because ongoing stress harms health and performance in the long run. Sleep problems are a clear warning sign. In addition, personal life often suffers under sustained work pressure. Still, many people hesitate to seek help in time. That’s why it’s important to take early signs seriously. On top of that, social relationships often suffer significantly under chronic stress. So professional coaching is especially worthwhile exactly when your own resources are exhausted.

Stress and resilience are closely linked: the more resilient you are, the better you can absorb pressure without it wearing you down. Recovery deserves just as much attention as performance — building in real downtime is often what makes the difference between coping and burning out.

How Coaching Concretely Supports Stress Management

Business Coaching in Vienna offers a valuable outside perspective on stressful situations. Because patterns are often easier to recognize from the outside. A coach also helps make unconscious behaviors visible. Beyond that, new, individual strategies are developed together. The coaching methods used are tailored specifically to each individual case. That said, real change takes time and commitment. Still, first signs of progress often show up after just a few sessions. Because everyone reacts to stress differently, an individual approach is essential. That’s also why Gesundheit.gv.at (Austrian Health Portal) recommends professional support for chronic stress.

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Typical Coaching Topics at Work: What People Bring to Me

The concerns that come up in professional coaching can be roughly divided into three groups.

The first involves everyday strain: unclear priorities, a calendar dictated from outside, the feeling of having to be constantly available. This is rarely about a lack of time-management knowledge — most people already know the common methods. The more interesting question is why they still aren’t applied.

The second group centers on career transitions. A promotion brings more responsibility than expected. A job change is long overdue but never gets tackled. Or there’s simply a vague feeling of having outgrown the current role. The article Career Reorientation: Change Through Coaching describes in more detail how such a reorientation can be approached step by step.

The third group involves interpersonal dynamics in the workplace: unresolved conflicts with colleagues, leadership questions, the struggle for one’s own position within a structure that’s currently changing. Systemic issues like tension within a team or stalled projects also belong here.

When the Job Costs More Energy Than It Gives — Permanently

One special case deserves particular attention: when work-related strain no longer shows up occasionally, but becomes a permanent state. Sleep problems, declining concentration, the feeling of barely sensing yourself anymore — these signs are often present long before they’re taken seriously as more than “normal stress.” Recognizing early that work-related stress is turning into a real problem — and knowing what concretely helps — makes all the difference between a quiet slide into burnout and a timely course correction.

How a Coaching Process Unfolds in a Professional Context

It starts with an initial conversation to clarify concerns and goals — without predetermining what the outcome should be. Building on that, an individual roadmap takes shape, oriented around the specific professional situation rather than a standard template.

Sessions take place in Vienna or online, usually every two to four weeks. Between appointments, there’s room to try out insights in everyday work rather than just discuss them. What coaching can fundamentally achieve and where its limits lie is explained in more detail in How Coaching Can Help — And When It’s the Right Tool — worth reading as a starting point if the method itself is still unclear.

Progress is regularly reflected on together, not just at the end. That keeps the process transparent and keeps responsibility where it belongs: with the person actually living the change.

When Taking the Step Into Coaching Really Pays Off

Business coaching isn’t a tool only for crises. People who are already successful at work often use it precisely to surface blind spots — patterns that are easier to see from the outside than from within.

A good moment is usually earlier than you’d think. That’s true for transition phases like promotions, job changes, or team changes. It’s just as true for chronic, slowly building pressure that no longer resolves on its own. Those who wait until nothing works anymore have usually made the path there unnecessarily hard for themselves.

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Topics that come up in student coaching are often:

• I’m generally good at school, it just doesn’t work out in math
• I can concentrate well at home, but I have a complete blackout during tests
• I can’t manage to study regularly
• I get distracted far too easily when doing homework
• I simply can’t remember certain vocabulary
• I just can’t motivate myself to do homework

What Coaching for Students in Vienna Actually Means

Student coaching in Vienna is not a substitute for tutoring, and it’s not a therapeutic offering. It’s a targeted process that picks up where tutoring stops working: at the inner patterns that block performance. A student who struggles in math despite mastering the fundamentals usually doesn’t have a knowledge problem. They have a problem with believing in their own ability, with their inner attitude toward the subject, or with how they handle pressure and expectations.

In Vienna, students also face a specific environment: a wide range of school options, high performance pressure in secondary schools, and a social environment shaped by digital media that’s present around the clock. These factors intensify concentration problems, procrastination, and test anxiety. Information on how the Austrian education system is structured and what’s expected of students is available at Bildung.gv.at (Austrian Ministry of Education).

Student coaching addresses exactly these points. It’s about working together to find out what’s behind a block, which beliefs are standing in the way, and what concrete changes in thinking and behavior could look like. The result isn’t just better academic performance, but a student who regains trust in themselves.

How NLP Methods Help With Learning Blocks

NLP, or Neuro-Linguistic Programming, works with the way people process information, regulate inner states, and respond to situations. NLP methods are especially effective for students who keep falling into the same traps, because they address the roots of blocks directly.

How learning fundamentally works in the brain, and why knowledge doesn’t automatically translate into new behavior, is explained in the article Understanding Learning: How Knowledge, Skills, and New Behaviours Develop.

A classic example: a student prepares well, then sits down for a test and has a complete blackout. That’s not a knowledge problem. It’s a state problem. The inner state during the exam differs significantly from the state while studying at home. NLP techniques help make resourceful states consciously accessible and available on demand in stressful situations.

Specific NLP methods used in student coaching include:

• Anchoring techniques: Positive learning states are anchored and can be consciously activated when needed, for example before a test.
• Reframing: Negative beliefs like “I’m just bad at math” are reassessed and turned into constructive perspectives.
• Submodalities: Students learn how to weaken uncomfortable imagery and strengthen motivating mental images.
• Strategy modeling: Successful learning strategies are made conscious and transferred to problem areas.
• Timeline work: Past experiences that shaped negative beliefs are resolved and reintegrated.

These methods are no magic bullet, but they’re powerful tools when applied professionally. As an NLP Master Practitioner, Tobias Judmaier combines these techniques with a clear coaching framework tailored to each student’s individual situation.

The Parent’s Perspective: When Does Coaching Make Sense?

Many parents reach a point where tutoring no longer brings improvement, homework leads to daily arguments, and the child seems increasingly frustrated or demotivated. That’s often the moment coaching enters the conversation. But when exactly does it really make sense?

Coaching makes sense when:

• Your child is genuinely competent in the subject but falls apart under exam pressure
• Motivation and self-organization don’t improve despite repeated conversations
• Your child describes themselves as “too dumb” for a particular subject
• Distraction and procrastination dominate everyday life
• School problems are starting to affect self-esteem
• The relationship between parent and child is suffering under academic pressure

Coaching is not a sign of weakness and not a last resort. It’s a proactive step that teaches your child to deal constructively with themselves and their challenges.

More on the methods used in coaching: Methods in Coaching | Life Coaching in Vienna

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If you’re looking for coaching topics for private life in Vienna, you’re in the right place. Coaching is valuable support for working through problems. It helps you tackle personal change and improve relationships. Your active participation is essential. The coach guides you through conversations and offers targeted exercises. The goal is to help you discover your own strengths — and then put them to use.

Coaching Topics for Private Life in Vienna — Why Outside Support Helps

Many people carry their struggles alone for a long time. That’s understandable, but rarely helpful. Because when you’re stuck in the middle of a problem, you rarely see the way out. This is exactly where Life Coaching in Vienna comes in. An outside coach brings distance. And distance creates clarity.

In private life, typical coaching topics are often especially sensitive. They involve feelings, relationships, and personal values. These aren’t things you simply discuss with colleagues or friends. Often the safe space is missing. Or the necessary neutrality. A coach offers both.

Seeking outside support doesn’t mean you haven’t earned help on your own. It means you’re ready to change something. That’s a strength. Because change always begins with an honest look at yourself. That look is easier when someone is there with you — someone who listens without judging. Who asks without pushing.

If you’re unsure whether coaching is right for you, it’s also worth looking at Psychotherapie.at (Austrian resource on psychotherapy). It explains the distinction between coaching and psychotherapy. Both approaches have their place. And sometimes they complement each other.

Typical Coaching Topics in Private Life

Coaching can address a wide range of topics. Some typical concerns people seek support for in coaching include:

• Unexplained lack of energy
• Being overwhelmed at work and feeling like you’re losing yourself
• Uncertainty when facing difficult decisions
• Difficulty letting go of habits or situations
• Job dissatisfaction and the desire for more meaningful work
• Difficulty setting boundaries and saying no
• The desire for a healthier lifestyle and weight management

Coaching offers the opportunity to work through these and many other personal challenges. And it supports you in reaching your goals.

Specifically on the topic of changing habits, it’s worth taking a closer look: the article Understanding Motivation: Why We Start – and Why We Stop explains why good intentions often fail and what actually helps you stick with new habits.

Typical Coaching Topics in Private Life — What’s Really Behind Them

There’s often more behind these topics than meets the eye. Lack of energy is rarely just tiredness. It’s often a signal. A sign that something isn’t right. Maybe meaning is missing. Maybe the connection to yourself is missing.

Relationship issues also play a major role in private coaching — whether in a partnership, within the family, or among friends. Conflicts don’t simply arise out of nowhere. Behind them are unmet needs and unspoken expectations. In coaching, you learn to recognize these — and to communicate them clearly.

When it comes to partnership, Couples Therapy can also be a meaningful step. Sometimes both are needed: individual coaching and couples support. Because real change always begins within each person — but it affects everyone involved.

For more on what strains or strengthens romantic relationships, read When Love Tips Over: What a New Study Reveals About the End of Relationships and Working Out Together as a Couple: What the Science Says.

Typical coaching topics in private life can’t be boxed into a single category. Every person is different. Every situation is different. That’s why there’s no one-size-fits-all path in coaching — only one that fits you.

Ready for positive change? If any of this resonates with you and you’re looking for support with these or similar issues, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Together, we can work on solutions to help you reach your personal goals. I look forward to hearing from you!

When Does Coaching Make Sense in Private Life?

Some life situations demand more from us than others. Relationship problems are among the most common reasons people seek coaching, because conflict in a partnership weighs heavily on your whole life. In addition, family conflicts can simmer unresolved for years. That’s why professional support is often worthwhile earlier than you’d think. Then there’s the question of personal meaning in life. Many people eventually ask themselves: am I really living my life? Yet the structured space for honest self-reflection is often missing. Important life decisions can also stand in the way like walls. Because too many options can be paralyzing, clear direction is needed. Coaching thus creates clarity in situations that seem hopeless. However, it’s no substitute for therapeutic support with mental illness. Still, it helps considerably with everyday but burdensome life questions. Beyond that, coaching also supports you through phases of personal reorientation. Learn more about Life Coaching in Vienna and the possibilities available to you.

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Heraclitus formulated this about 2,500 years ago. Since then, much has changed — and yet people still struggle with exactly this same fact. Not because they don’t know better. But because knowing and experiencing are two entirely different things.

Why Change Feels So Hard — And Why That’s Completely Normal

The human brain is no friend of the unknown. It prefers the familiar, even when the familiar has long stopped working. This mechanism made evolutionary sense: whoever avoided the unfamiliar risked their life. Today, this pattern rarely costs a life — but it often costs quality of life.

Psychologically, our system reacts to change much like it reacts to threat. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for weighing options rationally, loses influence the moment uncertainty enters the picture. The result: we cling to the familiar, sabotage our own decisions, and procrastinate. Not out of weakness. Out of neurobiology.

Then there’s identity. Who am I if I no longer do what I’ve done for years? Who am I if this relationship ends, this job disappears, this life plan turns out to no longer hold up? Change cuts deep into our sense of self. That’s not dramatic — but it should be taken seriously.

Forced Change vs. Chosen Change

It makes a significant difference whether change comes from outside or from within. A layoff, a breakup, a move brought on by external circumstances — these are cuts you couldn’t prepare for. The ground disappears beneath your feet without warning.

Chosen change, on the other hand, is the opposite of easy. Because here, you carry the responsibility yourself. You made the decision — and now you have to live with the consequences. That’s often harder than it sounds. The freedom to decide also means the burden of the decision.

Both forms have one thing in common: they mark a transition. A space in between, where the old no longer applies and the new doesn’t yet hold. This in-between space is uncomfortable. But it’s also where real development begins.

What Coaching Actually Does for Change

Change coaching in Vienna — it sounds like a buzzword. But behind it is a concrete process. Coaching isn’t about giving advice or prescribing solutions. It’s about creating clarity — about your own values, your blockages, and what you truly want, beyond other people’s expectations.

One example: someone has been considering changing jobs for years. Rationally, the decision has long been made. And yet nothing happens. In coaching, it often turns out that behind the paralysis isn’t laziness, but fear — of failure, of others’ judgment, of one’s own inadequacy. Being able to name this fear is the first step toward no longer letting it steer you.

Another example: a relationship ends. The grief is real. At the same time, the question arises: What do I want now? Not what should I want — but what do I actually want. Coaching creates a space where these questions can be asked without judgment.

Or: a career reorientation after turning fifty. Often met with a smile from society, yet urgently needed on the inside. Here, coaching helps recalibrate your own compass — without following other people’s expectations.

Anyone seeking professional support for deep psychological strain caused by change can also find further information from the Austrian Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy — as an additional resource alongside coaching.

For more on the concrete content and process of a coaching journey, see Life Coaching in Vienna.

For a detailed overview of how a coaching process generally unfolds and when it’s the right approach, see the article How Coaching Can Help — And When It’s the Right Tool.

When Change Turns Into Conflict — The Role of Mediation

Not every change is an internal process. Sometimes friction arises between people: in companies, when structures shift and roles become unclear. In families, when an inheritance needs to be settled or life paths grow apart. In partnerships, when one person wants to grow and the other experiences that as a threat.

Mediation is not an arbitration tribunal. It’s a structured process in which everyone involved gets to speak — without anyone having to win or lose. The goal isn’t agreement at any cost, but a workable solution for everyone.

In change-related conflicts, mediation helps especially when the substantive question (What should change?) has long been overshadowed by hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and entrenched positions. What’s needed here is someone who holds the frame — not someone who judges, but someone who structures.

Accepting Change — Not Forcing It

Heraclitus was right. But acceptance is not a passive act. It means actively swimming with the current — not against it, but not blindly with it either. Change doesn’t succeed through willpower alone, but through awareness, support, and courage.

If you’re currently in the middle of such a transition — professionally, personally, or in a relationship — and notice that you can’t move forward alone: that’s not a sign of weakness. It’s the moment to reach out for support.

Der Beitrag “The Only Constant in the Universe Is Change,” Heraclitus Already Said erschien zuerst auf Tobias Judmaier.

Der Beitrag Career Reorientation: Change Through Coaching erschien zuerst auf Tobias Judmaier.

Der Beitrag Career Choice Coaching Vienna: The Legend of the Perfect Résumé erschien zuerst auf Tobias Judmaier.