Coaching Labs

Practical, ICF-accredited workshops for coaches who know the most important work happens beneath the surface.
Get tickets

Overview

Good coaching conversations rarely stay on the surface. Neither do these sessions.

Coaching Labs are short, practical workshops for coaches who want to keep developing their thinking and practice beyond formal training. Each session takes a specific concept, tool or approach and puts it to work, with space to reflect, experiment and learn alongside other practitioners as much as from the facilitator.

What runs through all of them is KDVI’s core belief that the most powerful coaching draws on psychodynamic and systemic thinking. Understanding what lies beneath the presenting issue, what the wider context is shaping, and what the coach themselves brings to the room. That lens informs both the content and the way each session is run.

Sessions are led by experienced faculty drawn from KDVI’s international network and all carry ICF CCE points.

Upcoming Labs:

Working with Polarities in Coaching:
A 2-Hour Interactive Workshop

Led by Kate Philips-Kaiser MCC

As coaches, we regularly encounter leaders caught between seemingly opposing forces, like autonomy and collaboration, assertiveness and empathy, stability and change. These are not binary problems to be solved, but polarities to be navigated.

What makes polarity thinking particularly powerful from a psychodynamic perspective is what it reveals beneath the surface. The behaviours a client wants to change are often the shadow side of something they genuinely value. Shifting the frame to find how they can authentically balance both polarities, we help clients hold complexity with greater flexibility, resilience, and wisdom.

In this interactive session, you will:

  • Develop your ability to recognise polarity thinking in coaching conversations, distinguishing them from problems that have a clear solution
  • Reflect on the polarities most alive in your own professional and personal life and practice naming polarities in order to better recognise and process these with clients
  • Build a polarity map to identify effective ways to manage the tensions – defining actions that leverage the upsides of both poles, and spotting warning signs of gravitating to extremes
  • Practice peer coaching using polarity frameworks in a safe, supported environment

Who is this for? Coaches at all levels who want to deepen their practice, expand their diagnostic vocabulary, and bring greater nuance to complex coaching conversations. Come ready to engage, this is not a lecture.

About Kate Philips-Kaiser MCC

Kate is an international leadership coach and facilitator, a KDVI Associate, and has been working with executives and MBA students at INSEAD since 2006, and the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania since 2019. Holding both an MBA and Diploma of Clinical Psychology from INSEAD, she draws on clinical psychology, group dynamics and systemic practice.

 

For further information contact stephanie@kdvi.com

Upcoming Sessions:

 Working with Polarities in Coaching

 26 Aug 2026: 2pm – 4pm UK; 3pm – 5pm CET; 9am – 11am Eastern Time

 Format: Virtual

 Language: English

 Accreditation: 2 ICF CCE credits

 £195 (excl. VAT) 

KDVI t&cs apply

GET TICKETS

Good coaching conversations rarely stay on the surface. Neither do these sessions.

Coaching Labs are short, practical workshops for coaches who want to keep developing their thinking and practice beyond formal training. Each session takes a specific concept, tool or approach and puts it to work, with space to reflect, experiment and learn alongside other practitioners as much as from the facilitator.

What runs through all of them is KDVI’s core belief that the most powerful coaching draws on psychodynamic and systemic thinking. Understanding what lies beneath the presenting issue, what the wider context is shaping, and what the coach themselves brings to the room. That lens informs both the content and the way each session is run.

Sessions are led by experienced faculty drawn from KDVI’s international network and all carry ICF CCE points.

Upcoming Labs:

Working with Polarities in Coaching:
A 2-Hour Interactive Workshop

Led by Kate Philips-Kaiser MCC

As coaches, we regularly encounter leaders caught between seemingly opposing forces, like autonomy and collaboration, assertiveness and empathy, stability and change. These are not binary problems to be solved, but polarities to be navigated.

What makes polarity thinking particularly powerful from a psychodynamic perspective is what it reveals beneath the surface. The behaviours a client wants to change are often the shadow side of something they genuinely value. Shifting the frame to find how they can authentically balance both polarities, we help clients hold complexity with greater flexibility, resilience, and wisdom.

In this interactive session, you will:

  • Develop your ability to recognise polarity thinking in coaching conversations, distinguishing them from problems that have a clear solution
  • Reflect on the polarities most alive in your own professional and personal life and practice naming polarities in order to better recognise and process these with clients
  • Build a polarity map to identify effective ways to manage the tensions – defining actions that leverage the upsides of both poles, and spotting warning signs of gravitating to extremes
  • Practice peer coaching using polarity frameworks in a safe, supported environment

Who is this for? Coaches at all levels who want to deepen their practice, expand their diagnostic vocabulary, and bring greater nuance to complex coaching conversations. Come ready to engage, this is not a lecture.

About Kate Philips-Kaiser MCC

Kate is an international leadership coach and facilitator, a KDVI Associate, and has been working with executives and MBA students at INSEAD since 2006, and the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania since 2019. Holding both an MBA and Diploma of Clinical Psychology from INSEAD, she draws on clinical psychology, group dynamics and systemic practice.

For further information contact stephanie@kdvi.com

Get tickets

Upcoming Sessions:

 Working with Polarities in Coaching

 26 Aug 2026: 2pm – 4pm UK; 3pm – 5pm CET; 9am – 11am Eastern Time

 Format: Virtual

 Language: English

 Accreditation: 2 ICF CCE credits

 £195 (excl. VAT)

KDVI t&cs apply

GET TICKETS

Margot Schumacher:

Senior Associate at KDVI, Adjunct Professor of Leadership Development at TIAS Business School, and executive coach at INSEAD. Margot has coached senior leaders across global organisations following senior roles at Unilever and Kraft Heinz. Since 2010, she has advised multinationals on leadership and organisational development, with a focus on enhancing effectiveness at the top team and board levels. She also serves on the Supervisory Board of Thales Netherlands. Her global perspective is shaped by living and working in Shanghai, Pittsburgh, and London before returning to the Netherlands

Oriane Kets de Vries:

Oriane Kets de Vries is CEO and owner of the Kets de Vries Institute. She leads a global team of coaches, consultants and educators dedicated to developing reflective, emotionally intelligent leaders and cultivating workplaces where people can thrive. In her faculty role, she draws on extensive experience designing and directing leadership programmes for senior executives, contributing her expertise in psychodynamic coaching, organisational culture, and transformational leadership development.

Oriane has served as consultant, coach, and programme director for clients including Pictet, Deutsche Bank, Merck, UBS, Mishcon de Reya, and Engie, and she has taught on open-enrolment programmes with leading institutions such as Cambridge Judge Business School, Oxford Saïd, INSEAD, ESCP, ESMT and CEDEP. Her interests centre on the human side of leadership, particularly identity, creativity, entrepreneurship and gender dynamics. She holds an MBA and Executive MA in Coaching and Consulting for Change from INSEAD, has trained at the Harvard Kennedy School, and brings more than a decade of professional experience in creative and entrepreneurial industries into her work with leaders.

Manfred Kets de Vries:

Manfred Kets de Vries is a pioneering authority in leadership development, coaching, and organisational change. He is a founder and director of the Kets de Vries Institute (KDVI) and served as Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organisational Change at INSEAD. With academic credentials in economics (University of Amsterdam), management (MBA and DBA, Harvard Business School), and psychoanalysis (trained in Canada), he brings a uniquely interdisciplinary perspective to leadership. His work bridges management theory and clinical insight, establishing him as a global thought leader in executive coaching and transformation. At INSEAD, he founded the Global Leadership Centre and led the flagship programme The Challenge of Leadership for 31 years. He also served as scientific director of Coaching and Consulting for Change, an 18-month Executive Master’s programme that has shaped over 3,000 senior leaders and executive coaches worldwide. He has advised and coached senior executives at global firms including Goldman Sachs, BP, Shell, Unilever, McKinsey, and Volvo. A prolific author of over 60 books and 400 articles, his work appears regularly in The Financial Times, The Economist, and Harvard Business Review. Recognised by Le Capital, Wirtschaftswoche, and The Financial Times as one of the world’s top 50 management thinkers, he is widely regarded for advancing more human-centred approaches to leadership.

Yulia Chupina:

Senior Adviser (Luminary) at Accenture and executive coach with over 12 years of board experience. Formerly a banker and McKinsey consultant, Yulia has led banking transformations in digital, agile, organisational change, and talent development. Her coaching spans the finance, tech, and consumer goods sectors, blending technological insight with emotional intelligence to guide leaders through transformation. Recently, she advised BBVA on agile methodologies and senior talent development. Influenced by thought leaders such as Manfred Kets de Vries and Gabor Maté, Yulia brings an analytical, reflective approach to leadership. She has lived and worked across the UK, Spain, the US, and Russia.

Elizabeth Florent:

Elizabeth has worked closely with Manfred Kets de Vries for many years and has served as a Senior Lecturer and Research Fellow at INSEAD. Her extensive background in leadership development spans organisational consulting, executive coaching, and academic research. She holds advanced degrees in Organisational Development and Clinical Organisational Psychology and is a certified Coaching Supervisor through the Tavistock Institute. Her doctoral research explored experiential domains in executive education, and she has authored or co-authored numerous academic articles, case studies, and books on leadership and organisational dynamics. Elizabeth led the development teams behind KDVI’s diagnostic instruments, including the GELM, OCA™, and ITI. Drawing on her diverse training and global experience, she brings deep cross-cultural insight to her work with leaders worldwide. Originally from California, Elizabeth has made France her home for over 30 years.