There's panic in the coaching industry. Will AI replace us? Are we all about to become obsolete?

Here's the reframe: AI hasn't made coaching obsolete. It's made it absolutely essential.

The Truth About AI
AI is extraordinary. You can get a complete business strategy in 30 seconds, a marketing plan, step-by-step frameworks for anything. Information that used to take years to access is now free and infinite.
But people aren't flying... they're drowning in information, strategies, and plans they're not executing.

It's No Longer an Information Gap, It's a Transformation Gap
People don't hire coaches because they don't know what to do. They hire coaches because they're struggling to become the person who actually does it.

AI can give you the blueprint. But it cannot hold space for the messy stuff in the middle, that deeply human process of becoming someone different.

AI can't sit with you in discomfort, mirror back your stories, or call out your excuses with loving directness. It doesn't witness your transformation in the same way.

You Don't Change Because You Got Better Information
You change because another human believed in your potential before you did. Because someone created space where it was safe to let go of who you've been. Because someone asked that one question that cracked you open.

That's coaching. No algorithm will ever replicate the power of human witness and intuition.

AI Has Made Information Free - Transformation Is Everything
Mediocre coaching, repackaged information and generic cheerleading, is absolutely replaceable by AI.
Deep transformational coaching that sees the person behind the pattern? More valuable than ever.
The world doesn't need more information. We need brilliant coaches who can guide people through the transformation they need to use the information.

AI isn't coming for your coaching business. It's raising the bar for what coaching needs to be.

~~~

Apply for a FREE 60-minute strategic session with me where we'll cut through the noise and identify the single most important action for your coaching business right now. This isn't about more information - it's about the right action at the right time: https://www.gillmoakes.com/next-best-move

This week I'm calling out something I'm seeing everywhere right now in the online business world, and honestly, it's feeling like an epidemic. Coaches are hearing they should differentiate themselves by being vulnerable, so they're sharing their struggles, their breakdowns, their trauma in real time. And look, it works at first - engagement goes through the roof, people respond, you feel seen. But here's the problem: they end up building their entire brand around their worst moments.

Every post becomes a wound on display. And then they can't figure out why they're attracting clients who are drowning, not clients who are ready to actually do the work and move forward.

When your brand is built on unprocessed trauma, you're positioning yourself as a peer in struggle rather than a guide through it, and that fundamentally undermines your authority.
There's a massive difference between real vulnerability and performance vulnerability. Real vulnerability is when you're sharing something you've processed and metabolised. You're offering wisdom, not an open wound. It feels clean because you're not searching for validation, you're genuinely serving your audience's transformation.

Performance vulnerability? That's when you're sharing trauma because it gets clicks and comments, when you're still in it and you need people to tell you you're brave. It's extractive, not generous.

So here's my invitation: stop sharing trauma in real time, audit your content to see how much centres on pain rather than insight, and reposition your brand around transformation instead of empathy. The people who truly value you don't need you to perform your pain, they value your wisdom, your authority, your frameworks because you're on the other side and can show them the way.

Mentioned in this episode:

This is the LinkedIn post I mention about my late husband:

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gillmoakes_its-7-years-ago-today-that-my-husband-phill-activity-7143208724856270849-BFL-?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACuEtlUBCBw8uMiKIFcrgf3Kt-Gpw6nq80o

If you'd like to explore working together, book a call with me here: https://go.oncehub.com/alignment-call

Your modesty isn't making you more likeable - it's making you invisible to the people who desperately need what you offer...

While you're busy staying humble and worrying about looking like a dick, someone out there who needs you, can't find you. Or they find you but don't believe you can help them because you're playing small.

What This Episode Covers
We're tackling imposter syndrome, the resistance to "bragging," tall poppy syndrome, and all the cultural conditioning that keeps you making yourself smaller.

The Big Ideas
Confidence vs Arrogance:
A. Owning your expertise: "I've spent 10 years learning how to solve this exact problem. I've worked with dozens of clients who've got results. I know what I'm doing and I can help you."
B. Being a dick: "I'm the only person that can solve your problem. Everyone else is shit."

One invites people in. The other pushes them away.

Imposter Syndrome Reframed
Imposter syndrome is a refusal to integrate your experience into who you are. Your clients didn't pay you for luck - they paid you for your expertise. When you refuse to own that, you could say you're not being humble, you're being slightly dishonest.

What Your Future Clients Need
They're scared, uncertain, investing money that feels like a stretch. They need confidence in you. Your confidence gives them permission to trust you. Your belief that you can help them creates space for them to believe in their own transformation.

Four Ways to Own Your Expertise

1. Talk About Results - Show what happens because of what you do
2. Be Confident in Your Messaging - Stop using "I think" or "maybe" or "it's just my opinion"
3. Be Specific - Specific truths sound like expertise; vague claims sound like bullshit
4. Own Your Perspective - Say "Here's what I've learned" not "I think this might work"

Key Takeaways

• Your modesty is not a virtue if it's keeping people from finding you
• Your imposter syndrome is a refusal to integrate your experience
• Your fear of being "too much" robs your future clients of the confidence they need
• The people who need you are looking for someone confident and certain

Ready to Do This Work?
If you're ready to do the identity work around becoming the woman who has the business you want, let's explore working together. I've been doing this for a long time. I'm good at it.
Book a call: https://go.oncehub.com/gillmoakeschat

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:37 This Week's Topic: Owning Your Expertise
04:39 Understanding Imposter Syndrome
08:41 Overcoming Tall Poppy Syndrome
10:47 Steps to Own Your Expertise
15:06 The Identity Shift: Becoming Your True Self
18:16 Conclusion and Call to Action