Maggie Coulter (PCC, TICC) is an executive coach and Co-Principal of PeopleDynamics Learning Group, bringing trauma-informed, real-world leadership experience to their work with leaders and coaches.

In the Making is a series about the reality of becoming a coach—not the polished version, but the human one. These conversations are spacious, reflective, and oriented toward the truth of what it actually feels like to build a coaching practice in real time.

For this first interview, I sat down with Maggie Coulter, PCC, TICC—a long-time presence in the Toronto coaching ecosystem and a practitioner whose work spans leadership, trauma-informed coaching, and the quiet, steady craft of growing a practice over many years. Maggie brings depth, clarity, and an easeful honesty to the conversation, offering a grounded look at what it means to build a coaching life from the inside out.

We begin with a simple question: What’s alive in your work right now?

[This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and fidelity]

Suzanne:
Maggie, welcome. Thank you so much for doing this with me. I’m really curious: what’s feeling most alive or most compelling in your work right now? Or what you’re seeing in the coaching field? What’s got your attention?

Maggie:
Thank you, Suzanne. It’s great to be here with you again and to be in this conversation.

What is making me come alive right now? Personally, I would say my growth as a business leader over the last few years. My colleagues and I took over People Dynamics Learning Group in 2019, and I didn’t realize how much we would grow because of those team dynamics and in response to what’s happening in coaching and coach training.

It’s been a fruitful few years as we continue to develop—not only as coaches, but as business leaders. I’m seeing a lot of intersections between my own growth as a business leader and the leaders I’m working with through coaching and through the programs we run.

In terms of the coaching industry itself, I’m noticing the growth and increasing familiarity people have with coaching. Sometimes that comes with misconceptions or assumptions; often it comes with appreciation for the space they have, particularly in the workplace. I specialize in leadership and business coaching, so that’s where I spend most of my time, but I know people are getting value from life coaching as well.

It’s great that coaching continues to be relevant. And even with the onset of AI, people still want real conversation with each other, so I’m hopeful about that too.

Suzanne:
What drew you into coaching? What called you into this profession?

Maggie:
The very simple and short answer is: cancer.

I was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma when I was 30. I was working in finance at the time. I had built a successful career. I was looking toward senior leadership, although I was discouraged by some of the cisgender female mentors I had—people who didn’t seem very happy in that space.

Then I was diagnosed. I went through a two-year treatment experience, culminating in a stem cell transplant, and I’ll be celebrating 20 years cancer-free in January.

But the prognosis at the time was not good. And I remember thinking very clearly: If I’ve only got five years left, it won’t be doing this.

So that set me on a journey of: What next? I worked briefly with a marketing coach around the idea of becoming a financial consultant, and realized that the part of my work I loved most was mentoring.

I’d heard a little tiny bit about coaching through my brother, who had worked with a career coach at some point, and that led me into investigating some coach training courses. And as soon as I attended an info session, I knew, I attended an info session for coach training, and as soon as I arrived I thought: Yes. This is it. I stepped out of my career at the end of a major project and moved into coaching.

I wouldn’t necessarily encourage that path for everyone—there are less stressful ways to transition into coaching—but it’s the one I took, and it shaped a lot of how I work with people now.

Suzanne:
Thank you. I appreciate you sharing such a personal and pivotal moment in your life.

It sounds like you were experiencing a lot of disconnection and unhappiness in your field [finance], and stepping into this profession [coaching] with a desire for another way of working. What did you imagine coaching would be like? What did you hope you’d be able to do through it?

Maggie:
What did I imagine it to be like? I think I had blinders on at the beginning. There was a lot of anxiety because I had left my career. It wasn’t a cognitive kind of anxiety—it was a sense that something in me was compelling me to make these choices.

I was following myself. Nervous about that, but following it. Could I trust myself? Could I trust my instincts to move in this direction?

Those early days were about trusting myself in new ways, and not wanting to stay in what people call the golden handcuffs. They’re golden, and they are handcuffs. Hard to walk away from.

I realized that if I stayed on that track, it would eventually be impossible to leave. So I chose a different direction. It was a risk, but there was a voice in me saying, Keep going. I’m grateful for that voice—an important part of me. I’m not sure what part it is—for those who study Internal Family Systems—but it’s a meaningful part, and an important one.

Suzanne:
All good parts, right? No bad parts… [No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma And Restoring Wholeness With The Internal Family Systems Model: Richard Schwartz]

I’m curious about this idea of self-trust. Was that something you expected you’d need to rely on?

Maggie:
One thing about me—and this was true when I went through cancer and in other parts of my life—is that I don’t ask a lot of questions at the beginning.

So in terms of what I thought coaching might look like, I just hoped for instant success. It made sense to me: I’m following my calling, of course the universe is going to reward me with that.

It had other plans for my learning.

As I moved into this space, I don’t think I realized how fragile my relationship was with my own sense of self-trust until I was actually in it. And that played out in all sorts of ways.

Eventually, I came out as the queer person I’ve always been, and that was a big part of that journey. It helped me reconnect with creative aspects of myself that I had held at bay, because when you hold who you are inside, you also hold connected pieces inside as well.

So yes—that trust piece was a much bigger part of my journey than simply moving into a new career.

Suzanne:
I wonder, then, as you look back and think about all the twists and turns, how did your relationship with self-trust, self-efficacy, agency, empowerment—that whole constellation—influence those pivots and turns?

Maggie:
I actually developed some practices pretty early on in my coaching career to help guide me. I’m a very reflective person—I journal a lot—and I started noticing some themes that were helping me along the way.

One of those practices was trusting myself in simple, embodied ways. For example, I’d go for a walk without a clear destination. Instead of planning where I needed to go, I would just trust myself to move in the direction that made sense in the moment. And it always took me somewhere interesting.

So I began intentionally practising different ways of trusting myself, and yes, those practices absolutely informed the pivots I made along the way—including work I took on with various organizations.

And trust helped me connect with mentors in the coaching community. Some of those relationships felt like they just appeared like magic, but I do think that trust piece was a big part of it. It helped me see opportunities I might not have noticed if I didn’t have that growing connection with my own instincts and observations.

Suzanne:
When you were talking about taking a walk, I was imagining today’s grey, foggy day—this empty grey space. On my walk this morning, I was noticing that same sense of spaciousness—like walking is a practice of being in relationship with yourself. I’m wondering: do you have other practices that bring you back into yourself?

Maggie:
I have a lot. I’m a very process-oriented person, and I’ve actually written quite a bit about many of these practices and how to do them, including guides on my website.

One big practice for me has been planting seeds. Instead of sitting down and thinking, Okay, what are all the things I should do as a coach?—which I did plenty of—I started noticing what was emerging along the way. What I was observing. What I was reflecting on. Little bits that were entering my consciousness and sparking ideas.

Early on, it’s so easy to ignore or discount those little sparks, to judge them as impractical. But I found that keeping a seed journal, or something like it, helped bring those ideas alive over time. If we’re intentional about noticing them, we have a better chance of bringing them forward.

And again, that’s about trusting the process—trusting ourselves to notice and work with what’s showing up at the right time.

Another practice is being curious in conversation. Letting go of the script. Letting go of that elevator pitch we’re all told to refine and practise—and yet it never comes out naturally for me. But when I show up with genuine curiosity, things happen. Good things. We find real connection. And that elevator pitch can sit on the pile where it probably needs to be for a while.

That, too, is about trust—trusting myself in the moment to be curious and to pay attention. Through coach training, we learn to ask better questions and develop a deeper capacity to listen. And I love how that overlaps with business development. Everything we learn in coach training helps us be better at business development. It helps us see opportunities we might have missed.

There’s a beautiful complement and connection there.

Suzanne:
Yeah—it sounds like self-trust allows us to be open, to receive, to be in a co-creative, emergent space, which is exactly what allows opportunities to arise. And that’s what entrepreneurship needs.

Maggie:
Which is not to say I haven’t had many hard days. I don’t want anyone to mistake this for, “Oh, if you just open, the universe provides.” Nope. That’s part of it, but I’ve had to work very hard too—to overcome my own barriers, to keep going when it felt like nothing was happening.

You do gain traction over time. Some people gain traction faster than others, which can be confusing. You look at another coach and think, Why are they so successful so quickly? And the truth is: there are many different factors.

So I’ve had to ask myself: What do I need to learn? What does this journey really mean to me? It’s been interesting.

Suzanne:
This is [in part] a conversation about coaching, entrepreneurship, and impact. In those early days—or through those pivots—what were the hardest or most defining challenges?

Maggie:
I had two mentors when I came into coaching who reassured me in unexpected ways. One said they spent six months curled up in the fetal position on their couch when they started their coaching business. Another said they spent most of their first year under the covers.

It sounds terrible, but it was comforting. It normalized the fear.

I had a lot of fear and doubt. I had long lists of what I’d do if coaching didn’t work out—Starbucks barista, chicken catcher [a common job posting in the rural town where I later moved].

Fear doesn’t go away, but our relationship to it evolves. Even now, after 16 years, when the industry goes through ups and downs, fear still appears—but it shows up differently.

Those experiences shaped the way I think about supporting coaches in training. I don’t believe people have to experience that level of stress. There are ways to develop as a coach without isolation, without being set adrift. Helping people find those ways has become a big part of my work.

Suzanne:
I really appreciate you naming the truth of the uncertainty and fear in the early days—and how it can be a way to get in touch with yourself, and go deep.

You’re on the front lines of this [uncertainty] as a coaching school leader. What are you seeing in the coaching landscape—coaches coming in, coaches leaving, the anxiety around entrepreneurship? And how are you bringing your own relationship with uncertainty into your teaching and mentorship?

Maggie:
Something I’m encouraged by is how thoughtful people have become when they inquire about coach training. They’re seeing a lot out there—promises of becoming a six‑figure coach overnight, very cheap programs, very expensive programs, a lot of noise.

With that thoughtfulness also comes confusion. People ask: Do I start with coach training or building a business? How do I do both while working full‑time? Where does community fit in?

The other thing I’ve noticed is how many people finish a coach training program and then feel isolated. Set adrift. Uncertain about how to apply their skills. And some eventually let go of coaching entirely. There’s often deep disappointment when that happens.

It made me realize that as a coaching school leader, I have a responsibility to help people connect the dots—to help them think through what coaching means for them, professionally and personally, and how to navigate the very real challenges of career change and entrepreneurship.

I also think we need to help coaches think long‑term. Not firefighting, but building something sustainable over time. Then identifying short‑term, doable steps within that longer arc.

Suzanne:
I feel the pain and hurt of folks who don’t follow through on their dreams—or on this sense of calling—because their own expectations get in the way. And like you said, the self-isolation can compound it.

For me, it comes back to this idea of enjoying the process, enjoying the journey, being where we’re at. And it’s hard to do that if we’re not in community—if we’re not getting reflection back that says, Yes, this is actually hard. You’re not imagining it.

Entrepreneurship and business are not necessarily the same thing. And the entrepreneurial mindset—especially as you’re becoming a coach—is complex.

Given that you’re in a coaching school, I imagine you have opinions about coaching programs and curriculum. I’m curious: how are you and your coaching partners responding to what seems to be very present in the coaching environment right now?

How are you shifting the way you operate or offer your programs in response to this?

Maggie:
A few years ago, the ICF mandated that programs must support coaches in developing their business or practice. I think that was an excellent move.

We already had some materials in place, but we wanted to do more. This year we’re launching a new program with one‑on‑one mentoring, group mentoring and supervision, resources, and a community hub.

I also consistently encourage people to join local ICF chapters. This community matters. We can’t do this alone.

It truly does take a village to raise a coach.

Suzanne:
A few years ago, you made what felt like a public declaration about being a trauma‑informed coach. What led you to centre that in your work? And how does it shape the way you hold space?

Maggie:
I had been exploring trauma for personal reasons for decades—related to cancer, being closeted for many years, and early life experiences.

I’ve always worked with coaches myself. And I noticed there were things I wanted to bring into coaching conversations that some coaches couldn’t hold space for—things essential to who I am and how I grow.

So I sought out training in trauma‑informed coaching. I completed a certification, and it helped me see clearly that these are the clients I work best with. Many don’t use the word “trauma” and don’t need to. What they consistently say is that they feel safe—that they feel they can bring all of themselves into the space.

If we’re supporting someone’s development, all aspects of who they are need room to be present.

Suzanne:
That sounds like a really powerful orientation to the world and in being relationship with people. How has this orientation shifted the way you teach, mentor, or hold space?

Maggie:
It helped me understand my niche more clearly—although for years it was hard to articulate. Where do you “find” people who have a certain relationship to trauma? It wasn’t talked about much.

The pandemic changed some of that. People have more language now, even if that language is sometimes inaccurate. But the discernment is increasing.

Being trauma‑informed has made me more attentive to what people bring into the room, spoken and unspoken. More patient. More attuned. More grounded in how I assess readiness, boundaries, and pace.

Suzanne:
Let me bring us into our closing. Toronto is a wise and wounded city, and such a rich landscape—the world lives here. And our ICF Toronto coaches reflect that. It’s what makes this chapter so amazing: the incredible diversity of life experience and lineage we hold. What would you want Toronto coaches to know about coaching, community, or your work?

Maggie:
I’d love to see ongoing community—more collaboration, more rising tides that lift all ships.

This work is needed. The world needs coaches. And if we can respond to that call together, in community, and reach out when we need help, we’ll all be better for it.

Please ask for help. Ask me. Ask colleagues at ICF Toronto. Most of us are more than willing to share what we know.

Suzanne:
You mentioned that you have a new program, and I know you have big ideas. What are you most excited about right now? And where can people learn more about your work?

Maggie:
Our website is pdlgcoaching.com. You can learn about the different ways we serve leaders and coaches.

We’re also launching a new support program for building a coaching practice and business. The details aren’t up yet, but they will be in the next few weeks. In the meantime, people can reach out to me directly. I love connecting with other coaches.

Suzanne:
Thank you so much, Maggie, for your generosity and for bringing us into your world. Before we close, I’d love to ask: is there anything I didn’t ask that you wish I had? Anything you’d like people to know a little more about?

Maggie:
I have a lot of excitement about what’s emerging in coaching. There are so many ways to do this work—individually, in community, and in collaboration with technology.

Uncertainty creates opportunity. Are we looking for it? Listening for it? Noticing the seeds? Writing them down?

Try something. Get feedback. Iterate. Don’t invest everything in one thing.

Coaching as a profession is evolving. Our practices need to evolve too. And if we source our community for feedback and support, we can grow with a lot more confidence.

Suzanne:
Thanks for bringing us full circle. That relationship with self—with trust and openness—really allows us to be present to opportunity, collaboration, and co-creation. It helps us see progress more clearly as it unfolds, and it lets us be more present and actually enjoy where we are—In the Making.

Maggie:
Something that has become very clear to me in recent months and years is that reflecting on our progress actively builds confidence. There is truly a one-to-one relationship between meaningful reflection and our sense of confidence.

I’ll be doing that as the year comes to a close, and I hope you reflect on your [Suzanne & the wider coaching community] progress through these conversations as well. I think they’re a wonderful idea, and I’m delighted to be part of them.

Suzanne:
Thank you so much, Maggie. I appreciate your time, your sharing, and your willingness to go first, and to partner with me in this practice of sharing. Truly, thank you.

CLOSING REFLECTION 

This conversation with Maggie reminded me why In the Making exists—not to offer clean lessons, but to honour the complex, human, sometimes tender path coaches walk as they shape work that is meaningful and sustainable. We are each shaped by our stories, and Maggie’s willingness to share the truth of theirs is a gift to our community.

Maggie’s reflections remind us that coaching is both a professional discipline and a profoundly human journey. As the field continues to evolve—through technology, uncertainty, and new ways of working—our shared commitment to presence, learning, and community remains constant.

We hope this conversation supports your development as a coach, wherever you are in your journey. Future interviews in this series will continue to highlight the diverse, thoughtful practitioners shaping the ICF Toronto community and contributing to a coaching profession that grows through curiosity, courage, and connection.

ABOUT MAGGIE COULTER

Maggie Coulter is Co-Principal of PeopleDynamics Learning Group (PDLG), an Executive Coach and lead faculty for PDLG’s ICF-accredited Business Coaching Advantage Program™.

As a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Trauma-Informed Certified Coach (TICC), Maggie coaches ambitious executive leaders ready to lead with greater clarity, confidence, and impact – without compromising who they are.

Maggie’s coaching is trauma-informed, future-focused, and grounded in 20+ years of real-world business leadership. In every coaching engagement, they combine powerful, reflective questioning with strategic support to help clients gain insight, shift perspective, and take meaningful action toward their goals. pdlgcoaching.com | maggiecoultercoaching.com