Coaching at SXSW: How a Dream Became A RealITY

Some ideas start as a whisper — a "what if we..." conversation in a committee meeting that nobody quite knows how to act on yet. Bringing coaching to SXSW was one of those ideas.

When I stepped into the role of Community Outreach Director at the ICF Greater Austin Chapter in 2024, one of our team's boldest aspirations was earning a presence at SXSW. And if you know SXSW, you understand why. What began as a scrappy local Austin gathering has grown into one of the most extraordinary cross-sections of human creativity and ambition on the planet — over 300,000 artists, musicians, tech entrepreneurs, investors, filmmakers, and changemakers descending on the city every March. For a team passionate about bringing credentialed coaching to the broader public, there was no bigger stage.

The dream, it turns out, had been alive even before I joined the board. During my term as Community Outreach Director, I planted the seeds of the idea with SXSW. Our Outreach Team began tending to it, putting one foot in front of the other, keeping the vision alive through leadership transitions and logistical hurdles. This year, it finally became real.

The Team That Made It Happen

Four of us — Christina Miser Batton, Sandy Schwan, Wendy Irwin, and I — spent over three months planning, coordinating, and preparing to show up at SXSW in a meaningful way. What we pulled off together still amazes me.

We organized two Core Conversations on coaching, as well as a full Coaching Pop-Up at the Emerging Tech Expo. Christina, our ICF Communications Director, and I co-facilitated an experiential workshop titled "Innovation Under Pressure: A Coaching Approach to Getting Unstuck, Fast." The session introduced participants to one of coaching's most powerful tools — the art of asking better questions — and invited them to try it for themselves in real time. The room was alive with curiosity and recognition. You could feel the moment things clicked for people. In the second Core Conversation on "Creative Teams, Real Risks: Coaching Teams for Courageous Innovation" by Wendy & Sandy, the interactive session focused on what blocks team courage, practical language and a simple structure to support braver, more creative decisions in high-stakes work. over 90+ participants took away important insights from individual and team coaching.

It truly takes a village, and ours showed up beautifully.

23 Coaches. 200+ Curious Minds. Countless Aha Moments.

The Coaching Pop-Up was something I won't forget. Twenty-three credentialed coaches offered complimentary 20-minute laser coaching sessions to anyone who wandered in — and wander in they did. Over 200 people stepped up, sat down, and experienced coaching — many for the very first time.

Over 60% of attendees had never worked with a coach before. And what struck me wasn't just the numbers — it was what happened in those conversations. The pauses. The nods. The quiet "I hadn't thought about it that way" moments. The gratitude on people's faces as they walked away. That's the kind of impact that no data point can fully capture, but that every coach recognizes instantly.

This is why we do this work.

An Unexpected Connection

SXSW has always been about finding magic in the unexpected — it's about the collisions of ideas and people you never anticipated. While I was there for coaching, one of my most memorable moments  came from a conversation while washing my hands in the restroom, connected to the documentary spotlight that premiered at SXSW, Your Attention Please — a film following a new generation of parents, teens, and reformers pushing back against Big Tech's grip on human connection and mental health.

From Kristin Bride, a mother turned legislative advocate after losing her son, to Trisha Prabhu, a young programmer building technology to combat cyberbullying, the film captures something urgent and deeply human. It's the kind of story that stays with you — and moves you to act. I'd encourage you to watch it: yourattentionplz.com

What I'm Carrying Forward

SXSW reminded me of something coaching teaches us over and over: that transformation begins with a single conversation. Sometimes that conversation is a coaching session. Sometimes it's a panel discussion, a chance encounter, or a documentary that rattles something loose in you.

What started as a "what if" became 23 coaches, 200+ participants, two workshops, and a community that is now a little more aware of what credentialed coaching can do.

Dreams are worth believing. Visions are worth nurturing. And the right team makes all the difference.

Here's to what we build next.