Episode 37

Ep 37: The Power of Mentor Coaching and Connection with Sam Jayasuriya

Published on: 23rd July, 2025

What does it take to truly grow as a coach, and how do you keep your edge in a rapidly evolving industry? In this episode, your hosts Sarah Bramall and Rebecca Daniel welcome the inspiring Sam Jayasuriya, a leadership energy coach, mentor, and author to explore how mentor coaching can transform your practice, sustain your confidence, and unlock the true power of collaborative growth.

Join your hosts Sarah, Rebecca, and Sam as they discuss why collaboration over competition matters, why ongoing development through credentialing and mentor coaching is essential, and how building strong networks makes all the difference. Sam also shares the story behind her book The Change Flywheel, and how her eclectic approach is helping coaches (and their clients!) flourish.

Here are the Highlights:

00:00 Introduction: Meet Sam Jayasuriya one of our mentor coaches

02:42 From education to coaching: why the work ‘lights Sam up’

03:19 The power of collaborative relationships in coaching

05:06 Inside mentor coaching: What it is and why it matters

09:18 Why mentor coaching and credentialing matter now more than ever

10:32 Ethics, client safety, and professionalism in coaching

12:26 Making sense of investments

13:54 How Sam’s professional growth journey shaped her as a mentor coach

16:52 Finding your blind spots, owning your strengths

17:50 Why a beginner’s mindset is your secret weapon

19:58 Group vs. 1:1 mentor coaching

22:06 Creating a resource bank: How group learning uplevels everyone

23:56 Sam’s book The Change Flywheel and self-coaching model

27:26 Want to develop as a coach? Join Sarah and Rebecca’s annual mentor coaching programme for ICF credentialing

About Sam Jayasuriya:

Sam has a 30 year background in the education sector. In that time she was a Headteacher for 20 years in 3 different schools. Sam’s experience of working with a huge range of people across different cultures, economic and social backgrounds gives her a strength of connecting with others.

After her coach training she moved into full time coaching. She runs her own business and works as an associate coach with global coaching companies.

Sam is a PCC coach with the ICF, she is a certified body oriented coach, certified mBIT coach, NLP practitioner and is DISC accredited. She is a coach mentor and supports new and experienced coaches to develop their practice.

The seasons are very important to Sam and she chooses to live her life in line with what’s going on outside. She is a published author, enjoys bookbinding, knitting and sewing. Sam seeks to be creative in thoughts and deeds.

Connect with Sam:

Website: https://sunskycoaching.co.uk/

Connect with us here:

Website:

https://www.thecoachingcatalysts.com

Work with us:

For ICF mentoring see here: https://bit.ly/catalystsmentorcoaching

Our roundtable discussions for internal coaches here:

https://www.thecoachingcatalysts.com/organisationalcoaches

Find out more about our supervision service here: http://bit.ly/coaching-collective

To book a call: https://tidycal.com/coachingcatalysts/explorationcall

FREE Supervision Experience for Coaches: Listening Partnerships, register here: https://bit.ly/supervisionexperience