The Hidden Waves: The Quiet Power of Presence

This week, I sat beside the ocean, as I often do. It was a clear spring day, and I found myself drawn into the familiar rhythm of the waves. They moved with a steady cadence. Gentle. Reliable. Then, without warning, a larger wave rolled in. No boat in sight. No visible disruption. Just a deeper force moving beneath the surface.

It reminded me how much transformation happens quietly, often unnoticed, often without an immediate “result.” Coaches frequently ask, “Am I doing enough?” But like the sea, healing work is full of unseen currents. Much of the shift happens not in the breakthrough, but in the being-with.

When we sit with clients, we might say something simple that becomes a missing puzzle piece. Or we might allow silence at just the right time for them to arrive at their own clarity. Our presence ripples. Holding space is an intervention. Often, we won’t know the effect we’ve had. But that doesn’t make it any less real.

Holding space isn’t passive.
It’s an active, intentional choice:
to stay present without fixing, rescuing, or rushing.
to regulate ourselves so we can co-regulate others.
to trust the process, even in quiet moments.

I once worked with a man facing chronic medical issues. He felt dismissed, ignored, and unseen in the systems that were supposed to help him. He was angry—and understandably so. I met him with kindness and steadiness, not because I had a perfect strategy, but because presence is my default. Still, I sometimes left our sessions wondering if I was doing “enough.”

Months later, when his life began to stabilize, he told me, “It started when you believed me.”
That sentence stopped me in my tracks.

I hadn’t done anything dramatic. I hadn’t solved anything. But I believed him—and that, for him, was the shift. Being believed can be the beginning of healing. It can ripple through someone’s system and change their trajectory. It doesn’t always show up with fanfare, but it matters. Deeply.

You don’t need the perfect script.
You need presence.
You need safety.
You need belief.

Your grounded presence can be the wave that shifts something deep below the surface.
Research shows that the relationship, not the technique, is the most powerful healing factor. That’s true for coaches as much as it is for therapists. We are the catalysts. Even in stillness, movement happens.

So if a session feels quiet, uneventful, or unclear…
Remember the ocean.
Just because you can’t see the wave forming
doesn’t mean it isn’t already on its way.

A Liminal Pause

Reflect:
Can you remember a time when someone simply believed you?
When did you feel seen, heard, and validated, without needing to explain or prove yourself?

What shifted for you in that moment?

Now ask yourself:
How might your quiet presence offer that same shift for someone else?
Even if you never see the ripple?

Want to stay with the liminal a little longer? Next week, we’ll explore five subtle signs you might be crossing the line between coaching and therapy, and how to stay grounded, ethical, and effective without needing to be a therapist. It’s not about doing less. Iit’s about doing what you do best, with clarity and care.