Podcast Summary: Excellent Executive Coaching – Episode 418

Episode Title:
Transforming Resistant Leaders Through Embodied Coaching, with Julius Lassalle
Host: Dr. Katrina Burrus, PhD, MCC
Guest: Julius Lassalle
Release Date: February 3, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode centers on how embodied coaching—focusing on leaders’ physical awareness and somatic (body-based) intelligence—can help transform resistant or frustrated leaders. Dr. Katrina Burrus interviews Julius Lassalle, an expert in embodied leadership, who shares practical examples, key theoretical distinctions, and tools for coaches working with leaders who resist traditional, purely cognitive coaching approaches.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining Embodied Leadership and Leader Frustration

• The Two Sources of Leadership Frustration:
  • Internal Conflict: Leaders struggle to express or live their authentic values and goals.
  • External Barriers: Leaders know what they want but face obstacles gaining buy-in from others.
  • Quote: “I cannot be my authentic self as a leader. That can be like one source of frustration.” (Julius, 01:18)
• Embodied Leadership:
  • Integrates mind and body—aligning intuition, bodily sensations, and rational thinking.
  • Peak leadership occurs when a leader’s excitement, values, and actions are synchronized.

2. Practical Example of Embodied Coaching

• Case Study: A manager split between an exciting OD (Organizational Development) consultant role and a frustrating administrative HR role reconnected with her “sparkle” by identifying and acting on her authentic areas of excitement. (03:13–04:54)
• Key Method: Start coaching from clients’ internal excitement and energy, then address external alignment.

3. Somatic Intelligence Explained

• Definition: Being connected to your body—awareness of sensations, not just thoughts or emotions.
• Three Essential Leadership Capacities:
  1. Self-recreation & Health (07:13): Ability to maintain mental and physical health and reinvent oneself.
  2. Stakeholder Connection (07:37): Building strong relationships and followership.
  3. Authenticity (07:56): Leading in alignment with personal values.
• Role of Somatic Intelligence:
  • Foundation for developing all three capacities; opens the door to effective and authentic leadership.

4. Somatic vs. Emotional Intelligence

• Key Distinction:
  • Emotional intelligence often gets leaders “in their head,” thinking about emotions.
  • Somatic intelligence begins with “What do you sense in your body?”—rooting awareness in bodily sensation.
  • Quote: “If you ask leaders ‘What do you feel at the moment?’...they go out of their body. So to start really with the sense...is for me like a good starting point.” (Julius, 09:49)

5. Applying Somatic Tools with Resistant (“Difficult”) Leaders

• Tailoring the Approach:
  • No “one size fits all.” Don’t push; build relational trust and understanding first.
  • For analytically inclined or skeptical clients (“brilliant jerks”), ground the intervention in scientific rationale to engage them.
• Strategy:
  • Develop intuition and bodily awareness as valued forms of insight, not “soft” or unscientific.
  • Quote: “I'm not pushing anyone. If they cannot connect, we'll find a different way…” (Julius, 12:31)

6. Mirror & Relationship as Coaching Tools

• Coach Reflects the Leader:
  • The coach’s experience of the leader is a useful mirror. Reflecting behaviors helps leaders recognize their impact.
  • Quote: “You're a mirror of their behavior so you reflect back how they come across to you so they can integrate that perception.” (Katrina, 14:50)
• Relationship Quality Determines Coaching Success:
  • “If there’s one success factor in...executive coaching, it’s the quality of the relationship.” (Julius, 15:26)
  • The coach must remain authentic, not always agreeable.

7. Identifying When Traditional Coaching Isn’t Working

• Symptoms:
  • Over-reliance on reflection and the mind;
  • Lack of consistency between what leaders say and how they physically present;
  • Example: A client smiles while discussing a painful situation, revealing misalignment (17:47–18:50).
• Embodied Response:
  • Have clients physically enact (stand up, move) different aspects of their experience (anger vs joy), increasing holistic self-awareness and integration.

8. Practical Outcomes of Embodied Coaching

• Leaders learn to recognize and manage emotions they typically suppress at work.
• Example: A founder who felt chronic anger about team engagement learned to articulate his expectations, improving clarity and relationships (21:54–23:02).
• Quote: “Helping leaders also in the coaching setting to get in touch with their emotions and to act them out...the emotions become more present and we can then work on that.” (Julius, 21:30)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Leadership “Medal”:
  “That's what I call the two sides of the leadership model...one is the inside perspective of me, my own values and goals, and the other...my environment, stakeholders, expectations.” (Julius, 01:56)
• On Being a Mirror:
  “You mirror their behavior...you reflect back how they come across so they can integrate that perception.” (Katrina, 14:48)
• On Coaching Relationship:
  “If there’s one factor, one success factor in leadership and executive coaching, it’s the quality of the relationship between you and your coachee.” (Julius, 15:25)

Key Segment Timestamps

• [01:06] – Julius defines embodied leadership and leadership frustration
• [03:15] – Real-world example: HR manager and the power of internal excitement
• [05:16] – Somatic intelligence explained; three capacities of long-term leadership
• [08:47] – Somatic vs emotional intelligence—why coaches start with the body
• [10:47] – Applying body-based interventions, especially with resistant leaders
• [13:20] – Distinctions in working with “difficult” vs “easy” leaders
• [16:36] – How to recognize when traditional, thinking-based coaching stalls
• [17:47] – Real example: Leader’s inconsistent body signals and course correction
• [20:31] – Bioenergetics and helping clients safely process strong emotions
• [21:54] – Example: Founder’s bottled anger addressed through coaching

Conclusion

Julius Lassalle’s embodied coaching approach offers practical tools for breaking through with leaders resistant to traditional, purely cognitive coaching. By connecting leaders with their physical sensations and fostering mind-body alignment, coaches can help clients achieve greater authenticity, emotional integration, and ultimately, more effective leadership. The success, Julius emphasizes, hinges on the coach-client relationship and the willingness to meet each leader where they are—mind and body.

Contact Julius Lassalle:

• LinkedIn – Julius Lassalle, Berlin
• His school: Alive Berlin

This summary highlights the episode’s practical wisdom and the energetic, relational style of both guest and host, providing accessible entry points for executive coaches and leaders interested in embodied leadership.