Anne-Laure Couvreur : EEC Alumni Spotlight : January 2026

How would you briefly describe yourself?
I am a staunch optimist, a free spirit, very curious about everything - be it a new way of thinking, an unknown place or a person very different from me - cheerful and very sensitive. That's why I am perhaps a rather solitary person and need time to protect myself from the intensity of the world. I like to observe the small wonders of nature, I enjoy silence and I am a great fan of choral singing, which allows me to find peace and harmony in any circumstance.

How did you come to coaching in general and to EEC in particular?
I was a publisher and, wanting to change my job a bit, I realised that my favourite part of this job was the time when I accompanied authors to help them get the best out of themselves before submitting their work for publication. After Covid, I signed up for coaching training (I had heard great things about the EEC) to be able to accompany more people outside the field of publishing, but with the same openness and the same passion, just with a few more tools and a powerful structure to do so!

What is your passion?
The beginnings :) I love discovering a new activity, whether it's a craft or something more intellectual. I really like the excitement of the beginnings, when you're still learning. But more seriously, I would say that my greatest passion is singing: I've been practising in choirs for 27 years now and I can't get enough of it. It's a very powerful way of being in a group, creating beauty and harmony.

How do you charge your batteries? What gives you energy?
Creating harmony: singing, laughing with my children or my husband, watching a sunset, being with friends, discovering new places. Anything that makes me feel that fluidity, when there is lightness and depth at the same time, when everything seems to fit together or I can be nourished by new landscapes and thoughts.

What drains your energy and how do you deal with it?
The absurdity of the world, the endless repetition of useless things, the narrow-mindedness, the lack of authenticity of some people. When I feel overwhelmed, I take a deep breath and go for a walk. This movement usually allows me to regain my balance.

What news would you like to hear?
That everyone in the world knows for sure that they have their place, that they don't have to fight for it or struggle to fit in. Then there would be no more wars over territory, beliefs, etc. And all the resources we have would be shared in a much more natural way. There would be more freedom and respect.

Complete the sentence: Through coaching I learned...
...to take control of my life and to take responsibility for what I think and what I feel.

What distinction of coaching would you highlight, why and what for?
I'll stick with "Show and Demonstrate". Precisely because I believe that many of us, because we want to fit in so much, end up doing things that are far removed from who we are, creating a very false world. This distinction helps to assume one's own identity, to know oneself better and to offer the best of oneself. It also favours self-acceptance.

What impact has coaching had on your personal and professional life?
For some years now, I have been applying my coaching skills to help, in particular, all those people who feel they do not fit in: because they have a neurodivergence (especially people with high abilities), because they are foreigners in a new country, because they feel culturally out of step (age, gender...), or because they have spent years without working (like some mothers), and who believe that there is no place for them in society. I believe that coaching is an extremely powerful tool to create a more inclusive world.

What would you say to someone considering training in coaching?
That it is a very nice trip and that you will learn especially from the turbulences. Also that you will be able to meet incredible people, discover very interesting notions... I recommend it to 100%.

What has been your greatest achievement?
Every time someone I have accompanied tells me that the coaching process has changed their life: because they have achieved their challenge and because they have changed the way they look at their situation. Each time it gives me renewed emotion.

And your biggest challenge?
Continue to cultivate my uniqueness, especially as a coach. It is not always easy, especially in the business world, where very "corporate" profiles are sought after. And I don't fit those profiles! But it is also a strength that I want to cultivate. Companies that have understood this have not regretted it. So I'm going to continue along this path.

What mistake have you learned the most from?
From trying to get away from who I am: that didn't work for me! I think it's important to find your own style as a coach, otherwise the client doesn't give in because they feel that something doesn't fit.

What is success for you?
Success is waking up with a smile on your face to start something, or to finish it.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
I would like to thank EEC Alumni for this window of opportunity. It is always good to reflect on your way of working, your positioning, your practice. Sharing it might make other people share their opinion too, if it's different, and I love that. I love that, thank you very much!