Executive, Life & Counselling Coach
Leadership Consulting Psychological Wellbeing
Transformation
"Transformation is an evolutionary process that we deeply feel and experience. Once it occurs, we move beyond just understanding it intellectually to fully and sustainably living the change. We embody a rooted version of our authentic self, with acceptance and clarity that transcends our past. This shift is such, that even under pressure or when very relaxed, we do not unconsciously revert to our old ways. Such transformation can occur multiple times in our lives." Lutz Otto
Integration and finding peace within
The Latin root of “integrare,” means to make whole. Integration is defined as the process of effectively combining two or more parts.
"The integration and acceptance of our totality - our successes, failures, life experiences, upbringing, intergenerational content, and the aspects of ourselves that we shut out, compare to others, or fear will exclude us from belonging - is necessary for us to feel grounded in our self-worth.
The more that we integrate all of who we are; the more we can make conscious decisions, live with greater well-being, improve the quality of our relationships, increase our success in life, come to live in the fullness of who we are, and feel peace within. This is my wish for everyone I am privileged to work with." Lutz Otto
Lutz
Otto
♾️ Executive, Life & Counselling Coach
♾️ Leadership Consultant
♾️ Retreat Facilitator
♾️ Wilderness Guide
I am an experienced and qualified executive, leadership, group, counselling and personal coach, who is comfortable working with depth and challenging processes. Assisting people to grow, navigating significant challenges, making deliberate choices, and continuously evolving to reach their full potential is where I find my purpose.
My experience, developed over 35 years, has been gained in one-on-one coaching, group work, retreat facilitation, team coaching, counselling, mentorship, change management, leadership roles, and living a full life. I have worked in different environments, traveled globally, and worked in different countries. Before starting my coaching practice, I gained extensive local and international executive leadership experience. Explore how I work, my methodology, and approach here.
Losing my father to cancer at the age of 13 unsettled my family and me to the core. Feeling lost, hurt, and different, at 18 years old I started a process of sense-making and exploring how to make the best of the time we have on earth. This sparked a passion that became my vocation, and continues to evolve into a deep understanding of psychology, leadership, systems thinking, neuroscience, and holistic well-being.
Labels aside, I am multidimensional, and committed to living consciously and authentically. Care, courage, focus, love, and resilience form my essence, and I accept that at times I feel the opposite. I have consciously grown through significant personal and professional change, learned from success and failure, and through my journey understand what growth, transitions, healing, or transformation, uniquely expects from us.
When my wife and I have the opportunity, we spend time in the bush, in the mountains, on wild beaches, and in the garden at home. I am a lifelong runner, both road and trail, backpacker, climber, and adventurer.
Vulnerability
"Believing that vulnerability is unsafe is at its best a basic defense, and in reality, an illusion. Our psychological and physiological makeup, our humanness, makes each of us vulnerable, whether we would like to believe it or not. The vulnerability and courage of doing the work necessary to find and show our truth far outweighs the lifelong burden of living an inauthentic life." Lutz Otto
Experience
Our time together can act as a catalyst for change and a powerful platform for understanding what goes on inside your mind, your behaviour and your relationships. My experience has been developed in one-on-one coaching, group work, team coaching, retreat facilitation, outdoor coaching, counselling, mentorship, change management, and leadership roles. I have 35 years of working experience, graduated from business school in 1993, and have completed numerous subsequent programs and certifications. I hold several international coaching and counselling certifications, and am a certified assessor. To ensure that I practice in a way that serves you, I continue to invest in therapy, supervision, and continuous professional development.
I have an established coaching practice, have designed many multi-day retreats, developed training programs, and run psychodynamically oriented personal leadership programs. Before this I gained extensive local and international executive leadership experience; This included the implementation of numerous change processes, major business turnaround, and serving for over a decade on the SA executive team of a FTSE100 London Stock Exchange listed multi-national. Having spent time in different sectors, worked and travelled globally, I am comfortable in culturally diverse settings.
Through Spirited Adventures, we run well-being, healing, self-development and leadership retreats that have positively impacted the lives of many of our clients. Leveraging decades of experience, and widely cited research, we partner with wilderness to deliver these. Supporting this work I am qualified as a nature, walking safari and mountain guide. I have led wilderness backpacking trails, safaris, mountaineering, rock and ice climbing trips since 1989. I founded an Honorary Ranger Initiative in the Greater Kruger National Park, served for 6 years on the executive committee of the Field Guides Association Of Southern Africa and have been a member of the Mountain Club of South Africa since 1993. In 2015 I was awarded the Order-of-the-Bateleur for my then volunteer contribution to various conservation initiatives.
Methodology
My methodology is integrative, holistic and collaborative. At a fundamental level, my work is oriented by the psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural psychological philosophies. I practice combining leadership, psychology, coaching, mentorship, counselling, trauma-informed, systems thinking, change management, neuroscience and holistic well-being principles.
To develop the necessary insight to assist you, I get to know your life story, beliefs, challenges, hopes, and ambitions. My work is underpinned by the belief that:
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All human desires, responses to our needs, and mental activity are alive to a continuous, dynamic, interaction between feelings, cognition, and behaviour. They are inseparable in their link.
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The past is with us in the present and will be with us in the future. It need not determine the future.
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We are subjected to conscious and unconscious cognition - Our unconscious mind drives most of our responses and behaviours, and until we bring awareness to this, we are often driven, not driving.
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Nothing happens in isolation.
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The mind ♾️ body connection is inseverable.
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We are continually evolving, and if we choose to, we can grow through challenges in a way we never believed possible.
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You are it. Psychological freedom is not found elsewhere, we need to do the work within.
Our journey together is outcome-oriented and acknowledges that "energy flows where attention goes, form follows flow". Changing behaviours, habitats, and beliefs, result from many actions, consistently, compounded over time. Transformation starts unfolding, even if it differs from our initial expectations, when we intentionally shift from thinking and talking, to action.
How effective is the psychodynamic approach?
Jonathan Shedler, a distinguished psychoanalyst and clinical professor, gained global recognition for his research that empirically proved the effectiveness of the psychodynamic approach. Read the outcomes in his article "The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy"
“Lutz is direct and insightful, driven yet humble, compassionate and kind. He easily connects to people, whilst his authenticity, veracity and depth of holistic experience position him uniquely to facilitate both personal and leadership transformation work”
Approach
I practice with dedication and respect. My approach is supportive, engaged, gently honest, intuitive, and outcomes-focused. I am skilled at working with depth, and am comfortable working with challenging processes. Where we can, I bring lightness into our work. I work best with clients who are committed to their goals.
Through the work I do, my personal experiences and therapeutic journey, I understand the unique demands of growth, transitions, healing, or transformation. I acknowledge that sometimes life is easy, sometimes life is hard, and that both shape our story. If we desire psychological freedom, the only way is through.
I believe that we are in an infinitely better psychological position by validating what we are feeling, in the truth [reality] of what we are experiencing, and then, moving forward with hope, drawing on our inner resources, and a growth mindset.
Confidentiality & Professional Association
Crucial to the success of your process, is working with someone you can trust and with whom you can speak to without reservation. Confidentiality, ethical practice and psychological safety are bound into our terms of working together.
All our work together starts with an alignment exploration, a discussion as to what you can expect, and a contracting process. I am a member of the Association for Coaching and work by the association's Global Code of Ethics.
Contact
If what you have read resonates with and you would like to learn more or have questions, let's schedule a discovery call to see if we can work together to help you meet your goals.
My practice and office are located in Sandton, South Africa. I provide my services in person, either indoors or outdoors in nature, as well as via online video conferencing. I work with clients in South Africa, the UK, Europe, and the USA. Simply submit your form to arrange a suitable time.