Why Not Everyone with a Passion for Giftedness Needs to Become a Giftedness Coach

Over the past few years, I've noticed a recurring pattern. Parents discover that their child is gifted. Adults finally recognize themselves in a profile they had no words for for many years. Teachers, psychologists, coaches, and other professionals become fascinated by giftedness through a student or client.

Very often, the same desire follows: I want to do something with this.

And almost automatically comes the next thought: Maybe I should become a giftedness coach.

When a Mission Takes Shape

I completely understand that instinct. Once you've experienced how profoundly recognition and understanding can change someone's life, it's only natural to want to offer the same to others. Yet I find myself increasingly wondering whether coaching is really the only—or even the most logical—way to give shape to that mission. Perhaps we sometimes focus too quickly on the form, when we should first ask ourselves what truly drives us and which way of working best aligns with our own talents.

A few weeks ago, I completed a Coretalents Analysis (CoreTalents, n.d.). The results confirmed much of what I had already sensed intuitively. My strongest energy givers are analyzing, creating, developing strategies, solving complex problems, and translating scientific knowledge into practical applications.

What stood out, however, was that the entire cluster related to "stepping into the spotlight"—public speaking, persuading, selling, and entertainment—received remarkably low scores. That felt surprisingly familiar. If you asked me how I would most like to spend my time, it would not be giving presentations, recording videos, or doing interviews, even though those are the things many people now associate with me. Give me a stack of scientific papers, a blank document waiting to become a new idea or educational resource, or a complex problem to sink my teeth into instead. That is what truly energizes me.

A Mission Can Take Many Forms

I see this same confusion quite often among participants in our training programs. Some enroll because they are convinced they want to become a giftedness coach. But as the program unfolds, something unexpected often happens. As their knowledge deepens, they begin to realize that their greatest contribution may not lie in one-on-one coaching at all. Instead, they discover new opportunities within their own professional context and recognize that they can make a meaningful difference there as well.

We also see professionals who initially choose coaching with great enthusiasm, only to discover over time that intensive one-on-one work drains more energy than it gives them. Not because they wouldn't make excellent coaches, but because their natural energy givers may lie elsewhere—in teaching, developing educational resources, writing, conducting research, or shaping policy. That, too, is a valuable insight.

It has even made me question the name of one of our own training programs. Perhaps Giftedness Coach doesn't fully capture what the program is really about. Looking back, the title may place too much emphasis on just one possible outcome. In reality, the program is first and foremost about developing a deep understanding of giftedness and learning how to apply that knowledge within your own professional context. For some participants, that path leads to coaching. For others, it leads to education, policy, assessment, research, human resources, or the development of educational materials.

Our Giftedness Coordinator program is different. Participants are specifically trained to help shape gifted education policy within their schools and to support their colleagues. In that case, the title accurately reflects the intended role. The Giftedness Coach program, however, is far more nuanced than its name might suggest.

Of course, some participants do go on to become coaches and truly thrive in that role. Others enrich their existing work as psychologists, educational psychologists, speech-language pathologists, physicians, physical therapists, or career coaches by developing a deeper understanding of giftedness.

But just as many participants discover during the program that their greatest contribution lies elsewhere. They fundamentally rethink their teaching practices, develop school-wide gifted education policies, support the professional growth of colleagues, or take on leadership roles within their organizations. Others write books or articles, develop educational materials or digital tools, conduct scientific research, teach professional development courses, contribute to policy development, support HR initiatives, or help create a more nuanced understanding of giftedness through communication and public awareness.

We also see participants who apply their expertise in entirely different ways as school leaders, student guidance counselors, educational consultants, publishers, journalists, university lecturers, or organizational consultants.

Their mission remains the same: to better understand and support gifted children, adolescents, and adults. The only thing that differs is the form that mission takes.

How Your Coretalents Reveal Where You Make the Greatest Difference

Perhaps this is exactly what a Coretalents Analysis helps make visible (Coretalents, n.d.). Not everyone is energized by one-on-one guidance. Some people thrive in individual conversations, while others come alive through writing, developing new ideas, conducting research, teaching, or shaping policy.

Today, we often hear that we should focus primarily on the work that energizes us. There is a great deal of truth in that. At the same time, my own Coretalents Analysis showed me that certain activities that require energy can still have an important place in your work—as long as they serve something that is fully aligned with who you are. For me, delivering training programs and giving presentations are good examples. They are not the goal in themselves, but the vehicle through which I can share the work that truly energizes me: developing, creating, analyzing, and translating knowledge into practice.

Perhaps the same is true for professionals who want to deepen their understanding of giftedness. The most important question is not whether you want to become a giftedness coach. A more meaningful question may be: How do you want to contribute to better support for gifted children, adolescents, and adults through your own Coretalents?

For one person, the answer will be coaching. For another, it may be education, therapy, policy, research, human resources, writing, or developing educational materials. All of these roles are equally valuable when they are driven by the same mission and aligned with the person who carries them out.

Perhaps that is, ultimately, the true purpose of our training programs. Not so much to turn people into giftedness coaches, but to help professionals develop a deep understanding of giftedness so they can apply that knowledge in ways that align with their own talents, professional context, and sense of purpose.

Because perhaps what the field of giftedness needs most is not more coaches. Perhaps it simply needs more professionals who are willing to make a difference by building on their own unique strengths.

What Form Best Fits Your Mission?

Perhaps the most important question after reading this article is not whether you want to become a giftedness coach. A more meaningful question might be: How do you want to contribute to better support for gifted children, adolescents, and adults through your own Core Talents?

Take a moment to reflect on that. Which activities genuinely energize you? Which ones require more effort but still feel worthwhile because they serve a greater purpose? And how would you like to use your knowledge of giftedness to make a difference?

If you would like to deepen your understanding of giftedness first and then discover which role best fits your talents and professional context, our Giftedness Coach program may be an excellent place to start. The program is taught in Dutch and takes place in Flanders, welcoming participants from both Belgium and abroad who are able to attend the in-person sessions. The next cohort begins at the end of September in Leuven.

Explore the Giftedness Coach Program

References

• CoreTalents. (n.d.). CoreTalents®: Discover Your Core Talents. Retrieved July 1, 2026, from https://www.coretalents.eu/en 

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