Consider the difference between these two client outcomes: “Catherine helped me become more confident at speaking” versus “I’ve completely reimagined what’s possible for our industry, and I’m leading conversations I never imagined I could start.”
Which transformation are you currently creating in your industry?
I want you to notice something about the experts who’ve become THE voice in their field. Their audiences don’t just get better at something or just increase their knowledge. They become something. There’s a fundamental shift in identity, not just capability.
Think about your own work for a moment. Are you helping the finance director deliver clearer board reports? Or are you helping her recognise she’s sitting on insights that could reshape how her entire sector thinks about sustainable investment? Are you teaching the consultant better workshop techniques? Or awakening him to the methodology he’s been unconsciously developing that could transform how his industry approaches change?
There’s a world of difference.
When did you first realise you had genuine expertise? Not just knowledge, but a perspective that could change things? When we have that bolt of realisation, then we can stop apologising for our opinions and start owning them. Your audience are waiting for that same awakening. But they’ll only get there if you’re willing to facilitate transformation, not just improvement.
Pay attention to how you talk about outcomes. If you’re focused on “streamlined processes” or “improved efficiency,” you’re playing in the shallow end. If you’re promising “better ROI” or “enhanced performance,” you’re still thinking too small. The people ready to become THE voice in their industry aren’t looking for tweaks. They’re looking for revolution – starting with themselves.
Here’s what I’ve noticed about creating testament-level transformation. It starts when you stop seeing your clients as people who need to learn your processes and start seeing them as innovators who need awakening. When you believe – genuinely believe – that they’re sitting on insights their industry desperately needs.
Who are you actually attracting right now? Are they people looking for quick fixes? Or are they the ones who sense they’re playing small but can’t quite articulate why? The ones who know their approach could revolutionise their field but keep packaging it as “just another option” or “a slight improvement”?
When someone becomes a testament to your work rather than just a testimonial, something shifts. They stop saying “Catherine showed me how” and start saying “I realised.” They stop crediting you with their success and start claiming their authority. And paradoxically, that’s when they become your most powerful advocates.
Because here’s what happens: they start creating ripples you never could alone. They take your methodology and apply it to challenges you’ve never seen. They transform organisations you’ll never work with. They become proof that transformation – real transformation – is possible.
Think about your current clients. What would need to change for them to move from satisfied customers to industry changemakers? What beliefs would you need to challenge? What permissions would you need to grant? What mirrors would you need to hold up?
I’m not talking about pushing people beyond their readiness. I’m talking about recognising the readiness that’s already there, waiting for someone to name it. To call it forward. To say “I see the revolutionary in you, not just the expert.”
Your methodology, your framework – it’s not just about techniques. It’s about transformation. And when you orient everything toward that level of change, you stop creating clients and start creating leaders.
The question is: are you ready for that responsibility? Because once your clients become testaments to what’s possible, you’re not just running a business anymore. You’re leading a movement.
And movements? They change industries.