781. Coaching Through the Meaning Crisis - With Brendan Graham Dempsey

In this episode, I speak with writer, researcher, and philosopher Brendan Graham Dempsey about the modern meaning crisis, why so many people feel disconnected from purpose and belonging, and what this means for coaches, leaders, and anyone supporting human development. Drawing on philosophy, psychology, history, and his work on metamodernism, Brendan explores how we arrived at this cultural moment—and how we might move beyond it.

We discuss why questions of meaning increasingly show up in coaching conversations, even when clients initially present with goals around performance, relationships, or career. Brendan explains how the decline of shared cultural narratives has left many people searching for direction, and why coaches need to understand the wider social and philosophical context shaping their clients' lives.

The conversation explores metamodernism as an emerging response to the limitations of both modern certainty and postmodern cynicism, offering a way of holding complexity without collapsing into either naïve optimism or nihilism. We discuss how coaches can help clients navigate uncertainty, cultivate purpose without imposing answers, and support meaningful growth in an increasingly fragmented world.

Along the way, we explore identity, embodiment, belonging, political polarisation, social media, spirituality, and the balance between scepticism and hope. Ultimately, this episode is an invitation to think more deeply about what transformation really means—and why coaching may be as much about helping people orient themselves in a changing world as it is about achieving goals.

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