The Ontological Coaching Institute (OCI) is an international educational, coaching and consulting company specialising in the development of coaches, leaders and managers. As one of the most highly regarded coach training schools in South Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, the OCI specialises in a powerful and highly effective methodology called Ontological Coaching. Whilst there is substantial intellectual foundation to Ontological Coaching, the OCI’s coach training programs are highly practical and ‘hands on’. All our programs are accredited by the International Coach Federation

Whether as a coach or leader, if you want to get exceptional results with and through others then this approach is for you.  Become a powerful coach and highly effective leader by gaining a deep understanding of how people function, learn and change personally and professionally.

Our programs are based in rich and robust methods grounded in sound theory, shared in a way that is immediate applicable and relevant in work and life.  Through our courses you will experience layers of insight and distinctions that will dramatically differentiate your coaching and leadership practice.

As well as working with individuals, in organisations we collaborate with leadership teams to create high performance cultures of commitment, trust and accountability.

Find out more about programs offered in Australia, Asia, the USA and Europe

Alan Sieler

Alan Sieler is the founder and Director of the Ontological Coaching Institute. Alan focuses on the communication processes that build a collaborative and high performance organisational culture.  He has been an Executive Coach for more than twenty years. His professional experience in education, training, consulting and coaching is extensive, having worked with multinational corporations and national organisations from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, the United States, the UK, Netherlands, Germany and South Africa. 

As a world leader in advanced coaching, Alan has written extensively on the relevance of Ontology to living, working, learning and coaching, including four books. His four Coaching to the Human Soul publications are being used in organisational development in such corporations as NASA, Hewlett Packard and Intel. These books are also being used in coaching and leadership programs in universities in the United States, South Africa and Australia, as well as other coach training courses.

Karen White

Karen White works with individuals, teams and organisations, supporting people to achieve the results they want and enabling them to be their best selves. She has worked with blue chip companies locally, in Africa and internationally. Karen is an ICF Master Certified Coach.  In addition to individual and team Executive Coaching, she co-leads the 18 month Ontological coach training program in South Africa and the USA

Karen has been coaching for 18 years following a career in the corporate world for 20 years.  Working in corporate she realized that many people were surviving and not thriving, seeing work as a means to an end.  She realized there was an opportunity to support others derive meaning and enjoy their lives whatever their context and not wait until they had "arrived" somewhere else.

Julia Bonadei

Julia Bonadei is a professionally qualified Ontological and Integral Coach® and the founder of Wide Open Spaces (Pty) Ltd, a company based in Johannesburg specialising in Executive Coaching and Leadership development. Since 2009, she has been partnering nationally with leaders, managers and teams in organisations to enable them to raise performance, increase effectiveness, and bring about systemic cultural shifts that make for highly engaged and collaborative working environments.

She brings a prior 15 years of commercial experience into her coaching and workshop facilitation and a depth of insight into the challenges facing leaders today in a world that is ever-changing and increasing in complexity. Julia’s coaching clients report that they are able to apply their learning from the coaching relationship to all domains of their lives, leading to more meaning and fulfilment both professionally and personally way beyond the end of the coaching experience. She is a Professional Credentialed Coach through the ICF.

Erma Steyn

Erma Steyn is a professionally qualified Ontological Coach and Developmental Psychologist. She is a Professional Credentialed Coach through the ICF and registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa. Erma specialises in Leadership and team coaching. After a corporate career in Talent Management, she established a coaching and facilitation practice in Cape Town 12 years ago. Her coaching clients include a range of leaders from business owners to executives, professionals and CEO’s - spanning a wide range of sectors.

Her coaching work focuses on the insights, skills and tools required to create a personal and working life that matters and makes a difference. This includes being impactful, having fulfilling and productive relationships, conversational excellence, emotional resilience and personal effectiveness. In addition to her coaching expertise Erma has 18 years experience in the facilitation of leadership learning and team development, including conflict resolution, building cohesion in teams, and change resilience.