If you've coached some hours, you've possibly noticed our clients can (at times) become combative, biased, and/or lay down something in front of us which invites our judgment. (Coaches still judge. Of course we do. All of us do. It's part of the human condition.)

We bring back to the show Dr. Marcia Reynolds to unpack those moments and how we can A/maintain our presence and let the judgment go and B/exit the conversation with grace and calm when anything offensive directed at us erodes our presence to the point where we can no longer continue.

Marcia Reynolds is a Global Guru Top 10 and Master Coach Trainer and Author of multiple books, including Coach the Person, Not the Problem Second Edition, now a bestseller on Amazon.

We hear in this episode how setting intentions and defining how we're willing to be spoken to becomes a powerful tool in heated moments, and one we can all learn from, at work and at home.

You can find Marcia Reynolds on LinkedIn and find her Second Edition of her bestseller here on Amazon.

Debbi McCullough has written for the Economist, Financial Times of London, and Guardian. She is certified with the International Coaching Federation as a Master Certified Coach and is a trusted communications coach for Fortune 500/100 leaders. Find her on LinkedIn. Book her for a consult. Train with her on Maven.

We sit down with former studio executive on films from Die Hard 5 to The Wolverine, Steven Puri, who learned how to inspire a broad range of teams through this creative work.

He's now sharing tips and techniques to help leaders and teams perform at their best and does so as a speaker, serial entrepreneur, and CEO of the Sukha Company, a productivity app which helps stop burnout before it starts.

Hear from a new dad who is finally "getting" what parents mean when they delight in the time they do receive to focus.

We hear about the vibrant feeling that comes when focus time becomes a scarcity.

And we hear the need for pragmatism. Knowing (and accepting) when we can and cannot complete a complex or highly creative task boosts our presence and focus. Acceptance helps us not put unreasonable expectations on ourselves nor dilute our focus from what's immediately before us. (For Steven, for moments throughout his day, that's his infant son.)

For all the dads out there, happy Father's Day. This episode I devote to you. And for everyone wanting to find more about their flow state, Steven has even more tips, which he'll share, when I bring him back to the show for part II.

You can find out more about Steven Puri and the Sukha Company here. Connect with him on LinkedIn here.

Debbi McCullough is a Master Certified Coach and communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders and a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Train with her on Maven here.

We sit down with Louise Berger, a British occupational therapist specializing in sleep, to hear about the deep work she's doing for the UK's National Health Service on a large sleep study for sleep deprived Brits. (She's the founder and lead of the NHS Insomnia Clinic and a sleep coach with BetterUp.)

Given that maintaining presence and staying calm amidst mayhem, ambiguity, and life's stresses becomes so much easier when we get good sleep, I knew Louise would help us rewire how we think about sleep deprivation, which happens to me often.

We learn that sleep's more evasive when we command it and when we apply perfectionistic standards. Also, that we can take comfort in remembering our ancestors survived on minimal sleep, and in way harsher conditions than our own. And we learn the power of making time each day for, well, doing absolutely nothing. Apparently allowing our minds to wander and ruminate in the day time makes us do so less at night.

You can find Louise Berger on LinkedIn here. And a video she created to help the millions of people in the world who have sleep difficulties, but who never get referred to a clinic nor can afford private help.

Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a Master Certified Coach and communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

Note to our listeners:

We took the Competency No 5 show outside of my studio this episode, and with that encountered technical difficulties. Hopefully this won't detract from an otherwise powerful conversation about navigating change, adversity, and maintaining hope, courage, and presence along the way.

Nicole Francois, a Wisconsin-based friend, sales leader, and fitness model, has had her share of life struggles. Growing up with a troubled mother, moving in with a strict and firm dad, and then having to build her confidence from the ground up.

One thing that came true for Nicole was her faith, her grit, and her ability and want to reinvent herself into a stronger, more capable version of herself. She did not want (and still does not want today) to allow circumstances to define her. Hear from a sales leader who finds bliss and confidence through boundary setting, taking herself out of her comfort zone, fitness, and being the best possible version of herself and parent.

You can find Nicole Francois on Facebook here.

Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is an MCC communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

Brisbane, Australia based leadership coach Zsofia Juhasz, MCC acheived a herculean feat: Certifying as a Master Certified Coach instead of renewing her PCC. She had the hours and the focus amidst Covid-19. Within a year of stating her intent to herself, she passed her performance evaluation on her first submission.

We hear of Coach Zsofia's journey from HR to coaching, from Hungary to Australia, and the changes in her 20+ years in the industry. We hear how she's training and certifying MCC coaches (eight to date) alongside her leadership coaching. "I find this very rewarding."

You can find Coach Zsofia on LinkedIn here. Find Becoming a Masterful Coach, her coaching practice here.

[Note to listeners: We lost Coach Zsofia's audio at the end. Small snafu.]

Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is an MCC communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

We ask Leadership Coach Jennifer Maxson when and how she knew to build her own coaching business, how to stay connected with our clients, and why and how the International Coaching Federation's Proficiency exam despaired us both (and we still passed.)

You can find Jennifer Maxson & Associates here and find Coach Jennifer on LinkedIn here.

Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

I can’t remember a time where people didn’t confide in me. Every time, it felt like an honor. I was super young when I first noticed the pattern, which began before I was aged five, in New Zealand, and has continued to this day, even inspiring my later-in-life career as a communications coach.

My first memories of people sharing their all with me come from visiting my dad’s farm a year after his divorce from my mum.

There I quickly bonded with dad’s new wife, Jane, a gorgeous Kenyan British woman with long blonde hair, a kind face, and knowledge of herbs and healing, long before natural medicine was “cool.”

This was 1974 New Zealand. It was on our rambling walks outside over the hills and gulleys and our horse rides together that I learned what was on her mind. In those moments, away from the farm and the kitchen, she emptied her bucket. And I learned all kinds of things I didn’t yet know about adults and how they think.

You can read along to this essay on Substack here.

Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

In a new favorite episode, we asked Master Certified Coach trainer and author, Dr. Marcia Reynolds: how do we coach the person, not the problem? And why business leaders ought to join coaches in this highly-rewarding and joyous activity.

We met with Marcia a week after her second edition of "Coach the Person, Not the Problem" became a bestseller on Amazon.

Marcia shares her love for taking coaching slow (especially in the beginning), noticing everything, interrupting (as needed) and staying blissfully curious. We hear about the writing of her second edition (and all that entails) and about her love for coaching, that hasn't faded one bit since entering the field decades ago.

You can find Marcia on LinkedIn here and the new second edition of "Coach the Person, Not the Problem, a Guide to Reflective Inquiry" on Amazon here. Visit Covisioning LLC here.

Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.