If you’re an avid listener of this podcast, you’re probably a newer online coach or manager looking to get better at your craft. Even if you’re not a newbie, there are always challenges that arise when you’re working with humans, so I brought on my friend and colleague, Dr. Stefania Tiveron, who I consider to be both an expert on information and on transformation. Today we’re discussing 4 of the most common challenges we’ve experienced as coaches and how to help our clients (and ourselves) overc...
May 10, 2024•59 min
I’ve been challenging myself lately to listen and engage with people I don’t necessarily agree with to help fight against confirmation bias, and it’s going about as well as you might imagine. In this quest, I’ve started reading a book called Leadership BS which is all about why everything we do as leaders and coaches is nonsense, and leads to nowhere. People are as unhappy and unhealthy as ever, so what do we do? Do we give up, or do we push back? Look, coaching is hard, but that doesn’t mean it...
May 03, 2024•31 min
It’s been a minute since we had a guest here on the pod, so I’m pumped to be able to chat with the incomparable Sara Baker. If you looked us “Renaissance woman” in the dictionary, you’d find a picture of Sara there and I’m not sure how she has enough time in the day to do it all, but somehow she does. Today Sara and I are talking about our experiences in the coaching world—what coaches get right, what they get wrong, the future of the industry, and the must-reads for anyone interested in becomin...
Apr 26, 2024•49 min
One of the most common questions I get from new coaches is “How do I structure a coaching call?” It’s easy to feel the need to discuss, teach, and address everything on every single call, but this can feel overwhelming and cause our calls to lack clarity and leave our clients anxious and unaware of where to start. That’s why today I’m sharing a 3-part formula to help you organize your calls by deciding what you should (and should not!) cover. It’s been an effective process for me and all of the ...
Apr 19, 2024•27 min
There might be some debate as to who the greatest coach of all time, across any sport or discipline is, but to me, there’s no one greater than Greg Popovich. In some interviews, Popovich seems like the antithesis to what makes a great coach—he can be aggressively direct and he acts like a total asshole some of the time, but one this he does get is results and he does it all while being beloved by his players. Most coaches I know are terrified of being strict or harsh with their clients for fear ...
Apr 12, 2024•25 min
Authenticity is overrated. I’m coming in with a hot take today, but hey, sometimes a hot take in needed. “Just be authentic!” is one of the most popular pieces of advice in the self-help world, but I think it’s a horrible goal to have. Sure, it seems so freeing to not care what other people think about you, but we’re human beings who need relationships and connection, and not caring about others’ opinions is a self-centered, awful way to create a meaningful life. Today, I’m sharing why I think “...
Apr 05, 2024•26 min
The 2024 World Happiness Report was recently released, and for the first time in the report’s history, the United States dropped out of the top 20 happiest countries, largely due to a drastic decline in the happiness of the younger generations. So, how do we get our happiness back? I’ve always loved talking about and studying what creates happiness, and though traditional psychology focuses on what can go “wrong” with the brain, there is a ton of new research and evidence on things we can do “ri...
Mar 29, 2024•33 min
A core tenet of my work and a huge piece of what we do as coaches, managers, and leaders is effective communication. Y’all know I love talking about how to talk to people. Y’all also know that I love even more is studies, and there are countless studies that show just how impactful great communicators are on the people we are trying to influence. Great communication helps us become synchronized, which in turn makes us better motivators and increases trust, which is one of the most important fact...
Mar 22, 2024•29 min
Think about how hard it is to change yourself—if change was easy, we’d all be perfect, right? But we all know changing takes time and we often fail, so why do we think we could change others? Whether as coaches, leaders, parents, friends, or parters, the idea of helping someone to change sounds amazing, but the truth remains, you just can’t change someone who doesn’t want it. What we can do, however, is cultivate an environment that makes it easier for someone to change. If someone feels safe, c...
Mar 15, 2024•22 min
I’ve been busy lately, and while it’s been rewarding and fulfilling to do so many things back to back, but all signs are starting to point to burn out. Our energy flow is a fundamental core of our ability to perform at a high level, and far more important than the amount of time we have, so it’s imperative that we develop systems to manage those energy levels. Energy comes in cycles and rhythms—it’s something we see in nature, and it’s no different in ourselves. If you want your energy back, you...
Mar 08, 2024•30 min
It might just be me turning into a grouchy old man, but recently I’ve noticed more and more communication habits that really drive me crazy. We tend to focus more on the tactics behind good communication, rather than understanding the principles of actually making people feel seen and heard. Our communication is more than just the words we say—it’s the way we say it, the emotions behind our words, all the things we don’t say, and so many more non-verbal cues. When we focus solely on tactics, we’...
Mar 01, 2024•28 min
Got a little bit of a tough love episode for y’all today, and in my opinion, if you find yourself experiencing this one thing, you’re a bottom 50% coach or leader: defensiveness. Defensiveness is a toxic blind spot. It’s a self-protective mechanism but it redirects blame and hinders conflict resolution while obstructing personal growth. Self-esteem can be fragile and confidence is often paradoxical, but if you’re looking bot the antidote to defensiveness, accepting responsibility and fostering g...
Feb 23, 2024•30 min
At the heart of it, this is really a personal development podcast, and one thing that people are really searching for right now in the scope of personal development is how to stop overthinking. I used to be a classic over-thinker and I’ve certainly worked with plenty of people who are the same, so if you’re someone who struggles with perfectionistic tendencies, low self-esteem, and rumination, this one is for you. And remember, these things are mental health practices, emphasis on practice, whic...
Feb 09, 2024•22 min
If you’ve heard even one episode of this podcast, you’ll know how much I dislike personality tests, and that’s being generous. People are notoriously bad at self-awareness, and therefore can never accurately self-describe our personality traits. But having accurate self-awareness is critical in how we make decisions, regulate our emotions, and grow as human beings. Today I’m sharing 5 psychological quirks I’ve observed over the years, and what it means if any of these qualities apply to you. Che...
Feb 02, 2024•22 min
One of the key tenets of coaching and leadership is being able to communicate clearly and effectively. In all communication, especially as leader, there are 3 laws we need to take into account when interacting with different people. If you abide by these three laws, you’re far more likely to have trust, power, commitment—all the most powerful tools you can have as a leader. If you can master these, your leadership will be that much better. Check out the Take Care website and join the mailing lis...
Jan 26, 2024•21 min
Being likable is one of the most powerful and effective coaching strategies, and one of the best ways to improve your likability is by becoming a great question asker. When we get better at asking questions, we understand people on a deeper level, we become aware of our unconscious beliefs and actions, and takes the pressure of “knowing everything” off our shoulders. In short, you’ll have higher client retention, have bigger breakthroughs, and resonate more deeply with your clients. Today I’m sh...
Jan 19, 2024•32 min
I’ve thought a lot about developing a process for impacting and influencing people that coaches could master and become great facilitators for change, and while I might not know the whole roadmap yet, I am certain of what the very first step is. Study after study has shown that our relationships and connection matter more than anything else in our lives, yet we’re in a society with rapidly degrading social connections and an over-emphasis on the individual. Everyone is hyper-focused on themselve...
Jan 12, 2024•30 min
It’s a brand new year, and we’re still out here recording pods. Last week, I talked about setting goals, but the flip side of that, and what I’m talking about this week, is changing the bad habits and behaviors you’d like to let go of—the “I wills” of behavior change vs. the “I won’t’s.” Look, change is hard, and doubly so when you don’t have the most powerful of motivation, but I’m coming at you with 4 strategies you can implement when breaking those bad habits feels a bit too hard. Check out t...
Jan 05, 2024•36 min
We’re just days away from my favorite (and possibly the most controversial) holiday: New Year’s Day. You know I’m big on self-reflection and goal setting, and now is the perfect time to do it, contrary to popular belief. New Years pumps us full with a sense of hope, purpose, and excitement that can help us kick-start our goals. That is, of course, only true if we’re setting the right kind of goals. Whether you’re setting goals for the New Year, or you’re helping your clients come up with goals f...
Dec 29, 2023•26 min
Ever wondered what the secret sauce of great coaching is? Are honesty, good intentions, and challenging dialogue all essential ingredients? Join us as we, seasoned coaches and close friends, put our heads together to decipher the rules of being a great coach. We share our own trials and tribulations, the highs and the lows, and the wisdom we've gathered along our journey. Our conversation offers fresh perspectives, and we assure you, whether you're a seasoned professional, a newbie coach, or jus...
Dec 22, 2023•43 min
Even the best-of-the-best coaches only succeed in client transformation 40% of the time. If the highest performers still fail to keep clients compliant over half the time, then knowing the right way to talk about and handle non-compliant clients is that much more important. Behavior change is hard enough to do on our own, so helping other’s change is an even harder task, and we can’t beat ourselves up when our clients fail to stick to plan. In this episode, I’m giving you the exact formula you n...
Dec 15, 2023•23 min
There’s a paradox we all face when it comes to confidence: we think that if we have confidence, we can avoid the negative experiences in life like anxiety, fear, or even failure, yet in order to build that confidence we so desperately seek, we must first experience—and even embrace—those very same negatives. If we seek improvement as coaches, business owners, and especially as human beings, we first need to develop a healthy relationship with being less than perfect. So if you find yourself seal...
Dec 08, 2023•19 min
When you work with people, no amount of well-intentioned logic gets you results every time. As a fitness professional, you have all the right answers to your clients problems—eat lean protein and veggies, get in 10k steps every day, manage your stress, get enough sleep—but logical solutions can’t solve illogical problems. People aren’t algorithms; they have bad days, differing priorities, preferences, and years of societal programming that doesn’t go away just because you say so. If you want to ...
Dec 01, 2023•30 min
I’m notorious for hating personality tests. Humans are infamously terrible at self-awareness, and personality tests become an excuse for people to act like the most base-version of themselves without any reason to change for the better. That being said—there is a personality model that’s been intriguing me lately, one that paints a more complete picture, and exists on a sliding scale to make room for the inevitable changes of personality. It’ll never be the be-all-end-all of understanding people...
Nov 24, 2023•25 min
Within every conversation had with our clients, we move either towards trust or away from it. You know by now that building trust with your clients is the single-most important thing you can do to make the biggest impact on their lives, and every conversation brings an opportunity to make your clients feel seen and understood. Every conversation has 2 sets of frames, and as leaders, it’s on us to get to the underlying depth beyond what’s being said. If you take the time to understand, manage you...
Nov 17, 2023•16 min
Our sense of trust in the world and the people around us is decaying—rapidly. We don’t trust anyone or anything, not information sources, institutions, our employers, not even our neighbors. But on a large-scale and a personal level, trust is crucial. Trusting societies and nations tend to report better quality of life metrics across to board, and trusting individuals live longer and happier lives. As coaches and managers, fostering an environment of trust is crucial—creating an environment of r...
Nov 10, 2023•23 min
Coaching, in essence, is relationship building. The relationships that we have with our clients will constantly be changing and it’s so easy to get distracted by the urgency of the moment that we forget how far we’ve come on our journeys together. That’s why today I wanted to share the stages of the client relationship, because our clients (and ourselves!) will constantly be growing, improving, and changing and we may experience all these stages several times over in our work with our clients. W...
Nov 03, 2023•28 min
Despite everyone’s best intentions, physical health in the United States keeps declining, but why is that? Our brains are evolutionarily wired to trap us within the Scarcity Loop—a trigger for impulsive, repetitive behaviors that make us feel good. And while those behaviors once helped us out in our more primal state, now they lead to all of us getting stuck in behaviors we might regret doing later, things like over-eating, compulsive shopping, or spending too much time on social media. This sca...
Oct 27, 2023•27 min
Got a two-fold episode for you today, the first part being a recap of my summer trip with my wife, Kelsey, and the second part a little education on why you’re probably not as good of a listener as you think. Most people think they’re great listeners, but so few of us actually feel heard or understood by the people in our lives—that’s why becoming a great listener is the ultimate competitive advantage. When people feel listened to, they become less anxious, less extreme in their beliefs, more se...
Oct 20, 2023•42 min
There’s this pervasive belief that more always equals better. In a study (you know I love my studies) done out of the University of Virginia, participants almost unanimously added items, steps, and ideas when told to improve something, and did the opposite when told to make things worse. Somehow we’ve grown to see “simple” as a bad thing. But in my experience, so many things can be improved when we opt to streamline and simplify, rather than over-complicate. As coaches, it’s a powerful idea to k...
Oct 13, 2023•23 min
