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Competency No. 5How do we facilitate growth as we lead and coach? Honoring the ICF Core Competency No 8The International Coaching Federation’s Competency 8 asks its certified coaches to work with clients in ways that great leaders do with their team: consider possibilities, create action plans, and explore learning. It also requires developing measurable achievements. In a new coaching session with MCC Coach Ben Dooley, we review a strong— perhaps an excellent contender for my second recording submission to the ICF for my MCC certification. It seems strong to me—and to Coach Ben— but without time-stamped requests for specific action steps at the end. Does this eliminate me and make this recording? I’m still not su...2025-07-0531 minCompetency No. 5The Harvard Mum Project. Chapter 2: High School Graduation Brings Harvard CloserThis month, the U.S. reaches historic milestones in some lovely and not so lovely ways. In my world, June 2025 brings joy and hope to 3.9 million high school graduates. Class of 2025 becomes the largest and most diverse class in history, experts say, and with historically high competition for college placement, too. My son, Nicholas, and his friends joined those millions this past Sunday at Muskego High School here in Wisconsin.What the media skips over is the deep emotions and new perspectives graduation brings for students and parents, especially those emerging from more egalitarian cultures like New...2025-06-2116 minCompetency No. 5Why You Won’t Hear from me Mid-Build“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” Albert Einstein, our beloved German-born physicist and mathematician, owns the delightful quote. And I find it especially timely when I’m mid-build of something big, new, risky, but beautiful. I find when I’m imagining what’s truly possible, I love to collaborate with my inner circle (new and old). I also love to isolate. This feels intelligent (or at least sensible) to me. Imagining is where the magic is. We can always curtail our hopes once we see how things land.Once the build begins and...2025-06-0715 minCompetency No. 5Ben Dooley: “Every coaching call contains a thousand lost connections with our client; but most nobody would notice.”In 2025, the ICF estimates 109,200 ICF certified coaches exist worldwide, an unprecedented milestone exceeding the 100,000 mark. Most recent 2023 data has MCC coaches at 2,203. So reasonable to expect, it’s still under 3,000. How high am I with this long climb and summit of certifying with the International Coaching Federation as a master certified coach, an honor the international non-profit, the largest for coaches globally, bestows to only 4% of its coaches globally. Well. I need to secure my second recording having secured one clear winner. And whilst I see the summit, I’m not quite there yet. I LOV...2025-05-2324 minCompetency No. 5The Harvard Mum. Chapter 1: Staying present in the last home seasonHarvard University received 53,700 applications for this incoming class of 2029. Of those, 1,950 were admitted, a 3.63% acceptance rate. My oldest of two sons, Nicholas McCullough, is one of them. He’ll play defensive tackle for the Harvard University football team, who recruited him, and he’ll study economics.As mother’s day weekend approaches, my last with him under our roof, I’m feeling what any Harvard parent might feel: Pride. Euphoria. Excitement. Awe. The deeper feelings, impending heartbreak of him moving away from our Wisconsin base to Boston, I’m processing—and managing, in part through honoring Comp...2025-05-1514 min
The Sage SayersStaying present within the long goodbye. The Harvard Mum. The last home seasonHarvard University received 53,700 applications for this incoming class of 2029. Of those, 1,950 were admitted, a 3.63% acceptance rate. My oldest of two sons, Nicholas McCullough, is one of them. He’ll play defensive tackle for the Harvard University football team, who recruited him, and he’ll study economics.As mother’s day weekend approaches, my last with him under our roof, I’m feeling what any Harvard parent might feel: Pride. Euphoria. Excitement. Awe. The deeper feelings, impending heartbreak of him moving away from our Wisconsin base to Boston, I’m processing—and managing, in part through honoring Comp...2025-05-1014 minCompetency No. 5From stuck to spacious. Marie-Louise and reimagining rest and adventure on her terms“The summit is what drives us; but the climb itself is what matters”The delightful quote comes from Conrad Anker, the American rock climber, activist, author and mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest three times. Anker, known for his visionary approach towards hardship, also tackled challenging routes across the Americas, Antarctica, and the Himalayas.I’ve thought of Anker’s views on the journey of learning often whilst securing my final goal of MCC certification: Finding a second viable coaching recording to submit to my ICF evaluators.In this week’s episode I’m airing (with...2025-04-2629 minCompetency No. 5”I discovered presence through training as a coach.” Coach Anna Damsma on intuition, creativity, and maintaining presenceFor Anna Damsma, maintaining presence was not much on her radar when working as a consultant. Work was more about pouring in excellent advice and building profits. But when later training to become a coach with the prestigious Co-active Coach Training Institute, Anna, based in the Amsterdam area, discovered three levels of listening existed. And level three listening—a universal level of listening which requires listening on a deeper, more full-sensory level, brought her extreme presence. “This felt so wonderful,” she recalls. “I’ve been hooked ever since.” In our delightful conversation on how we both define and...2025-04-1232 minCompetency No. 5How are you? The Catch-22 of Asking with Heart and Losing the ThreadI’ve not mused about my certification efforts with the International Coaching Federation as a master certified coach for a good while. Much has happened, and not happened since my January update. Here’s where we’re at.To certify as an MCC coach, coaches must submit for thorough evaluation two recorded coaching calls of at least 25 minutes in length. These conversations must resemble pure coaching, not a smidgen of consulting nor therapy, and at a level of coaching the ICF, the world’s largest non profit organization for coaches, deems as “exceptional” even “beautiful coaching.”If you’ve been...2025-03-2913 minCompetency No. 5The world needs a little guided meditation: Postcard from a Wisconsin prairieAmidst world chaos, uncertainty, and a lunar eclipse, I felt a guided meditation from my Wisconsin prairie would make a nice gift for my dear listeners this week. Thank you to Dotun Ayeni for the lovely edits and to Positive Intelligence, CEO Shirzad Chamine for the meditation. Reach out to me, your show host, for keynote speaking engagements, coaching, and training via my website, or find me also on Linkedin. Join my first workshop on Maven Learning, Listen Like a Boss, here. 2025-03-1508 minCompetency No. 5“I need space for my boldest creativity” Entrepreneur Marie-Louise on staying calm while growing our businessWe’ve a rare treat this week in sharing a coaching call in its entirety, with my client’s blessing and encouragement. The topic? Staying calm and grounded as we grow our business and dreams—a timely topic for entrepreneurs and anyone wanting to create positive life and career change. This often starts within ourselves, our relationship with time, and looking (with blameless discernment) at the flow of our day. Marie-Louise and I wanted to share this conversation for the rich learnings—and there are many, as she’s so inspired and empowered in this call. Also, with the gr...2025-03-0142 minCompetency No. 5Victorious Victoria: “I meet with my anxiety daily to hear what she has to say”Experts at the World Health Organization estimate around 4% of the global population experience an anxiety disorder. The National Alliance on Mental Illness finds anxiety the most common mental health concern in the U.S. with 19.1% with anxiety, over 40 million adults. Victoria Torno, based in the Philippines, decided a fresh approach to her own anxiety. (Anxiety affects 12.5 million Filipinos, around 12% of the population.) Her anxiety grew gradually and ultimately culminated into panic attacks and hospital visits to cope. She found, after therapy, her own hyper achieving mind was part of what drove her responses. And rather than minimizing t...2025-02-1418 minCompetency No. 5The Peace and Calm from Lunar New Years from our PastSan Diego based technology project leader Limei Wang loved the Lunar New Years from her past. Growing up in a small rural village in Northern China, the incoming lunar year brought the best food, clothing, and gatherings for the year. Little sleep punctuated the festivities, which lasted all week. Children received beautifully, hand-stitched clothing made just for them and red envelopes of money. They could spend it however they wanted. But in the generous spirit of Lunar New Year, Limei remembers children buying things for each other.In our ad hoc interview, Limei remembers the c...2025-01-3123 minCompetency No. 5The Final Cut. Where, Why, and How I Still Fall Out of Masterful CoachingOver the last year, I’ve listened to 35 different coaching calls I’ve conducted and recorded with a quest to submit one recording (a beautiful recording) to the International Coaching Federation (ICF). I’ve created a self-imposed deadline of Lunar New Year, January 29, Wednesday. (I know my critical mind. With no deadline, my Avoider and Stickler saboteurs will prevail.) If you’ve followed this podcast and mused with me on Medium, you’ll know what this is about: I’m attempting to join the top 4% of coaches globally to certify as a Master Certified Coach. Evaluators at the ICF, the...2025-01-1617 minCompetency No. 5Content for Coaches. Creating thoughtful content can bring prosperity, clarity, and joyOur Competency No 5 podcast has focused much on how to stay calm and present when we coach, lead, and live our lives. For coaches, part of that calm ties to making a living from our coaching, which requires marketing ourselves to our prospective clients. I’m no expert; but I have built a prosperous coaching business in a relatively short time from putting one piece of fresh content “out there” once a week. Through podcasting and writing essays and instructional guides or musings to help democratize communications coaching, bringing the wisdom learned to as many as possible, I’ve r...2024-12-2016 minCompetency No. 5How do we interrupt our coachees less? And if an ICF evaluator hears, are we failed?I muse and mentor some more with MCC Coach Ben Dooley this week, getting deeper into the nitty-gritty on how to lock in, stay fully present with our coachee. We address the inevitable blunder of speaking over—so hard not to in a 45-minute session, ways to rebound earlier, and wonder: how much does this matter?We also tackle an age-old adage almost every coach in training hears as they master active listening: WAIT (why am I talking?). Coach Ben finds this acronym can make us even more self-judgmental. (He urges us to focus more on whom am...2024-12-0616 minCompetency No. 5Does any ‘perfect’ coaching session exist? How much error do ICF evaluators allow?How to choose which recorded coaching call to submit to the International Coaching Federation to certify at the Master Certified level still perplexes me. And after all this excellent mentoring, I’m feeling more conscious of where I’m falling out of mastery as I coach. Does any perfect coaching call exist? And assuming not, how much margin of error does the ICF allow? These questions I posed to MCC Coach Ben Dooley, my mentor coach, this week. I’m feeling clearer and clearer and even more inspired. Reach out to me, your show host, for key...2024-11-2331 minCompetency No. 5The pharmaceutical exec who finds (and brings) calm through natural medicine: Jill StaudacherPharma sales executive, Jill Staudacher, appreciates the value of pharmaceutical medicines. She also finds value in natural medicine, especially now as we approach cold and flu season here in North America. (Echinacea, honey, vitamin d and vitamin C can boost our immunity really well.) In our lovely interview, we hear of homeopathic remedies and foods which can help boost our immunity and calm us down, even amidst Q4–a stressful time for many. We also swap notes (as fellow Wisconsinites and working mothers) on how to find our calm and bliss amidst Thanksgiving season, a celebration focused on...2024-11-0828 minCompetency No. 5Why the International Coaching Federation is right to ask coaches to clarify the topic (and how to do it)I’ve often bristled with the International Coaching Federation’s rule to establish (clearly—and in multiple ways) the topic and hopes for the coachee (our client) in every coaching call. Why? Because when you’re locked in and connected, the coaching conversation (in the real world vs. the ICF world) unfolds. Even asking the coachee to establish the topic or confirm it can feel prosaic, inserted, or forced, especially as we’ve already been talking about it. But without that established topic, the ICF gets antsy and will likely fail any recorded submission of our coaching without it. I...2024-10-2629 minCompetency No. 5One day at a time. Nick McCullough on retirement, Mississippi, and his landAbout 900,000 Americans retired in the first five months of 2024, part of a “silver tsunami” of those reaching retirement age. My father-in-law Nick McCullough is one who retired a few years back, and in beautiful ways returning to the land just outside of Ruth Mississippi where he grew up. The cotton farm of his youth is now his retirement land where he lives with his Cajun wife, Crystall, my American Mum. After years of running his own auto repair workshop outside of New Orleans, Louisiana, he’s done with work, for now. In our touching interview, Nick (who’s hard o...2024-10-1216 minCompetency No. 5Can I cry with my coachee & still evoke awareness? MCC Coach Ben Dooley says: “Yes!”Part two in a two-part series on maintaining presence when certifying as a Master Certified Coach, especially whilst the International Coaching Federation evaluates us. Reach out to me, your show host, for keynote speaking engagements, group coaching, and training via my website, or find me also on Linkedin. Reach out to MCC Coach Ben Dooley via his website, here. 2024-10-0131 minCompetency No. 5How do we coach, not “perform”? MCC Coach Ben Dooley on managing our evaluators’ judgementTo certify with the International Coaching Federation, the world’s largest nonprofit organization, coaches must submit a recording of a coaching call they deem…well, worthy of certification. The stakes and expense (and the agonizing decision on which recording to submit) goes up with our credentials. The fee to submit a recording for the Master Coaching Certification? Between $675 to $825 US. And the expense of mentoring with a mentor coach, who can review your coaching skills, adds up too. Of course, you’ve the time expense as well — coaching and then analyzing which of your calls might best adhere to...2024-09-1322 minCompetency No. 5Clocking off. Kyana Gayden on balancing work, rest, and playAir Force contract specialist Kyana Gayden finds that it’s the small tweaks in how we spend our time that yields the biggest results when it comes to work-life balance. She also marvels in that fabulous invention: Paid Time Off, which she never had as a graduate student, and does something fun—and spontaneous—when not working hard. “It makes a difference,” she finds, “and you feel more gratitude for your job, too.”2024-08-3119 minCompetency No. 5Meet Ben Dooley, my new MCC Mentor Coach. Joy (and struggles) with certifying as an ICF master certified coachWarning: This episode's super ad hoc. This week, I met my new mentor coach, Ben Dooley. He's a former actor (among other things) and now runs his own coaching training academy and helps coaches certify in empowering ways. (I felt so inspired connecting with him via our Discovery session, I had to hit record.) In our conversation, we hear from Ben on his first failings as a certifying MCC coach, the blockers many of us striving for that master certification face, and how to navigate the entire process when (like me) you struggle following rules and/or a...2024-08-1727 minCompetency No. 5“I have the best job in the world!” Oliver Singh on hotel ownership and the calm that comes from vacationFour in ten Americans don’t take their full paid time off (around 46%) of full-time workers according to the Pew Research Center. But that’s a real shame says Oliver Singh, manager and part-owner of the Ocean Mile hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Fl., who really gets to see the benefits of holidaying when interacting with his guests. In our lovely conversation, we hear how Oliver once aspired to become a doctor or lawyer like his siblings. When his parents (who bought the hotel several years ago) asked him to manage the place and make it better he foun...2024-08-0219 minCompetency No. 5"I'm Puerto Rican. I celebrate everything." Anita Rodriguez Cordero on celebrating as we coachWith so much mayhem, worry, and turmoil, more clients struggle to find much to celebrate or to declare a true win. But coaches like my show guest this week, Coach Anita Rodriguez Cordero, set that intention each session to ask her coachees what they want to celebrate. Coach Anita takes this intention far beyond the International Coaching Federation's want for facilitating client growth (competency number eight) and evoking awareness (competency number seven). For her, it ties as much to being Puerto Rican (she tells us) a culture celebrating everything, even the dead. It's also a delightful way (o...2024-07-2028 minCompetency No. 5Why I’ve returned to journaling (and hope to never let it go again)I’m recently back to journaling most days after a good nine-month hiatus. I’ve missed it so much. For me, journaling feels like emptying my bucket of all that’s within. As I get older, I’ve noticed its importance for my mental and physical health. My journal’s a forum for not explaining things, unless I want to and a place to unlock enormous ideas within.And I’m not the only one. The data tells us 74% of Americans find “emotional venting” via journaling improves their mental health. 65% found journaling reduces their anxiety. I agree with both data p...2024-07-0412 minCompetency No. 5“Maintaining presence starts with checking in on myself” Live Coaching & Musings with Coach Sophia CaseyMy guest this week is my friend and MCC mentor coach Sophia Casey who trains coaches like me to strive to become our very best version of ourselves and with that, our most present. We chat about all the barriers getting in our way, including wanting to perform, or solve, even direct our coachees towards profound epiphanies and results. (None of which makes us very present at all.)Coach Sophia, whose MCC and runs a fabulous coaching training business by the way, also humors her mentee by coaching me using a three-word question technique. Very powerful results...2024-06-2245 minThe Sage Sayers“Football has built me into a leader.” Defensive Lineman Nicholas McCullough on getting into HarvardWith some bias perhaps, I think Muskego Highschool’s varsity footballer here in Wisconsin, Nicholas McCullough’s, an impressive teen. He’s the youngest captain in the Muskego Warrior’s team history. He coaches and mentors younger kids on leadership, and is ranked best in his state for his age and position. The bias comes from him being my son and I’ve brought him to the Sage Sayers this week because he’s pulled off something big we can learn from as business communicators: an invitation (to which he committed) to play football for Harvard University and to study...2024-06-1416 minCompetency No. 5What high school freshmen can teach us about not stressing outGuess who my podcast guest is this week? It's Jackson James McCullough, my 14-year-old son who I consider a hugely calming influence on me and my life. (I've long wanted to interview this wise young man and he finally said 'yes.' )Join us on our adhoc interview and woodland walk in our leafy state of Wisconsin, just days after Jackson finished his first year at high school. You'll hear his insights on how to try not to overload, to rest when we're done, to block off time for our bigger tasks, and to make time for...2024-06-0714 minCompetency No. 5“Nature’s the one thing that brings us together” Jacqueline Crivello on birding, nature, and truthI’m one of millions of people globally who not only love bird watching, I love to do so from my garden. What a treat to interview Jacqueline Crivello, an award winning photographer, author, bird feeding store owner, a birder, entrepreneur and even an inventor of a bird feeder for hummingbirds. (The latter comes inspired from her very first bird feeder she created as a girl in the forest behind her Wisconsin home. She used a baby food jar and nail polish to attract them.) In our interview, we’re both surprising crisp and sharp given we both...2024-05-2521 minCompetency No. 5How do I train to become a coach? One coach’s journeyMore coachees are asking me each week how to become an International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified coach and how I became a coach, specifically the decisions before me and the training itself. (I’m delighted they ask, because coaching’s a truly delightful field.) I’ve found a fantastic home in this new industry, now coaching full-time for an audience I adore and relate well to. (Most of my clients are foreign-born leaders or managers on their way to the top.) I’m training coaches and corporate leaders on active listening, because they realize they must listen well to g...2024-05-1016 minCompetency No. 5The challenges and joy of certifying as an ICF coach. Two coaches’ musingsCertifying with the International Coaching Federation, the world’s largest nonprofit for professional coaches, challenges many coaches because it’s no easy feat. We must speak only 10% of the time, drive clarity, insights, and accountability too. Submitting a recorded coaching call to ICF evaluators for review often erodes our presence with our coachee, who we care about the most, even over the exam itself. With the calm wisdom of Coach Sathyanarayanan Sethuraman, my friend and peer coach, we unpack and troubleshoot these problems as we pursue our ICF goals. (Sathya’s certifying at the PCC level and I’m pur...2024-04-2630 minCompetency No. 5How do we stay calm amidst heated emotions? Musings from Coach Karen du Four des ChampsSolar eclipse. Mercury retrograde. New moon. Job layoffs. Overwork. No surprise many of us are losing it at home and at work. But if you’re a mental fitness practitioner with a goal to stay calm and peaceful no matter what, some ways exist to find the ease and flow and stabilize the mood and feeling in yourself and those around you. In our delightful conversation, fresh after time digging in her garden (where she loves to play the most), Coach Karen du Four des Champs, who has been coaching for several decades, tells us her...2024-04-1239 minCompetency No. 5“Kindness is my legacy from adversity” Magdalena Kranz on luxury fashion and feeling happier with lessMy interview with Chicago-based fashion consultant and stylist, Magdalena Kranz, kicks off a series of ad hoc interviews across my two podcasts. (I also host the Sage Sayers on Apple podcasts). I love that dear Magdalena takes us from her turbulent past in Poland before migrating to the U.S. We hear that she arrived in Chicago as a teen with little more than books, two t-shirts, one pair of pants, and one pair of sneakers. Today, she serves as a fashion consultant at the U.S.’s most luxurious retailer, dressing Michigan Avenue’s high-end shoppers, and...2024-03-2914 minCompetency No. 5“I’m loving this new creative space.” Coach Malvika Joshi on the joy of entrepreneurship.Building your own venture can bring a whirlwind of creativity, problem solving, and joy from building something you love. Partner it with coaching and certifying as a coach and you’ve endless surges of energy and happiness. This becomes the life and outlook of Coach Malvika Joshi, a London-based coach who’s just launched her own coaching practice with a co-partner while thriving still as a marketing leader. In our interview, you’ll hear Malvika’s learnings and hopes as a coach, and her intention for the Coven, a group coaching supper club bringing together community, self awarenes...2024-03-1533 minCompetency No. 5“Yoga helps us notice our feet have toes.” Yasna Garcia Da Rosa on certifying as a yoga instructorIf you’ve practiced yoga, you know: This ancient practice stills our busy mind and grounds us in our bodies while building stamina and strength. Yasna García da Rosa ACC (Associate Certified Coach) por ICF knows this shift well, especially from taking her love for yoga all the way to the top by certifying ( this quarter) as an instructor.Yasna shares the intricacies of certifying as an instructor of yoga (very tricky, very contemplative) and how her otherwise very busy life in Uruguay has changed in positive ways since. (Hint: Her friends, colleagues, and family—everybody—have no...2024-03-0124 minCompetency No. 5The Lost Sunglasses. The stress of losing lovely thingsLosing my first Tom Ford sunglasses in New Zealand’s Pacific Ocean at Ohope Beach on New Year’s eve this year reminded me that the fear of falling back financially never really leaves us. That's the fodder for this week’s podcast episode. I’m narrating an essay I wrote soon after losing my lovely Tom Fords and one I continued finessing during a snowstorm back here in Wisconsin. (So, it’s a cross-continental exploration of sorts.) I’m bringing these musings to my Competency No 5 podcast because I do believe collecting and then losing things — even worrying a...2024-02-1717 minCompetency No. 5More trust is vital for mastery of coachingIn this week’s musings, reading from my musings on Medium, I’m sharing what I’ve learned from completing 2:10 of the required mentor sessions with my MCC mentor coach as I strive to certify as a Master Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation. The insights I’ve gathered so far have changed how I feel, think, and how I coach — all through the lens of maintaining presence (competency no 5). My biggest a-ha? I can remain me—and stay creative—even while following the ICF’s very strict seven core competencies. A major phew, I’d say. I worri...2024-02-0215 minCompetency No. 5Growing things gives us inner strength: Pamela Currall on finding peace in her gardenSuch a lovely way to launch season two for Competency No 5, my podcast focused on finding calm when we coach, lead, and live our lives. Meet Lady Pamela at the Sea, AKA Pamela Currall, a retired practice nurse in New Zealand. She’s also my dear Mum, and in our delightful interview (which takes place in her garden off of the Kapiti Coast) she shares the joy and tranquility that comes from gardening. Pamela’s immensely talented at this craft. She finds gardening and making something stunning from something bland, not only uplifts, brings confidence, she f...2024-01-1817 minCompetency No. 5I find calm, confidence, and joy from playing flute: Emma ZhouBoston-based project manager Emma Zhou has long found joy, calm, and courage from playing flute. What began as a hobby in her undergraduate studies in China has now become part of her personal branding and a delightful activity she maintains alongside advanced analytics work. She performs often with local musicians and solo in the greater Boston area, at weddings, and remote for retirement homes in China, especially now during Christmas and New Year. Emma reminds us of the presence and calm—the peace—that comes from music, or any artistic activity. And we hear how having a craft...2023-12-2119 minCompetency No. 5How Do Active Minds Learn to Meditate? Helio Fujita KnowsIf your mind wanders too much for you to effectively meditate, then this week’s interview might delight you. My guest is Helio Fujita, an HR executive based in Switzerland. And (among other things) he’s a student at a prestigious UC Berkeley school training the bright and gifted how to teach meditation, the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification program. I loved this exchange and how kindly and patiently Helio asks about my disastrous attempts to meditate. He also offers us new ways to view the situation, to continue on with meditation, and he reminds us: even noticing things...2023-12-0820 minThe Sage SayersWhy Cold Calls Nor Outreach Bother Me (Some Reporter Tips)Many of us dread cold calling and following up with folks, especially when we want or need something from them. Why? Because we can feel (in these delicate moments) that we’re a bother or demanding or even desperate, when none of the above’s normally true. I’m convinced that our Inner Judge plays a role. Our critical inner voice wants to protect us overall from humiliation, rejection, or loss of reputation to our integrity or personal brand. And yet, if we really need someone to do something for us or seek clarity from our audience, then t...2023-11-3014 minCompetency No. 5How Feeling Thanks Boosts My Presence and BusinessThis week is Thanksgiving in America. I love that this country I’ve made home stays one of a few nations around the world devoting an entire holiday to giving thanks. (How lovely. And perhaps more countries can follow suit?) As a mental fitness practitioner and coach, I find that feeling thankful daily helps me feel more confident, calm, and centered, especially with high-stakes situations and presentations and especially when I coach. In this week’s podcast, I share three ways that gratitude focuses my mind while building more focused, potent, and effective strategy, which helps me also...2023-11-2412 minThe Sage Sayers“Diwali Connects Us with Our Culture and Celebrates Life” Madhu Chawla on the Gifts of DiwaliDiwali, an annual Hindu festival of lights, celebrates Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and marks the beginning of the fiscal year in India. For the 17.9 million Indians living overseas, many still celebrate Diwali this month in the countries where they’re based. Madhu Chawla, an Arizona-based Senior Manager at American Express, says Diwali becomes a piece of something you own and hold dear to your heart. And Diwali’s even more powerful when celebrated outside of India because of the deep connection with joy, their culture, and tender memories from the past. Madhu returns to our show a...2023-11-1717 minCompetency No. 5Using Candor and Presence to Speak and Challenge the TruthWe have my dear friend and peer coach Sathya Sethuraman back with us this week to discuss with me a curious dynamic that comes up for coaches when maintaining presence: The occasional but powerful need for radical candor. In this context we mean challenging our coachee on the words they lay down and asking open-ended, short, but powerful questions to challenge inconsistencies we notice and hear or get to the root of the feelings behind what they lay down. Clients typically want and expect this kind of candor from their coach; and yet many coaches struggle, especially w...2023-11-1030 minCompetency No. 5Celebrating 5,250 Individual Coaching Hours: Lessons and TacticsThis week, I’ve reached 5,250 individual coaching hours, which more than doubles the 2,500 individual hours the International Coaching Federation asks for coaches certifying as a Master Certified Coach. MCC certified coaches make up only 4% of global ICF coaches, because of all the other lengthy requirements they ask for, and because it’s so hard and expensive. MCC became my game plan when I fell in love with coaching, four years ago, and remains my plan today. Certifying as an MCC coach became my new PhD ambition. I pulled from a lot of skills, including entrepreneurialism, creat...2023-10-2712 minCompetency No. 5Riptide Adventures. A Tale of Trust and PresenceAnyone who knows me well knows that Lake Michigan, the world’s fifth largest lake, is my happy place here in Wisconsin bringing me calm, clarity, gratitude, and creativity. One visit can bring powerful shifts in perspective and unlocks big ideas. A recent trip to a new access lake point, Two Rivers, brought an unexpected adventure: Getting caught in a riptide. My way back to shore became a lesson and reminder on accepting, trusting, and staying present in dramatic and fearful situations.. Reach out to me, D G McCullough (now safely back ashore) for insights on my gr...2023-10-1313 minCompetency No. 5Taming Our “Monkey Brain” When We Coach. An interview with Coach Sathya SethuramanMy guest this week is Sathya Sethuraman, a financial Services and insurance industry strategist and thought leader who's served for 20+ years as a trusted advisor to Fortune 100 global insurance and financial service firms. Sathya’ s also my friend and a coach. Sathya’ s realizing, as he applies to certify in more advanced ways with the International Coaching Federation, that taming our active mind (our Monkey Brain) becomes pivotal to this process. You’ll hear laughter, connection, and musings as two coaches work together to figure out how indeed do we ground and stay present for our clients, and for...2023-09-2924 minCompetency No. 5“I Know that “”He”” is the Biggest Boss to Impress.” Jevon Koh on Finding Calm through Faith and TravelMany of us struggle with fear and uncertainty—the very opposite of presence—when speaking with powerful people. It’s 100% normal; and more pronounced in these intense times. And yet leaders like Jevon Koh, a business development and global digital partnerships director for a giant financial services firm, find that his Christian faith, his easy-going nature, and living abroad give him a vital and calming perspective in high-stakes situations he might otherwise lack. I loved Jevon and my exchange on travels, outlook, and faith. This interview reminded me that whether we have religious conviction or not, belief that s...2023-09-1423 minCompetency No. 5How Laughing At Work Can Bring Joy and Presence. An Interview with Amy AzumaUC Berkeley educator and program director Amy Azuma's long used humor to shift intense moods and energy. In her adult years, she's shifted from using humor as oppositional defiance to a tool for finding and creating presence, with herself and with others. In a delightful interview, Azuma shares how finding the funny in the serious can bring feelings of joy, relief, and become an excellent personal branding tool. Her 20-year career in education advising, teaching, and directing programs, mostly at UC Berkeley has become a perfect Petri dish for comedy, too. You can find Amy...2023-08-3130 minCompetency No. 5How I Center and Reset When Coaching At ScaleWith Gallup reporting most U.S. workers find 50-hour work weeks normal, no wonder many of us struggle maintaining presence as we work. If our typical flow becomes back-to-back meetings, presence (which I'm defining here as peace, calm, and present with ourselves and others) can feel impossible. As my coaching practice has grown, I've challenged how I relate to time because my job requires (at it's core skill) being present. In this week's episode, I share three small experiments which still help me stay present even when coaching abundantly (often 10 sessions in the one day.)N...2023-08-1808 minCompetency No. 5“Silence Creates Space For You to Notice Things.” Musings from a Pilgrim and Executive, Helio FujitaSilence creates space for us to feel, meditate, connect with ourselves, and to think. So says Helio Fujita, an HR executive from Brazil who took a Buddhist pilgrimage over the spring to punctuate a 19-year-long, highly successful corporate career. There he found he could further grieve the loss of his father and gain clarity on what's next. Our interview describes the wisdom, insights, and the clarity Helio gained on his pilgrimage. We learn of ways he continued the peace and calm he gathered along the way, even when life (and work) gets busy. Leadership lessons come from t...2023-08-0455 minCompetency No. 5Intervention through Presence. An Interview with Coach Whitney SternMy guest today is Coach Whitney Stern. She's a certifying executive coach based in Seattle, Wa., a business leader, and a yoga mindfulness instructor with a big purpose: To empower others to lead, communicate, and build strong teams with kindness, confidence, and empathy. As a certifying coach, Coach Whitney's undergone a learning curve with presence, active listening, and communicating quite different to the corporate world where she's functioned for over a decade. At Google, she leads one of the largest global advertising & sales accounts. Our interview unpacks all we can learn about active listening, trusting, and pausing, al...2023-07-2126 minCompetency No. 5Why Competency No. 5?Every new podcast needs some small clarifying words on what brings us here in the first place. In our introductory episode, learn what inspired Competency No. 5, guests we'll interview, what we'll learn, and why maintaining presence, when we coach, lead, and live our lives has never felt so vital. An essay on this very topic lives here via Medium, a channel I populate frequently. You can join the conversation on Competency No. 5 via LinkedIn. Book me, D G (Debbi Gardiner) McCullough, by visiting my website and clicking on the Calendly link. If you enjoy this podcast, do...2023-07-0706 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Meet Dotun Ayeni, our Sound Engineer. Tips on Reinvention, Interviews, and Resilience.My guest this week is one familiar to me and one I’m excited to introduce to you. His name is Dotun Ayeni. He’s an animal scientist by profession, a sound engineer by passion and works as a business development manager in an Australian lift Manufacturing company in Nigeria, his motherland. Dotun’s also my sound engineer. I’ve brought Dotun to my show this week because he’s an expert on the spoken word and he’s also part of a larger trend of holding two jobs (or several jobs) vs. one. Like many of my listeners...2023-05-2622 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Not Let a Stutter Define Our Life Nor Our Career?My guest this week is Madhu Chawla. She's a manager of global implementation in global commercial services at American Express and is based out of Phoenix, Az. Madhu's an interesting story to tell about a communication challenge which, for some part of her life, got in her way of confidence and being the thriving professional she always wanted to be. Madhu developed a stutter as a girl which continued through her school and college years and then into her corporate life. But Madhu never let her stutter, which became more pronounced with strangers and external clients, define...2023-05-0821 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Adding Story and Narrative to NumbersIf leaders have prodded you to add story to otherwise dry and stodgy data and topics, you’re not alone! Many communicators I coach hear this feedback when doing dry-runs on high-stakes presentations and within performance reviews, too. But how do we tell story around numbers? This becomes our theme for this week’s Medium post, which you can find here, and which I read and add to in this week's Sage Sayers podcast. We have tackled data and storytelling in the past with a delightful interview with Godswill Mhlanga, a finance expert who must make the numb...2023-04-2008 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Finding Our Purpose at Work. Perspectives From a Uruguay EA and CoachMy guest this week is Yasna Garcia da Rosa, an executive assistant and ICF-certified coach based in Uruguay who simply loves her job. This feeling becomes rare in today's turbulent economy where many feel despair vs. joy. Yasna works for a leading pharmaceutical firm and through a recent work trip to Africa felt reminded of her purpose, her passion, and her love for what she does. One of my favorite parts of the interview, which we conducted last month, is Yasna's joy when learning her company chose her to become the ambassador for Uruguay for the program...2023-04-0826 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How and Why to Tame This Uptick in Speaking With Fear.If you're finding you're more anxious than normal speaking in meetings and/or presenting to higher ups, you're not alone. Communicators all over feel the same and we know why: Many of us have fewer opportunities with our leaders than before; with that, more pressure to be brief, clear, and feel heard. Also, those same leaders we must update or persuade must decide (in many cases) who to let go and who can stay, and that feeling can feel fearful indeed. I don't have all the answers; but I do have insights. In this week's episode (very l...2023-03-2313 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Share Our Successes While Honoring Cultural Humility? We Ask Bhawna Sharma PuriMy guest this week, Bhawna Sharma Puri, is a successful Fintech industry marketing leader and a council board member of California State university. She's also a first generation immigrant, a Silicon Valley philanthropist, an investor, and a Mum to two wonderful little children. I've brought Bhawna to the Sage Sayers to unpack how to share our accomplishments in non-bragging, comfortable ways. This communication challenge feels tricky for those who've emerged from nations which value humility and now function as professionals elsewhere. As two women who came to the U.S. to pursue our dreams (Bhawna from India a...2023-03-0224 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Chicago Sun-Time's Jennifer Kho: ‘I'm Easily Inspired When It Comes To Storytelling’My returning guest this week is Jenn Kho. She's the newly appointed Chicago Sun-Times executive editor, president of the Journalism and Women Symposium, and former managing editor of two global publications with millions of readers: the HuffPost and the Guardian US. This week, Jenn's back to share what she's learning about herself and her industry through her latest career pivot from consultant to executive editor of one of America's largest daily papers. And she's helping me respond to many requests from the field on how business communicators can learn to think, write, and speak more like a j...2023-02-1127 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Cultural Reasons We Don’t Take Time Off From WorkMy guest this week is Marie-Louise Pereira, a leadership and mental wellness coach based in France. Marie-Louise helps leaders replace stuck, unhappy feelings with a confidence that helps them achieve their dreams, find better balance, and with that, a more fulfilling career. Marie-Louise and I spoke in the New Year on a problem many of our clients shared: Switching off from work, especially on mandated work break, and then challenging whatever inner critical, old, and fixed cultural mindsets get in our way of relating well with our work. Though we recorded our interview late December, with global...2023-01-2427 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Meet Avatar's Sea Dragon First Mate, Isaac Te Reina. Finding Presence and Play Through Acting.James Cameron's Avatar: the Way of Water is breaking box office records all over the world. The sci-fi epic just overtook Top Gun Maverick to become 2022's highest grossing international release and sailed past the $1.1 billion mark. Within this phenomena sits Isaac Te Reina, a filmmaker, actor, and writer from New Zealand who stars as the Sea Dragon First Mate in this Avatar epic. Isaac joined me on the Sage Sayers over the festive break to talk about his soaring filming career and all the gifts, opportunities, and knowledge he's gathered from landing a role within Avatar...2023-01-1134 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Not Let Personal Tragedy Make Us Bitter?My guest this week is Wisconsin-based executive coach Deb Skarda whose brother Rick was murdered on Father’s Day here in the states. In Deb’s own words: “He was unjustly taken by the hand of another.” Deb’s convinced that her life destiny now must make sense of this tragedy. Her touching post on LinkedIn and other social media asks her audiences to live by her Rick rules, all aligned with this idea of cherishing time with each other over work, money, and not taking the simple things (nor each other) for granted. Hundreds have replied—and many execu...2022-12-2721 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: The Gifts and Knowledge Gained From Coaching at ScaleThree or so years ago I entered coaching school to train to become an International Coaching Federation certified coach. This move felt slightly bizarre given I’d never received coaching before nor knew much about the industry. But I had a hunch that my work as a professor of communications and journalism, as a reporter, and as a publicist might blend nicely with coaching, especially if I made communications coaching a niche. In last week’s Medium post, which I read in this week’s podcast, I’m sharing a big milestone. On the day I wrote this piec...2022-12-1308 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Find Love Vs. Fear Playing on LinkedInMost of us waste a sad amount of time worrying about what others think of us when we post to LinkedIn, the social media platform for professionals with 875 million members worldwide. So, how might we have fun and love playing on LinkedIn vs worry about torpedoing our careers? In this week’s Sage Sayers episode I’m sharing tips and techniques I’ve cultivated in this global social media space—and with surprising results. Almost all of my business has come from LinkedIn; and now I’m at capacity (almost) with 90 coaching clients. (LinkedIn and how I play on Lin...2022-11-2813 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Make Time For Daily BlissI’m no expert on work-life balance; but I have found that applying the mental fitness tool of innovation, specifically to how I manage my time, has yielded blissful and surprising results. By innovating the flow of my day, i.e. the order in which I go about things, I’ve found more space for art, my writing, exercise—and with that, less stress. (I’ve even improved my blood pressure.) In this week’s Sage Sayers podcast episode, recording on a rainy Friday, I’m sharing this idea of staying creative to add in more things we love and b...2022-11-0511 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: The Gifts From Varsity FootballAround 1.9 million high school players play highschool football in the U.S. Along with thousands of other Wisconsinites, I’m a proud supporter of the Muskego Warriors varsity football team, Wisconsin’s former state champion for three consecutive years. With only one loss so far this season, we’ve a reasonable chance to reclaim that throne. This week’s Sage Sayers podcast shares a personal story on how football—of all things—has brought me and my family gifts, opportunities, while also teaching and reminding me of the power of a community rallied together. You can check out my TikTok...2022-10-2116 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Musings on the Passing of a Monarch. A New Zealander Reflects.When England laid their dear queen to rest, they laid to rest a monarch who provided a staple, consistent leadership in my life as a citizen of New Zealand, one of the 54 countries within the coalition of the British commonwealth. This week’s episode shares my memories of my queen—from my young girlhood in rural South Canterbury through to my teens and early 20s before leaving overseas. Also, leadership lessons we can all learn from Queen Elizabeth II in presence, remote leadership, and in communications. You can find the article: Musings on the Passing of a Mona...2022-09-3016 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Enjoy vs. Endure the Job Interview.With the Gallup’s annual State of the Workplace report recording record numbers of disengaged, worried, miserable--even angry employees, no wonder many seek new jobs. But the job interview process can derail the best and the brightest, especially those vague, leading, and often loaded interview questions. In this week's episode, we unpack some of the top interview questions, apply some journalistic and mental fitness tools, and create some strategy so you sail through and land the job of your dreams. Connect with me, Coach Debbi McCullough, about your group's communication challenges via my LinkedIn profile and website. I'm...2022-09-1311 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Convert Our Love for Writing and Learning to a Profitable Blog?My guest this week is Caroline Lindsey who, after years working in advertising and media work, took her passion of cooking, blogging, and food to a whole new level by creating a successful blog, ultimately earning enough to leave her day job. In our interview, Caroline, who’s based in South Carolina, shares what inspired Pinch Me, I’m Eating, how she generated enough readers and traffic to make close to her full-time job’s income, and the life she’s created for herself and her family along the way. Please visit Caroline’s site, Pinch Me I’m Eating...2022-08-2630 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Exploring Our Beautiful Minds. An Adult's Discovery of ADHDMy guest this week is Ambra who (around six months ago, in her early 30s) entered a courageous quest to confirm what she'd long suspected: She has ADHD. In this touching interview, Ambra, an operation manager and journalist based in Germany, shares her story with navigating a complex system, receiving her diagnosis, and dealing with all of the negative and positive emotions coming up along the way. Ambra also shares the Sage perspective by seeing and finding gifts, opportunities, and knowledge from her challenges. Already, she's becoming an advocate for women and girls with ADHD who often...2022-08-1326 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: The Resurgence of the Written Word. Musings on Becoming a Better Writer.Over the past five years I've asked at least 3,000 business professionals what worries them the most about their careers. At least half report feeling that ineffective business writing's one of the biggest struggles they face. Now, the importance of the written word's resurging as hybrid and remote work demands super clear reporting and documenting of things to reduce ambiguity and error. But how do we become a better writer? I offer some tactical tips in this week's Medium post on tools to stay compelling and brief. You can also find a few articles here. But in the m...2022-08-0611 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Seem Cool (and Confident) When We Lack the Answers?Fielding Q&As from prospective clients, CEOS, or investors induces fear and stomach pain in the most confident presenters. For those working to build their courage, the fear of the unknown in these moments can paralyze. But in this week's podcast, we're offering phrases, come backs, and even tweaks to your mindset to help sail through that moment with ease. We also tackle this week on Medium, three of the more popular myths on Q&As which can induce panic after we pitch or present our ideas. So, take a read and for anyone needing this vital he...2022-07-1515 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Can We Learn Music (and Other Crafts) As Adults? How Do We Embrace Mistakes Along the Way?My guest this week is Canadian technologist and adult musician, Sam Chow, who taught himself jazz piano, at aged 33, for the joy—and to show himself: It’s never too late to learn. In our interview, we hear how COVID-19 inspired Chow along with the empowering metaphors that come from learning something as nuanced and tricky as jazz piano. Chow’s found he’s more nimble and less self critical. He knows: Any mistakes we sense our audience rarely notices—something powerful we can all learn from as communicators. Follow Sam Chow’s You Tube channel, Mid...2022-06-2213 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Fuss Less. Act More. Managing Our Perfectionism.My inner circle knows that my dominant Saboteur — my leader of my inner critics, after the Judge — is the Stickler, who takes order, organization, and perfectionism way too far. While I view the strength of this saboteur as quality, until recently, holding out for flawless action has sabotaged any true career growth. (You can learn about your own saboteurs here.)In this week's highly-flawed podcast (due partly to audio issues I self-created by recording at Lake Michigan) I'm offering five techniques I use to override fear and self-doubt. I'm drawing upon skills I gathered as a bus...2022-06-1413 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Fix Your Attrition Problem. Write (and Speak) With a Kind Tone.Most of us want to sound warm but strident, clear on what we want and need, but open to feedback. And yet our writing can give off a cooler, sometimes lofty feeling which can offset our audience. In this podcast, at a time when most company leaders fret about attrition, we explore the delicate art of tone in business writing. (While the tips here tie to writing, many work in business speaking, too.) Here’s my small but potentially powerful idea: While we have no control over our team's ambitions and wants to leave and move on, we d...2022-06-0409 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Improve Our Vocabulary and Way with Words?In this week's episode we respond to popular asks for help with building our vocabulary in ways where others notice--but from a love for learning vs. fear of falling back, no longer mattering, or not fitting in. If you're wanting to improve your word choice or even find new ways to use plain words, consider these five coaching steps. An article on Medium offers these same insights and some helpful digital tools, too. Connect with me, Coach Debbi McCullough, about your group's communication challenges by clicking here. Or, do visit my LinkedIn profile and website. Know someone wh...2022-05-2109 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: The Biggest Myths About Job Interviews (And How To Debunk Them)Around half of Americans, Brits, and Australians are on the hunt for new jobs. Figures are scant elsewhere; but if my coaching base stays reflective of communicators, I'd say those numbers feel about right. But if a job interview awaits us, what myths exist on how we show up as communicators? In this week's podcast, I debunk the biggest myths I see plaguing communicators starting with this idea that researching about the company becomes the most important task or that researching ought to consume us. Not true. Getting grounded, peaceful, and taking time to truly celebrate our...2022-05-1012 min
The Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Get Going With Our Venture And Put Aside Our Fears?My guest this week is entrepreneur and coffee e-retailer Brad Peugh who (through the height of the Pandemic) launched his e-retailer selling (what I find to be) the best coffee in America. Brad's drawing from two major life experiences to launch Peugh's Brews: His time in the Air Force where he learned resilience, problem solving, but also exposure to the world's best coffee and intriguing cultures. He's also leaning in on expert organizational skills he uses daily as a program manager. Listen in to hear Brad's journey and what he's learned along the way--wisdom you...2022-04-2525 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Help! Staying Calm When Leaders Hijack Our PresentationWith the Great Return underway--and 50% of businesses demanding workers return to the office--politics are running amok. What's the bigger cry for help? Staying calm, focused, and centered when leaders hijack our meetings or presentations (and especially when external parties watch on.)Fret not. This week's podcast episode offers tried-and-tested tips and techniques which other communicators have found yield positive, uplifting results. Connect with me, Coach Debbi McCullough, about your group's communication challenges by clicking here. Or, do visit my LinkedIn profile and website. Please share this podcast episode with anyone you know needing/wanting communications...2022-04-1610 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Finding the Gifts and Opportunities In Wisconsin, the U.S.'s 7th Coldest StateLast month marked my fifth year living in the U.S. midwestern state of Wisconsin, one of America's most frigidly cold states. I’ve found surprising gifts from the long, drawn-out colder temps which can linger through to May. (Last week, we froze for days. Yesterday: snow!)In this week’s episode, I’m celebrating Wisconsin and what I learned about myself and my situation from a cooler climate. By that, I’m applying the Sage perspective I bring to my life and coaching: finding gifts, opportunities, and even knowledge, within tricky situations.A few resources...2022-04-0114 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do I Ditch My Fear Of Public Speaking?As we transition back to the office, we bring with us our fears and discomfort with public speaking. Having overcome this fear myself, I've a few tips and techniques (which include mental fitness approaches) and ideas I've co-created with coachees/leaders from all over the globe. Have a listen to this week's podcast and see how differently you feel from taking baby steps each week to get out of your mind, into your body, and keep your audience front of mind. My earlier podcast on not letting our Judge take over in these high-stakes moments might spark so...2022-03-1623 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Draw Boundaries? Interrupt? Share Our Work Without Suck Up?In this week’s podcast, we unpack (with the help of my dear coachees) some helpful strategies for the world’s biggest, most looming business communication problems. I gather (then share) recurring themes and patterns I've noticed from hundreds of individual coaching sessions and the recurring learning: Communication problems become personal problems, but also room for growing confidence — and courage, as you’ll hear today. Connect with me, Coach Debbi McCullough, about your group's communication challenges by clicking here. Or, do visit my LinkedIn profile and website. And please share this podcast episode with anyone you know...2022-03-1110 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Talk Ourselves Out of Fear When Bullied At Work?This week, on February 23, many countries, including Canada and the U.S. honored Anti-Bullying Day as a way to stand against bullying. Countries like New Zealand honor Anti-Bullying Day in May and of course more honoring occurs with national bullying prevention month in October here in the states. As someone who’s been a target of workplace bullying, I’m curious how this phenomena impacts us at work, home, and how we communicate, especially now with workplace bullying on the rise. With that, I’ve invited to my show Lida Citroen. She’s a Colorado-ba...2022-02-2625 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Know It’s Career Change Time?My guest this week is Coach Deb Skarda, a former critical care nurse, turned corporate pharmaceutical leader, turned leadership consultant and coach. Deb's successfully navigated three major career changes, most recently leaving a thriving career as a global pharmaceutical leader to launch her own business from Wisconsin as a leadership coach. Our interview explores how we know when to change careers, how to navigate these times, communicate our narrative with ourselves (and others) and why Deb loves coaching so much. Reach out to Deb Skarda via her website or via LinkedIn. Connect with m...2022-02-1926 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Does the Language of Data Transcend all Challenges (and Boundaries)?My guest this week is Colby McCullough, a supply chain expert with a combined 24 years of experience in the aerospace and consumer goods industries. He grew up in New Orleans and holds a BS in Structural Engineering and an MBA in Operations Research from Carnegie Mellon. Colby now directs the supply chain analytics at a large, Mid West consumer goods company where he and his team develop analytical tools and reporting to ensure the supply chain runs most efficiently (a great thing, especially within these disruptive, singular times). Clear, succinct, and compelling communications, a craft we can al...2021-07-0224 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Sound (and Feel) Brave When Asking For More?In this week's podcast, we offer tips and strategies on asking for a raise, promotion, or improved rates and terms with a contract. This podcast provides a revised audio version to Coach Debbi's article on feeling brave as we persuade, published this week on Medium, which you can find here.Have a communication challenge to tackle with Coach Debbi? Sign up here for a session. Her next communication workshop lives here. 2021-06-2513 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Sparking Joy at Work. Tidying Up How You Work and Spend Your TimeMost of us want to feel joyous at work and a delightful 2020 book by Marie Kondo, tidying expert and best-selling author, and Scott Sonenshein, an organizational psychologist has loads of timely advice. In this week’s podcast, I share the core lessons and steps I absorbed from “Joy At Work. Organizing Your Professional Life,” in hopes it sparks joy in your work—both present and future. For more on Debbi McCullough, her coaching, training services, and upcoming workshops, visit her on LinkedIn or at her website. Her blog on Joy at Work lives here. 2021-04-2910 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: How Do We Find (and Live By) Our Ikigai, Our Life's Purpose? An Interview with Hector Garcia.My guest this week is Hector Garcia, a citizen of Japan and the author of several beautiful and best-selling books, including Ikigai, the Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life which he co-authored with Francesc Miralles. In our interview, Hector inspires us how to find and honor our Ikigai, our life's purpose. In doing so, we can better ensure we spend more time doing things we enjoy and that bring us joy and purpose, even during challenging times. You can learn more about Hector Garcia and his new, upcoming book release by visiting his we...2021-04-0842 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: The Gem in the Woods. Finding Hidden Gifts (and Joy) Within FailureWhether we view failure with fear, shame, or disdain, culturally and generationally we can see many different ways we respond to failure. Although I've lived and worked within cultures which find failure off-putting and signaling incompetence, I'm working to welcome failure as a vital segue to meaningful growth. (Mental fitness and finding the Sage perspective within setbacks really helps!)In this personal story, I share an epic career blunder and how it presented gifts, opportunities, and knowledge I'm still benefiting from today. I hope my story helps you feel less mortified when (or if) you ne...2021-04-0710 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Do You Sound Pompous When You Write?In this week's podcast, Coach Debbi offers five tips to warm up the tone of your business writing so that you sound warm, accessible, and open vs. closed off and cool. If you suspect your readers tune you out, let's turn that ship around. If you're interested in Debbi's narrative coaching and executive communication coaching and training services, click here. 2021-03-2414 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Must We Combat Our Fear of Change? (Hint: Yes!)My guest this week is Amy Boettcher, an ICF certified coach and former attorney who practiced divorce law for 18 years and was partner at her Wisconsin-based firm. Two years ago, after honoring her need for new knowledge, growth, and for change, Amy retrained in an entirely new field: Coaching. She's since developed an intriguing, purposeful niche serving divorced parents who've found their judgment (and discord) of one another gets in their way of co-parenting their child from this new, often uncomfortable place. The knowledge she gained from coaching training and from her legal practice has...2021-03-1629 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Enrolling Clarity, Courage (and Love) In The Fight For CancerMy guest this week is California, Santa Cruz-based Chris Baker who, a few years ago, became one of the US's 106,000+ cases of newly diagnosed melanomas. Skin cancer, by far the most common form of cancers, impacts twice as many men as women and in Baker's case went on to become Stage Three. His likelihood of becoming one of the 7,000+ people to die from melanoma that year felt high, especially with rates rising rapidly over past decades.In this moving interview, Baker, a true Sage Sayer, shares how surviving his health ordeal transformed him. And he...2021-02-2625 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: The Art of the Hustle, the Risk, (and the Struggle). Entrepreneurship During Covid-19.My guest this week, Dr. Sergey Sikora, has learned rich life lessons about entrepreneurship from launching five successful ventures, including Releviate Therapeutics. He launched this most recent bio-pharmaceutical company, which develops therapies to target (and relieve) neuropathic pain, right within the thick of the Pandemic—a perfect environment for any startup, he says. This (milestone 10th) episode of the Sage Sayers offers insight into the bravery and agility required for startup owners and business-builders everywhere. You can learn more about Releviate Therapeutics here. Track down Coach Debbi for a complimentary narrative or executive communications coaching and...2021-02-2428 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: You're Flat, Darling. Adding Life (and Love) to Flat, Monotone Vocal DeliveryIn this week's Sage Sayer's podcast, we tackle an age-old vocal pattern getting in our way of connecting with and retaining our audience: Flat, lifeless, and monotone vocal delivery. Coach Debbi offers ten coaching and business reporter tips to add warmth, vocal variety, and passion to your next high-stakes presentation. Visit Hanging Rock Coaching for Coach Debbi's coaching and training services or schedule a complimentary coaching session. 2021-02-1714 minThe Sage SayersThe Sage Sayers: Pardon My Filler. Five Ways to Manage Distracting Verbal FillerIf excessive filler words take over your presentation, you're signaling to your audience your discomfort, disinterest, and/or that you're not feeling prepared. In this week's Sage Sayers podcast, Coach Debbi offers five tips to managing verbal filler (words like: “um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know”) so the vocal pattern doesn't overwhelm you—or lose your audience. (Incorporating PQ reps, a powerful and succinct technique for quieting your Survivor brain and activating your PQ Sage region in your brain, becomes part of this week’s offering. You’ll notice powerful shifts as you present!)For information on Debbi and her coachin...2021-02-0222 min