The Art Of Coaching

E321 | Practical Strategies for Setting and Managing Expectations

"What a letdown! I expected more…"

We’ve all felt this way when something fails to meet our expectations.  It’s one thing if it’s a product we bought off Amazon or an over-hyped movie, but what if it’s something bigger?  What if a misstep in communication hurts us professionally or negatively impacts a personal relationship?  

Today’s episode is your how-to, practical guide to setting and managing expectations.  If done well, we can preemptively address potential misunderstandings and conflicts and allocate more of our resources where we need them most.  

Over the course of this episode, we’ll discuss:

• The reasons setting expectations is critical from a psychological standpoint
• Practical steps to earn trust with new colleagues 
• Aspects to consider when establishing new boundaries in a personal relationship
• Speaking points you can use tomorrow with your team to jumpstart buy-in

This episode was directly inspired by questions submitted by our listeners.  If you’d like to submit a topic for us to cover in a future episode, visit artofcoaching.com/question.  If you want a deeper dive into anything we do or want hands-on guidance on a personal issue, we offer live events and virtual one-to-one mentoring.  For options email us at info@artofcoaching.com - we’d love to help!

Today’s episode is sponsored by Momentous.  Let’s be frank, most supplements are BS.  The industry is full of overhyped charlatans that underdeliver products that do not work.  Not Momentus.  Their mission is to provide practical nutritional support for people who want to improve their health and fitness.  Their supplements go through the rigorous process of NSF certification, so you can trust what is on the bottle is what you’re ingesting.  They’re a longtime partner of ours for good reason - they believe in the same things we do.  Fundamentals NOT fluff.  Visit livemomentus.com/brett to SAVE 15%!

This show is sponsored by Better Help.  Are you someone who’s social battery can run low?  Many of us struggle at setting boundaries and allow ourselves to get worn down, especially when we’re trying to help others.  Not recognizing when it’s time to seek help yourself can have dire consequences.  Luckily, our friends at Better Help can help!  They made it very convenient, as it is entirely online and suited to fit your schedule.  All you have to do is fill out a brief questionnaire and they’ll match you up with a licensed therapist who will listen and help you recharge.  Go to betterhelp.com/AOC and receive 10% OFF YOUR FIRST MONTH!

Come join us for The Apprenticeship In Calgary, Canada June 22nd & 23rd!  Whether you’re a people pleaser that knows you need to be better in conflict, somebody who wants to improve how you interact with your staff, or a parent who wants to connect better with their kids, this event is for you!  We go over: persuasion techniques, power dynamics, how to control your emotions during a conflict - and most importantly, we do it in a fun way.  Rich with feedback and opportunities to connect with people from other professions, this hands-on learning experience is something you won’t find anywhere else.  Sign up before April 21st to take advantage of our Early Bird Discount and SAVE UP TO $200!  This will be our last trip North of the border for a while, don’t miss out!

E320 | Andrew Coates: How to Conquer Information Overload

The influx of new information is relentless.  It never stops coming.  It never will.

How can we fight back against this onslaught?   What principles can we use to guide and harness our focus?

Our guest today has an uncanny ability to absorb, analyze, and apply vast amounts of information across diverse subjects.  Andrew Coates is a coach, writer, and speaker.  He’s written for several publications, including Men’s Health and Muscle and Fitness, and is the host of The Lift Free and Die Hard Podcast.  

In this episode, we discuss:

• How to optimize your learning process 
• Time management and when to adjust priorities
• Tools for capturing ideas and turning them into impactful content
• How to self monitor and avoid burnout

Referenced Resources:

If you’d like to connect with Andrew on social media or ask him a question directly, you can find him on Instagram at @andrewcoatesfitness.  You can also read his articles, blog posts, and more at www.andrewcoatesfitness.com. 

Referenced Material:

E273: The Productivity Myth: Tips For Making Sustainable Progress Without Sacrificing Your Sanity

On June 1st - 2nd we’re hosting our Speaker School in Phoenix, AZ, where you can find your voice and refine your message in a judgment-free environment using our research backed evaluation, video analysis, and feedback from your fellow attendees.  We’ll also cover topics on slide design, how to present more effectively, and how to be more articulate.  This is for everyone ranging from those who need more confidence and are battling social anxiety, to someone who is getting paid to speak in front of large numbers.  We keep the number of participants to 10 or less to make sure you get enough reps.  Spots are limited, so lock yours in today HERE!

You also don’t need me to remind you how important what you put in your body is and the impact it can have on your health. Whether you’re a world class athlete or someone who sits at their desk all day in the corporate world, Momentous has products that can help you perform at the highest level. They are all quality tested at the highest level, and they are for anyone who wants to feel better without overthinking their nutrition. Use Code: BRETT15 for 15% off your order.

E319 | Taylor Somerville: Stress Management for High-Achievers

We’ve heard it all before.  Stay calm. Relax. Carve out some time for yourself.

But let’s face it - stress is part of the human condition. Is there anything we can realistically do to manage this force that has the potential to wreak havoc on our lives?

Our guest today has fought this battle and emerged a better version of himself.  Taylor Somerville spent 15 years in the investment business, but the stress and anxiety of it left him deep in burnout .  So, he left that all behind, and in 2018 he founded Symmetry, a company that helps organizations, athletes, and individuals across multiple spectrums improve their own stress management, performance, and overall health and wellness.  

In today’s episode, we discuss:

• What it takes to pivot in your career 
• How to find your audience and cultivate your niche
• Strategies and tools to harness the power of breathwork
• How reframing can be a powerful tool for stress management

Referenced Resources:

If you’d learn more about Taylor and Symmetry’s services, visit www.symmetry.live and follow them on Instagram at @symmetry.live. 

Today’s show is brought to you by Momentous.  When it comes to your health, the best thing you can do is control the controllables. And that is why we are proud to partner with companies like Momentous, who remain focused on providing and developing products that will keep your body running at its best. If you’re looking for a way to boost your protein intake, elevate your workouts, or supplement your diet, use code: BRETT15 for 15% off your order.

DON’T MISS THIS!

This is also our last call for The Apprenticeship in Phoenix April 20th-21st.  Bookmark our Live Events page so you’ll never miss a date!

Referenced Material:Entrepreneur Essentials: Pt 1, Pt 2, and Pt 3

E318 | Donald Miller: How to Build a Profitable Coaching Business

Have you been dying to build a business in Coaching or another passion, but have no idea where to start?  If you don’t take action, will it turn into a regret that you’ll never forgive yourself for?

Our guest today has helped countless people reach business success they had never thought was possible.  Donald Miller is the CEO of Story Brand and Business Made Simple.  He’s also the Host of the Coach Builder youtube channel, and the author of several best selling books including: Building  Story Brand, Marking Made Simple, and How To Grow Your Small Business.  In this episode we dive deep into his new book Coach Builder and cover many topics including:

• The importance of defining your brand
• What to look for when hiring new employees or a virtual assistant
• How long it realistically takes to become a trusted authority
• Guidelines for creating your first high-revenue product
• The must-use tools for entrepreneurs at any level 

Referenced Resources:

If you’d like to order Donald’s new book, please visit www.coachbuilder.com/artofcoaching and receive a Bonus Webinar: How To Sell Your Coaching Services!

Ironically, during the episode Donald uses an example for a business idea of a workshop around developing keynote presentations.  If that type of product would interest you, we have good news!  On June 1st - 2nd we’re hosting our Speaker School in Phoenix, AZ.  Our team has experience delivering keynotes to industry leaders from Microsoft, Facebook, Wells Fargo, several Universities, and Professional Sport organizations.  This workshop isn’t just for experienced speakers, it’s also for those who want to find their voice or ease the social anxiety that comes with public speaking.  We keep the number of participants to 10 or less to make sure you get the experience and feedback you deserve. Sign ups are open now and you can take advantage of Early Bird Special and save up to $200!  Hurry, offer expires April 1st!

If you haven’t already, make sure you sign up for our Newsletter and stay up to date on all of our Courses and Live Events.

E317 | Tyson Shumway: Law Enforcement Lessons for De-Escalating Conflict

Imagine approaching a vehicle or entering a building, not knowing if the people inside wanted to do you harm.  The ability to maintain composure in high risk situations like this can be the difference between going home to your family or being rushed to the hospital.

That statement isn’t just hyperbole, it’s woven into Tyson Shumway’s daily life.  Tyson has worn a number of hats along with his body armor over his 16 year career as a police officer.  He began his career on the Southside of Los Angeles before transitioning to SWAT, where he was a team member for 7 years.  In addition, he has also taught cadets at the police academy and is currently on patrol in Sacramento.  His passion for teaching has carried over to his off-duty time where he conducts firearms training for Fieldcraft Survival and is a Facilitator with Art of Coaching.  

In today’s episode, we:

• Discuss how a law enforcement professional approaches de-escalating conflict
• Learn how to manage our emotions in tense situations
• Weigh the costs of engaging in office politics
• Explore the benefits of leveraging our inner anti-hero

Referenced Resources:

One recurring frustration from today’s episode was the lack of opportunities to practice communication skills.  On June 1st - 2nd we’re hosting our Speaker School in Phoenix, AZ, where you can find your voice and refine your message in a judgment-free environment using our research backed evaluation, video analysis, and feedback from your fellow attendees.  We’ll also cover topics on slide design, how to present more effectively, and how to be more articulate.  This is for everyone ranging from those who need more confidence and are battling social anxiety, to someone who is getting paid to speak in front of large numbers.  We keep the number of participants to 10 or less to make sure you get enough reps. Sign ups are open now and you can take advantage of Early Bird Special and save up to $200!  Hurry, offer expires April 1st!

If you enjoyed this episode and are a new listener, we are dying to know you and be a key resource for you achieving your goals.  Shoot us an email at info@artofcoaching.com and let us know how we can help.  Make sure you sign up for our Newsletter and stay up to date on all of our Courses and Live Events. 

Referenced Material:

E240: The 4 Styles Of Communication

E282: Understanding Neurodiversity: Strategies For Clear Communication And Collaborative Leadership

Today’s show is brought to you by one of our oldest partners, Momentous.  When it comes to your health, the best thing you can do is control the controllables. And that is why we are proud to partner with companies like Momentous, who remain focused on providing and developing products that will keep your body running at its best. If you’re looking for a way to boost your protein intake, elevate your workouts, or supplement your diet, use code: BRETT15 for 15% off your order.

E316 | Why Positivity Isn't Always the Answer

“Just stay positive!  You’ll figure it out.  Stick with it!  Keep grinding 💪  Don’t forget to practice gratitude. 🙏”

These are just a few of the commonly used phrases we hear from those who pound the positive leadership drum over, and over, and over again.  Though well-intentioned, messages like these perpetuate the myth that a leader should always be positive, putting an immense amount of pressure on people to live up to a heroic ideal.  In the real world, we’re all just human, and embracing that is the key to being a more genuine, authentic, and skillful leader.

 In today’s episode, we:

• Explain the consequences of forced positivity
• Discuss the purposes of all 6 primary emotions 
• Break down how to recognize, manage, and use “negative emotions” to enhance our leadership skills

Referenced Resources:

If this episode struck a nerve and you’d like to dive deeper or you have specific questions, we’d love to interact with you in our online community - Mighty Networks.  This is our answer to the shortcomings of other social media platforms, and allows our team to deliver a steady stream of content that directly addresses your needs!  This is the best-kept secret of our Art Of Coaching offerings and is less than $20 per month! You can cancel for free at any time, so why not give us a chance to provide you with value?  Sign up HERE today!

There is so much more to leadership than just being positive.  Humans are complex and communication is like any skill, it must be understood and practiced.  There is no better place to get the knowledge and application you need than at The Apprenticeship.  If you’d like to trade mantras for impact, nothing packs a punch like experiential learning with a like-minded group of peers.  Words don’t do it justice! Come see us April 20th-21st in Phoenix, AZ! 

Newsletter: Be the first to access all our live events & latest Free Resources and receive exclusive discounts!

Your opinion and feedback matters to us!  Realistically, it’s the only way we know if the time and effort we put into our podcast each week is worth it!  So If this episode was helpful and you appreciated the topic, please do us a favor and leave us a review on iTunes and share the episode with anyone else you think would benefit from it.  This helps us more than you know, and we can’t thank you enough for your time, effort, and support!  And, as always, if you have any questions or specific topics you’d like to hear about, reach out to us directly at info@artofcoaching.com.

Referenced Material:

E252: Strategies For Combating The Holiday Blues & Getting Out Of A Rut

Today’s podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp: Listen, life does not come with a user manual. You don't need me to tell you that. So when it's not working for you, maybe you feel like you're in a funk, maybe you're having a hard time making a decision, maybe you just need somebody to listen to you. It is an asset to be able to reach out to the world's largest therapy service. Better help has matched 3 million people with Professionally licensed and bedded therapists that are available 100% online, and it's affordable.  Go to betterhelp.com/aoc.

E315 | How to Be a More Fluent and Articulate Speaker

Have you ever heard someone deliver a captivating message that seemed to use all the right words in just the right way? 

Whether it’s in casual conversation, at work pitching a new idea, in front of an audience, or in the way we write, we want our message to seamlessly flow from one point to the next and be easy to understand.  

Fluency and articulation are unquestionably important if you want to be persuasive and project confidence and competence. Being able to communicate with precision is a skill that is trainable and is very much at the core of our mission at Art of Coaching.  This episode will cover:

• Define verbal fluency and articulation and how they complement each other
• Distinguish between clarity and conciseness 
• How to manage disfluencies and when they can actually be helpful
• The neurophysiological component and tips on how to make meaningful improvements

Referenced Resources:

If you want to improve your public speaking or aspire to get in front of an audience someday or even if you’d just like to be more confident in front of a room, Speaker School is the perfect live event for you!  Whether you have a message you’ve been burning to get out, or are still in the idea stage, there is no better place to find true progress.  Our Early Bird special is still available through April 1st, don’t hesitate on your chance to SAVE UP TO $200!

If you loved the episode but can’t get to Speaker School, we also offer virtual mentoring and will do whatever we can to meet you where you are.  Send us a message at info@artofcoaching.com and let's get started!

More dates and events for 2024 are being added, keep up to date and come see us this year at one of our Live Events!  We’d love to see you there!

Referenced Material:

The previous episode in this series all about Self Comparison

E314 | How to Compare Yourself to Others in a Way That's Constructive

How can you keep self comparison from becoming a negative force in our lives? 

We’ve all heard phrases such as “comparison is the thief of joy,” and have been bombarded with negative stories and statistics about social media and its magnification of self comparison.  While we don’t dispute the destructive effect it can have, comparison can also be harnessed for good and boost our self worth.  

Today’s episode will cover the history of self-comparison - the innate human behavior that can help us assess where our current abilities are and motivate us to push further, if properly managed and kept in check.  We’ll cover:

• The science behind self comparison and social learning theory
• 4 types of comparisons
• How our drives affect the way we compare ourselves to others and our past selves
• General tips for how to keep self comparison from turning into self destruction

Referenced Resources:

If you happened to miss the first episode in this series - How To Communicate With Someone Who Shuts Down or Stonewalls - give it a listen!  

We can’t fully grasp who we are without understanding what drives and motivates our decisions and behaviors.  Take our quiz and understand more thoroughly another piece in the messy puzzle of self comparison.

It’s natural to want to compare yourself to your past self and others.  If you’d like to receive feedback and be evaluated in real time from a diverse group of like-minded peers, we can’t recommend The Apprenticeship, Speaker School, or Brand Builder live workshops enough! 

If a group workshop doesn’t really sound like your thing, but you would really like some professional evaluation and feedback, check out our 3 month 1:1 Mentorship Program. Reach out to our team at info@artofcoaching.com to take your next steps!

Our next Apprenticeship workshop is in beautiful Phoenix, AZ, and the Early Bird special is only available until February 20!  Don’t miss out on your chance to SAVE $150! 

More dates and events for 2024 are being added, keep up to date and come see us this year at one of our Live Events!

Referenced Material:

One of life’s biggest stressors - Time Management

The envious brain: The neural basis of social comparison

Life Lessons and Leadership From My Mom

E313 | How to Communicate with Someone Who Shuts Down or Stonewalls

Have you ever been in a tough conversation with someone who just withdrew or shut down?  

Relationships and communication are a lot like an iceberg.  There’s often more going on beneath the surface that we can’t see or prepare ourselves for, eventually leading to an unexpected and harmful crash.  

Today’s episode will improve your knowledge and understanding of why people shut down AND give you tools to navigate the crash.  Tune in for:

• What stonewalling is and key behaviors to look out for
• What we can do as leaders to get out of our own way
• Tips to think outside of the box for unexplored strategies for progress
• Pros and cons to common advice or relationship hacks

Referenced Resources:

We are fully aware of our scope of practice and this podcast is discussing general communication strategies around stonewalling and shutting down.  If you are in an abusive relationship we urge you to reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline by phone at 1-800-799-SAFE or online at thehotline.org. If you are listening outside of the US, seek local resources for support.

We often use case studies generated from listener emails, as well as real life scenarios we’ve dealt with through our mentoring program.  If you’d like 1-on-1 guidance from our team, reach out to us today at info@artofcoaching.com and let us know you’re interested in our mentoring program.  We will let you know what the next steps are from there!

If you are dealing with similar situations like the ones discussed in today’s episode, get guidance, practice, feedback, and PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS at The Apprenticeship.  Our next workshop is in beautiful Phoenix, AZ, and the early bird special is only available for 9 more days!  Don’t miss out on your chance to SAVE $150! 

Keep an eye on all of our Live Workshops for updates on our 2024 schedule!

Referenced Material:

4 Communication Styles Podcast

E312 | Repairing a Strained Relationship: What to Say and Do

What strained relationships are you currently facing or have you faced in the past?

As long as other people are involved, strained relationships can exist in any context and often are exasperated at the worst possible times, only to make things exponentially worse.  So how are you supposed to deal with them?

Today’s episode gives several examples of strained relationships, and is packed with ways for you to improve the ones you’re looking to reconcile.  Tune in to this quick hitter for

• The pertinent questions to ask yourself before having the hard conversation
• Tools to bring clarity and conciseness to your message
• Strategies to get feedback on your communication before the actual interaction
• How these same concepts apply to entrepreneurship, sales, and marketing

This episode was a result of a listener reaching out with a specific issue they were working through.  What situations are you in that you’d like to hear another perspective on?  We understand the risks you might be facing if you share “classified” information, so don’t worry.  We keep it all anonymous in order to protect both you and the other parties involved.  That said, I hope this episode will encourage you to share with us!  Go to artofcoaching.com/question to contact our team directly.

For a FREE and EASY list of reflection questions and an activity to help you apply this episode to your life, CLICK HERE.

If you’re looking for something a little more stimulating and impactful than a list of reflection questions, check out our Apprenticeship workshop.  Communication is something no one will ever perfect, hence the name “The Apprenticeship.”  If you’re sick of wasting your time and money on conferences where the return on investment is little to none, come join us for an intimate and interactive workshop, where you’ll not only gain the knowledge and understanding you need to navigate the messy realities of relationships, but more importantly, you’ll get hands on experience working through your specific situation and gain the perspective of the AOC team and other individuals looking to improve themselves as well.  You can find our entire 2024 Live Event schedule here, and if you have any questions, schedule a free discovery call!  It would be our pleasure to help you find a solution and strategy to reaching your goals.

Other Resources & Services We Offer to Help You Reach Your Goals:

Online Courses

• Bought In

• Valued

• Blindspot

Mentoring

• 1:1 Virtual Mentoring

• Group Mentoring

Online Networking Community

Today’s podcast is brought to you by Momentous. Moving into the new year, we are excited to announce our continued partnership with this loyal and reliable organization! Momentous is our oldest partner, but they are STILL improving their product. If you are looking for the best tasting and cleanest protein out there, look no further. Code: BRETT15 gets you 15% off your first order!