The Masterful Coach Podcast: Coaching skill mastery, business strategy, and ideal life creation!

Building your business isn’t easy. It’s a ride of successes with joys and failures with struggles. And it’s not always easy to handle the uncertainties that arise. Quieting the fears of doubt, wondering if you’re making a difference with a client, swirling the conversation from a session around and around in your head… those are quite normal. No matter whether you’re newer to coaching or a seasoned pro, we all need encouragement to surf the ups and the downs. As you grow your business, my sincere hope for you is that you are loving it and your clients; that you are riding more highs than lows. And through it all, I hope that you’re continually upping your coaching mastery. I hope this for you because I know it is an integral part of succeeding in your coaching business and loving it even more. To help, I’ve compiled for you 10 tips focused on master-level coaching. In this episode, I give you these 10 tips and expound a bit on each one. What You’ll Learn Be where you are, practice the basics Embrace the idea of being where you are, be present Always be learning, but don’t get stuck Make connections Meet your client where they are Let go of rigidity Give yourself permission to have your own style Don’t be afraid let go and collaborate See value in others, don’t get caught in scarcity Do your own work Contact Info and Recommended Resources Connect with Molly Claire: The Coaching Collective: thecoachingcollective.com -- Sign up for free monthly mastery trainings! Work with Molly! mollyclaire.com/coaching

Uncertainty creates a vague, dark cloud of confusion. It may be uncertainty in your coaching program or the direction you should take. It may show up as doubt that you can properly scale your business or succeed long term. It may manifest as feeling overwhelmed, lacking confidence, and even feeling fear. No matter how it crops up, uncertainty is completely normal. You should expect to experience it at some point in your coaching business, if you haven’t already. Because uncertainty is normal, it’s wise to have awareness and know some action steps. Employing these will help move you from uncertainty to certainty, reduce worries, and boost your confidence. In this episode, I share three areas of uncertainty and offer ideas for converting to clarity. As you listen, remember that others often see you much more confident and capable than you see yourself. Despite your feelings of uncertainty, you have the skills and the tools to be positively impactful and help others at a high level. You are completely capable, Coach! What You’ll Learn Lack of Confidence in Your Offer Incorrect valuation; correctly valuing the outcome, not the “how” Lack of clarity in your program structure; it’s not about perfection, it’s about connection Overdelivering: creating a high-level experience, not just more things You have to be sold on it yourself first Lack of Confidence in Yourself Handling the voice of “I’m not sure this will work”; What does self-doubt feel and look like for you? Answer the “what if” questions; How will you experience and handle them? Recognize that fear is totally normal. Fear and creativity come together on the journey Are you willing to fail by default or succeed on purpose? Inaction technically is action Overwhelm as a Distraction Typically stirred up by fear, know your overwhelm indicators Get task steps specific; replace the unknown with the known Make space for your thoughts and feelings Contact Info and Recommended Resources Connect with Molly Claire: The Coaching Collective: thecoachingcollective.com -- Sign up for free monthly mastery trainings! Work with Molly! mollyclaire.com/coaching

Handling some of the emotions that surface during coaching sessions can be a delicate process. Some instances may lead you to even suspect trauma in the life of a client. What a some signs a caring coach should watch for to know if referral to a licensed therapist is needed? What can a coach do within their own coaching scope to further help a client? In this episode, Jen Taylor, a licenced trauma therapist with numerous credentials and training in multiple techniques, shares her insights and tips. As Jen and I spoke, one important point stuck out to me that Jen really felt to be most important as well. That is: the relationship a client develops with you is paramount to success. This is true whether a client is dealing with trauma or not. But since trauma is usually experienced within relationship, so can healing be experienced within relationship. So the more you can positively connect with a client, the more you can help them heal and improve their life, which is the goal of all coaching. What You’ll Learn How Trauma is Defined and some Red-Flags of Potential Trauma An unintegrated response to a physical or emotional stressor The nervous system’s overwhelm that marks trauma Belief whether or not we had agency over what happened Survival brain hijacking Emotional and physical symptoms to watch for, tracking body movements How to Tell the Difference between Trauma and Normal Life Ups and Downs How quickly does the person recover from an upset? Does the person feel overwhelmed and powerless or do they feel they have agency? Is it impacting their daily life? How to Incorporate Help Within the Scope of Coaching Help clients develop the ability to be a witness of their own cognitive, emotional and somatic experiences (often referred to as decoupling) Increase curiosity to put distance between circumstance and response Encourage regulation and staying connected with self during disregulation The Top-Down Approach Versus the Bottom-Up Approach The brain creates thoughts and feelings and sends those down to the body; but the body also creates feelings and sends them up to the brain (how it is all interconnected) Using the body as an ally instead of an enemy Staying with the emotions that are coming up, creating space How to settle into, and make use of, a sensorial response Contact Info and Recommended Resources Meet Jen Taylor, MA, LPCC Jen is a somatic trauma therapist, specializing in EMDR Therapy, Sensorimotor Therapy, and Assisted Psychotherapy. She is also a certified Synergetic Play Therapist (SPT), a Certified Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapist, and is trained in multiple techniques. She works with individuals of all ages, from children as young as two to adults in their 70s. She focuses on a mind-body approach that assists in relief from anxiety, depression, grief, disordered eating, chronic illness, and other impacts on the nervous system from trauma and stress. Jen is also a Life Coach and a graduate of The Life Coach School. Somatic Psychotherapy uses Sensorimotor Therapy that combines cognitive and body based interventions. EMDR Therapy is Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing that involves an 8-step phrase process. Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP) uses the only legal psychedelic medicine available for use by mental health providers. Learn more about these techniques and Jen’s services at jentaylorpsychotherapy.com/therapy-services. Connect with Jen Taylor Website (for therapy or connecting within Colorado): jentaylorpsychotherapy.com Website (for coaches wanting to connect with Jen regarding somatic training): inbodiedwellness.com Connect with Molly Claire The Coaching Collective: thecoachingcollective.com -- Sign up for free monthly trainings! Work with Molly! mollyclaire.com/coaching

As a coach, you’re typically your own boss. Completely self-guided and self-managed, you’re without someone charting out your day. You may also have the added layer of your business being located in your home. That’s why focus of your time, focus of your energy, how productive you are, and how you manage the day-to-day are crucial. It can be too easy to lose focus and lose sight of our goals. Maybe even occasionally use home as an excuse to escape making a tough decision or dealing with doubt at work, or vice versa. I want to offer a few tips and some ways to harness focus, move consistently toward your goals, and to especially focus on the things that are most important. The positive habits and mindshifts I share with you take practice and time to come more naturally. Believe me, I’m still working on them myself. I encourage you to work consistently on them as well, because they do make a world of difference. What You’ll Learn Create a Container Around Your Time, Focus and Energy Harness the positive focus and creativity of procrastination without the normally accompanying negatives Look ahead; prepare your brain; start the juices flowing Commit to the end result: have a self-imposed deadline, set expectations, and fulfill them Halt the Cycle of Dread Move toward what you dread and take purposeful action Use the positive emotional experience of accomplishment as fuel Proper Energy Management It’s not about having more time, it’s about managing your thoughts and energy Note negative tasks and thoughts that deplete your energy; Note positive tasks and thoughts that energize you Personalize your time of day, task methods, and task order to maximize your focus, energy and productivity Contact Info and Recommended Resources Connect with Molly Claire: The Coaching Collective: thecoachingcollective.com -- Sign up for free monthly mastery trainings! Work with Molly! mollyclaire.com/coaching

As a coach, you want to use your gifting to help others create their ideal life and business. Naturally, you also desire this for yourself. But how do you build a committed business that nurtures your ideal life? How do you stay true to your own path and not someone else’s? How do you avoid building someone else’s business or building a business that doesn’t support the life you want? In this episode, I chat with certified Life Coach, Heather Rackham, about these very questions. Heather shares lessons she’s learned and truths she’s embraced along her business-building journey. She shares about knowing your own values, following your own instincts, and sticking with your priorities. In this, you find clarity. And in clarity, you find joy, definitive action, and freedom. Freedom to pour into others while still building the coaching business and life your heart longs for. What You’ll Learn How to Build Your Right Business - Not someone else’s Recognize self-sabotage End the frustration loop Commit and recommit to your ideal life How to Commit to Your Values (Priorities) and Clarify Them Discern between what you value and what others think you should value Acknowledge internal and external judgment Reject ambition shame and surround yourself with a community of support How Heather Shaped Her Coaching Business Growth The value of why The value of progression The value of uniqueness The value of challenge How to Create Fuel and Avoid Unproductive Shifts The power of alignment The power of understanding yourself The power of coming home The power of leaning in How Heather Adjusted and Built Her Ideal Business and Life The lesson of not building someone else’s business The lesson of being true to your own alignment The lesson of embracing personal coaching for your life and your navigation Contact Info and Recommended Resources Meet Heather Rackham, The Second Marriage Coach Heather runs the Latter-Day Saints (LDS) Life Coach Directory, which lists coaches that are members of the LDS church and are also certified through the Life Coaching School. Coaches in this directory work with people both inside and outside of the church. She is also the host of the coaching podcast, Latter-Day Life Coaches, which features a variety of LDS coaches and their niches. In her own coaching, Heather is a certified Life Coach and works with women who are in a second marriage or considering one. It is her desire to teach women to have peace, safety, love and respect both in their marriage and for themselves. In addition to her own business, Heather serves as a mentor within The Coaching Collective with Molly Claire and Aimée Gianni. Latter-Day Saint Life Coach resources Directory: ldslifecoaches.com Podcast: ldslifecoaches.com/podcast Connect with Heather Rackham Heatherrackham.com Facebook Instagram Pinterest Work with Heather! heatherrackham.com/work-with-me Connect with Molly Claire The Coaching Collective: thecoachingcollective.com -- Sign up for free monthly trainings! Work with Molly! mollyclaire.com/coaching

Seeking validation from clients can sabotage your coaching. It puts you in an up and down cycle of highs and lows and can affect your coaching. How can we identify this validation trap and thus avoid it? How can we keep our coaching free from needing personal validation and remain focused on our clients? Before we tackle this subject, it’s important to acknowledge that wanting validation is completely normal. As coaches, we naturally tend to seek validation because we need to know we’re truly helping others. It’s part of our helper personalities. It’s only when validation becomes too self-focused that we want to avoid. So don’t judge yourself too harshly. What You’ll Learn How to Recognize the Trap of Validation The client is in a pleaser role You’re hyper-focused on yourself The safe, sacred space for the client is interrupted A positive response, rather than what is actually best for the client, is sought Honesty from the client is inhibited Empowerment is not supported How to Identify When You’re Falling Into the Trap of Validation Asking if something is helpful Getting overly lit up from praise Feeling unsettled when the focus isn’t on you Seeking validation that’s unnecessary How to Avoid the Trap of Validation Never take credit Hold space for curiosity regarding success Define your success, separate from your clients Stay in your space, give your client theirs Contact Info and Recommended Resources The Coaching Collective: thecoachingcollective.com/ Work with Molly! mollyclaire.com/coaching

There is a direct link between the comfort and confidence a client has in a coach and that client’s progress. This means the connection you’re able to create can be the best indicator of their success. I love how Brené Brown describes connection. She says, “I define connection as the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.” As coaches, we’re in a unique position. We love, we support, we value. We listen, we provide judgement-free space, and we offer guidance -- all without expecting nor needing anything back. This gives us the core to nurture a connection in which we can offer something truly amazing to our clients. What You’ll Learn How to Connect with Your Client’s Emotions Listen, identify, and reflect without unintentionally removing hope Relate personal experience without projecting into the situation Empathizing without adding or taking away How to Understand Why a Client Feels As They Do Identifying and understanding pain points Understanding gaps between where they are now and where they want to be. (Bonus: This is also how you sell them on working with you.) Clarifying the why behind what they want, and the feelings they hope to have when they get it How to Help Your Client Envision Possibilities Believing in a better future for them before they can see it Opening up imagination and new perspective Helping bridge gaps by drawing out correlations and watering seeds of hope Contact Info and Recommended Resources The Coaching Collective: thecoachingcollective.com/ Work with Molly! mollyclaire.com/coaching

I love the old saying, “Life by the yard is hard, life by the inch is a cinch!” I don’t know who first said it but it is definitely true. And it is especially powerful when it comes to self-belief as fuel. To begin, you need to take time to envision what you’re capable of creating. What is your income? Your reach? Now, what do those beliefs stir in you? What emotions come to the surface? To answer these questions and to begin inching your self-fuel forward, you need to envision what you’re capable of creating. What is your income? Your reach? What do you believe is possible? As you consider these things, additional questions naturally arise like: How do I stay in belief? How do I stay aligned with myself? How do I pivot? In this episode, I help you address those questions. I teach these concepts in my coaching course and they’ve worked for me and countless others. I believe they will work for you as well. What You’ll Learn Business Mastery - How to have more self-belief for fuel Deciding that Endpoint Belief to Gain Clarity Measuring results Assessing your relationship with yourself Identifying how you feel and what you believe is possible Molly’s personal example of working through these concepts Addressing the Beliefs in Your Way of Getting There Acknowledging fears and doubts fueled by thoughts and beliefs Creating space to pinpoint unruly and limiting thoughts Defining What Stepping into Belief Means for You It doesn’t mean what you probably think it does Creating a plan of commitment U-turning brain patterns Creating emotions to get crystal clear and to bring up powerful positivity Stairsteping beliefs to stem doubt and discouragement Contact Info and Recommended Resources Work with me! mollyclaire.com/coaching

To have Life Mastery, sometimes you need to slow down to go fast. You need room to breathe. You need to possess comprehensive knowledge -- that is, a completeness -- of yourself. But knowing yourself and implementing change doesn’t happen all at once. There is a learning curve, a progression, a continuation of growth toward what you want. In today’s episode, I pose three questions designed to help you connect with yourself. This will bring you more clarity. Then, when more clarity is achieved, your mind is ready for positive progression in your life and business. And when you better understand yourself, your business, your clients, and your personal life can all thrive. What You’ll Learn Life Mastery - Know Yourself How well do you know yourself? Describe yourself: in relation to others; what you do; what you love How you shine through the characteristics that are you Pro tip: Find what you love and do more of that How well do you care for yourself? Don’t beat yourself up -- offer yourself a place of positive non-judgment How to avoid extremes: steps to implement small changes to support yourself better How to establish a new habit and check in with yourself How well and how often do you focus on your future self? Connect with your future self to bring her into existence Be okay with inevitable learning curves Revel in those magical moments of Life Mastery Contact Info and Recommended Resources Work with me! mollyclaire.com/coaching

If you struggle with confidence or competence as a coach, it can feel like your dream business won’t succeed. But it’s really not a problem to have some feelings of uncertainty. Your self-assurance can always be improved. Just the act of engaging in bettering yourself and your business proves you have some level of confidence. You need only to build on that. When it comes to competence, it’s no different. You can build your knowledge. You can improve your skills.  But how do you know if you’ve got too much of one and not enough of the other? Somewhere in the midst of mixing confidence and competence, lies the ‘magic sauce’ of coaching everyone wants. In this episode, I discuss this necessary -- and achievable -- balance.   What You’ll Learn Confidence -- your level of self-assurance Self-worth: Recognizing what you believe your inherent value is (and where it comes from) Self-esteem: Admitting what you believe others think about you (and how much you’re relying on that) Self-confidence: Identifying your assurance in your abilities and capabilities (and where you feel less sure) How to take stock and use your stronger areas to both improve your weaker ones and grow your business Competence -- your level of skills, knowledge and expertise Driven by confidence, determination and commitment Approach 1: Fake it ‘til you make it -- jumps right in, relying on confidence Approach 2: Perfection delay -- holding back indefinitely Approach 3: Building and working where you are -- while increasing your skills Identify specific areas you need to master and areas you’ve already mastered The ‘Magic Sauce’ of mixing confidence and competence How each propels you forward in boldness toward the other How to improve each quality using specific actions How to step into belief Contact Info and Recommended Resources Aimee Gianni, M.S. -- Master Coach and Co-Founder with me of The Coaching Collective. Work with me! mollyclaire.com/coaching