Coaches Rising

Theo Dawson, founder of Lectica, discusses the central problem of the educational paradigm, how learning actually works, context's impact on performance and development, and optimizing learning through conscious participation. They explore natural learning processes, dopamine opioid cycle, and emphasize the importance of embracing disruptions and continuous learning for personal growth.

Coaching has some fairly established approaches, but they are generally not based on empirical data. Could the practice of coaching benefit from taking a more scientific approach to the development of its methodology? In this conversation with management consultant Dave Snowden we explore using the natural sciences to inform coaching theory and practice, the role of context and relating in behavioral change, and the value of the numinous. Dave Snowden is a management consultant and researcher in the field of knowledge management and the application of complexity science. Known for the development of the Cynefin framework, he is the founder and chief scientific officer of Cognitive Edge, a Singapore-based management consulting firm specializing in complexity and sensemaking. He has authored several articles and book chapters on the Cynefin framework and the role of complexity in sensemaking.

How does inclusivity foster high performance? How is the pandemic impacting the workplace? And what are the key qualities leaders need to be fostering in order to create resilient organisational culture? In this conversation with leadership development consultant Carley Hauck we speak about coaching in the pandemic, emergent workplace culture, the challenges of a VUCA world and the relationship between psychological safety and high performance. Carley Hauck is a learning architect, leadership development consultant, author, speaker, and coach who serves as adjunct faculty at Stanford University and UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. She has worked with hundreds of leaders in Fortune 100 companies and high-growth startups such as LinkedIn, Genentech, Pixar, Clif Bar, Intuit, and Bank of the West. Carley is the author of “Shine: Ignite Your Inner Game to Lead Consciously at Work and in the World”.

Our collective narrative is crumbling and forcing a re-evaluation of both our personal and our collective story. How can we help our clients create new narratives in these times of great uncertainty? In this conversation with coach and trainer Robert Stephenson we explore how to create new narratives when the old ones break down, cross-disciplinary coaching and working at our leading edge, and the hidden power dynamic in the coaching relationship. Robert Stephenson is the Centre Director for Animas Coaching, where he manages and supports the Leadership Team across the globe ensuring quality training. With a background that has roots in performance and theatre, Robert's journey to life coaching and training has taken him along a path of varied experience and learning, including working with young people in schools and teaching on degrees at several universities.

In a society that reveres doing and neglects being, how can we allow the two to inform each other in a way that leads us to ever increasing wholeness and purposeful contribution in the world? In this conversation with spiritual teacher A. H. Almaas we explore the different stages of spiritual inquiry, the relational quality of spirit and how it can inform our attunement to our clients, and the distinctions between the concepts of purpose and contribution. A. H. Almaas is the pen name of Abdul Hameed Ali, founder of the Diamond Approach to Self-Realization, a contemporary teaching that developed within the context of both ancient spiritual teachings and modern depth psychology theories. Almaas has authored eighteen books about spiritual realization, including the Diamond Heart series, The Pearl Beyond Price, The Void, and The Alchemy of Freedom. He is the founder of the Ridhwan School for Spiritual Development, an inner work school devoted to the realization of True Nature.

In a world that is suffering from a dearth of soul, how do we find our way back to deeper levels of meaning-making and identity? In this conversation with storytelling and mythologist Michael Meade we explore the current state of the world through the lens of myth, the concept of unique individual genius and how to access it, and the role of imagination in bringing forth our calling. Michael Meade D.H.L. is a renowned storyteller, author, and scholar of mythology, anthropology, and psychology. He combines hypnotic storytelling, street-savvy perceptiveness, and spellbinding interpretations of ancient myths with a deep knowledge of cross-cultural rituals. Michael is the author of several books and is the founder of Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, a nonprofit network of artist, activists, and community builders that encourages greater understanding between diverse peoples. A list of resources mentioned in the podcast can be found here: https://www.coachesrising.com/podcast/following-the-call-living-myth-uncovering-our-genius-with-michael-meade/

In these times of intense challenges, how can we use our imaginations to devise ways of collectively working together to flourish? In this conversation with writer and teacher Greg Thomas we explore the potential of cultural intelligence, they key of race and the core competencies for constructive collective evolution. Greg Thomas is the CEO of the Jazz Leadership Project and has over 25 years of experience as a writer, producer, broadcaster and educator. He has been featured in publications as various as The Root, All About Jazz, Salon, London’s Guardian Observer, the Village Voice, Africana, American Legacy, Savoy, New York’s Daily News, as well as the scholarly journal Callaloo. He was the Editor-in-Chief of Harlem World magazine from 2003-2006 and is the creator of the online course, “Cultural Intelligence: Transcending Race, Embracing Cosmos”. A list of resources mentioned in the podcast can be found here: https://www.coachesrising.com/podcast/embodying-cultural-intelligence-embracing-the-cosmos-with-greg-thomas/

What does warrior training have to do with COVID-19? In these times of prolonged stress, how can an integral approach based on ancient wisdom help us cope with contemporary challenges? In this conversation with peak performance trainer Tom Fazio, we explore how training the body builds mental resilience, the role of nutrition in meditation and why creating tension is an important part of releasing it. Tom Fazio is a peak performance trainer, a martial artist of 25 years, a published author, and founder of the mind-body integration system Weightlessness. Tom's career in martial arts spans decades under dozens of experts around the world in a variety of disciplines and he holds black belts in several martial arts. He studied empty hand striking under masters and grandmasters of Taekwondo, Karate, and Muai Thai in the United States and Thailand, traditional Kung Fu weaponry and qigong in China under Shaolin protector monks, and practical self-defense with military combative instructors and professional MMA fighters. A list of resources mentioned in the podcast can be found here: https://www.coachesrising.com/podcast/unlocking-mind-body-peak-performance-to-become-weightless-with-tom-fazio/

Rational thought is a valuable way of approaching reality, but could it be that we need to expand our ways of knowing to meet these unprecedented times? In this conversation with coach and speaker Vivian Dittmar we explore the power of transrational thinking, the different types of thought or knowing, and what can get in the way of us having access to each of them. Vivian Dittmar is a bestselling author, celebrated speaker and founder of the non-profit Be the Change Foundation. Born in Germany, Vivian grew up in Europe, Asia and North America. She founded the non-profit Be the Change Foundation and is a consultant at the Terra Institute. As the author of “The Power of Feelings” and six other books, she has become a sought after expert and keynote speaker on the subject of emotional intelligence. Her latest book, “Your Inner GPS”, explores the subject of transrational thought. A list of resources mentioned in the podcast can be found here: https://www.coachesrising.com/podcast/transrational-ways-of-knowing-with-vivian-dittmar/

In a world where coaches are inundated with possibilities for more training, what actually fosters coaching mastery? In this conversation with executive coach Toku McCree we dive into what coaching mastery really looks like, the most powerful coaching tool and what new coaches get wrong. Toku McCree is a former Zen Monk and a renowned executive coach. His life changed after meeting a man at a party who had a calmness about him that Toku had never seen before. From there he fell in love with mediation, spent two and a half years in a monastery, and went on to launch a six-figure coaching practice. A list of resources mentioned in the podcast can be found here: https://www.coachesrising.com/podcast/the-path-to-coaching-mastery-and-what-new-coaches-get-wrong-with-toku-mccree/