Michael Bungay Stanier: Bestselling Author of The Coaching Habit

02/06/23 • 58 min

A conversation with author, teacher, and coaching industry rockstar Michael Bungay Stanier. Michael is known for writing The Coaching Habit, which has sold over a million copies, as well as the unconventional but accessible approach that has earned him high profile fans like Brene Brown and Marshall Goldsmith.
In this episode, Michael talks about how coaches can lean into curiosity to navigate uncertain times. He shares his “advice monsters” model, which is used to identify and address the ways in which a coach’s ego can show up in their practice.
Michael also shares guidance on how coaches can tame their need to add too much value to their sessions, causing information overload, and instead strive for simplicity on the other side of complexity.
It’s clear that Michael has had many previous lives, and he talks us through them in this episode. He almost became a solicitor before discovering coaching, then when he created his coaching practice he felt called to dismantle it and pursue another path. He is the founder of Box of Crayons, a training company, but he has chosen to step down as CEO.
During this candid chat with Coaching.com CEO Alex Pascal, Michael explains how both courage and lack of courage have informed his bold career decisions. He also shares how his “big purpose” and his “big business purpose” inform how and where he directs his energy.
Listen in to find out how he thinks coaches should embrace ambiguity and stop oversaturing sessions by adopting a “teach the least to have the most impact” approach.

Previous Episode

Susan Brady: CEO of Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership

A powerful conversation with Susan Brady, CEO of Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership and author of Arrive and Thrive: 7 Impactful Practices for Women Navigating Leadership.
In conversation with Coaching.com CEO Alex Pascal, Susan outlines the career journey that brought her to write her most recent book. She also shares her perspective on mastering your inner critic, including why men and women engage differently with theirs.
It’s not just problematic narratives in our own minds that make us feel smaller and not good enough; the world also reinforces these beliefs. Susan’s work is concerned with how we arrive back to a compassionate center, both for ourselves and other people. During this episode, she explains the importance of understanding who your best self is in order to be able to return to this person swiftly.
As an experienced expert in women’s leadership, Susan has many informed opinions on the most effective methods of increasing workplace diversity. One of the issues she identifies with Alex is that men may have justified concerns about stepping in to right the wrongs that they’ve observed.
Susan has ideas about how to avoid blaming and shaming and using compassion and empathy as the fuel for change. She also clarifies why she believes it’s crucial to pursue diversity across dimensions, beyond the well-intentioned but ultimately inadequate concept of allyship.
To unlock strategies for exercising empathy and reconnecting with your inherent worthiness, listen to the full episode!

Next Episode

Ann Betz: Co-Founder of BEabove Leadership, International Speaker and Trainer

A deep dive into neuroscience and coaching with Ann Betz, cofounder of BEabove leadership and international speaker and trainer. Ann has been an early adopter of neuroscience in the coaching industry since 2010, so Coaching.com CEO Alex Pascal takes this opportunity to find out how she believes this knowledge can be best used to enhance the profession.
In this conversation, Ann explains why she believes neuroscience has an expansionist effect on her coaching practice. She provides examples of how it has brought inspiration to her work and opened up new creative opportunities.
One of the concerns coaches have about integrating neuroscience into their practice is that they don’t want sessions to become academic lectures. Ann addresses this concern in this episode, giving practical guidance on how to find a balance between sharing the “why” and overwhelming clients with unnecessary information.
Recognizing that there are now many neuroscience programs for coaches to choose from, Ann also gives advice on choosing the correct course - one that’s both accurate and easy to apply. One red flag would be a program leader that focuses on the “typical brain,” for example, as Ann believes we are all (to some extent) neurotypical.
From Ann’s perspective, neuroscience has helped take her coaching from “just a thought” to a true exploration of reality. Find out how she uses science as a means to orchestrate conversion by subscribing and listening to this episode.

Coaches on Zoom Drinking Coffee - Michael Bungay Stanier: Bestselling Author of The Coaching Habit

Transcript

Coaches on Zoom Drinking Coffee- Michael Bungay Stanier
(interview blurb)
Michael: I have a way of articulating my purposes in life. My big purpose is to be a force for change. My business purpose is to infect a billion people with the possibility virus, meaning how do I create ideas that spread in the world and give people the courage to make the braver choice?
(intro)
Alex: Hi, I’m Alex Pascal, CEO of coaching.com, and this is Coaches on Zoom Drinking Coffee. My guest today is