More 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 get places. My training’s broadened what felt possible. Reading from my article on Medium, in this week’s podcast, I’m sharing how I trained to become a coach, letting the most popular questions I hear guide us.

Reach out to me, D G McCullough, for insights on my group coaching and training packages. I’m for hire as a corporate trainer with active listening and public speaking as popular topics. You can find my LinkedIn profile here and my website here.

Certifying 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 pursuing MCC— level two and level three of the ICF’s core credentials.)

Join us for tips on saying less, doing more, and staying calm and present, no matter what. And thank you again to Sathya who had a work emergency amidst our interview which he dealt with midstream and came back to our show! Talk about presence.

Listen for our earlier episode here on taming our monkey brain.

You can reach Sathya on LinkedIn here. Reach out to me, D G McCullough, for insights on my group coaching and training packages and individual packages on reinventing, promoting, and using your voice through refining the written word. You can find my LinkedIn profile here.

Solar 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 tips, tools, and asks me some too.

My 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 being a true fashionista, collector, and connoisseur of gorgeous fashion herself.

And yet, as our conversation reveals, despite driving for more (like most immigrants), she finds that sometimes it’s the simplest times in our lives when we feel the most peace and our happiest.

I thank Magdalena for her brave story, her honesty and tenderness. Magdalena, you’re an amazing storyteller and woman—my new friend, too.

If you’d like to know more about your show host and my coaching and training services, find me on LinkedIn or visit my website here.

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 awareness, and self growth, over food. You’ll also hear the vital role that solidarity and sisterhood can play, and that everything we’ve ever done prior to coaching brings perspective.

If you’d like to find Coach Malvika, reach her on LInkedIn or via Instagram. If you’d like to know more about your show host and my coaching and training services, find me on LinkedIn or visit my website here.

If 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 noticed she’s “slowed down.“) Yasna! Loved our time together. Thanks again for reminding me of the power of yoga— and self improvement. And congratulations again on certifying as a yoga instructor— such an excellent addition to your skills and offerings as a coach. El mundo es mejor y mas tranquilo contigo dentro.

You can reach Coach Yasna on LinkedIn and by emailing her for remote instruction or engagements at yasnagarciadarosa@gmail.com

Join the discussion on LinkedIn by visiting us here.

Losing 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 about losing things — can erode our presence. You can read along via Medium here.

In 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 worried I had to become all stodgy or boring or something to achieve mastery. Heaven’s forbid! I’d lose all my clients immediately and probably have to find something new to do with my time.

If you’d like to know more about your show host and my coaching and training services, find me on LinkedIn or visit my website here.