# coaching
43 moments across 32 episodes. Click any moment to jump straight to that part of the episode.
33:35Strategic Laziness and Small RebellionsAl Elliott: Fabulous. Well, let's do that. So let's have a little virtual coaching session. So I'll set the scene. I've come to you. I am so busy at work. I'm working in the evenings. I'm working on the train on the way EP 325 · 6 Aug 2026·interview· 33:35–52:5038:10Workplace Surgery: My star player has become my biggest headacheAl Elliott: What did I do? What did I do? Right. Oh no. All right, so we're gonna go into our 3 questions. First question is about a star player who's turned into the biggest headache. So this person writes, I run a smalEP 312 · 23 Jun 2026·workplace surgery· 38:10–43:0040:12Workplace Surgery: Applying psychology in everyday lifeAl Elliott: Very interesting. Okay. I think you, you HR nerds are going to love that. Okay. On to my favorite time of the week, the world-famous Weekly Workplace Surgery, where I put your questions to Leanne. Leah, I havEP 308 · 9 Jun 2026·workplace surgery· 40:12–42:2428:40Therapy, coaching, and investing in yourselfAl Elliott: So we've got North Star in place. You're investing in yourself. Just real quickly, tell us, how did you change as a person or as a leader before Highland and then after you? Leanne Elliott: I see a therapist EP 295 · 23 Apr 2026·interview· 28:40–35:3626:34Where to start if you want to be more humorous at workBeth Sherman: I wouldn't try to coach someone to be— if someone came to me and said, I want to be funnier at work, I would cringe a bit. I would say, but what do you mean by that? Do you mean that you give lots of presenEP 269 · 22 Jan 2026·interview· 26:34–37:193:06Life after a 20-year career: leaving law and becoming a coachJeremy Cline: It's been just over a year now since I left my job to start my own business full-time. So how's it been going? What have I been doing since then? To celebrate episode 200, we're pulling back the curtain andEP 259 · 18 Dec 2025·interview· 3:06–9:4317:26Going back to school with Ken Blanchard and changing behaviorAl Elliott: So take us back to the classroom. You are walking into the classroom with Ken Blanchard. You realize at some point you've got all of some of Alec's traits. What happens next? Garry Ridge: Well, the next thingEP 251 · 20 Nov 2025·interview· 17:26–19:4440:10Mantras and the power of a short phraseLeanne Elliott: One mantra that I heard through a coaching program I went on, and I loved it, and I stick by it, and I think especially being self-employed when you are you don't have the same level of control and influeEP 247 · 6 Nov 2025·interview· 40:10–42:127:21Why coaching skills matter more than tellingLeanne Elliott: And this is where a great manager with the coaching skills is going to do this intuitively or intentionally anyway. You know, they're going to go to a newer employee or a more junior employee and say, doeEP 230 · 9 Sept 2025·other· 7:21–12:032:55Exercise 1: STOP — a mindfulness resetLeanne Elliott: Welcome back. Our first little coaching exercise, Al, and I'm not sure people do this enough, right? You sit down to plan, make some big decisions, explore some stuffs, but do you, before you do that, do EP 228 · 2 Sept 2025·other· 2:55–9:3039:46Why the ego isn't your enemy and where to find CarolinaAl Elliott: I want to ask you a bit of a practical question because you've I agree with you, by the way. Ego is the enemy Carolina Lasso: Yes. And I'm gonna interrupt you there, Al, because I don't think ego is an enemy.EP 221 · 7 Aug 2025·outro· 39:46–44:0030:02Richard's step-by-step negotiation coachingAl Elliott: I think his name's Chris something. Negotiation Richard Birke: Chris Voss. Never split the difference Al Elliott: My question is that a lot of the stuff in that book, you read it and you go, oh, so if I just EP 211 · 3 Jul 2025·interview· 30:02–32:1545:44Workplace Surgery: what to do when your employer isn't helping you growAl Elliott: Love it. Great answer. On to question number 3. My employer isn't helping me grow. Help! What do I do? I'm feeling really stuck at work right now. The company I work for is desperate for people. They're constEP 192 · 29 Apr 2025·workplace surgery· 45:44–50:5916:36Story 3: Can work coaches fix long-term unemployment?Leanne Elliott: So if you're wondering why, why should Leanne be able to talk about this? Um, my previous role Um, back, back a few, I was in welfare to work where I would build programmes like this that would include coEP 186 · 9 Apr 2025·news roundup· 16:36–20:2634:03Would earlier diagnosis have changed things and how coaching helpsLeanne Elliott: Do you think having a diagnosis in childhood would've, would've changed that for you or anything else about About your, um, your journey to where you are now? Skye Waterson: It's tricky because, you know,EP 173 · 20 Feb 2025·interview· 34:03–36:3319:26Hot Take: Anna Reddy's READY MethodAl Elliott: Welcome back. As regular listeners will know, every week we have a workplace expert and we ask them for their hot take on the world of work. We want bold insights. It's a Surprising predictions and occasionalEP 172 · 18 Feb 2025·hot take· 19:26–33:2318:51Hot Take: Leadership training is broken with Katie O'MalleyAl Elliott: We actually have a lot in common. We both use behavioral science to help people do better at work Leanne Elliott: their work Al Elliott: And we talk about the behavioural science behind fandom and how that enEP 152 · 10 Dec 2024·hot take· 18:51–32:0421:15Fresh Voices: Connie Hadley on team ritualsLeanne Elliott: Welcome back. Our second segment in September is called Fresh Voices, where we showcase the thought leaders that have caught our attention and share their fresh insights on the modern workplace. This weekEP 128 · 17 Sept 2024·news roundup· 21:15–29:4338:43Workplace Surgery: can people really change?Leanne Elliott: Final question Al Elliott: Okay, Lee, so this is someone who is a business owner who's writing in. This is all I've got, and you'll see why in a second Leanne Elliott: OkayEP 122 · 19 Aug 2024·workplace surgery· 38:43–45:2249:24Louise's Journey from HR to CoachingLouise Kershaw: So I was working in corporate HR for almost 15 years. across 3 different FTSE 100 companies, mainly financial services. And it was a great career. And I really, really enjoyed, you know, a lot of it. And EP 117 · 23 Jul 2024·interview· 49:24–55:3035:11Why coaching isn't softer than managingAlexis Zahner: A leader is often a great coach, and a great coach I think what people mistake is coaching being softer than management, and it's not the case. The difference is with a coach, with any good coach— and agaiEP 113 · 9 Jul 2024·interview· 35:11–40:240:33The lonely leader — and why coaches matterJonathan Bennett: Nice Leanne Elliott: Hello and welcome to Truth, Lies and Work, the award-winning psychology podcast Brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. My nEP 104 · 6 Jun 2024·interview· 0:33–10:0416:10Workplace Surgery: The micromanager with a diagnosisAl Elliott: It could be nononymous. Yeah. So, so let us know if you've got a question. Oh, and by the way, Leanne doesn't see these beforehand Leanne Elliott: No Al Elliott: So, no. So we literally— so you— when I'm editEP 92 · 23 Apr 2024·workplace surgery· 16:10–20:1743:57When an employee says 'I'm struggling' — empathy over fixingLeanne Elliott: I'm gonna throw that back to you as an experienced manager and coach. If you have an employee who is ex— who is either, you know, either you're observing unhappy feelings or more negative behaviors or hasEP 51 · 10 Aug 2023·other· 43:57–50:2051:43The coaching exercise: what would you attempt if you knew you couldn't fail?Al Elliott: Yeah Leanne Elliott: to do it, so why shouldn't you do it? Whereas the leaders that are really inspiring people are those that are trying to change that experience of work and eradicate that negative experienEP 39 · 17 May 2023·other· 51:43–52:3832:41How to help superstars become team playersAl Elliott: Well, so, a few things that seem to show up are, one is, is really good coaching, right? So, um, If you have a coach who can sort of get that superstar to cooperate with the other folks, that seems to be realEP 31 · 22 Mar 2023·other· 32:41–38:1824:34The self-awareness cure — and Rob's polo coach confessionAl Elliott: So being aware that you're an asshole is probably one of the best things that you can do as an asshole boss. And it's— and you don't have to say, I am an asshole boss. You can have asshole moments like Rob exEP 30 · 15 Mar 2023·panel interview· 24:34–26:5814:54What's the difference between a coach and a mentor?Al Elliott: So let's start with this, this, this perennial question of what is the difference between a coach and a mentor? Yeah. Leanne Elliott: So we've spoken in earlier episodes about how coaches, mentors, and therapEP 29 · 8 Mar 2023·panel interview· 14:54–22:5222:52Al's personal experience with coachingPaul Wynne: I'd struggled a lot of mental health struggles over the years. I'd struggled to build good habits. I'd had some health struggles as well. And I'm not lying when I say that coaching actually helped me across aEP 29 · 8 Mar 2023·panel interview· 22:52–25:2831:41Can anyone be a coach or mentor? (Age, perspective, and diversity)Al Elliott: So, so far, we've had one difference between coaching and mentoring, that is advice, that mentors give advice and coaches don't necessarily, and 2 similarities in that you need to have a great relationship AnEP 29 · 8 Mar 2023·panel interview· 31:41–37:0237:02Transactional vs. transformational coachingAl Elliott: We actually have a lot in common. We both use behavioural science to help people do better at work. Leanne Elliott: And we both had to wrangle Rory Sutherland on an episode. ?: And 2 out of 3 of us are deviliEP 29 · 8 Mar 2023·panel interview· 37:02–43:2143:21The value exchange in coaching and mentoringJulie Meyer: We see as mentors, uh, both Jimmy and myself, our, you know, sort of Gen Z younger mentees that are coming to us and asking us for questions in our relationship. We're able to, you know, if you're, if you'reEP 29 · 8 Mar 2023·panel interview· 43:21–46:2046:20Coaching in organisations — what the data saysLeanne Elliott: It could also be argued that we're actually seeing the opposite when it comes to coaching in, in the organization, in terms of, of, you know, the idea of leader as coach. It's become much more, more commoEP 29 · 8 Mar 2023·panel interview· 46:20–51:5651:56How do you find a coach or mentor?Julie Meyer: This is such a great question. So as part of Augmenters, we have 8 principles, and one is search. And we really believe, uh, really doing a deep dive search on somebody that you would like to be your mentor,EP 29 · 8 Mar 2023·panel interview· 51:56–58:0058:00What happens if you don't like your coach or mentor?Leanne Elliott: Pauline also has a view on this, and for her, she finds the fact that coaching isn't highly regulated is actually one of the things that makes coaching so special. Paul Wynne: I love that coaching is not EP 29 · 8 Mar 2023·panel interview· 58:00–63:2363:23The future of coaching — including AILeanne Elliott: But, you know, maybe Pauline would say that, you know, given her mission of what she's doing at Medu. So, you know, what do our coaches think? Is AI a a threat? Here's Lucy. Lucy Mullins: I think there's EP 29 · 8 Mar 2023·panel interview· 63:23–71:1071:10The science and business case for coachingAl Elliott: Lovely. So let's talk about the science business case. Is there a business case in terms of actual science for coaching? Leanne Elliott: Yeah, there is. And I mean, if you're still not convinced at this pointEP 29 · 8 Mar 2023·panel interview· 71:10–75:425:55Who is Jim Young?Jim Young: My name is Jim Young. I go by the Centered Coach, and I focus on helping men and organizations defeat burnout, With a bit of an interesting twist on how I do that. And I also wrote a book last year, this mightEP 22 · 17 Jan 2023·interview· 5:55–6:3527:51'My work is not actually about burnout'Jim Young: I've been coming to this realization Over the last few months that my work is not actually about burnout, that my work is actually about intimacy. That as people in this modern society that's so fast and so diEP 22 · 17 Jan 2023·interview· 27:51–30:0838:19Prediction 13: The single best investment you can makeLeanne Elliott: My final prediction for 2023, and this is a bit of an extension from my one From the last episode on coaching and that trickling down into mid-management level. I— this is less of a prediction and more ofEP 19 · 4 Jan 2023·other· 38:19–43:5332:16Prediction 5: Al's AI coaching predictionAl Elliott: Love it. Love it. Okay, so number 5, this one's a little bit out there. Um, those who know me personally, um, know that I'm massively into tech, into nerdery, into AI. Um, and also, I don't think anyone has nEP 18 · 29 Dec 2022·other· 32:16–37:4737:47Prediction 6: The rise of cathartic coachingLeanne Elliott: So my next prediction, which I think feeds quite nicely off of what you just said, I think in 2023, we're gonna see a huge coaching boom. I think, you know how you used to, like, used to see, like, lots oEP 18 · 29 Dec 2022·other· 37:47–44:3153:46Coaching the high-HDS leaderSandy McKenzie: I think the coaching aspect would be about helping him to gain perspective on situations in order to be able to recognize what the triggers are, and then to be able to try and learn behavior to mitigate tEP 14 · 29 Nov 2022·interview· 53:46–58:01
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