StoryBrand Your Coaching Business: Getting Started as a New Coach with Mindy Shotwell

[00:00:00] Welcome to from Click to Client, where we transform a confusing message into a clear, compelling story that sells. I'm your host, Chris Jones, StoryBrand marketing expert. I'm here to help you attract more dream clients with the power of story.

Kris: Today's episode is gonna be a little different than what we usually do here on the podcast. This fall, I am releasing my new book called StoryBrand Your Coaching Business, and I'm co-authoring it with Donald Miller, the creator of StoryBrand. And instead of just announcing the book when it comes out, we're gonna do something I've never done before.

We're documenting what it looks like to work through the book in real time. My guest today is Mindy Shotwell. She's at the very beginning stages of her coaching journey. She has an early copy of the book, and she's letting us all follow along as she builds her business one chapter at a time. so you're going to hear [00:01:00] the real journey as it unfolds, including the questions, the breakthroughs, and the moments when all of it starts to click.

If you've ever wondered how someone goes from zero clarity to a coaching business that actually works, this series will give you a front row seat. Mindy, welcome to the show. Let's start with you. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what led you into coaching.

Mindy: Hi, I am so happy to be here, Kris. Thank you so much for having me.

I'm, I'm literally delighted. So what led me into coaching, a little bit about me. I've been an HR practitioner. The bulk of my career, I started in my early twenties and have, fulfilled a number of roles within human resources. And, I have been fortunate to be a part of trainings, primarily group trainings where I've had some pivotal revelations, fellowship, community support, that have been transformational quite honestly.

And they've always stayed with me. And, so in my mind, [00:02:00] somewhere deep, I've always thought, gosh, that would be so cool to be part of someone else's transformation. And then day runs into week, into years. And, about two years ago, two and a half years ago, I was coaching, an employee of ours, of mine at the time.

And they actually weren't my employee. Just to be clear, you're gonna have to edit that part. Okay. They were an employee of the organization that I was coaching, and literally I saw myself on high. It's this really beautiful spiritual moment I guess. I saw myself on high and it was this voice saying, this is what you're meant to be doing.

Quite literally.

Kris: Oh my gosh.

Mindy: And I got off, the call and Tina was home, my wife Tina was home, and I said, oh my gosh, listen to what just happened. And so, you know, she was like, oh, well that's cool. You know, she's not as, in the woo as I am. And so, she listened and then we kind of moved on. [00:03:00] Well, I just got inspired from that moment to look into coaching programs and so I became a certified Integral coach as of June of 2024.

And honestly thought this will just inform my HR work. You know, I didn't really think anything more than that. But, it's funny how our life's purpose kind of itches and creeps and agitates us in, really subtle ways to where all of a sudden I am. It's just not enough. The work isn't enough.

I'm not feeling fulfilled. I feel like I'm, not in my value proposition. I wanna do more. and by this time, I'm, I'm actually facilitating some trainings at work and that feels really good. And I'm building the, some of the content and delivering it. And so, ultimately I made a decision to, leave the organization that I was with, ultimately leave corporate America in a traditional sense and take a leap on my own.

Now that. Was definitely something more than I could bite off, quite frankly. [00:04:00] And I felt overwhelmed. I had a myriad of emotions that I went through in the transition from leaving regular full-time employment to honestly talking to you about your upcoming book and feeling like, wow, this could really anchor me.

This could help me provide some clarity, understand really what it is I wanna do in the world and how I wanna do it, et cetera. So, that's a long story, but basically that's, that's it in a nutshell.

Kris: I think what's so cool is, number one, you were in an organization that supported this idea that you wanted to dig deeper into coaching, and so you actually got certified as a coach through the organization.

Is that right? And then Yes. Through that process that kind of catapulted you into this next phase of, of work and purpose and freedom, right? Like

Mindy: yes,

Kris: freedom. It's, it's scary to take that leap, but I'm so happy for you. Yeah.

Mindy: Yeah. I would say that, I was going to go through the coaching program [00:05:00] regardless, but then I spoke to my leader at the time and mentioned to her that I was gonna be looking hopefully for, for some support and flexibility on my schedule so that I could.

Manage this program at the same time. And she said, oh, we can actually financially help support you too. It's in line with what you do. It'll be in service of the organization, et cetera. So, yeah, very fortunate for that. And I don't have, I can't say anything more other than I feel so liberated.

Kris: Mm.

Mindy: I feel liberated, not just to, I feel most liberated in the fact that I'm aligned to what I really feel is my passion and my purpose in life.

And that is to help people maximize who they are and how they show up in the world by getting to know themselves, becoming most intimate with themselves.

Kris: Mm. Oh my gosh. Yeah. You already have so much great clarity. So I wanna, before we kinda get into the details. For anybody who's wanting to take the leap out of a full-time paid position and [00:06:00] move into being self-employed, whatever it is, coaching, consulting, whatever it is that you bring to the world, this is a great example of the courage that it takes to really take that leap.

So I'm curious, what was the scariest or what was the hardest thing about taking that leap? Or did you feel so clear that chapter was over and this chapter was beginning? That it was effortless?

Mindy: I would say I had clarity that this was the next chapter for me, but I would say it was not effortless.

A couple of things. One is self-doubt definitely creeps in. Am I smart enough? Can I do it? What's my differentiator? How am I gonna go about doing it? But even more so than that, and big, yeah, more so, and bigger than that was the fact that it was, you know, I was, for all intents and purposes, the, the breadwinner for our family.

And so it wasn't just my decision, it was a decision between Tina and I to, shift into something that [00:07:00] was actually gonna bring me more joy and fulfillment. The reckoning of who I am in a corporate capacity where, my value lies, what success externally is supposed to look like, the amount of money you make, the title that you have, all of these things, you know, you're, you're kind of faced with that you're kind of having to, what I experienced is I had to actually grieve the loss of who I was.

Mm-hmm. In that previous role in my life so that I could fully and completely embody this new role that actually is aligned to who I am and my essence. So that grieving process took quite some time.

Kris: I've actually never heard that before. I've talked to so many coaches and I think you just put words to what a lot of people probably go through, but nobody really talks about that, grief part of the process.

Mindy: Yeah.

Yeah,

It's, the grief is real. [00:08:00]

Kris: So tell me, like right now, in this kind of early stage of your coaching business, what does it look like right now? What does the business look like right now? It doesn't have to look good or be clear. Just we wanna get a, I wanna get a clear picture of that so we can understand where you are and Yeah.

And where we're gonna go.

Mindy: Yeah. Well, I've continued to have clients since, graduating from the program, and that remains true today. What I would say is shifting is really sitting down with myself, thanks to you and your rubric that you've created, that will soon be released to the world. And actually I'm in a place of, confidence.

I'm in a place of, Getting clarity, getting more clarity on, what, I wanna offer, why it matters, how I differentiate myself. I would say I feel energized in a nutshell. I feel energized. And that doesn't mean that doesn't begin, like being scared or oh, I don't know what I'm doing.

Those things also [00:09:00] exist equally. But there's a, there's a quiet confidence that's happening for me where I'm like, I've got this. I can do this. And I feel emboldened to post and speak in a way that, is different than what I, how I spoke before, oh I guess I would just say I was a coach, but without confidence.

Now I say I'm a life coach, I'm a whole human coach. so I, I have some confidence around. What I say and how I say it.

Kris: Yeah,

Mindy: that's, but, but it's still a work in progress.

Kris: I think that, always right, always. That's the beauty of being self-employed. The honing never ends. I've been doing this work now over 20 years and I'm continuing to hone and hone every year, and it's just, it's so delightful, especially when you've got the foundation in place.

And I think for you in this phase, I think what can be the hardest is I. Not having a roadmap and trying to feel like you're having to figure it out all by [00:10:00] yourself. And I think a lot of the coaches I talk to in this phase are on Instagram and they're okay, there's 18 gurus here telling me what I need to do.

Who do I believe? Should I do everything? And it's very easy to get into confusion and overwhelm, and I think

The book thankfully, is really designed to be a clear and road a clear roadmap with each chapter being one strategy that you implement into your business with all 12 strategies.

Giving you the ultimate result of getting more clients, which is if you can't get clients, you can't have a business. Yeahs, it's wonderful that you're at the beginning of this path on chapter one.

Mindy: Yeah, and I've been here for a beat. I've been on chapter one for a beat, and that is because I'm passionate about getting it.

I'm, passionate about having it be aligned to who I really am. It's not about getting it right more right for me. Yeah,

Kris: totally. Yeah. And chapter one is really [00:11:00] so foundational because, and I've mentioned this before, but when you take the time, which you're doing to get really clear on who you wanna serve and what you want to help them achieve, what's the transformation you want them to have?

everything else in the book falls down like Domino's because they all connect back to the first chapter. Who do you feel most drawn to? To helping?

Mindy: Literally human beings. And I know that that's as broad as you can get, but it's the truth. That being said, because of my experience in corporate America, because I've worked so closely with leaders of all levels, leaders of, varying degrees of experience, I feel like this is the, that population is the, is probably the biggest group that I could impact.

To scale, scale. And what I mean by that is not only are they gonna be able to show up [00:12:00] differently for their teams and their collaborating partners inside the organization, they're able to show up differently in their personal relationships. They're able to show up differently in the way that they meet themselves creatively, in the way that they meet their community, whether they're doing activism or whatever that looks Like.

and I, I have, I've always entered roles professionally where I think I'm here to make a difference. I'm here to leave it better than I left. I'm here to leave it better than I came and found it.

Kris: Mm-hmm.

Mindy: Is that right? Mm-hmm. I'm leaving it, you know what I'm saying?

Kris: I do.

Mindy: So I guess ultimately that's, it's in service to that.

It's in service to helping, folks that are feeling like. Gosh, I got the promotion and now I feel like I'm floundering. Now I feel like imposter syndrome is kicking in. Now I feel like, wow, how do I balance all of my work, which isn't lessening with now I have to lead these people and I wanna be a good leader, but [00:13:00] it's easy to put them on the back burner, right?

Because, I'm here to help the company make a profit, or I'm here to deliver on something that is bigger than me. And I just think helping folks, I guess tap into their intelligence centers that we all have within ourselves and not just function from up here, will only help them serve all the, in all the ways that they show up in life.

Kris: Mm. Two things that you shared that I just wanna echo. One, the ripple effect of the work that you're doing, right? When you help leaders, this kind of clarity is really cool, but you're helping them in multiple ways. But that ripple effect to their team and to the organization is, is so cool. Number two, people in leadership positions have usually have budgets to hire a coach and hopefully understand the value of that or their, organization is supporting that relationship.

So just strategically, that's a really great audience. [00:14:00] And then the third thing, I'm adding a third here, is really that in this day and age, most leaders get into that position through. Brute force masculine energy and really doing drive drive. And I think, correct me if I'm wrong, but they reach a point where they're like, okay, number one, this isn't sustainable.

Number two, it doesn't feel good. Number three, I'm in my head all the time and I don't even know how to connect to my body or my heart because the disconnection has been there for so Long.

Mindy: Yeah. And it's so dimmed. I, a lot of my clients, when they express some of the feelings that they're having and I ask them where they feel it in their body, they cannot name it.

They can't name it because they're in survival mode. That's what I call it. They're, just. They're surviving. And not to say that they're not doing well in, in regards in certain regards, but, they're not [00:15:00] thriving, they're surviving.

Kris: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Mindy: And everyone, we make an impression whether we mean to or not.

And so how we are as a whole impacts how we show up for people. And we've all had, if an, if anyone's had any experience in the workforce, we've all had a leader that's left a little bit to be desired. And it can really impact and create some scarring, quite frankly, if the person isn't equipped to actually manage humans with humanity.

Yeah, I think there's a big, there's a big calling and a big need,

Kris: I'm curious when you talk about this idea of living in your head, and believe me, I can relate to this, like, I, I've been an entrepreneur a long time. I've, I'm very driven. I'm very much like, I like to get things accomplished and I think that me learning how to get back into my body and even tuning into that is a work in [00:16:00] progress for sure.

I'm curious about how, did you have you always been a head, heart kind of person or did you, through coaching or through another experience, figure out how to do what you're teaching your coaches to do,

I

Mindy: or your

Kris: clients to do? Yeah.

Mindy: Yeah. I would say that I have been a receptor.

Probably the bulk of my life without even realizing it. And so there's always been things I've seen, things I've read, experiences that I've had that take resonance, and I don't necessarily realize the weight of them in the moment. That's part of what, having some, having your years on this planet, grow in number.

That's part of the beauty of that, right? Is that you, you have some wisdom that that happens, some reflection and some intentional reflection where you're just like, oh, that's, now I'm getting a, like, I'm getting the, the trail of breadcrumbs kind of thing. [00:17:00] So I would say that I, have been the benefactor of some great trainings I've had.

I have wonderful women and men in my life who I admire, who, I feel are. Conscientious and mindful of how they show up in the world. And they're all kind of stewarding me. And certainly the coaching program I went through was transformational. I worked for an organization that had a a, you had to be elected to go through it, but they had a heart of leadership program that hands down was probably, and I, I took that when I was probably 25, 26 years old and it was a game changer.

And, No, I'm learning. I'm like you, I'm learning. I've always had the mantra of I'm a whip, I'm a whip, I'm a work in progress. I've always had that mantra. And it's true. You don't ever wanna get stagnant, right? That's just, this is what life is about, is that you're experiencing, the highs and lows.

It's not in the highs that we're learning, it's in the lows. It's in the challenges where we were faced with our [00:18:00] resiliency and our grief and our traumas and our triggers and, yeah. So I think if we have our eyes and our heart open, our senses, all of our senses, and we have more than five, but if we have all of our senses open and we're mindful about trying to keep them open, then we're going to take all the pick up, all these nuggets that are around us.

They're everywhere, Literally.

Kris: All right. Let's shift gears a little bit. What, up until now, like prior to reading chapter one. How have you been describing what you do when people ask, like if you're at a coffee shop or at a party and someone says, Hey, what do you do?

Mindy: You know, it's interesting because I actually would say, well, I'm not, I'm just taking some time right now.

Like I didn't actually have an answer and I wouldn't even embody and own I am a coach. I wouldn't even own I'm a coach. IW Yeah. Because I think I was still in transition, and then I realized, wow, I actually this is, a space I wanna be in and grow in. And then you and I had a conversation and all of a sudden I felt like, [00:19:00] oh, I have someone to show me the way.

I have someone who's going to literally, 'cause sometimes we just need to be told what to do.

Kris: Yeah. Most of the time.

Mindy: Yeah. And so I was just like, literally like in relief that. Kris is gonna show me and tell me what to do and then I can follow the instructions and I'm gonna learn and have ahas and revelations along the way and gain, gain the clarity that I need.

And so, I definitely feel like I'm on that road and it feels really good.

Kris: Oh, I'm so glad. I'm so glad. So you have now just finished chapter one of StoryBrand your coaching business. And I wanna hear what's your honest reaction after reading it?

Mindy: I actually felt, and I think I even sent you a note, I actually felt some exhilaration, I think is probably the best word.

I felt exhilarated because I learn, I was learning about myself, I was learning about my brand, I was learning about my ideal [00:20:00] client. I was learning about. My ethos and my values that have to be the through line of anything that I do. So yeah. I would say I felt exhilarated. Yeah. And, and I feel like the language is very plain.

video1715846356: Yeah.

Mindy: It's not, it's not, it's not language that isn't accessible. So I, I think it's, it's not like it's a brow furrowed read.

Kris: Right. It's, it's not like a Eckert Toley, the Power of Now type of book.

Mindy: Right. But I do love that book.

Kris: I, but I can only read like one page at a time, maybe even half a page. It's so dense.

Mm-hmm. yeah, I think with coaches part of the reason I wrote the book is because coaches, number one. Are the ones changing the world literally. And like I'm a believer in therapy for sure. I think there's a time and place for it, but I think many people go to therapy and just kind of marinate in the past.

And sometimes you need to do that to [00:21:00] process emotions and, and learn how to regulate. But I love working with coaches because it's about, okay, where are you now and where do you wanna be and how are we gonna get there? You know, like it feels like the best coaches I know are like, my job is not to make you dependent on me to come back here every week for 10 years, right?

Mindy: 100%. I'm here to help you attain the tools, many of which are lie within yourself.

And some to keep in your back pocket.

Kris: Right.

Mindy: So that you can carry on and thrive and, and be well. Yeah.

Kris: And so like for you and the coaches that I work with, you became a coach because you wanted to coach people and work with clients and help people.

You did not become a coach to become a part-time marketer. And I think so many coaches get into this not realizing, oh my gosh, I can't just be a coach. Like I have to actually become a part-time marketer. Or they find themself [00:22:00] in that position. They're coaching full-time or part-time, and then half of the time they're trying to drum up clients doing all the admin running their business.

And that is not the fun part. And my whole goal is to, through the book, really set you up with. Strategies and a foundation that works on autopilot. I want you to have tools and machines that are working for you so you can get fill your client roster, but really get back to the work that you're here on the planet earth to do.

And so anyway, I'm so glad that you felt exhilarated and, got some clarity. What was one part of the chapter that stood out to you the most?

Mindy: I would say what really was like, smacked me in my face and was so like that's, it was the part in the book that you say, in the chapter rather that you say, this guy basically says, look at [00:23:00] the window.

You know, has the business card that says, look at the window next to you. Is it dirty? Call me and I'll clean it. I think that just was really, it really crystallized what you were trying to get after having us land on for ourselves and our own business. So that was a big like, wow, brilliant, brilliant. And I have actually paid that forward.

Mm. You know, when I talk about your book, I've pay, I'm paying that forward. I'm like, this is so brilliant. And they're like, wow, that really is brilliant. And you don't forget it. You don't forget it. Which is what your point is, is like Mindy, have something that's easy to say and resonant for people that when they hear it, they're gonna be like, oh, I know I don't have to decipher it and she's gonna be who I think of when I need, I have this X, Y, Z problem.

So there's that. I would say too, what I thought was helpful is you did break down or you do break down different types of coaches and it gave, give examples of. What their clarity statements could be, what their peace statements could be. The peace framework also is [00:24:00] brilliant. Yeah I just think the whole first chapter, which, like you said, it's the heavy lift, it's the heavy lifting of probably the book as you mentioned.

Kris: Yeah.

Mindy: it's, it was really helpful too.

Kris: Yeah. I think when Donald and I were mapping out the book, one of the big things that came up is like, how is this book gonna be different? And I was determined, and he was, he and I both, were really on board with coaches need examples. There are all kinds of different coaches, life coaches, business coaches, wellness coaches, and how do we take this information?

If you've read Building a StoryBrand. It's a, wide net, right? You could be a plumber, you could be, you could sell a knife sharpener. And so this book is really how do we apply the framework for coaches, but within the coaching realm, there are so many different types of coaches and I always find examples are the best way to learn.

And so we have like packed this book with real world examples so you can actually find the [00:25:00] type of coach that you are and read an example of what it looks like in the real world.

Mindy: Yeah, I think tying story to a point that you're trying to get across is brilliant because stories resonate for people for sure.

And so you, you do that a lot in chapter one, which is valuable.

Kris: Yeah. So one of the big things that we do at the beginning of the book that Mindy has navigated through is crafting the piece soundbites. And if you're not familiar with the piece, soundbites, this is something Donald Miller talks about a lot on YouTube, and you can Google it and dig in a little bit deeper.

But the idea here is that before you start teaching a potential client, I think as coaches, we just wanna, we wanna help people, we wanna teach them, we wanna show them all the things that we know so they can learn it too. But what happens is they don't know us at all, right? And so we start teaching [00:26:00] prematurely.

And it's I, liken it a lot to like, when you meet somebody for coffee for the very first time, you don't sit down and go, Hey, here's what I do and here's all the ways I can help you. First, you really take the time to connect, and we talk a lot about the peace soundbites in the book. As another metaphor here, a house, if your business is a house or your marketing machine is the house on the on.

Let me think of the best way to describe this. So the first thing you encounter when you come to a house is a handful of front steps that lead you up to the porch. The front steps are the five sound bites. So think of them as five steps that you're inviting a potential client to walk up to. When people first encounter you, they don't wanna learn from you.

They just, we just need to get their attention. Half the battle, step one of marketing is capturing people's attention and the five [00:27:00] soundbites are the way to capture attention. So it's definitely not a time to teach, it's definitely not a time to ask for money or ask for someone to join your program. We are just capturing their attention and helping them identify, am I the right person that they're talking to?

If they're your piece soundbites are not gonna gain the attention of somebody that is not struggling with a problem that you solve. So let's talk about your piece soundbites, and before we do, I'll walk through them. The idea, the reason they're called the peace soundbites is because it, in every story, whether it's a movie, a book, I don't care, every story you've ever heard begins with a hero that's initially at peace and then they fall into a hole, meaning they get stuck in a problem.

And so the piece is really an acronym that we use. [00:28:00] It starts with the problem. That's your first soundbite. And then the second soundbite is empathy. And then the third soundbite is the answer. What is the answer to the problem? What is your way of solving that problem? What's your answer to that problem?

P-E-A-C-E, did I cover all of them? C is change. Who does that person your ideal client become after working? With you? What's that transformation in their identity, not the benefits of it, but their transformation in identity to someone that worries about money all the time to someone who's good with money, right?

That's a transformation of an identity. And then the, the final E in piece is what's the end result? What is the vision that, what's the vision of their future? What's their life like after this problem has been solved? So are they gonna wake up with more energy? Are they gonna, have [00:29:00] more money in the bank?

Are they gonna finally be at their ideal weight? Whatever it is, like, we wanna hone in on, on really, the vision of their life. After they have solved this problem. So let's, go through a few of your sound bites and where are you at with them. I know you're still working through them, but I think it'll be fun for everybody to hear, hear yours.

Mindy: Yeah. So yes, there's been several iterations. probably will still be some iterations to come, but where I've landed so far for pe problem, there's tension between what you know, what you feel and what your body is holding. Now you're I have a feeling you're gonna be like but you're, not gonna wanna have to say this, but I'm looking at it from a perspective of one-on-one coaching as well as corporate coaching.

And so my interest is to have my piece basically embody both ultimately uhhuh, not to say that there can't be some [00:30:00] nuance.

Kris: I, yeah, I think we should pick one. 'cause they're, these are different audiences and it is okay to have two sets of soundbites for each client. Otherwise you end up trying to speak to, trying to tr to straddle two different things and then things become a little bit more vague.

So we talked earlier a little bit about how, you know, the corporate people, the leaders have the budgets I have, they have better budgets. It's not coming out of their personal bank account. So I'd love to hone in on that audience. I always like to start with the one that's actually gonna be the most lucrative for you.

Mindy: Yeah, for sure. So let me just, yeah, I would say that is, that's what I have. Right now, that's where I've landed. But if it's specific to corporate, then I think that could be tightened up for sure. Okay. To state more specifically, yeah, I have some other [00:31:00] iterations.

Kris: If you were on a phone, an imaginary Zoom call with a leader that wanted to work with you, what would they be complaining to you about?

In their words? You can just riff.

Mindy: Oh,yeah. Basically that their workload hasn't changed, but now they're leading a team, that maybe they're a te a technical person and leading a team is the only way to grow both in responsibility and financially within the organization.

Kris: Mm-hmm.

Mindy: that they have known concerns on their team with performance, for example, but they feel.

It's easy to evade those concerns, ignore the conversation. They couch it as being empathetic, you know, I'm just buying them more time when really it's a disservice to the employee. yeah, I would say just purely from a manager lens, those are a lot of the things that I've heard.

Kris: So if you were to fill in the blank with let's say you're talking to someone else, my clients are [00:32:00] leaders and as leaders they're struggling with,

Mindy: they're struggling with, effectively leading, ultimately.

Kris: What's,

Mindy: which again? That's very Large.

Kris: A fun way to look under the hood with this is if you think of effective leading, what's the opposite of effective leading? Obviously ineffective leading, but what does ineffective leading actually translate to in the nuts and bolts of it?

Mindy: They're avoiding difficult conversations as an example.

Kris: Okay. And is it affecting their ability to get promoted? Is it affect, are they feeling overwhelmed? Are they burning out? Are they

Mindy: Yes.

Kris: Okay. All

Mindy: the things.

Kris: Yeah. Okay. Okay, cool. So those nuggets that we just talked about, they're avoiding difficult conversations with their team members.

They're overwhelmed, they're burned out because. They have too much on their plate, or maybe they don't have too much on their plate, but they literally [00:33:00] don't have the tools in their toolbox to, to solve these Problems.

Mindy: it's ultimately they're, dysregulated themselves and so they can't actually lead cohesively a team in a healthy way because they themselves are scattered and disjointed.

Kris: And do they realize that? Do they, in their mind know I'm scattered and disjointed internally and that's Yes. Not, that's not helping me, or that's keeping me from being able to lead effectively?

Mindy: Yes.

Kris: Okay. That's your nugget right there. And you feel disconnected and scattered inside and it's affecting your ability to.

Get your team aligned and to reach the goals that you have.

Mindy: Yeah. So disconnected and scattered. Okay.

Kris: Yeah. And you, yeah, you can continue to massage that, but I feel like that's the nut underneath everything [00:34:00] else.

We real, we always wanna ask when they're waking, when they wake up at 2:00 AM or 3:00 AM in the morning, what's going through their mind.

Mindy: Panic is what's going through their mind.

Kris: Yeah.

dread and panic. Okay. Write that down. Dread and panic. Yeah.

Mindy: So I would love to, and I know, I know it's probably good to just go through 'em one at a time, but I was thinking, would it be helpful for me to just read what I had for the full piece?

Kris: Yeah.

Yeah. Let's, let's hear it.

Mindy: I, I think it would be interesting to hear you say where you feel like, oh, yeah, those are good nuggets or not.

Kris: Yep.

Mindy: Okay. So I'll just go with the, P that I currently have. Okay. So there's tension between what you know, what you feel and what your body is holding. I get it.

Kris: Okay.

But really quick, I just wanna share with the listeners,

Mindy: oh, yes.

Kris: Notice that your brain doesn't actually concretely understand what that means. Like it's, I think you're, you're accurate with what you're saying, but as a [00:35:00] listener, I can't wrap my brain around what that looks like. Where as if, where, if you said you wake up at two p 2:00 AM in a panic because you don't have the tools that your team needs in order to reach the goals.

Or

Again, riff on that, but we need, to actually safety the obvious. We need something concrete Yeah. That our brains can grab onto.

Mindy: Yeah. Yeah.

Kris: And as coaches, we get what I call the curse of knowledge. And just like you've been through extensive coaching training, you've gotten really comfortable with some of the language that happens within a coaching environment that people outside or people that are not coaches don't really know really what that means.

Mindy: Yeah.

Kris: so we, we always wanna, and this is why I wrote the book the way that I did, like

Mindy: mm-hmm.

Kris: It's in plain [00:36:00] English that anybody Right. Can understand No, no industry lingo and. It's so common because you've forgotten what it's like to not know what you know. That's the curse of knowledge. Yeah. And so we have to rewind.

And that's the power of having a thought partner to kind of call you out on, hey, that term, I know you get that term, but the general population doesn't. Or the leaders that you're talking to don't. So, okay, let's keep going.

Mindy: Okay. So for e empathy mm-hmm. I get it. You adapted, you achieved, you became dependable.

But somewhere along the way, parts of you dimmed.

Kris: That's really good. It's too long, but it's really good. So you adapted, you became dependable. And what was the third one?

Mindy: you adapted. You achieved, you became dependable. So again, it's like speaking to, you know, we're doing, [00:37:00] you're doing, we're showing up in all the ways that society thinks we should show up, but yet we've lost ourselves in the process.

Kris: Plain English. I love it. Just literally what you just said right now. Yeah.

Mindy: Okay.

Kris: Repeat that one more time. That last thing that you just said.

Mindy: I'm like, you've

Kris: shown up in the way that you know

Mindy: Yeah. Like you've shown up in the way that society deems successful. Right. But you've lost yourself in the process.

Kris: Done. Done and, and done. I get it. Then that statement.

Mindy: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Okay.

Kris: Yeah. Yeah. That's beautiful. Empathy can be just so simple. It can be as simple as I get it, or I, know how this feels. And, what you shared too is just straight from the heart. Right? True leaders. True. true, guides. Don't need to like brag or boast.

They really just need to lead with empathy. And so that's the, that's why this soundbite is, so very important. Okay. Okay.

Mindy: That was helpful. Thank you.

Kris: Yep. Okay, keep going.

Mindy: for answer [00:38:00] a, I coach the whole human integrating head, heart, and body. So clarity is not just intellectual, but embodied.

Kris: Okay.

Really good. Too long. Our brains like when we have a lot of commas and we have a lot of ands, like our brains can only take in so much at any given time. So keep. This sentence is short and concise. If you have three, a series of three commas, we like to do that because we're like, we do so much like we, it's hard to limit.

But what I want you to remember is that these are quick soundbites that just are gonna get people's attention. You don't have to tell the full story in your sound bites in order to get their attention. We can't overload them with information. Think of it like when you're on the freeway and you get off on a, or you go on an on ramp, right?

You get off the freeway and you get on an on ramp. Your soundbite allows them to on ramp into their, into your world. Once they're in your [00:39:00] world, you can talk. You can talk a lot more, right? Yeah. So back to that house metaphor. These are the front steps that are getting people's attention. So you can welcome them onto your front porch.

Once they're on the front porch, we can dig in a little bit better. They're engaged. They're like, okay, I'm in. You've got my attention. I'm in. Yeah. Now I wanna learn more from you, and then you can go deeper into these, things. But,

Mindy: so maybe my answer is, reconnect to your internal compass and develop self trust.

Kris: Yeah. There you go. I like that. Yep.

Yeah, Okay. and it could even be, if you wanna weave in, I offer one-on-one coaching that realigns you with your internal compass. And allows you to get back on your path or allows you to realign with your purpose or, yeah.

Mindy: Okay. And then for change, [00:40:00] c

Kris: mm-hmm.

Mindy: Live from internal alignment rather than reaction.

Kris: So the change is really about their identity. And the way to hone in on this is how would people describe them if they weren't in the room? Spitballing here, but be an aligned leader who makes an impact or, be an aligned leader who, leads with confidence, be somebody who leads with confidence.

be a leader who's in, who's fully in alignment with. Yourself and in tune with your team. There's all kinds of ways to do it, but the question here is how would they want, how would they want people to, describe them if they weren't in the room?

Mindy: I would, my, what I suspect is they would want to be described as a bal a leader that balances head and heart.

And [00:41:00] doesn't, re doesn't. so head and heart, and I think

Kris: just no more ands,

Mindy: oh,

Kris: no more ands, no more comments, no more. I know. Not in the soundbites you got room for s on the front porch.

Yeah.

Mindy: so lead with head

Kris: and heart. Be, be, be someone who leads with your head and heart. Okay. Often the aspirational identity is be someone who, or be a leader who, be, a leader who's aligned with your head and heart, or be someone who leads with your head and your heart.

Mindy: Okay. Yeah. I can get behind that for sure.

Okay. That's my, that's always, that's been my that to me is hr.

Kris: Yeah.

Mindy: HR is a balance of head and heart. It's not all just functioning up here.

video1715846356: Right.

Mindy: okay. So the end result,

Kris: yep.

Mindy: EE.

Navigate tension, performance and accountability without losing humanity. Strengthening trust, clarity and results.

Kris: A lot of commas. And this is so common. I mean, [00:42:00] really, we just,

Mindy: this is actually really good for the listeners because they are seeing my, in, in getting this. And

Kris: they're, they're gonna be doing the same thing. I mean, they're, so, so often we talk with people who have already done this kind of, what I call the messy middle work, but it's done in private, and you are here with the courage and vulnerability and openness to like, to show us the process of it.

And it isn't, it isn't, always a direct line. No. Okay. Read it one more time.

Mindy: navigate tension, performance and accountability without losing humanity.

Kris: Okay.

Mindy: Strengthening trust, clarity and results.

Kris: Okay. So. Trust, clarity.

Mindy: Oh, so what if it's navigate tension, strengthen trust, and strengthen trust to lead with clarity and results

Kris: too long.

Really it could be, rally your team around your [00:43:00] vision, or have a team that's fully engaged and, and reach your goals with ease and confidence. Like we, what we wanna do is like this hero that we're talking to. Your clients are the hero. You are the guide. What we wanna do is. Help them climb the mountain throwing in another metaphor because I love them.

And so you are like the trail guide, helping them navigate the path to the peak of Mount Everest. And one of the most important things that you can do is, remind them of what's possible. So we really want to inspire them in this soundbite and show them what's possible for their life after all of this work is done, after they're so well equipped.

And so when you point up to the peak of that mountain, what does the peak of that mountain actually look like?

Mindy: Yeah, so if I go back to feeling scattered and with dread at 2:00 AM which is [00:44:00] our problem,

Kris: right? What's the opposite of that?

Mindy: I feel and then we talked about balancing head and heart. So

Kris: have the tools and confidence to, lead your team or to help your team reach the goals?

Mindy: Say that again. Have the tools and confidence

Kris: have the confi, have the tools and the confidence to lead your team with ease. Mm-hmm. Or to lead your team. Or to help your team reach, reach your goals.

Mindy: To, enable your team to reach their goals.

Kris: Yeah.

Mindy: Okay.

Kris: We like it could even be the word effective. Keeps popping up. Lead your team. Effectively so they can reach their goals, so you can all reach your goals. What is the peak of the mountain? What is the wonderful, [00:45:00] thing that's possible for them once they solve this problem?

Mindy: yeah.

Have the tools and confidence to effectively lead your team to reach their goals.

Kris: Yeah. Yeah.

Mindy: Okay.

Kris: okay. After going through this chapter, what has shifted for you around the way you think about this, your message as a coach?

Mindy: Well, I, I do feel like it's, it's gaining me some clarity for sure. And I, you know, because of doing all the different iterations, I feel like I'm not just like grabbing the first thing that kind of Yeah, that sounds good. Like I'm wanting it to be resonant. I think one of the things that I am challenged by is I, don't want to, I guess I wanna be authentic to who and how, who I am and how I coach. And I don't want there to be any illusions around that.

And so I'm interested in organizations [00:46:00] that actually care about their culture and not care about their culture because it just impacts the bottom line.

Kris: Right.

Mindy: But they actually have care and concern for their talent. And that they wanna make investment. In their talent

Through coaching and facilitation leadership development.

Kris: Mm-hmm.

Mindy: to bring meaningful change. And that comes from addressing the whole self. It's not through how to work harder or more efficient with your time or make, more widgets faster, et cetera, et cetera.

Kris: Right.

Mindy: I guess I, I, I just want that to, and to your point, it's not like I have to state that in, in the peace framework.

Right. I can say it once they're on the porch and they're ready to learn more, so.

Kris: Right.

Mindy: I, I guess that's the thing. It's like, okay, Mindy, it's okay to bring that in. Bring in,

Kris: yeah.

Mindy: Your ethos and your mission.

Kris: Yep.

Mindy: Once they're on the porch.

Kris: Totally. Totally. And really people at this phase of the soundbites, they wanna know the what, not the the what, not the how

The what, not the [00:47:00] how can be uncovered once they're on the porch. And I think, that's really important information and some of what you just shared could be woven in to that end result soundbite. We'll, keep working on it. Yes. But this has been such a joy getting to roll up our sleeves and get into this work together.

And yeah, as we wrap up, is there anything else that, that you wanna share?

Mindy: I would just say this is, if this is well worth the time and the energy to do, and I feel that your book is intuitive, the framework makes sense. It gets the person. To go internal of like, well, what is it that's important to me and what do I wanna say and why does it matter?

And so all of these important building blocks that build the foundation, as you said. So, I'm excited for the book release. I think it's really gonna help a lot of people and, listen, that's what we're both in the business for, is we, wanna help people, in different ways, but ultimately we wanna help people.

So I'm really excited and I think, yeah. [00:48:00] I know I have, I've always joked with you like you have the Midas touch, and I think that's carrying through even with this new book that you've, you're gonna, produce. So anyway,

Kris: yeah. Thank you. Thank you so much. Yeah. I think one of the, the main things I just wanna wrap up with is this idea of the most important thing you can do as a coach is to become known for solving a problem.

And this goes back to the window washer with the business card that said, look at the nearest window. If it's dirty, call me.

Mindy: Brilliant.

Kris: And how can we apply that level of simplicity to our coaching business? If you are struggling with this, then joining my coaching program or working with me as a coach will solve that problem.

And, my coaching is the solution to that problem. Essentially those two things fit together and so anyway, I just wanted to say thank you and to our thank you, Kris, to our listeners, we are going to continue this [00:49:00] journey chapter by chapter, so you're gonna get to follow along

Mindy: you Lucky dogs.

Kris: Alright, Mindy, thank you again for being here today.

It was such a joy.

Is your website turning away Potential clients? I can help you turn that around. Book a moneymaking messaging call with me today and we'll transform your story into your most powerful sales tool. That's all for this episode of From Click to Client. Don't forget to subscribe and follow. I'm Chris Jones and I'll see you next.