The Art Of Coaching

Most people have a bunch of notes, voice memos, and half-baked thoughts scattered across their phone, laptop, or random legal pads. They tell themselves, “One day I’ll organize this…” but that day rarely comes. In this episode, I break down a skill that’s helped me think more clearly, communicate more effectively, and actually build the stuff I kept talking about. The tips in this episode will help you stress test your ideas, sharpen your thinking, and turn loose thoughts into something useful—whether that’s a resource for your staff, a framework for your clients, or just a clearer head.   ____________________   Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:   • A simple skill that helps you unload mental clutter and finally do something with all the knowledge and experience you’ve been sitting on   • How to better document what you’ve learned and structure it in a way so the people you lead—or help—can actually benefit from what you know   • Tips that helped me write my previous best-selling book and my upcoming one   ____________________     Follow Us: Website: ArtofCoaching.com Instagram: @coach_brettb X: @coach_brettb

This is a short, personal episode about a few things I’m intentionally doing more of in 2025—not because they sound impressive or productive, but because they’ve genuinely made my life calmer, healthier, and more grounded.   Rather than focusing on goals or systems, I talk through a handful of changes that have come from experience, reflection, and paying attention to what actually drains me versus what gives something back.   I share why I’m continuing to make my circle smaller without becoming closed off or cynical, why I’m done feeling uncomfortable asking for support, how I’m trying to be more mindful of how my excitement lands with different people, and why I’m working on not giving away my power just because I’m comfortable with conflict or ambiguity.   This episode isn’t about cutting people off or becoming harder. It’s about becoming more honest with myself—and more intentional with my time, energy, and relationships.   My hope is that as you listen, you reflect on where you might need to make similar adjustments in your own life.   What You’ll Learn in This Episode   •How I’m continuing to make my circle smaller without becoming closed off — and the criteria I use to decide which relationships are worth maintaining   •What helped me stop feeling guilty about asking for support (especially for big projects like my book) and how to ask in a way that doesn’t feel weird or needy   •How I’m getting better at reading how my excitement lands with different people so I don’t come on too strong when I don’t mean to   •How I’m working on not giving away power through over-accommodation — giving benefit of the doubt, deferring too much, and being “too nice” longer than someone’s earned   ⸻   Follow Us: Website: ArtofCoaching.com Instagram: @coach_brettb X: @coach_brettb

I get asked about books constantly—what I’m reading, what actually stuck, and what shaped the way I think about leadership, communication, and the world over the past year.   In this episode, I walk through some of my favorite books of 2025—a mix of fiction and nonfiction—and talk about why they mattered to me, not just what they were about.   Some influenced how I think about people and power. Some sharpened how I see leadership and decision-making. Some didn’t fit neatly into a category but stayed with me long after I finished them.   This isn’t a “you should read these because everyone else is” list. It’s a look at the books that genuinely helped me learn, reflect, and see things differently—and why pulling from a wide range of material (not just leadership or business books) makes you sharper overall.   You can find a full, continually updated reading list at: www.artofcoaching.com/reading-list   And if you want the complete list of books mentioned in this episode, you can get it by subscribing to our newsletter at: www.artofcoaching.com/begin   ⸻   What You’ll Learn in This Episode   •Which books actually stood out to me in 2025—and why they stuck   •How fiction has influenced the way I think about people, conflict, and leadership more than some “business” books   •Why reading outside your field makes you more interesting and more effective   •How I decide whether a book is worth my time (and when I abandon one)   ⸻   Follow Us: Website: ArtofCoaching.com Instagram: @coach_brettb X: @coach_brettb

The holidays are supposed to be relaxing.Instead, they tend to throw you into rooms full of tired people, loaded topics, and conversations that go sideways fast. Everyone’s heard the advice to “just avoid certain people.”That works until you can’t. In this episode, I break down real conversational situations people actually run into during the holidays—family dinners, extended relatives, friends-of-friends, awkward small talk, emotional dumping, political grenades—and give you specific, usable strategies to handle them without blowing things up or walking away drained.   ⸻     What You’ll Learn in This Episode   •How to deal with people who drop strong opinions at the table without turning dinner into a debate club   •What to say when someone starts emotionally unloading on you and you don’t want to fix, argue, or absorb it   •How to interrupt long-winded talkers without being rude or awkward   •What to do when someone makes passive-aggressive comments and you don’t want to take the bait   •How to carry a conversation with people you don’t naturally click with (without forcing fake enthusiasm)   •Simple ways to pivot conversations when they start heading somewhere messy   •A few clean exit lines you can use so you’re not trapped in conversations longer than you need to be   ⸻     Follow Us: Website: ArtofCoaching.com Instagram: @coach_brettb X: @coach_brettb

One thing we work with a lot of organizations on is communication issues related to different generations, conflict resolution, and mismatched communication styles.    In this episode, we dive into what actually sits underneath those blowups: the human nature piece most people never address.   We get into why certain leaders lean on directness, why others interpret that same directness as an attack, and how those reactions are rooted in identity, power dynamics, and people’s early experiences with conflict.    We also break down what teams have to understand if they want to stop tip-toeing around each other and actually work well together.   This isn’t a “be nicer” episode. It’s a breakdown of the patterns that quietly screw up trust, clarity, and execution inside organizations—especially when different leadership styles or generations collide.   ⸻   What You’ll Learn (Practical & To the Point)   •How different generations and leadership styles interpret the same message in completely different ways.   •The human-nature drivers behind “direct” vs “too direct,” and why some people shut down or misread tone instantly.   •The difference between discomfort and actual conflict—and how teams get that wrong.   •Why your intent doesn’t matter if the impact keeps landing wrong.   •What leaders can do to adjust their style without watering down their expectations.   •How to get teams to stop personalizing everything and start focusing on the work.   •The specific conversations organizations need to have if they want fewer misunderstandings and fewer emotional landmines.   If you want to build teams that can handle tension, give clear feedback, and stop spinning out over tone, this episode will give you the frameworks and first principles you need.   For more hands-on help; reach out to us at [email protected]   Follow Us: Website: ArtofCoaching.com Instagram: @coach_brettb X: @coach_brettb