Executive coaching is more than just a series of nice, but unconnected, conversations, says Peter Stewart. “It’s a development process with real teeth and traction in it” to help leaders meet goals.

In this episode, Peter and Daniel demystify the coaching process with a look at their five-step approach to coaching. This approach identifies clear objectives, sets measurable and time-bound goals, and integrates feedback to help leaders course correct as they progress.

Anyone can benefit from a coaching engagement. “It is not about the coach,” says Daniel. “It is about what you need, and for you to be confident and comfortable to be a self-advocate for your own development.”

Tune in to learn:

• The most common objectives leaders have when working with a coach
• The value of feedback in coaching
• The one thing you should know to optimize your coaching experience

Plus, insights from Gallup on the relationship between feedback and employee engagement, and a flashback to the struggles of owning a home sprinkler system.

In this episode:

2:08 – Memory Lane

5:32 – Insight of the Week

11:20 – Topic: The 5 Steps of Great Coaching

13:49 – Step 1: Establishing the Objective

21:16 – Step 2: Understanding Through Assessment

24:20 – Step 3: Providing Feedback

28:47 – Step 4: Identifying Goals

32:52 – Step 5: Following Up with Support

36:48 – Lightning Round

Gallup: “How Effective Feedback Fuels Performance”

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

Podcast Episode 13: How to Create an Effective Action Plan for Development

The Five Steps of Great Coaching

How the Right Coach Can Ease a New Executive Transition

10 Questions to Ask to Best Develop Your Individual Action Plan

6 Ways to Become Aware of Your Leadership Blind Spots

Eight Skills of Great Coaching Managers

6 Keys to Setting Yourself Up for Success with an Executive Coach

White Paper: Coaching for Organizational Growth: A Powerful Resource for Maximizing Human Capital

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

Over the last few decades, the attitude on leadership coaching has shifted dramatically. What was once considered necessary only when there was a performance issue is now a common piece of leadership development.

“More and more leaders are seeing executive leadership coaching as actually a sign of investment and development,” says Daniel. “It’s a positive thing.”

But being given a coaching opportunity can raise a lot of questions. Can you choose your coach, or will your company assign you a coach? How much will your boss know about your coaching sessions? And what does a coaching session even look like?

In this episode, Daniel and Peter take a look at the value of coaching, what to look for in a coach, and how to make the most of a coaching experience.

Tune in to learn:

• The difference between a coach and a mentor–and why both can be helpful to your career
• The importance of coaching as a “safe space” for leaders
• The one thing you should NOT do if you want to get the most out of your coaching experience

Plus, what we can learn from Costco’s Code of Ethics, and the strategy you need to win (almost) every game of Risk (at least when you play against Daniel and Peter).

In this episode:

1:42 – Insight of the Week

5:42 – Memory Lane

8:50 – Topic: What to Expect from Your Executive Coach

10:31 – Why Executive Coaching?

18:21 – How Do You Choose an Executive Coach?

31:56 – What Does a Coaching Session Look Like?

34:40 – Lightning Round

Costco Code of Ethics

The Ultimate Risk Strategy Guide

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

Choosing a Coach: How the Right Coach Can Help You Get Unstuck

The Five Steps of Great Coaching

How Do You Know if You Are Choosing the Right Executive Coach?

How the Right Coach Can Ease a New Executive Transition

10 Questions to Ask to Best Develop Your Individual Action Plan

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.

What if AI were the key to innovation inside your company?

Today’s guest suggests that AI puts innovation in the hands of people who aren’t necessarily scientists or programmers.

Travis Hoppe is the Assistant Director of AI Research and Development at The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He co-authored The Pile, a pioneering open source dataset used for training large language models that served as a catalyst for promoting open science within the field of AI, and he holds a PhD in physics.

In this conversation, Daniel and Travis discuss everything AI–from the basics of machine learning and algorithms to implications for leaders to the most promising applications of AI.

“Now, people can experiment with some really good idea,” Travis says. About 20% of your organization really wants to build stuff. “Oftentimes you just need to bring them together and you need to give them the freedom to do so.”

Tune in to learn:

• Why guardrails in AI innovation are so important
• Why leaders have a unique opportunity to be pioneers right now
• Why you don’t need to fear “the singularity”

Join us for a fascinating conversation about the present–and future–of AI.

In this episode:

1:35 – Introduction: Travis Hoppe

2:53 – What is AI?

9:25 – Algorithms: A Brief Review

13:05 – How Should Leaders Think About AI?

18:40 – AI Guidance for Teams and Businesses

28:00 – AI in Practice

32:40 – Lightning Round

Travis Hoppe profiles:

• @metasemantic on X
• LinkedIn
• Google Scholar

The Pile

Memorandum M-24-10 (listed under “Memoranda 2024”)

Stewart Leadership Insights and Resources:

• 4 Ways to Encourage a Healthy Failure Culture
• The Power of Imagination in Planning
• 7 Ways to Prepare Leaders for Disruption
• 5 Advantages of Becoming a Digitally Literate Change Leader
• 5 Ways to Help Manage Your Team’s Change Exhaustion
• AI-Powered Talent Retention
• Women and AI

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend or colleague, or, better yet, leave a review to help other listeners find our show, and remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

For more great content or to learn about how Stewart Leadership can help you grow your ability to lead effectively, please visit stewartleadership.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.