Chaos has a way of shrinking our thinking. One tough email, a headline, a sudden change at work and we grab for the fastest fix, the familiar answer, the script that used to work. Then the brain locks onto worst case scenarios, confidence drops, and even strong leaders start feeling stuck. We sit down with Marcia Reynolds, Master Certified Coach and pioneer in the ICF community, to talk about how a coaching approach can activate resilience when uncertainty is the only constant.
Marcia introduces the “murky unknown” and the messy middle of change, where people are transforming but nothing feels stable yet. Her core practice sounds almost too simple until you try it: coach slowly. We unpack how slowing down creates emotional connection first, why clients need to feel safety before they can access insight, and how the real topic often emerges naturally when we invite story instead of rushing to goals. You’ll hear how to listen for repeated phrases and hidden rules, then reflect them back with compassion, even if it sparks frustration, because that emotion often signals a breakthrough.
We also dig into why old solutions can be harmful when applied to new problems and why so many leaders burn out trying to be the one who knows. Marcia challenges us to let go of the expert identity and to “give it back” so clients build agency. Finally, she explains the difference between listening and receiving through therapeutic presence, opening head, heart, and gut to create felt trust that goes beyond confidentiality statements and into real connection.
If you want practical coaching tools for uncertain times, subscribe, share this episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more coaches and leaders can find it. What part of coaching slowly would make the biggest difference in your next conversation?
* Gift – Introduction and First Chapter to Coach the Person, Not the Problem 2nd Edition. This document looks at what makes coaching so powerful in these times of chaos and uncertainty, what it takes to impact people and trigger transformation beyond what AI can do, and what are the key elements of a coaching conversation.
Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/
Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör
Garry Schleifer. Innehållet i podden är skapat av Garry Schleifer och inte av,
eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.
