Inside the Mind of a People Strategist with Laura Gooler

In this episode of Career Coaching Secrets our guest is Laura Gooler, a seasoned people leader, executive coach, and former HR executive at major global companies, who shares powerful insights on what it really takes to build a meaningful, resilient, and future-proof career in today’s evolving workplace; drawing from her extensive experience in leadership development, organizational culture, and talent strategy, Laura dives into how individuals can align personal values with professional goals, navigate career transitions with confidence, and develop the mindset needed to thrive in uncertainty, while also offering practical advice for leaders looking to build more human-centered organizations—this conversation is packed with actionable takeaways whether you're early in your career or leading at the top.

You can find her on:
https://www.goolerleadershipsolutions.org/
https://www.facebook.com/people/Gooler-Leadership-Solutions/61571938757600/
https://www.instagram.com/goolerleadershipsolutions
https://www.linkedin.com/company/gooler-leadership-solutions/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-gooler-2001067a
Email: laura@goolerleadershipsolutions.org

Transcript

Laura Gooler 0:00

And so, but now like with AI, it's like, you know what? I I this is is such a different time with that. I really want to learn. And I and so I've been going through a lot of certifications and training program. And I feel like when I talk to people, I'm doing so much more. But I don't know about you. I still feel every day that I'm behind because things are there's they're changing so fast.

Davis Nguyen 0:23

Welcome to Career Coaching Secrets, the podcast where we talk with successful career coaches on how they built their success and the hard lessons they learned along the way. My name is Davis Wynne, and I'm the founder of Purple Circle, where we help career coaches scale their business to $100,000 years, $100,000 months, and even $100,000 weeks. Before Purple Circle, I've grown several seven and eight-figure career coaching businesses myself and have been a consultant at two career coaching businesses that are doing over $100 million each. Whether you're an established coach or building your practice for the first time, you'll discover the secrets to elevating your coaching business.

Pedro Stein 0:55

Welcome to Career Coaching Secrets Podcast. I'm Pedro and I'm joined by Laura Gouler, a certified executive coach with a PhD in industrial and organizational psychology and over 25 years of expertise in leadership development across healthcare and medtech industries. Specializing in positive psychology, Laura partners with leaders at all levels to harness their strengths, build capabilities, and ignite transformative action to achieve their goals. Her mission is to empower leaders on their journey to executive success, enabling them to fulfill their leadership potential and cultivate high-performing teams and organizations. Whether working on leadership effectiveness, eliminating team dysfunction, or managing strategic culture change initiatives, Laura builds trusting partnerships that help leaders get unstuck and achieve breakthrough results. Welcome to the show, Laura.

Laura Gooler 2:03

Thank you. Thanks for having me. It's nice to see you again.

Pedro Stein 2:07

Yeah, I'm excited that you're here. We already were we were talking about that pre-podcast, right? Now, before we get into what you do now, Laura, I'm curious how this all actually started, right? So, what was going on in your life when coaching became more than just an idea, you know?

Laura Gooler 2:26

Yeah, I I think because my my training is as an IO psychologist, and uh I really studied effective leaders, high-performing organizations, the people side of change and and growth. Um, I I learned that to be an effective uh practitioner, you have to also work on yourself. And so I've always had a coach myself. And it started with having, I have two coaches right now, and I continue to seek new coaches as I am trying to expand my skill set. Um, but part of that was is, you know, I was coaching leaders throughout my career, even at early stages, and I remember, you know, kind of stumbling upon a talk uh by the Center of Creative Leadership, and and there they were all talking about executive coaching. And I said, you know, I I do executive coaching, and and so, but I I decided I'm gonna look into amp up my skills because I always like to challenge myself, Pedro, and and and grow my skills. So I I went in and I searched uh for the right fit. And there's a lot of great uh programs out there that really do a deep dive in in helping you build uh your coaching skills. And I wanted to focus in on the positive psychology side because I didn't want to go in and I never try to fix people because I don't think people are to be fixed. I think people are creative, whole, and resourceful. And um, so I wanted to honor that and really find ways to strengthen what's within them already and help them become their best version of themselves. And so I started that journey to really dive in and and and it's been such a wonderful blessing because you know, if you don't eat your own cooking, uh you know you're not gonna have that much credibility. So I think a life unexamined is hard to help others examine themselves.

Pedro Stein 4:26

I love that, especially the quote about if you don't eat your own cooking, right? That is so true. Now, at what point, Laura, did it stop feeling like a side thing or a calling, you know, and start feeling like an actual business you were responsible for, you know, it was it the first invoice, was it the first investment you made into the business? You know, that shift we made when we become a business owner.

Laura Gooler 4:51

Yeah, you know, I spent over 25 years in corporate and finally decided to make the leap. And, you know, that could that's kind of scary, you know, because you're just on your own. And um, you know, probably you know, 15, 20 years ago, I was in a role where I was pretty embedded and and the job was eliminated because we were in a healthcare company. We had to implement electronic medical records, we had to rebuild two big hospitals in the Bay Area for seismic retrofitting. So all non-clinical care people had to uh you know go because they needed all the funds. And so at that time I was actually looking into starting up my own coaching and consulting uh firm. Uh and I went at, I kind of went, you know, around and I kind of like did interviews. I said, I'm gonna contact coaches who have gone before me because success leaves clues. You know, I don't want to try to stumble and figure it out all by myself, but I wanted to talk to others. And at that time, it was really exciting but kind of daunting because everybody talked about the long ramp, you know, to start out, like you need a certain amount of resources in order to build. And so I thought, oh, I'm not sure if I'm ready financially to cover that kind of traject trajectory at that point. So I stayed internal. And then, but fast forward now, when I started my own coaching and consulting practice in the end of 2024, we're in a new era. We have AI. AI is such a powerful enabler, and so I wanted to leverage the tools of AI to help me build faster and capture what I know and how to put it together. So that's a new reality where we I think we have a different playing field for people that want to start up their own companies. And so I think the reality to go to really directly answer your questions when you sign up for that LLC and you start paying those bills and you start having to file taxes, that kind of makes it feel real. And it's like, oh, okay, I I I need to follow up with this. And and I think I went through that transition where okay, am I in this or am I gonna dabble? Right. And and so then it's like, no, I really I've been pondering this for so many years, I'm gonna go all in. So so you have to kind of make that leap and faith in yourself, uh, knowing that there are so many people that you know try businesses, but you're probably aware of of some of the stats that you know, out of the 300 million companies in the world today, about 50% don't make it past five years. And and that the 10% that make it you know to 10 years or or beyond, um, they may not necessarily be thriving. And and a lot of that goes towards not because they're not smart people or they're not working hard, but because there's so many challenges to actually running a business. You know, as a business owner, you have you're kind of the artist where you have to, you're the creator you want to serve, but now you have to be the marketing person and in the sales, and then you have to do that admin stuff, getting getting those basic things taken care of. So you're juggling a lot, and those are no different than what I was coaching leaders. So, you know, you shift that insight from working with leaders, grappling with that, and then you say, okay, I need to learn from them and and and apply it to my own self so that I can be really effective for them.

Pedro Stein 8:20

Okay, so 12 years ago you got your certification, and then you realize by interviewing other coaches that you okay, I need some more resources to really launch this. So, my question to you is like, once you were out there helping people, right, in 24, that you just started your business uh formally, let's say, but you had a lot of planning that you did already. So, who did you naturally end up attracting now? You know, when did you realize, okay, these are the people I work best with? You know, you you found your tribe or not. How was how is that playing out right now?

Laura Gooler 8:55

It's it's really it's great. And they're kind of the same type of leaders I've always been attracted to. They're they're really smart, high achieving, really competitive. They're uh people who want to make a difference in working with others. Um and and I'm not I've never gravitated toward leaders who just are focusing in on themselves, but those who are really trying to uh leave a legacy. And and so those continue to be uh the type of people that are are I'm working with. And I'm really trying to serve those leaders that are trying to transform their organizations, and it's getting harder and harder given the pace of change and complexity that they're dealing with. But uh that's that's really the type of leader that I work with. There are those entrepreneurs and uh business owners that are really transforming their organizations. But for me, it's like it's all about the heart as well, because I I don't want to just work with a company that is solely trying to make money. I I really want to work with those that are trying to make a difference in the world. And and that's what I really gravitate toward.

Pedro Stein 10:09

Okay. Now let's give a step back here, okay, and talk a little bit about marketing. I think that's a very interesting piece, especially in the coaching space. So if someone ends up working with you today, okay, one of those leaders that are trying to leave a legacy, how do they usually find their way to you in the first place?

Laura Gooler 10:28

Yeah. So right now it's um a lot of word of mouth that so uh current and former clients are connecting me with leaders and also uh doing outreach. So that the the outreach part of marketing is newer for me. And it it that's probably where I've had a lot of personal growth because I've never I'm not I'm not an introvert by nature, but I'm not one to self-promote myself. So that has been probably the biggest challenge is getting comfortable in my own skin of saying, okay, now if I'm not visible, I'm not able to serve. So that was a good insight that I have to remind myself that uh sales is is not you know a mucky thing. It's it's something where it gives you that opportunity to serve more people. And I'm at that point in my life where I've worked so hard on me and I've studied high performing organizations. I do volunteer work around high performing organizations. I want to give back. And so getting out there uh is an area of really trying to promote awareness around who I am and the work I do. And that's why I wrote my book that's coming out uh very shortly, uh, because I wanted to kind of codify what I've been doing over the last 25 years and and kind of tie it together and also take that opportunity to say, well, what is my voice? And what is it that I've learned that I can give back so that leaders I work with don't have to work as hard as I did or that other leaders are are struggling with. So I really wanted to put all that together to make leaders able to work faster uh and and avoid a lot of the bumps in the road. It's not that it's gonna be easy, but I want to remove the friction points so that they can really focus in on those things that really help them accelerate their ability to drive change and and and achieve the results that they're truly after.

Pedro Stein 12:28

You know, I'd love now to talk a little bit about the structure of your business. Like, for example, let's picture I'm one of those leaders, right? Pedro is like, hey, I looked at your content, you know, and I'm like, hey, this resonates with me. Sounds cool. I want to talk with Laura, right? So when someone decides to work with you, like me, what does that actually look like from my perspective as being on board it, right?

Laura Gooler 12:55

Yeah, yeah. Well, I I really it's all about you for me. Uh, my work is all in service of helping you accomplish something that's important. It's usually helping you resolve some pain points that are are really getting in your way. And I I've always been uh a believer that uh insight really is the foundation for taking the appropriate action. So I do a lot of uh intake around uh an assessment to help figure things out. And so one of the things I did as an example uh because I wanted to codify, you know, this, you know, I what I tell people, Pedro, is I I've always specialized in the people side of change, you know, that messy emotional reality that people go through that doesn't necessarily fit on a slide deck and and follow a clear path to action, because people bring their whole selves to work, as do leaders that I work with. And so I think that uh trying to use diagnostics to help figure out well, what is it? So for me, as an example, you know, one of the assessments I use is my uh framework, diagnostic, that really ties in those core capabilities of effective execution. And and and part of that is because it's not uh theoretical, and and this is where where I really try to differentiate myself. I don't want to come at like, oh, you need to talk about something uh uh fluffy or or abstract, but get really concrete onto evidence-based behaviors and practices and systems that you can actually diagnose and implement right away. Like these are learnable skills, and and so you know, my execution edge diagnostic will identify the six you know core capabilities that leaders have been shown, you know, really important to drive effective uh results in organizations. Another area of diagnosis I often will do is around uh strengths. So um I use some strengths-based assessments to help people really get very clear about what are their core capabilities that they naturally like those go-to things. Like I'm sure there are some strengths that you have, like your one of your strengths, you know, from what I've learned about you is your natural curiosity, right? You're a podcaster, so you're you're great at asking questions, but but that's something that you can tap into, like when a situation is sticky, like, okay, well, I don't know, this is really complex, but I'm gonna drive in and I'm gonna use my strength of curiosity to help me unpack what's really happening. And um, the other uh assessment I think is also helpful, particularly from a leadership perspective, is your core personality and understanding what you know, and I always tell leaders your personality is not a secret. Everybody knows if you are extroverted or if you're introverted, it's not a secret. But maybe you have some blind spots on how you show up that are helping you that you're not aware of or maybe hindering uh some of your effectiveness. So um, but I I my approach on using diagnostics isn't just let's throw everything out all at once. It really starts with what are you trying to accomplish? What are you trying to avoid? And if you accomplish that and avoid those bad things that you don't want to happen along the way, how will your life be different? Like what goes to the core? Like, what's the meaning of that? So that kind of diagnostic sets the frame for our coaching practice together. And you know, I my my perspective is the leaders I serve, you know, you're the hero of your journey. I'm just a guide along the way to ask questions and help be that trusted partner to say, I'm gonna ask you some tough questions, or I'm gonna be your accountability partner, um, and make it a safe environment so that you can truly explore what may be getting in that way. Because the reality is 80% of leader success is psychological, 20% is really strategy. And so we often spend a lot of time. Um, and that foundation comes from understanding what what's really getting in the way of what you're trying to accomplish so that we can tackle that.

Pedro Stein 17:32

Hmm. Okay, interesting. 80% is psychological. Okay, now I need to ask you something that I feel it's very interesting and very important because you also mentioned about you know, when you made the leap wearing all the hats, now you're a marketer, now you're you know the admin side and all of that, not just of coaching practice. So, and also on top of that, we're talking about uh the framework diagnostic, the coaching practice itself, the assessments you already just told me about. So your work seems pretty involved. So, how do you think about managing your time and energy so the business doesn't doesn't start owning you, for example?

Laura Gooler 18:12

Yeah, yeah. I'm still I'm still figuring that out. I'll I'll be honest. You know, I didn't come to this like, oh, I know how all this happens. Um, but you know, as I'm still in that solopreneur stage, I'm I'm really trying to look at where I can offload uh some of the work to others. Uh at so I'm kind of at that that tipping point of saying, okay, I want more outside help to accomplish certain uh more administrative tactical things. Um, but part of what I'm also trying to do to offset some of the load uh is use AI to help automate different pieces, such as you know, through the marketing. So, you know, I've I've developed some my personal GPTs and agents just to help me do research because you know, an important part of what I do is staying current on you know trends and and realities facing leaders and organizations, but I don't have time to do that kind of research that I used to do. It's it's a different way. So I'm trying to build capabilities through building agents and my own personal GPTs that will accelerate my ability to get more done through that. So it's kind of in that I'm in that kind of branching point of you know, starting to look to identify the additional talent to bring on to help me free up to do the coaching and the transformation work. But I'm also trying to automate. So, an example of automation with my diagnostic is I did vibe coding and created my own app. And because I wanted like today's leaders are digital, they're they're doing these assessments while they're you know in their car or taking a hike, you know, they're they're very busy, um, but they want things at their fingertips. So being able to make it easy for them to have it readily, and then you know, developing hyper-personalized uh development coaching within the app uh really will tailor to their specific needs. So it's always I'm always trying to think how can I make this as um intuitive and simple for leaders, but also automate as much as possible so that I'm not doing a lot of manual work, but it's a journey. I'm still I'm still getting there.

Pedro Stein 20:28

It's so cool, right? Can you picture yourself vibe coding 20 years ago? You know, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Laura Gooler 20:35

Because here's here's where I was. I was like, I love technology, but I just want it to work. Like I just like and like I I always kind of like I think throughout like life's challenges, one of the things I've gotten really good at is navigating uh hard times and and chaos and change. So I I tend to be really cool because I've learned how to stay above the fray and I'm the kind of your go-to person uh when you're navigating complex change because I know how to think that systemically, but also remain calm and and collected. But sometimes that technology glitches would be the things that would set me off. And so, but now, like with AI, it's like, you know what? I I this is is such a different time with that. I really want to learn. And I and so I've been going through a lot of certifications and training program, and I feel like when I talk to people, I'm doing so much more, but I don't know about you. I still feel every day that I'm behind because things are there's they're changing so fast that sometimes I I I I'm up late working on things, and I'm thinking, I still how how do people have time to do it? Because there's so many new things coming out. How do you apply all these great tools? But what I've learned is saying, okay, what's my most important priorities? How do I leverage AI tools and resources? To facilitate the accomplishment of work on my priorities rather than just play around and test things. But for me, personally, I'm always at my best when I'm learning new things. And so this whole investment of leveraging AI tools and resources has been really energizing to me. And so I actually, it's raised my energy learning and applying things. If that makes sense.

Pedro Stein 22:35

And I'm gonna, you know, we you asked about me, right? So I feel like whenever I don't have at least a very good idea of what I want or what I where what I'm trying to achieve when talking way I, I get myself burned. Like I'll give you a quick example. If I'm trying to build a reach out, right? And I'm having a wrong bias, like, oh, I want to talk to artists, and I'm I'm asking GPT, like, how what's the best way to come up with a marketing uh strategy to talk to artists in Link on LinkedIn, for example, you know, and will give me the way to do it, but they don't really hang out there, you know. So sometimes it's about the prompt and knowing a little bit more about placing the right framework so it gives me a good answer, or else it's gonna get myself into a also a biased idea because it's not challenging me really, right? It's like trying to to agree with me. It's like that sounds like a great idea, Pedro. Go for that. And I'm like, and and I've I've seen that happen. I'm not sure about you. What do you feel like that? And sometimes it feels like I need to have a clear idea of what I want, or else I'm gonna get myself burned, you know?

Laura Gooler 23:50

Yeah, and and thank you for sharing that because you know, a lot of people when they haven't really gotten a lot of exposure to effective prompting, we we get what we call work slop, right? Like, so you you give a basic prompt and then you get something out, and it's like you know, just it's kind of good, but like it sounds it always sounds logical and like it's very rewarding, like, oh Pedro, that's a brilliant idea. Like, how nice. And then you think, like, really? Is it really that good? So I've learned to constantly challenge it. And and and so what I would encourage you and and those of your listeners that kind of are also, you know, struggle with that from time to time, is just tell it, like, I want you to coach me. Like, I'm not really crystal clear on the outcome. So I want you to interview me one question at a time to help me clarify my thinking and really start with the outcome in mind. Because I think sometimes one of the traps we get into is we think that we have an idea about the solution we want to go for, we start working on that, but we haven't really gotten deep deeply clear about the outcome that we're truly after. And and sometimes that takes time to really define what that is, and and then you kind of if you can have it say like, well, I really want you to challenge me in this and push me to think more and ask it from different angles or perspectives, maybe from different genres of you know, but you can use it as your own way of helping you uh articulate what it is inside because sometimes that's not clear. And and I run into that all the time with leaders when I say, Well, what kind of leader do you want to be? Like, I want to be a great leader. Well, okay, but what's your leadership philosophy? Crickets, like people don't, they haven't actually articulated that or thought about that, and that's not a bad thing, but it's it's just something that they often rely on intuitively. Like, I'll know it when I see it. But I say, but as a leader, you don't have time, like you need to be intentional. So let's take that time and be reflective and intentional and do that work. And there's such power in doing that work, and I think that's where like I never accept outcomes from my AI. Like, you know, sometimes I'll I'll I'll say, like, like one of the exercises I went through recently as I was gearing up for a conference, I was putting a matrix of stories together because I thought I need to get better at storytelling and I need to be able to share like how I got from here to there and what are those life moments or business moments that were pivotal. What were what did I learn? And I had about a four minute segment in a talk that I needed to uh present at that I could share a story that I wanted to get a story in, but my content was about eight minutes long. So I was writing and I put it all together and I thought this is really good. I I was kind of proud about it. And I thought it's way too long, like it's way too long. So I said, okay, I put it into AI. I said, I need to shorten this, but and I gave it a lot of criteria. I said, don't lose the human warmth of it. I don't make it sound AI, don't, you know, so you have to keep working on it. And through probably six or seven iterations, you know, I got back and I I came up with a three and a half minute summary that really felt warm and human and and but it was my story only condensed. And and it's kind of like I don't know if you heard the story about Hemingway once, where he was challenged to to write, you know, a super uh clear story in as few as words as possible. And writing shorter stories is much harder than writing a long book, right? And so he came up with and I I don't know if I'm quoting this uh perfectly, but you know, he had um baby shoes, period, never worn, period.

Pedro Stein 27:48

Saddest story ever.

Laura Gooler 27:50

So sad, but and and there's so much behind that, but but now it's like that's where you can't take the human out of it. Like don't rely just on any output you get with AI. You have to think about the human experience and what is it that you're trying to connect with and and keep working that. And that that's really where the power is is that you know, take that time to help you reflect and clarify your own uh ideas, not just don't don't accept it something else because then it's not yours, and then that's not authentic.

Pedro Stein 28:27

Okay, we were talking about AI future, right? So looking forward a bit, what's the direction you're aiming this business towards, you know, Laura? Are you thinking more about growth, leverage, building a team, refining what already works, you know, what feels most exciting right now?

Laura Gooler 28:43

Yeah, thank you for asking. Um, yes, growth is is definitely a priority this year, and and that's why I kind of stepped back and wrote my book is that I wanted to codify what I've learned through direct leadership experience from strategic advisory work and research on organizational, effective organizational execution. And and so really it's about using that as a launching pad and and built, and that's why I'm also building the uh digital uh diagnostic tools and resources so that I can scale much more effectively. So with my diagnostic, I'm working on finalizing a enterprise version so that organizations can deploy it really quickly across the enterprise and get the roll-up reports uh as an example. So for going forward getting out there, doing much more marketing, lead generation, building clients and having that balance between uh just direct coaching clients as well as transformation efforts. So helping leaders, leadership teams understand well, you know, what what are the friction points that are getting in the way of their effectively uh running the organization? Where are they getting tripped up? Let's let's look at the patterns, but then let's also distill it down to okay, so what does that mean for you, particularly as a leader, Pedro, so that you know specifically where you have your opportunities, but then as a team, and and that's that's the important thing is like you can be really effective as an individual contributor or as a leader, but if you're all not working in the same direction, it's gonna really be hard to move forward. So for me, it's about like really helping uh now again spend more of that time in my discomfort zone of promoting my business to to be able to get more clients and and serve more organizations.

Pedro Stein 30:40

Okay, interesting. Now, even when things are going well, Laura, there's always something under construction, right? Under the hood that we're developing.

Laura Gooler 30:49

Oh so? Oh so, what not really, right?

Pedro Stein 30:54

Not really. That never ends. Never ends, it never ends. That's so true. And what's the main thing you're actively working on or trying to improve in the business right now, you know?

Laura Gooler 31:05

Oh gosh, well, I I've really kind of taken a turn on, you know, just getting this book out the door. So that's been my main priority uh with my my my app. And and so it, but I I think that never really ends. So I'm always asking for feedback. And so I was just at a conference, uh uh Transform conference last week. And so I was sharing uh the app out, and I was just saying, hey, just give me feedback. Like I want feedback, like you're you're a leader, you work with leaders, uh, help help me get feedback because at the end of the day, I want this to be something that truly makes a difference, but that is so easy that people say, yeah, this this was an enabler for them that helped them you know move forward. So I I think I'm always working on trying to develop that infrastructure and refine it at this point so that as I really start to scale, I have the infrastructure behind it. And that's that's I've been intentional about that because everything I've learned from others that have gone before me, they say that one of those challenges is you can start serving to a point and then you get more business than you can handle. So you need to have the ability to scale. So I've really been trying to think about the underlying infrastructure that'll will allow me to scale and then identify those roles that I can bring in to support that so then I can focus on delivering the the coaching and the transformation advisory service.

Pedro Stein 32:38

Okay. And before we close this out, if someone resonated with what you shared and wants to follow your work, Laura, where should they go?

Laura Gooler 32:46

Yes, well, they can contact me at my email and I uh I read everyone and respond to everyone at Laura at Googler Leadership Solutions.org. Um, they can also contact me at my website and I can give you a link as well to some free resources that for those that maybe want to explore some things without having to invest in everything. Uh for me, it's about if I can help you, that's the most important thing. And I want to, you know, help connect people with resources or people. So if there's not the fit to work directly with me, then I'll help them find that person or that organization that will best be the right fit for them. And so maybe I can give you a link to my uh link tree, which has some free free giveaways that might entice people on some of the uh ways I can support them.

Pedro Stein 33:40

Yes, I definitely will have those links under the description of the episode. Now, you know, there were a few things and a few moments from this chat that really I would put it like that, really stood out to me. Okay. Um, first of all, when we were talking about the origin story, Laura, you were like, oh, it was Carrie taking that leap, you know, and I completely get that the the that that leap of faith because it is a little bit of faith there, as much as we can add science to it, like like you just said, 50% close, right? Uh of the business closes, and and you have to do that in a very intentional way, open your business. And when you interviewed other coaches, I think I thought that was so cool, you know. So it sounds like right now, since 24 that you opened shop, right? Sounds like you're pretty intentional, pretty clear on next steps, right? I think that is a great reminder. Um, when you talk talked uh about sales, you know, and not a mucky thing, it's like that always brings me back to my own experience. I was a high-ticket sales closer for a coach, okay. And um, I did have those type of mentality, like, and that that's coming from a uh a bad experience in the past, right? That we had those bad sales rap that trying to push us through stuff that we didn't really need or want. So it's all about the lens, right? The framework. It's like when I started seeing sales as serving instead of selling, that was a shift I made in my head that really helped me. You know, I'm here to serve. If it's like through free resources or it's just this chat, it's all good. It's not a lost sale, it's like part of a process that is for me to help people. Okay, I'm not sure if that made sense, but this is just the way I see it. And um, last but not least, right? It's and how interesting is this? It's like when we were talking about your practice, you're telling me, oh, if someone tells me they want to be a great leader, you're like trying to peel off the onion, right? What does that really mean? You know, what the what's the culture? What do you project to X, Y, and Z? How do you want to impact people? And it sounds like that is basically you questioning the prompt. And we were talking about AI, right? It's that first insert that the person is like telling chat GPT or whatever, right, whatever clout, and it's like, hey, I want to be a great leader, how do I do that? And you're like hitting the brakes, you're the expert, like on the coaching side, you're like, no, you don't really need to ask that. You need to first ask true questions for yourself to where you want to go. So that's the place you want to be. So that makes sense. That's basically the way I see things, you know. And uh it's basically it's my long-winded way of saying that. I really appreciate you taking the time and being open with us, Laura. It was great having you on, okay?

Laura Gooler 36:39

Oh, thank you so much. No, I really resonate with what you're saying, and you know, I I think that goes back to that curiosity factor that I I know about you because you know it I I find that you know, going back to the core of coaching, uh, when for those that you know are coaches, they they know they know the magic that happens and what a gift it is to be truly listened to. And so most coaching experiences that I have with my leaders, I find that they're quite powerful. They're the you know, you you talk about getting real. And I think for me, it's about getting really real and honest about like how do you deal with the the messy, hard things of leading people and organizations and teams. And and when you can create that safe container for people that you're working with, um, it's a real gift and there's a real synergy that can happen by just being focused and intentional in that moment to say, how are we going to tackle this? And but but I think it's even more powerful when you can get to the core of like why is that important to you? You know, it's like like I don't have an investment in my outcome for you. Um, I have an investment in your success of achieving what's important for you. And but I have to, as a coach, I have a responsibility to really zero in on helping you get clarity so that our time is well spent together and support you in that and challenge you and and just champion you. You know, I think that's a big part of it is helping to do that because oftentimes uh they call it's lonely at the top. And you you probably heard that, or maybe you felt that at times being your own leader, that sometimes you feel like you always have to be on and looking confident and and and assured. Uh, but who do you go to? Like who do you have as a sounding board or someone who can like hear it and really process it, but not take it on or try to solve it for you, but allow you to think that through. So that's part of the gift of coaching, where you really create a magical moment where people can have that safety to go deep and um and and just unburden some of that weight that they're carrying. Uh, and I I just find that that's really a powerful experience.

Pedro Stein 39:05

I appreciate that reminder.

Laura Gooler 39:07

Having me on and and to share and uh uh if I can be a support to your listeners out there, I would love to uh learn how that could be possible.

Pedro Stein 39:18

I appreciate that reminder, Laura.

Davis Nguyen 39:21

That's it for this episode of Career Coaching Secrets. If you enjoyed this conversation, you can subscribe to YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening to this episode to catch future episodes. This conversation was brought to you by Purple Circle, where we help career coaches scale their business to seven and eight figures without burning out. To learn more about Purple Circle, our community, and how we can help you grow your business, visit joinpurplecircle.com.