choice Magazine

Hosted by Garry Schleifer

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Episodes

213

Latest episode

Nov 2026

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EN-US

About the show

choice Magazine is the vehicle that forwards the global conversation about professional coaching by providing: diverse perspectives, thought-provoking commentary, insightful discussion and access to services, tools, resources and practical information.

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60 recent

November 11, 202623 min

Episode 213: The Gift Of Presence In Team Coaching with guest, Michelle Chambers

Send us Fan Mail If you’ve ever left a leadership team session thinking, “We talked a lot but nothing really moved,” the missing ingredient might be presence, not preparation. Garry Schleifer sits down with executive and team coach Michelle Chambers, author of “Beyond Paying Attention: Presence as a Systemic Practice in Team Coaching,” to unpack what presence actually looks like when you’re working with a whole system instead of one person. We get concrete about why newer team coaches struggle with the shift from one-on-one coaching to team coaching: it’s not just tracking individuals, it’s tracking interactions, energy, and meaning-making across the group. Michelle explains how “team of teams coaching” raises the stakes even more during organizational change, restructures, and mergers, where multiple leadership teams need to reduce silos and build real collaboration. You’ll also hear the neuroscience behind why teams show up scattered and reactive, how fight-or-flight can quietly run the meeting, and why a coach’s pace can reset the room. Michelle shares practical moves you can use right away: short pulse checks with leaders before sessions, intentional pauses, round robins, reflection prompts, and even brief grounding practices that support psychological safety and deeper dialogue. The throughline is simple and challenging: do less, hold more space, and let collective wisdom emerge. If this resonates, subscribe to Beyond the Page, share the episode with a coach or team leader, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations. Watch the full interview by clicking here. Read the full article here . Learn more about Michelle here . Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

November 4, 202622 min

Episode 212: Before The First Word with guest, André Politzer

Send us Fan Mail The moment you walk into a room, leadership is already happening. Before you share the first slide, answer the first question, or say hello, people are reading your posture, your pace, your face, and your energy and that “quiet data” shapes how everything you say will land. I sit down with executive coach André Politzer, author of “Before the First Word: Designing Empowering Conversations Through Presence and Choice,” to get practical about executive presence. We dig into what visibility does to capable leaders, why some people freeze in high stakes meetings, and how the same leader can look grounded in one environment and disconnected in another. André makes a strong case for situational presence and explains why coaches should stay curious about culture instead of pushing a single model of confidence or charisma. Then we take an unexpected turn into actor training and the Stanislavsky method, not to encourage “performing,” but to highlight preparation that supports authenticity. André introduces the spotlight mindset and a simple reset that sounds almost too small to matter until you try it: one intentional breath before you speak. If you care about leadership coaching, communication skills, relational leadership, and building real presence under pressure, this conversation offers tools you can use immediately. Subscribe, share this with a coach or leader who lives in high visibility moments, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Watch the full interview by clicking here. Read the full article here . Learn more about André here . Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

October 28, 202632 min

Episode 211: Presence is Not Enough with guest, Scott Drexler

Send us Fan Mail Presence gets talked about like it’s the gold standard in coaching, but we’ve both felt the gap: the client looks engaged, the questions sound “right,” and somehow nothing truly shifts. Leadership strategist Scott Drexler joins us to name what’s missing and to make it usable: attunement. It’s the moment when coach and client stop operating on parallel tracks and start transmitting on the same frequency, where the static clears and the work finally gets honest. We dig into what attunement looks like in real time, including the subtle nonverbals that signal a client is about to drop into something more somatic and more true, then quickly pulls back to safer, scripted language. Scott shares why silence is not a trick, and why the coach has to “hold” long enough for the next, deeper signal to arrive. One line lands hard: when a client experiences presence they feel heard, but when coach and client are attuned the client feels found. Scott also brings research and field experience from high-stakes leadership, including special operations and emergency environments, where experts learn to read external cues so well that internal signals can get dampened to reduce noise. We connect that to executive coaching, intuition as accelerated cue matching, and why role transitions can expose bias in how leaders interpret new arenas. Finally, we challenge the standard coaching intake process and share a practical reframe: keep the form, then revisit it live with fresh wording so neither the client nor the coach can hide behind a script. If this conversation helps you coach with more depth, subscribe, share it with a coach friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. Watch the full interview by clicking here. Read the full article here. Learn more about Scott here . Listener gift: Arena Attunement Intake (AAI) , a 15-question conversational intake guide for coaches working with vocational and high-stakes leaders. It puts the article's approach into practice so coaches can hear all three layers from the first session. Link here . Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

October 21, 202628 min

Episode 210: The Gift of Presence with guest, Aikyna Finch

Send us Fan Mail A coach can look present and still miss what matters. Garry Schleifer sits down with DEIB leader, educator, and PCC coach Dr. Aikyna Finch to get concrete about what coaching presence really is and what it is not. We dig into the difference between a calm “presence pose” and the active, grounded attention that tracks a client’s words, tone, pacing, body language, and meaning in real time. From there, we get practical about two tools many coaches underuse: silence and reflection. We talk about why humans rush to fill space, how breaking silence too early can disrupt a client’s transformational moment, and how to invite clients to play back their own learning so they can hear what changed. Along the way we touch somatic awareness, values-based questions, and the simple discipline of letting go of the brilliant question you planned when the client has already moved on. We also explore inclusive coaching through identity, culture, and context without reducing a person to a label. Dr. Finch shares how curiosity and humility sound in practice, including naming what you don’t know, asking how someone wants to be addressed, seeking permission to go deeper, and respecting a clear no. If you care about coaching mastery, psychological safety, DEIB, and client-centered outcomes, this conversation offers a grounded pause you can bring into your very next session. Subscribe for more, share this episode with a coach who needs it, and leave a review so more listeners can find Beyond the Page. Watch the full interview by clicking here. Read the full article here. Learn more about Aikyna here . Gift : The Coaching Presence Reflection Guide is a practical companion resource designed to help coaches strengthen how they show up before, during, and after a coaching conversation. Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

October 14, 202629 min

Episode 209: The Loving Gaze with guest, Christi Byerly

Send us Fan Mail The fastest way to change might be the last thing most high-achievers want to hear: stop trying to fix yourself for a moment and let yourself be loved. We sit down with master certified coach and Awaken Coach Institute founder Christi Byerly to talk about her Choice Magazine article, “The Loving Gaze,” and the lived reality behind it: what happens when a coach meets a client in the now with compassion instead of performance. We unpack the Jung paradox, the tension between goal-focused coaching and the subtle message of “you aren’t enough yet.” Christi shares why resistance often shows up when we lean too hard on outcomes, and how returning to rapport, witnessing, and unconditional positive regard can make change feel almost effortless. We also talk about the pressure many coaches carry to be more healed than the people they serve, and how being imperfect, honest, and present can deepen trust rather than weaken it. You’ll hear a vivid origin story from Nairobi where three simple coaching questions created a breakthrough, plus a thoughtful look at spirituality in coaching, the difference between organized religion and spiritual direction, and why “presence” can be understood as a boundless awareness that holds both coach and client. If you’re searching for practical tools to strengthen coach presence, build a more trauma-informed coaching stance, and reconnect with the heart of professional coaching, this conversation is for you. Subscribe for more conversations with choice authors, share this episode with a coach friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: what helps you feel truly seen? Watch the full interview by clicking here . Read the full article here . Learn more about Christi here . Gift : A 4-lesson journey that changes how you see yourself, your path and what's possible. Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

October 7, 202625 min

Episode 208: The Presence Problem with guest, Gloria Custodio

Send us Fan Mail Your best coaching is not the moment you land the perfect question. It is the moment you stop performing and actually meet the person in front of you. Garry Schleifer sits down with social leadership coach Gloria Custodio to unpack what she calls “The Presence Problem” and why coaching presence is less a trait you have and more a practice you return to, over and over, in real time. We talk about the quiet ways coaches lose the room: over-preparing, clinging to frameworks, and running an internal scorecard while the client is still speaking. Gloria shares how self-monitoring can spike during the ICF credentialing process and recorded sessions, where “hitting markers” can feel rewarded even when it pulls you away from human connection. We also dig into the line between healthy self-awareness and the kind that turns the session into your show. Then we get practical. You will hear a story where one offhand comment about a client’s dad becomes the thread that opens a deeper, more valuable conversation about motivation and choice. Gloria offers simple tools you can use immediately, like taking a breath, pausing, and tracking after the session when your attention drifts, so you can rebuild trust in yourself and in the coaching relationship. If you care about better coaching conversations, executive coaching presence, and sustainable leadership, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a coach who needs the reminder, and leave a review so more listeners can find Beyond the Page. Watch the full interview by clicking here . Read the full article here. Learn more about Gloria here . Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

September 30, 202625 min

Episode 207: Listen Beyond Words with guest, Cheryl Procter-Rogers

Send us Fan Mail Some clients say all the right things and still leave you with a quiet feeling that something is missing. That gap is where real coaching happens, and it starts with how you listen. We sit down with master certified executive coach Cheryl Procter-Rogers to unpack her core idea from choice Magazine: listening beyond words. Together, we walk through the three levels of listening, from tracking the story to hearing meaning to noticing the signals underneath the language. Cheryl shares what it looks like to coach with your entire body, how breath and pace can shift the quality of presence, and why restraint is often the most powerful move a coach can make when the urge to fix shows up. We also get practical about intuition in coaching. Instead of treating intuition like a verdict, we explore how to offer it with curiosity, invite the client to confirm or reject it, and protect psychological safety. Along the way, we talk about timing, well placed interruptions to surface patterns, and why leaders who listen deeply recognize misalignment faster and build trust more quickly in meetings and high stakes conversations. If you want stronger coaching skills, better leadership communication, and more effective deep listening, hit play. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts, share this episode with a coach or leader who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Watch the full interview by clicking here . Read the full article here. Learn more about Cheryl here . Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

September 23, 202623 min

Episode 206: Deep Presence In Coaching with guest, Nancy Hauschildt

Send us Fan Mail You can be a technically solid coach and still feel that something is missing and your client can feel it too. That subtle gap is what we dig into with leadership and executive coach Nancy Hauschild, author of “The Observed and the Observer: Stripping Away the Layers to Find Your Deepest Presence,” from Choice Magazine’s theme on The Gift of Presence. We talk about the difference between the observed and the observer: the surface identities we can list on a resume versus the meta-awareness that can watch our thoughts, urges, and “coach persona” in real time. When the inner performer shows up as the fixer, the expert, or the relentlessly helpful coach, it can contaminate the conversation and quietly pull us out of true coaching presence. Nandi shares how noticing that impulse without acting on it changes how we listen, how we build trust, and how clients feel genuinely seen. From there, we reframe presence as transmission. It is not only what we think we bring to the session, but what the client actually receives from the quality of our attention. We unpack the “glass pane” phenomenon where a session can check all the ICF boxes but still feel disconnected, and we map three layers of presence: being with another, being with yourself, and creating an environment where deeper client insight becomes possible. Nandi also makes it clear that trauma is not the price of admission for depth; the real doorway is willingness to do your own work through curiosity, mentoring, and supervision. Listen through, try the five-minute presence exercise we link in the show notes, and then tell us what changed. If you found this helpful, subscribe, share the episode with a coach friend, and leave a review so more coaches can find it. Watch the full interview by clicking here . Read the full article here. Learn more about Nancy here . A Free Gift from Nancy: A one page reflective guide titled " How Present Are You, Really? A Five-Minute Self-Inquiry for Coaches" Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

September 22, 202630 min

Episode 205: Active Presence~ How to bring yourself and your client fully into the now with guest, Susan Weiss

Send us Fan Mail You can hear it when someone is technically “on the call” but their body is still sprinting. That gap between showing up and actually arriving is what we dig into with executive and team coach Susan Weiss, author of Active Presence: How to Bring Yourself and Your Client Fully Into the Now. We get practical about what presence looks like in real coaching sessions, why it slips, and how to rebuild it without pretending we live in a distraction-free world. We talk about the difference between self-awareness and self-management, and why awareness alone is not enough when you’re coaching senior leaders under pressure. Susan shares simple transition rituals and a fast “clearing” practice that helps clients move from scattered to strategic in minutes. We also explore her favorite concept, a somatic treasury: collecting embodied memories from nature, travel, or everyday moments you can recall to access groundedness, expansion, or calm on demand. Then we go one level deeper into the neuroscience of trust in coaching. Presence is not just philosophical; it affects nervous system safety, empathy, and connection through mechanisms like mirror neurons and oxytocin. If you want stronger rapport, clearer thinking, and better outcomes in executive coaching, leadership development, and team dynamics, this conversation gives you a clean starting point you can use between back-to-back sessions. If this helps you, subscribe, share the episode with a coach or leader who needs a reset, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What practice will you try first? Watch the full interview by clicking here . Read the full article here . Learn more about Susan here . Gifts: Meditation for Coaches - The Gift of Presence on SoundCloud Reflection Guide for Coaches - a PDF for coaches Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

September 9, 202630 min

Episode 204: Holding It Together Is Not The Job with guest, Maria Wade

Send us Fan Mail Your best leaders can look calm and still be in trouble. When uncertainty stops being a short-term disruption and becomes the water everyone swims in, “stay strong and push through” turns into isolation, second-guessing, and a constant fight with their own internal signals. That’s the heart of our conversation with executive coach and coaching supervisor Maria Wade, author of “Holding It Together Is Not the Job: Coaching Leaders in Prolonged Organizational Chaos.” We dig into what changes when the world moves from complicated to complex to chaotic and why senior leadership challenges stop being technical problems you can solve with more expertise. Maria shares how coaches can use presence and interoception, the felt sense of what’s happening inside the body, as real data in a session. We talk about why the goal isn’t to calm a client down, but to help them get accurate information from a system they’ve learned to override, and how neuroscience on constructed emotions informs a more careful, respectful approach. From there, we zoom out to the identity shift leaders face after promotion: more autonomy, fewer guardrails, and often less honest support. We explore vulnerability with boundaries, breaking isolation without oversharing, and bringing the system into the room through psychological safety and accountability. Maria also points listeners to a practical Chaos Guide and explains how her leadership integrity framework connects inner awareness, relationships, and the larger organizational system. If you coach executives, lead teams, or work inside fast-changing organizations, you’ll walk away with language and practical moves for staying grounded while everything shifts. Subscribe, share this with a fellow coach or leader, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Watch the full interview by clicking here . Read the full article here . Learn more about Maria here . * Gift – When Holding It Together Stops Working: A Field Guide for Coaching Leaders Through Prolonged Chaos. A free four-page companion to my Choice feature, written for coaches who work with senior leaders when a crisis stops being a moment and becomes the weather. It lays out four moves for those long engagements: reading the body in the room before you trust the briefing, noticing when a leader is solving the right problems at the wrong level, finding the isolation hiding inside hard-won autonomy, and coaching the identity underneath the performance. It closes with five questions to ask yourself before your next session, because you cannot ask a leader to stop performing composure while you perform it back at them. Download it free at chaosguide.mariawade.us . Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/