choice Magazine

Hosted by Garry Schleifer

BusinessInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

192

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

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.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 10, 202623 min

Episode 192: From Conditioning to Conscious Choice with guest, Subash CV

Send us Fan MailChoice usually sounds like a simple decision, but the more we coach leaders in real life, the more we see how messy it gets under pressure, noise, and competing priorities. Garry Schleifer sits down with ICF Master Certified Coach Subash, author of “From Conditioning to Conscious Choice,” to make a bold claim feel practical: choice is not an action. Choice is a state of awareness, and when awareness expands, better decisions start to emerge with less force.We talk about Indic wisdom as a living school of thought that reaches beyond religious labels, then translate it into coaching moves you can use right away. Subash shares his “golden triangle” model for coach development: coaching skills, the business of coaching, and the deep self-work that builds real presence. You will hear specific awareness practices he relies on, from fitness and meditation to reflective journaling, mentoring, and even learning music as a discipline of attention. If you care about ICF-aligned coaching presence, this conversation keeps coming back to a simple reality: who we are is what we bring.We also go deeper into karma and how it relates to coaching relationships and outcomes. Subash introduces “detached attachment,” a way to stay committed to the client and the process without becoming obsessed with results. From there we connect dharma to values-driven goals, explore servant leadership, and discuss mantra as the power of sound, silence, and pause in a coaching conversation. We close with a leadership arc that feels timely: moving from IQ to EQ to SQ, spiritual intelligence, as a grounded way to serve the larger system.Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a coach or leader who needs more spaciousness, and leave a review telling us what “conscious choice” means in your work.Watch the full interview by clicking here. Find the full article here.Learn more about Subash here.For special offers, write to info@regalunlimited.com and use the code "CHOICE" Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

June 3, 202628 min

Episode 191: Designing For Agency with guest, Eliza Barach

Send us Fan MailChoice is easy to praise and surprisingly hard to access when stress, habit, and old stories take the wheel. We sit down with cognitive psychologist and ADHD coach Eliza Barach, author of “Designing for Agency: Coaching the Moment of Choice,” to get concrete about what agency really looks like inside real decisions, especially for high-performing people with ADHD who often feel trapped between intention and follow-through. We dig into why autonomy is not a luxury in coaching, it is a driver of motivation. Eliza explains how micro-choices can create immediate reward and reduce delay aversion, connecting the dots between intrinsic motivation, dopamine, and the everyday reality of getting started. If big goals keep stalling, we explore how breaking choices into smaller, high-impact steps can rebuild momentum without relying on willpower fantasies. From there, we zoom out to the invisible forces that shape decision making. We talk top-down versus bottom-up perception, how internal narratives form from past experiences, and how we can help clients notice patterns without shame. We also go deep on values-based decisions and somatic awareness, including the subtle body signals that warn us when a value is being crossed. Eliza brings in Kahneman’s system one and system two thinking to show how coaching uses effortful reflection to reshape automatic habits over time, one aligned choice at a time. If you want more from Eliza, you can find her work at neural-revolution.com. Subscribe, share this with a coach or client who needs more agency, and leave a review so more people can find these practical tools for choice, autonomy, and values-aligned coaching.Watch the full interview by clicking here. Find the full article here.Learn more about Eliza here.Free Gift – A guided coaching workbook to help clients expand perceived choice, reconnect with values, and make more intentional decisions in session or between sessions. Click here for more information.Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

May 27, 202631 min

Episode 190: Coaching With Intent with guest, Jeremy J Lewis

Send us Fan MailYou can feel it when a coaching conversation reaches a crossroads: do we stay with what’s emerging, or do we introduce a tool, challenge an assumption, or name a pattern out loud? Garry Schleifer sits down with executive coach and coaching supervisor Jeremy Lewis to explore how we make those calls with intention, not habit, and why “choice” is a real professional competency in both coaching and coaching supervision.Jeremy breaks down his research-based NEeDS framework, a practical model for choosing supervision interventions. With “Noticing” at the center, the framework helps supervisors decide whether to move into Exploring, Evaluating, Developing, or Supporting, based on what is happening for the coach, the client, and the broader system. We also dig into a question many coaches wrestle with: how supervision differs from coaching, and why supervisors sometimes have a responsibility to introduce what might be missing, not just follow the supervisee’s agenda.A key takeaway is developmental fit. Early-career coaches may need more support and quality-checking to ease performance anxiety, while mid-career coaches often want deeper identity and growth work. Advanced practitioners may spend more time in subtle noticing and exploration. We then bring the lesson back to everyday coaching, including how the updated ICF stance on knowledge sharing opens the door to “informing” with care, like offering the Eisenhower Matrix or Parkinson’s Law without telling a client what to do.If you want a clearer, evidence-based way to build reflective practice and strengthen your coaching supervision, press play, then subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review so more coaches can find it.Watch the full interview by clicking here. Find the full article here.Learn more about Jeremy here.Gift – if you would like to sign up to be notified when Jeremy's book is available for pre-order, you can do so here.Anyone signing up will receive a discount code to use when they pre-order. Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

May 20, 202626 min

Episode 189: A Framework For Choice with guest, Jenn Chloupek

Send us Fan MailThe fastest way to change a coaching conversation isn’t a new tool it’s helping someone see they have options. I’m joined by executive coach, educator, and author Jenn Chloupek to talk about the power of choice and the ABC framework she built to make transformation feel clear, human, and repeatable: Awareness, Behaviors, Connections. If you coach leaders, build a coaching culture, or simply want better conversations, this one gives you a practical structure you can use immediately. We dig into what “awareness” really means beyond surface insight: identity, purpose, strengths, blind spots, and the internal driver that quietly runs your day. Jen explains how that driver can be both your superpower and your kryptonite, and why stress often shows up when we act like we don’t have a choice. From there, we move into behavior change the small shifts in how we listen, speak, decide, and lead that turn insight into momentum. Jenn shares a powerful real-world story from a global program with women engineers, where participants named internal barriers and then watched those barriers dissolve through structured reflection and empowered choice. We also separate courage from confidence, and explore what it looks like to “do it scared” in leadership and in business. Along the way, you’ll hear one of Jenn’s favorite coaching questions, why ABC aligns well with ICF core competencies, and how connection becomes the real outcome of the work. If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe, share it with a coach or leader who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find Beyond the Page.Watch the full interview by clicking here. Find the full article here.Learn more about Jenn here.If you are interested in the ABC Coaching Framework, please email Jenn at jenn@chloupekconsultingservices.com and she will send it to you. Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

May 13, 202626 min

Episode 188: Guiding Clients to Their Truth with guest, Sanaz Kalantari

Send us Fan MailThe moment someone says “I have no choice,” a coach has a doorway into what’s really happening beneath the words. We talk with leadership and executive coach Sanaz Kalantari about how agency gets lost in modern work, why the speed of change can push us into survival mode, and what it actually takes to design empowered conversations that bring choice back online.Sanaz draws on deep experience from global technology organizations, including helping lead a large scale coaching initiative at Microsoft focused on empowering employees to drive and design their careers. From there, we zoom in on the coaching room: the “have to” trap, the subtle ways clients give away autonomy, and how overwhelm can look like indecision when it’s really a nervous system response. We explore three common patterns that shrink agency: getting flooded by the present, getting stuck in shame and self judgment about the past, and investing energy in “gravity problems” outside the circle of control.We also get concrete about what helps. You’ll hear coaching questions that surface hidden assumptions, the circle of influence as a fast grounding tool, and somatic inquiry techniques that help clients name where restriction lives in the body so they can pause, breathe, and regain clarity. Along the way, Sinaz explains why feeling trapped can become “psychological malnutrition” and how restoring autonomy connects to motivation, self leadership, and sustainable change.If you care about coaching skills, executive presence, change management, and real world tools for reducing overwhelm, this conversation is built to be used. Subscribe, share this with a fellow coach or leader, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.Watch the full interview by clicking here. Find the full article here.Learn more about Sanaz here.Free Gift: A reflective coaching guide to help individuals disrupt default thinking, reconnect with what matters, and consciously choose how they want to respond in moments of uncertainty and change.Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

May 6, 202630 min

Episode 187: Restoring Empowered Choice with guest, Cherise Hairston

Send us Fan MailConflict can make smart people act out of character. When emotions spike and the stakes feel personal, our thinking narrows, our defenses go up, and “good communication” advice suddenly stops working. We sit down with Cherise Hairston, a veteran conflict resolution professional and transformative mediation practitioner, to unpack what’s really happening inside us during conflict and how coaches can help clients regain clarity without rushing to a fix.We explore why conflict is often less about the stated issue and more about the internal experience: anger, fear, guilt, disappointment, and the sense that something important has been violated. Cherise explains how this destabilization can leave clients feeling disempowered and reactive, and why the coaching task is to restore a sense of competency, dignity, and choice. We also dig into the neuroscience of conflict, including the threat response that can short-circuit the prefrontal cortex, and what it takes to get “mind, body, heart, and soul” back into alignment.From there, we move into practical conflict coaching tools: creating a psychologically safe container, slowing the conversation down, and working a simple pathway of awareness, alignment, and action. We talk about “dream justice” the hope for an apology or accountability that may never come and how values-based decisions can help clients move forward even when the conflict is not resolvable. If you coach leaders, teams, families, or anyone navigating high-stakes relationships, this is a grounded guide to coaching through conflict with more skill and less advice-giving.Subscribe to Beyond the Page, share this episode with a fellow coach, and leave a review so more listeners can find these conflict coaching and transformative mediation insights.Watch the full interview by clicking here. Find the full article here.Learn more about Cherise here.Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

April 29, 202621 min

Episode 186: Where Choice Really Lives with guest, Maria Connolly

Send us Fan MailYour body answers before your brain can finish the sentence, and that changes everything about how we coach decision making.We sit down with ICF Professional Certified Coach and licensed counselor Maria Connolly to explore somatic awareness and why “choice really lives” in the body. Maria shares what she looks for as a self-described “body detector,” from facial expression and breath to shoulders and chest, and how those signals can reveal a quiet no even when the mind is building a persuasive story. If you coach clients who overthink career moves, leadership choices, or high-stakes conflict at work, this conversation offers a grounded, practical path back to clarity.We dig into a real coaching example: a client deciding whether to accept an almost-right job offer. Maria explains how coaches can slow the moment down, invite a check-in with sensation, and uncover what the nervous system already knows. We also tackle the big question: how do you tell the difference between body wisdom and a fear response shaped by old conditioning or trauma? Maria describes what alignment often feels like in the body and how values-based resonance can show up as more ease, regulation, and steadiness, even when the choice is uncomfortable.You’ll also get simple ways to build somatic literacy without turning your day into a retreat: a few minutes of mindfulness, noticing without judgment, using small cues to pause, and letting movement support insight. We talk standing, stretching, walking meetings, and the idea that you might not want to trust a thought that only exists while you’re sitting still. If you’re ready to design more empowering coaching conversations through embodied coaching, press play, then share this with a coach friend. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: where do you feel your clearest “yes”?Watch the full interview by clicking here. Find the full article here.Learn more about Maria here.Free Gift to our listeners: 10 Steps to an Embodied Practice Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

April 22, 202631 min

Episode 185: Breaking Learned Helplessness with guest, Jennifer Nielsen

Send us Fan MailA client says, “Nothing I do matters,” and suddenly the coaching work is no longer a checklist, it’s a turning point. We sit down with leadership coach and belonging advocate Jennifer Nielsen to unpack learned helplessness: how it develops, why it’s so common in today’s workplace, and what coaches and people leaders can do when motivation disappears and resignation takes over.We explore the real-world forces that amplify helplessness right now, including workplace burnout, rolling layoffs, corporate restructuring, AI-driven job uncertainty, and systemic bias that can leave marginalized professionals feeling unseen. Jennifer shares the language patterns she listens for in coaching sessions, especially identity language that turns a setback into a self-definition, belief systems that sound like “truth,” and the subtle words and body cues that signal resignation.From there, we get practical. We talk about building trust and safety so we don’t rush to fix, how to separate identity from patterns, and how to reframe without forcing positivity. Jennifer also walks through her five-stage approach to helping clients reclaim choice, with an emphasis on small, self-directed actions that generate new evidence and rebuild confidence over time. The goal is simple but powerful: shifting from “this is happening to me” to “I can choose how I respond.”If you coach leaders, manage a team, or feel stuck yourself, you’ll leave with sharper listening skills, better questions, and a clearer path back to agency. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a colleague, and leave a review so more coaches can find it.Watch the full interview by clicking here. Find the full article here.Learn more about Jennifer here.Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

April 15, 202627 min

Episode 184: From Overwhelm To Agency with guest, Gloria Custodio

Send us Fan Mail“I don’t have a choice” sounds like a conclusion, but we hear it as a signal flare. When clients are stressed, overwhelmed, or worn down by decision fatigue, their options can collapse into a painful binary, and their confidence goes with it. I sit down with Social Leadership Coach, Gloria Custodio, to map what actually helps in those moments, not motivational talk, but clear coaching moves that bring people back to agency.We dig into what to listen for first: the real constraints that must be acknowledged, the assumptions quietly shaping the story, and the values that can act like a compass when everything feels noisy. Gloria explains why choice works better as a spectrum of small steps, and how “experiments” can replace the pressure to make a perfect, permanent decision. We talk about practical tests that create learning and momentum, from tiny career actions to something as simple as sitting with an option and noticing what the body says.We also go to the tender place: regret. Gloria offers a grounded reframe that helps clients stop treating a past choice like a verdict and start using it as a teacher. From there, we widen the lens to coach presence, co-regulation, and what to do when a client’s situation or the news triggers our own reactions. If you want stronger coaching conversations around decision-making, values-based leadership, and overwhelm, you’ll leave with language and approaches you can use right away.Subscribe, share this with a coach or leader who’s carrying too many decisions, and leave a review so more people can find the show. What’s one small choice you can make today that moves you toward what matters most?Watch the full interview by clicking here. Find the full article here.Learn more about Gloria here.If today’s conversation resonates with you, Gloria has created a free companion workbook: Choosing What Matters: A Deep Reflection Workbook for Coaches. It invites coaches to explore their own relationship with choice through guided reflection. The workbook includes five sections of writing prompts that examine the language we use around decisions, patterns that shape our choices, the values guiding our work, and what we may be ready to choose next in our practice. It also includes a values alignment check, a decision-making pattern inventory, and a short practice audit covering areas such as pricing, client boundaries, and how we communicate about our work.Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/

April 8, 202628 min

Episode 183 Embodied Choice In Coaching with guest, Lisa Murrell

Send us Fan MailYour mind loves to act like the CEO of your life, but it’s often the last to know what’s true. Garry Schleifer sits down with Lisa Murrell, PCC, to explore embodied choice and why clients don’t actually make decisions with thoughts alone. We talk about somatic coaching in a way that’s practical, grounded, and immediately usable, whether you coach leaders in Fortune 500 environments or support clients through personal transitions.Lisa shares how her work in systemic coaching and equine facilitated learning changed the way she understands “getting unstuck.” The big shift is simple but radical: the body is a sensory device, and breath, tension, and capacity are data. When a client’s nervous system is braced, options shrink. When we slow down, notice what’s happening below the neck, and build real trust, choice expands. We also dig into intersubjectivity, the shared space between coach and client where presence replaces performance and new possibilities can emerge.You’ll hear why new coaches can get trapped chasing the “best coaching questions,” and what to do instead. Lisa explains her signature reframe “What would you do if this was your horse?” and how it works as a metaphor even for non-horse people, helping clients step out of self-judgment and into clearer action. If you’re curious about executive coaching, embodied leadership, somatics, and coaching presence that actually changes behavior, this conversation delivers.Watch the full interview by clicking here. Find the full article here.Learn more about Lisa here. Gift: "The Systemic Coaching Framework: 5 Questions Worth Sitting With" A free guide for coaches who want to help clients make more embodied, authentic choices. These five questions bypass cognitive override and access the whole-system intelligence your clients already have — they just haven't been asked the right questions yet.Grab your free issue of choice Magazine here - https://choice-online.com/