Competency No. 5

Hosted by Debbi Gardiner McCullough (D G McCullough)

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Around 4% of the 55,000 + coaches certified with the International Coaching Federation hold the revered status of Master Certified Coach. Why so few? I'm about to find out. Competency No. 5, the podcast, explores how we maintain presence when we coach, lead, and live our lives. We interview coaches and others whose very livelihood depends upon staying calm and present with those they serve. We also chronicle my attempts (as a self-retired professor and global business reporter from New Zealand) to become an MCC coach. This effort requires beaucoup coaching hours, mentoring, and adhering strictly to the ICF's seven core competencies, especially the deceptively tricky Competency No. 5, maintaining presence.

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60 recent

June 13, 2026Episode 1115 min

“Time is more precious when we treat it as such.” The Wolverine and Die Hard 5 Studio Executive Steven Puri on Focus and New Dadhood.

We sit down with former studio executive and producer on films from Die Hard 5 to The Wolverine, Steven Puri, who learned how to inspire a broad range of teams through this creative work. He's now sharing tips and techniques to help leaders and teams perform at their best and does so as a speaker, serial entrepreneur, and CEO of the Sukha Company, a productivity app which helps stop burnout before it starts. Hear from a new dad who is finally "getting" what parents mean when they delight in the time they do receive to focus.We hear about the vibrant feeling that comes when focus time becomes a scarcity. And we hear the need for pragmatism. Knowing (and accepting) when we can and cannot complete a complex or highly creative task boosts our presence and focus. Acceptance helps us not put unreasonable expectations on ourselves nor dilute our focus from what's immediately before us. (For Steven, for moments throughout his day, that's his infant son.)For all the dads out there, happy Father's Day. This episode I devote to you. And for everyone wanting to find more about their flow state, Steven has even more tips, which he'll share, when I bring him back to the show for part II. You can find out more about Steven Puri and the Sukha Company here. Connect with him on LinkedIn here. Debbi McCullough is a Master Certified Coach and communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders and a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Train with her on Maven here.

May 29, 2026Episode 1033 min

"There's much noise around sleep, and when sleep improves, life improves." Clear advice on better sleep from Louise Berger

We sit down with Louise Berger, a British occupational therapist specializing in sleep, to hear about the deep work she's doing for the UK's National Health Service on a large sleep study for sleep deprived Brits. (She's the founder and lead of the NHS Insomnia Clinic and a sleep coach with BetterUp.)Given that maintaining presence and staying calm amidst mayhem, ambiguity, and life's stresses becomes so much easier when we get good sleep, I knew Louise would help us rewire how we think about sleep deprivation, which happens to me often. We learn that sleep's more evasive when we command it and when we apply perfectionistic standards. Also, that we can take comfort in remembering our ancestors survived on minimal sleep, and in way harsher conditions than our own. And we learn the power of making time each day for, well, doing absolutely nothing. Apparently allowing our minds to wander and ruminate in the day time makes us do so less at night. You can find Louise Berger on LinkedIn here. And a video she created to help the millions of people in the world who have sleep difficulties, but who never get referred to a clinic nor can afford private help. Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a Master Certified Coach and communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

May 15, 2026Episode 920 min

Nicole Francois on maintaining hope and presence amidst adversity, change, and motherhood

Note to our listeners:We took the Competency No 5 show outside of my studio this episode, and with that encountered technical difficulties. Hopefully this won't detract from an otherwise powerful conversation about navigating change, adversity, and maintaining hope, courage, and presence along the way. Nicole Francois, a Wisconsin-based friend, sales leader, and fitness model, has had her share of life struggles. Growing up with a troubled mother, moving in with a strict and firm dad, and then having to build her confidence from the ground up. One thing that came true for Nicole was her faith, her grit, and her ability and want to reinvent herself into a stronger, more capable version of herself. She did not want (and still does not want today) to allow circumstances to define her. Hear from a sales leader who finds bliss and confidence through boundary setting, taking herself out of her comfort zone, fitness, and being the best possible version of herself and parent. You can find Nicole Francois on Facebook here. Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is an MCC communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

May 1, 2026Episode 824 min

Zsofia Juhasz on being an "accidental" Master Certified Coach and developing today's MCCs and leaders

Brisbane, Australia based leadership coach Zsofia Juhasz, MCC acheived a herculean feat: Certifying as a Master Certified Coach instead of renewing her PCC. She had the hours and the focus amidst Covid-19. Within a year of stating her intent to herself, she passed her performance evaluation on her first submission. We hear of Coach Zsofia's journey from HR to coaching, from Hungary to Australia, and the changes in her 20+ years in the industry. We hear how she's training and certifying MCC coaches (eight to date) alongside her leadership coaching. "I find this very rewarding."You can find Coach Zsofia on LinkedIn here. Find Becoming a Masterful Coach, her coaching practice here. [Note to listeners: We lost Coach Zsofia's audio at the end. Small snafu.]Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is an MCC communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

April 17, 2026Episode 726 min

Leadership Coach Jennifer Maxson on building a coaching business and staying connected with our clients

We ask Leadership Coach Jennifer Maxson when and how she knew to build her own coaching business, how to stay connected with our clients, and why and how the International Coaching Federation's Proficiency exam despaired us both (and we still passed.)You can find Jennifer Maxson & Associates here and find Coach Jennifer on LinkedIn here. Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

April 4, 2026Episode 618 min

What my girlhood taught me about earning people's trust

I can’t remember a time where people didn’t confide in me. Every time, it felt like an honor. I was super young when I first noticed the pattern, which began before I was aged five, in New Zealand, and has continued to this day, even inspiring my later-in-life career as a communications coach.My first memories of people sharing their all with me come from visiting my dad’s farm a year after his divorce from my mum.There I quickly bonded with dad’s new wife, Jane, a gorgeous Kenyan British woman with long blonde hair, a kind face, and knowledge of herbs and healing, long before natural medicine was “cool.”This was 1974 New Zealand. It was on our rambling walks outside over the hills and gulleys and our horse rides together that I learned what was on her mind. In those moments, away from the farm and the kitchen, she emptied her bucket. And I learned all kinds of things I didn’t yet know about adults and how they think.You can read along to this essay on Substack here. Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

March 21, 2026Episode 540 min

Interviewing Dr. Marcia Reynolds on coaching, writing, and her bestselling second edition of "Coach the Person, Not the Problem."

In a new favorite episode, we asked Master Certified Coach trainer and author, Dr. Marcia Reynolds: how do we coach the person, not the problem? And why business leaders ought to join coaches in this highly-rewarding and joyous activity. We met with Marcia a week after her second edition of "Coach the Person, Not the Problem" became a bestseller on Amazon. Marcia shares her love for taking coaching slow (especially in the beginning), noticing everything, interrupting (as needed) and staying blissfully curious. We hear about the writing of her second edition (and all that entails) and about her love for coaching, that hasn't faded one bit since entering the field decades ago. You can find Marcia on LinkedIn here and the new second edition of "Coach the Person, Not the Problem, a Guide to Reflective Inquiry" on Amazon here. Visit Covisioning LLC here. Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a communications coach for Fortune 100/500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here.

March 7, 2026Episode 427 min

Sharing the ROI of coaching using AI. Interviewing Matt Barney, CEO of TruMind.ai

Dr. Matt Barney is a true scientist practitioner and an entrepreneur in the field of measurement and analysis. His most recent tool, the TruMind.ai Leader and Coach Assessment, he feels supremely hopeful about, because it helps coaches help their clients see and note their progress, something that's otherwise hard to quantify and measure. "Reviews tell us that most coaching outcomes are measured by one metric alone: whether the executive liked the coach," he notes. "That's not enough. We need more ROI." In an interview from his Philippines base, we hear of Matt's love for inventing, coaching, and the hope he feels for the coaching industry and its 60,000+ ICF coaches with AI tools like his. At a time when clients need to see and hear the value of human coaching, we've a great incentive to try. You can find Matt Barney on LinkedIn and TruMind.ai here. You can find a video of our interview on YouTube here. Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a communications coach for Google PMs through Fortune 100 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here, with a new Listen Like a Boss coming soon.

February 21, 2026Episode 416 min

I certified as a Master Certified Coach! The comfort with silence and the victory feels magical

I certified as a Master Certified Coach two weeks ago, ending a two-year long odyssey in mindfulness, active listening, and perfectionistic goal setting. Feels amazing finally reaching that top 4% of ICF certified Master Certified Coaches. This week's episode reads from my Substack post on this victory and especially the growth I felt with my comfort with silence. I stayed comfortably silent with my client in the recordings I submitted ICF assessors for over a minute. Most of us don't pause for longer than a second in a given conversation (and I was one of them, prior to my coaching MCC experience). I've since evolved and found I can even delight in extended pauses, because that's where the magic begins. You can join the LinkedIn post here. Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a communications coach for Google PMs through Fortune 100 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here, with a new Listen Like a Boss coming soon.

February 7, 2026Episode 335 min

"Silence boosts all your senses. Thoughts become clearer." Coach Amy Krymkowski on the power of pause and silence

Leadership coach Amy Krymkowski fell in love with coaching through her work in HR. After observing a coach in action, she found the approach so spacious and like nothing else. "I was in awe with how much progress and awareness came from listening, silence, and creating space through inquiry," she says. She declared coaching as her primary profession, certified, and joined an outplacement firm as a full-time job search coach before founding her own firm: Better Path Coaching, guiding professionals and leaders through career transformations and transitions in holistic ways. From her Milwaukee, Wi. base she's stayed in love with coaching ever since and all it brings. While coaching and transformation is what she brings her clients, silence and a practice with observing silence is part of Coach Amy's self care and flow. In our interview, we hear of her retreats, training, and her discovery on what changes within her, simply from creating space for something no money can buy: quiet, and time to just "be" and think. You can find Coach Amy on LinkedIn here and Better Path Coaching here. Your show host, Debbi Gardiner McCullough, is a communications coach for Google PMs through Fortune 100 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the FT of London. Find her on LinkedIn. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her active listening and communications workshops on Maven here and here, with a new Listen Like a Boss coming soon.