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Competency No. 5
Debbi Gardiner McCullough (D G McCullough)
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.
- 20 episodes
- fortnightly
- Avg 24 min
- English
- CN
S3 · E17September 4 · 33 minWhy AI Can't Replace Human Coaching with Dr. Marcia Reynolds
Dedicated AI coaching infrastructure and platforms support roughly 23 million active individuals worldwide. Master Coach Trainer and Author Dr. Marcia Reynolds feels unfazed. Humans are irreplaceable as coaches, she feels, provided we stay present, curious, bold in our inquiry, and willing to share what we notice. Debbi and Marcia also take a closer look at detached empathy, staying present, kind, and calm when someone we coach or listen to experiences a range of emotions, anger, outrage, or upset, without stepping in to fix. Our Guest 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. Our Host Debbi McCullough, is an executive communications coach for Fortune 500 leaders, a former reporter for the Guardian, the Economist, and the Financial Times. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Join her workshops on Maven here and here.
- CNS3 · E16August 22 · 12 min
Maintaining Presence Requires Taking No Notes When I Coach
The Truman Capote technique, letting our senses remember the most important bits of a conversation, (which I learned in journalism school at UC Berkeley) works surprisingly well in coaching. I realized this four years ago, when I tried taking notes amidst an early boom in my coaching business. Writing and then trying to read afterwards notes from ten sessions in one day was futile. So I stopped. And I let my memory serve me instead. Which it did, beautifully. Over the last five years, I've coached over 10,000 sessions purely off of presence and curiosity. By memory, with no notes, I type up and share with my coachee a crisp, story-like summary after. It takes me one to two minutes, in deep flow, to write up what I recall, in ways where clients feel tender and heard. I even remember details years later, if we reunite for friendship or more coaching. I'm convinced the reporting system I've devised helps connect us through the written word long after the coaching conversation ends, and that's what I'm sharing in these short essays, which I read for you in this week's Competency No 5 episode. [Publishing soon to Substack.] Your show host Debbi McCullough is an Economist and Financial Times-trained journalist who became a Master Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation and a communications coach for newly-promoted or promoting Fortune 500 leaders. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Train with her on Maven here.
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S3 · E15August 7 · 14 min"To get through hell week, I'll take a lot of naps." Nicholas McCullough on his second year at Harvard
There are 1,676 students in Harvard's Class of 2029 with the entire cohort entering their sophomore year this August. Nicholas McCullough is one of them and one of a handful of Wisconsinites. In this interview, fodder for chapter 10 of the Harvard Mum Essay Project, we stand with Nick and hear about his summer; his self-funded travels to Europe; and lessons on self calm and time management from having completed his first year of studies and football living 1040+ miles away from home. We also learn how he and fellow college athletes cope with the rigorous 60 to 80-hour weeks (combining sports with studies) that come next. Extra naps, focus, and camaraderie tend to save the day. You can find Nicholas McCullough on LinkedIn here for internship opportunities. Debbi McCullough is an Economist and Financial Times-trained journalist who became a Master Certified Coach with the Intl Coaching Federation and a communications coach for newly-promoted Fortune 500 leaders. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Train with her on Maven here. You can read Harvard Mum Essay Project excerpts on Substack, rolling out as a memoir and essay collection 2029.
- CNS3 · E14July 24 · 12 min
Chapter 8: The Harvard Mum Essay Project | Kodaira Station
My Harvard son's travels through Europe this year and last year at ages 18 and 19 remind me nostalgically of my own adventures at his age. He self-funded his travels as did I. He went with his mates, with no adult companion. I went solo. Reflecting on a journey I took around Nicholas' age, from Christchurch, New Zealand, to Kodaira, on the outskirts of Tokyo, required navigating Shinjuku station along the way, with its 3.5 million daily commuters, then the population of New Zealand. Looking back, it was presence, trust, and focus that got me through, and without mobile technology, GPS, or a lick of Japanese language. You can read my Substack essay which I read in this episode here. If you or someone you care for want to feel more present with stranger conversation, write to me at hangingrockmedia@gmail.com for a free tip sheet. Put "stranger conversation" in the subject line. Debbi McCullough is an Economist and Financial Times-trained journalist who became a Master Certified Coach with the Intl Coaching Federation and a communications coach for newly-promoted Fortune 500 leaders. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Train with her on Maven here.
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S3 · E13July 10 · 28 min"To support women through menopause, we must sit, listen, and believe." Interviewing Menopause Coach Simon Salt
Menopause has more than 34 symptoms recognized by the medical community and around 100 symptoms that women experience. And yet menopause, which impacts 75% of women, remains largely undiscussed and unplanned for. In this episode of Competency No. 5, on staying present as we coach, lead, and live, we speak with Simon Salt, a British author based in Florida and newly certified Menopause Coach, whose book The Quiet Transition is underway. Salt trains men to stay present through their partners' menopause — not to fix it, but to notice it, without judgment. His method: book regular time to sit and ask, and listen. How are you feeling? What symptoms are showing up? What's shifting? What is and isn't working? The exchange runs both ways — men share their own experience of the transition, and each partner asks the other for more, less, or none of something. Repeated often, this attention keeps couples oriented through a change most face alone. It's a case study in presence: show up, ask better questions, resist the urge to solve before you understand. Follow Simon Salt and The Quiet Transition on Substack, and his other books on Amazon. Debbi McCullough is an Economist and Financial Times-trained journalist who became a Master Certified Coach with the Intl Coaching Federation and a communications coach for newly-promoted Fortune 500 leaders. Book her for coaching, training or ICF mentoring here. Train with her on Maven here.
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S3 · E12June 26 · 36 minMarcia Reynolds on managing judgment as we coach and maintaining boundaries when a conversation offends us
If you've coached some hours, you've possibly noticed our clients can (at times) become combative, biased, and/or lay down something in front of us which invites our judgment. (Coaches still judge. Of course we do. All of us do. It's part of the human condition.) We bring back to the show Dr. Marcia Reynolds to unpack those moments and how we can A/maintain our presence and let the judgment go and B/exit the conversation with grace and calm when anything offensive directed at us erodes our presence to the point where we can no longer continue. Marcia Reynolds is a Global Guru Top 10 and Master Coach Trainer and Author of multiple books, including Coach the Person, Not the Problem Second Edition, now a bestseller on Amazon. We hear in this episode how setting intentions and defining how we're willing to be spoken to becomes a powerful tool in heated moments, and one we can all learn from, at work and at home. You can find Marcia Reynolds on LinkedIn and find her Second Edition of her bestseller here on Amazon. Debbi McCullough has written for the Economist, Financial Times of London, and Guardian. She is certified with the International Coaching Federation as a Master Certified Coach and is a trusted communications coach for Fortune 500/100 leaders. Find her on LinkedIn. Book her for a consult. Train with her on Maven.
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S3 · E11June 13 · 15 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 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.
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S3 · E10May 29 · 33 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.
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S3 · E9May 15 · 20 minNicole 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.
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S3 · E8May 1 · 24 minZsofia 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.
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S3 · E7April 17 · 26 minLeadership 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.
- CNS3 · E6April 4 · 18 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.
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S3 · E5March 21 · 40 minInterviewing 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.
- CNS3 · E4March 7 · 27 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.
- CNS3 · E4February 21 · 16 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.
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S3 · E3February 7 · 35 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.
- CNS3 · E2January 24 · 28 min
I passed the MCC Performance Evaluation. (Whoop!) My final step: Passing the Coaching Knowledge Assessment exam
Last Friday, January 16, I heard from the assessors at the International Coaching Federation that I passed their famously difficult and evasive Master Certified Coaching Performance Evaluation. I've still the Coach Knowledge Assessment (CKA), a four-hour exam to go, before I get to join the 4% of MCC coaches globally, a rare group of around 2,240 coaches within 56,000 ICF credential-holders worldwide. But the hardest part (the performance evaluation) is now behind me. I was amazed and cried a lot when I read I’d passed and wrote on what's coming up for me on my Substack here. This is my immigrant dream coming true. Over winter break, (having submitted my MCC submission in September) I convinced myself I’d need to resubmit multiple times, like many coaches do. I still can't believe I passed with my first shot. Curiosity, presence, and determination helped me the most, along with the accountability this podcast, Competency No 5 brought. [So, thank you for bearing with me!] In this week's episode, we welcome back MCC Coach Ben Dooley, one of two MCC coaches who mentored me. Ben tells us what that CKA is all about and how to pass it. I've since booked my CKA exam for early February. Reach out to MCC Coach Ben Dooley via his website, 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 workshops on Maven here and here.
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S3 · E1January 10 · 29 minKaren Canham: "I don't do goals. It feels like too much pressure." A wellness coach's insights into moving beneath perfectionism, performance, and returning to ourselves.
When Karen Canham struggled with anorexia, her body felt numb. In fact, she couldn't access her body mentally at all, because the eating disorder stemmed from trauma. Through therapy and recovery, she came out the other side, learned yoga, how to regulate, and reconnect with her body after years of disconnection. Yoga taught her presence. Breath taught her patience. And after years in the corporate world, her new journey began: Teaching others how to move beneath perfectionism and performance and return to themselves; not through hacks. More so daily practices helping us regulate our nervous system and lead with presence, clear communications, while inviting safety for others to do the same. In this interview, we experience that shift live time through inquiry and candid sharing. The shift feels unmistakable. Learn from a somatic and wellness coach stories of bravery, presence, and the powerful shifts on what we see before us when we pause, notice, and anchor in our conversation and bodies. You can find Coach Karen on LinkedIn here and visit KarenAnnWellness 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 workshops on Maven here and here.
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S2 · E25Dec 20, 2025 · 14 minNick McCullough: "What got me through my first semester at Harvard? Camaraderie with fellow athletes and extreme time management."
In our final episode for 2025, First Year Harvard student Nicholas McCullough shares how he maintained presence, calm, stoicism, and all those great things amidst a pressured first semester at Harvard University as a footballer and Economics student. He and other student athletes averaged 65+ hour weeks. In this interview, Nicholas (my oldest son) shares the power of camaraderie with his fellow Harvard athletes (his fellow footballers and other athletes across campus). He shares the importance of managing our time well, choosing quiet places to focus, and managing others' expectations of us when time affluence becomes low. And we hear of the gifts and opportunities of taking a chance and moving far away from all we know to pursue our dreams. There's some real excitement that comes from being truly anonymous and having no history whatsoever, aside from the new story we create. My dear listeners of this small but growing show, thank you for following me. This is our last episode until the New Year. Happy Holidays. May you rest, be calm, and merry. If you're a coach following my documentary on my MCC submission efforts, until I hear otherwise, the ICF will alert me of my pass or fail January 15. I have an essay to write and read on how daunting that feels. If you'd like to follow Nicholas and support him in his endeavors, you can find his LinkedIn profile here. Your show host, D G 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 communications and active listening workshops on Maven here and here.