Leaders Who Coach™ PODCAST with Sehaam Cyrene

Leading With Quite Confidence with Nisha Prajay Kagdadia

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 01:00:00 -0400

What changes when a leader stops carrying every problem and starts creating the space for others to think?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Nisha Prajay Kagdadia, a financial services executive with more than 20 years of experience across Citi, HSBC and Lloyds.

Today, Nisha leads strategic client partnerships at Publicis Sapient, working with major financial services and insurance organisations to turn transformation into meaningful commercial outcomes.

Nisha is also a graduate of Sehaam’s customised Leading Through Change and Ambiguity programme and is passionate about supporting the next generation of leaders.

In this open and reflective conversation, Nisha shares what changed when she began using coaching skills in her everyday leadership.

At first, the conversations felt unfamiliar.

She had to resist the urge to provide solutions, fill the silence and leave every meeting with another list of actions.

Over time, however, asking more and solving less became a natural part of the way she leads.

Together, Sehaam and Nisha explore:

• Why coaching-style one-to-ones can feel awkward at first
• How leaders can stop doing all the heavy lifting
• Why direct reports often already hold the answers
• How deeper listening helps you genuinely know your people
• The time and energy leaders regain by creating more ownership
• Why trust is built through consistent conversations
• How to repair a conversation when your words land badly
• Why small behaviours, including arriving late, can affect trust
• How to challenge people through questions rather than judgement
• Delegating with clearer expectations and agreed measures
• Creating a culture where people raise risks early
• What body language and silence reveal during stressful periods
• Why humour can help teams navigate difficult moments
• The importance of trusting your own leadership style
• What it means to lead with quietness, consideration and genuine love

Nisha also speaks honestly about letting go of the belief that leaders need to be loud, powerful or dominant.

Her biggest growth has come from trusting herself and recognising that care, empathy and quietness are not weaknesses.

They are part of how she leads.

This is a thoughtful and practical conversation about trust, delegation, vulnerability and creating the conditions for people to grow without taking over their thinking.

🎧 Listen & Follow Sehaam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/

📲 Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

00:00 – Why the answers often sit with your people
00:52 – Introduction to Nisha Kagdadia
03:40 – Why coaching conversations feel awkward at first
05:44 – Learning to ask rather than solve
10:58 – Helping people find their own answers
13:24 – Building trust through consistent conversations
20:23 – How small behaviours affect trust
23:46 – Delegating without removing ownership
30:41 – Reading body language and team energy
33:14 – Leading with quietness, consideration and love
36:43 – Final reflections

#LeadersWhoCoach #NishaKagdadia #CoachLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #QuietLeadership #LeadingWithLove #PeopleLeadership #LeadershipConversations #ActiveListening #TrustAtWork #Delegation #LeadershipVulnerability #TeamCulture #LeadingThroughChange #CoachingSkills #HumanLeadership #LeadershipPodcast

Culture Meets AI with Dan Dunton

Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0400

How can leaders remain grounded, relevant and human when AI is changing the way we work so quickly?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Dan Dunton, Programme Director in AI and Transformation, about leadership growth, powerful conversations and the changing role of leaders in an AI-driven workplace.

Dan was the very first graduate of Leaders Who Coach™. He shares how learning to ask rather than tell has shaped the way he leads teams, works with clients and navigates complex transformation programmes.

From resisting the urge to provide the solution to becoming more comfortable with silence, feedback and difficult conversations, Dan reflects honestly on the practical skills that have helped him develop his own leadership style.

The conversation also explores why AI makes human leadership more important, not less.

As technology accelerates the work, leaders need to become more intentional about the conversations they protect, the questions they ask and the conditions they create for others to succeed.

Together, they explore:

• Why new leaders must stop trying to be the best “doer”
• Asking questions before jumping to solutions
• How securing permission changes the quality of a conversation
• Why silence often reveals the most important insight
• Building trust when joining or inheriting a team
• The value of measured vulnerability as a leader
• How curiosity, empathy and candour shape Dan’s leadership style
• Why values help leaders remain grounded through change
• How AI is exposing leadership cultures within organisations
• Why greater efficiency should create space for more human conversation
• Remaining honest when you do not have all the answers
• Why senior leaders cannot afford to disengage from AI
• How leaders can bring experience and judgement to AI-generated thinking
• Why asking better questions is becoming a defining leadership skill
• Managing upwards and approaching challenging conversations
• Giving clear feedback to people you genuinely like
• Finding a leadership style that reflects who you really are

This is an honest and practical conversation about leadership maturity, coaching skills and what it means to lead well during a period of extraordinary change.

00:00 – Introduction to Dan Dunton
01:21 – Becoming a leader and finding your own style
03:04 – Asking before jumping to solutions
05:01 – Securing permission before difficult conversations
06:58 – Listening, silence and creating space
09:08 – Getting to know a new team
11:03 – Vulnerability, feedback and leadership blind spots
13:16 – Moving from doing the work to enabling others
15:02 – Using coaching skills with clients and stakeholders
16:44 – Curiosity, empathy and candour
19:02 – Values, culture and how leaders choose to show up
21:03 – Why AI makes human conversations more important
23:25 – Leading teams through uncertainty and anxiety
25:46 – Why senior leaders need to understand AI
28:07 – Trusting people without blindly trusting the tools
30:05 – How collaboration is changing
31:54 – Why leaders must become better at asking questions
33:06 – Managing upwards and challenging senior stakeholders
35:10 – Giving honest performance feedback
37:18 – Candour, empathy and timing
38:46 – Advice for new and aspiring leaders
40:05 – Final reflections

🎧 Listen & Follow Sehaam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/leaderswhocoach

📲 Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

#LeadersWhoCoach #DanDunton #CoachLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #AILeadership #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfWork #LeadershipConversations #CoachingSkills #LeadingThroughChange #PeopleLeadership #TeamDevelopment #HumanLeadership #ManagementDevelopment

Navigating AI's Rapid Evolution with Darcy Peters

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 -0400

What does it take to lead with clarity, humility and human connection while navigating the rapid rise of AI?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Darcy Peters, Senior Customer Advocacy Manager at Buffer and graduate of Leaders Who Coach™, about leadership, coaching skills, remote work, AI and the importance of staying human while work continues to move faster.

Darcy shares insights from her career across customer advocacy, education, onboarding, technical support, entrepreneurship and her early leadership experience as a Captain in the US Marine Corps.

This conversation explores how leaders can create trust, support growth, use AI thoughtfully, and hold space for people while still keeping accountability, focus and performance alive.

Together, they explore:

• How Darcy’s experience in the US Marine Corps shaped her leadership style
• Why humility matters when leading people with more experience than you
• How leaders can create space for others to bring their strengths forward
• What remote connection looks like inside a globally distributed team
• How Buffer builds trust, openness and human connection across time zones
• Why asynchronous work still needs intentional human connection
• How AI is changing problem-solving, decision-making and team conversations
• Why leaders still need critical thinking, discernment and human judgement
• How AI can help people self-coach before bringing ideas to the table
• Why clarity and agreed priorities matter when everything feels fast and exciting
• How leaders can support people through the pressure to “keep up” with AI
• The value of coaching skills in monthly reflection conversations
• Why listening for throwaway comments can reveal what really needs attention
• How growth plans can be handled with care, rigour and accountability
• Darcy’s biggest leadership growth moment and what it taught her about seeing people clearly

This is a thoughtful and timely conversation about leadership in a changing world, using AI without outsourcing your thinking, and creating the kind of team environment where people can learn, speak up, grow and do meaningful work.

If this episode resonates with you, you can connect with Darcy here:
👉 Darcy Peters on LinkedIn

🎧 Listen & Follow Sehaam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/leaderswhocoach

📲 Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

00:00 – Introduction
01:52 – Meet Darcy Peters
03:57 – Leadership lessons from the US Marine Corps
07:20 – Leading with humility and respect
11:47 – From military structure to entrepreneurship
13:09 – A typical day at Buffer
16:52 – Building connection in a remote team
21:02 – The power of in-person retreats
25:55 – How AI is changing team problem-solving
28:44 – Moving from approval to masterminding
31:55 – Critical thinking and AI
33:50 – Using AI to improve customer support workflows
38:55 – Staying focused when everything feels exciting
45:04 – Avoiding the AI rabbit hole
47:00 – Building shared AI learning across the team
53:33 – Using coaching skills in one-to-one conversations
58:54 – The pressure to keep up with AI
01:01:57 – Darcy’s biggest leadership growth moment
01:05:41 – Reflections on Leaders Who Coach™
01:08:00 – Closing thoughts

Leading with Clarity with Caroline Mascarin 🎙️

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

What does it take to lead people well in a fast-moving Web3 business where the pace is high, the work is complex, and clarity matters every day?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Caroline Mascarin, COO at Distributed Crafts, about leadership, operations, people-first culture and the human side of building in Web3.

Caroline is a Web3 operations leader who looks after BOB, the Gateway to Bitcoin DeFi. With more than eight years in tech and more than four years in Web3, she works closely with ambitious founders to turn exciting ideas into durable, high-performing organisations. Her work includes recruiting global remote teams, introducing scalable operating systems and nurturing people-first cultures that support rapid growth.

Caroline also shares her personal journey from growing up in Brazil to moving to London at 16, putting herself through college and university, and eventually finding her way into tech, operations and Bitcoin DeFi. Her early experiences shaped a deep interest in decentralisation, fairness and building organisations where people can operate with clarity, autonomy and shared purpose.

Their conversation explores what it means to lead through rapid change, support people in remote and global teams, and create the kind of trust where honest conversations can happen early.

Together, they explore:

• Why people-first culture still needs structure, clarity and accountability
• How leaders can keep teams aligned when priorities are changing quickly
• Why it matters to socialise ideas before they are fully formed
• How Caroline’s leadership style has evolved over five years
• The importance of listening beyond the words people say
• Why small talk can give leaders important insight into how people are really doing
• How to give feedback with kindness, care and integrity
• The balance between frequent check-ins and micromanagement

This is a thoughtful and practical conversation about leading with kindness, creating clarity in complexity, giving feedback with care, and building teams where people can grow, contribute and do meaningful work.

If this episode resonates with you, you can connect with Caroline here:
👉 Caroline Mascarin on LinkedIn

🎧 Listen & Follow Sehaam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/leaderswhocoach

📲 Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Coaching and Leadership
01:14 Caroline's Journey into Web3 and Operations
05:18 Navigating Rapid Change in a Growing Team
10:34 The Importance of Communication and Alignment
16:01 Leadership Style and Empathy in Management
20:56 Creating a Supportive Team Environment
26:24 Feedback and Growth: Balancing Kindness and Transparency
31:58 The Human Element in Leadership

Leading with Accountability and Care: Culture, Trust and Team Performance with Kate Lawson

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0400

What does it take to build a people-first culture in fast-moving startups and scale-ups without losing accountability, clarity or care?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Kate Lawson, Founder and Director of Thrive Partnership, about what it really takes to build strong people and culture foundations in growing businesses.

Kate shares insights from over 20 years working across people and culture, HR operations and executive support, including helping one insurtech scale-up grow from 4 people to more than 80 across the UK, US and Latin America.

This conversation explores how leaders can create psychological safety, support performance, and lead with fairness and transparency while navigating the pressure, pace and messiness of growth.

Together, they explore:

• Why all businesses are people businesses
• Why looking after your people is essential to business success
• How startups and scale-ups can put the right people foundations in place early
• What leaders often overlook about people and culture when moving fast
• Why psychological safety and accountability need to go hand in hand
• How regular check-ins and honest conversations build trust
• The importance of fairness, transparency and early conversations
• Why line managers need more support than many organisations realise
• How leaders can protect their own wellbeing during difficult people situations
• The role of community, physical wellbeing and boundaries in sustainable leadership
• Kate’s journey from corporate roles into founding Thrive Partnership

This is a thoughtful and practical conversation about leadership, culture, wellbeing and creating environments where people can speak up, grow and perform at their best.

If this episode resonates with you, you can connect with Kate here:
👉 Kate Lawson on LinkedIn

🎧 Listen & Follow Sehaam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/leaderswhocoach

📲 Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

00:00 – Introduction
01:13 – Meet Kate Lawson
04:16 – Why people come first
11:52 – The realities of startup and scale-up growth
16:40 – What leaders struggle with most
22:34 – Scaling from 4 to 80 people
30:15 – Psychological safety and accountability
40:29 – Coaching, performance and leadership check-ins
41:59 – Protecting your wellbeing as a leader
53:03 – Kate’s biggest growth moment

The Power of We: Leading with Responsibility, Credibility and Team Alignment 🎙️ with Jon Freedman

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:00:00 -0400

What does it take to lead with clarity, credibility and responsibility in high-pressure environments?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Jon Freedman, Fractional CTO and financial technology strategist, about what it really takes to build high-performing teams, create alignment and lead with impact in complex organisations.

Jon shares insights from over 20 years in financial technology, working across investment banks and hedge funds, and scaling global teams in fast-paced, high-stakes environments.

This conversation explores how leaders can move beyond technical expertise and develop the communication, credibility and coaching skills needed to influence, align and grow teams effectively.

Together, they explore:

• Why responsibility (not ownership) is a powerful leadership mindset
• How credibility is built through consistent behaviour over time
• The importance of aligning teams around a clear “why”
• Why technical expertise alone is not enough to differentiate yourself
• How to handle strong opinions and disagreement in teams
• The role of listening in effective leadership and decision-making
• Why coaching is more effective than command-and-control leadership
• Leading through ambiguity and communicating progress effectively
• Scaling teams quickly while maintaining quality and cohesion
• Why inclusive leadership (“we” not “I”) builds stronger teams

This is a thoughtful and practical conversation about leadership maturity, communication and building teams that perform under pressure while remaining aligned and collaborative.

If this episode resonates with you, you can connect with Jon here:
👉 Jon Freedman on LinkedIn

🎧 Listen & Follow Sehaam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/leaderswhocoach

📲 Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

00:00 – Introduction to the episode
00:28 – Meet Jon Freedman and his background
02:47 – From Morgan Stanley to hedge funds: career journey
05:13 – Leadership vs management: showing up early as a leader
07:25 – Responsibility, credibility and trust in teams
09:39 – Differentiating beyond technical skills
12:00 – Aligning teams around the “why”
14:24 – Practising soft skills under pressure
15:44 – Communicating mission and building alignment
18:10 – Coaching vs command-and-control leadership
20:12 – Influencing decisions through coaching conversations
23:45 – Handling strong opinions and disagreement
25:51 – The importance of listening as a leader
27:37 – Building respect and avoiding “us vs them”
31:17 – Leading humans, not systems
33:45 – Balancing clarity, direction and flexibility
35:43 – Credibility and direct communication
38:03 – Leading through ambiguity and uncertainty
41:54 – Managing expectations and communicating progress
43:32 – Collaboration, transparency and trust
45:37 – Scaling a team from 7 to 90 people
48:12 – Hiring at speed: trade-offs and decision-making
52:32 – Building a high-performing and diverse team
55:51 – A defining leadership lesson: giving credit to others
58:05 – The power of “we” in leadership
01:00:26 – Final reflections

How Leaders Build Trust, Growth and Accountability in Teams 🎙️ with Aditi Agarwal

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 01:00:00 -0400

What does it take to lead high-performing teams through complexity, pressure and change?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Aditi Agarwal, fractional CTO and technology delivery leader, about how trust, collaboration and deep listening shape effective leadership in fast-moving organisations.

Aditi shares her journey from hands-on engineer to CTO, and the leadership lessons she’s learned while leading global technology teams through transformation, crisis moments and large-scale delivery challenges.

Aditi Agarwal is a fractional CTO and technology delivery leader who works with PE-backed and scaling organisations during periods of transformation, platform change, and execution pressure. She’s previously served as Chief Technology Officer at Blue Light Card, Pizza Hut Digital Ventures, and Realife Tech, where she led global technology teams, large-scale platform rewrites, and digital growth initiatives. Now, she partners with executives and boards as an embedded operator, helping businesses modernise legacy technology, improve delivery effectiveness, and scale with confidence while continuing to operate at speed.

Together, we explore:

• Why collaboration unlocks stronger thinking and better decisions
• Creating psychological safety so teams can express dissenting views
• Why some conflict is healthy in high-performing teams
• The leadership discipline of listening beyond the words people say
• How lightweight feedback loops accelerate growth and confidence
• Why asking for help is a critical (and often overlooked) leadership skill
• Navigating leadership during crisis and high-pressure moments
• Balancing executive leadership with the realities of family life
• Why parents often develop exceptional prioritisation and leadership skills

This is a thoughtful and practical conversation about trust, leadership maturity, and creating environments where people can do their best thinking and work together effectively.

If this episode resonates with you, you can connect with Aditi here:
👉 Aditi Agarwal on LinkedIn

🎧 Listen & Follow Sehaam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/leaderswhocoach

📲 Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

Timestamps

00:18 – Meet Aditi Agarwal and her leadership journey
02:18 – From engineer to CTO: translating business and technology
05:00 – Why collaboration is essential for solving complex problems
08:40 – Aligning teams at the start of projects
11:20 – A simple exercise that builds connection in teams
13:40 – Why healthy conflict matters in teams
15:20 – Leading effective meetings with respect and clarity
17:52 – Building trust: “Someone has to go first”
19:00 – The responsibility leaders have to grow their people
21:30 – Using metrics and conversations to support development
24:30 – Habit tracking and building consistent behaviours
28:30 – The power of small, frequent feedback loops
31:59 – Listening for what people say, and what they don’t say
35:10 – Helping individuals express what they really think
39:40 – Leadership growth moments and navigating uncertainty
41:45 – Asking for help as a leadership strength
46:30 – Balancing CTO responsibilities with parenthood
49:00 – Navigating guilt and work-life balance as a leader

Leading with Values: How Coaching Builds Confidence, Visibility and Authentic Influence🎙️with Laura Shrieves

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 01:00:00 -0500

What happens when a leader truly aligns with their values?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Laura Shrieves about her leadership transformation through coaching, and how leading with values reshaped her confidence, clarity and strategic presence.

Laura shares her journey from navigating maternity leave to becoming a more self-aware, intentional and influential leader. This conversation explores how coaching skills deepen authenticity, strengthen self-advocacy, and enable scalable leadership without heavy operational lifting.

Together, they explore:

• How aligning with core values enhances authentic leadership
• Building confidence without losing humility
• Advocating for yourself and owning your achievements without guilt
• Creating visibility for your success in a grounded, impactful way
• Developing a clear strategic point of view
• Elevating team members through powerful coaching questions
• Managing silence and creating space in coaching conversations
• How shared values strengthen diverse and effective teams

This is a thoughtful and practical conversation about leadership maturity, self-awareness, and leading with greater intention and influence.

If this episode resonates with you, you can connect with Laura here:
👉 Laura Shrieves on LinkedIn

🎧 Listen & Follow Sehaam:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/leaderswhocoach

📲 Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

Timestamps

00:00 – Coaching as a catalyst for leadership growth
00:24 – Laura’s career journey before Leaders Who Coach
02:22 – Maternity leave as a leadership turning point
04:30 – Clarity and strategic focus
07:15 – Sharing values to build trust
08:42 – Self-advocacy and recognising achievements
12:07 – Visibility without ego
15:04 – Demonstrating strategic contribution
16:38 – Timing and reflection in self-promotion
18:04 – Developing a strong point of view
19:58 – Staying grounded in core values
20:28 – Values exercises in interviews and growth
23:20 – Family life informing leadership values
26:36 – Values guiding role transitions
28:50 – Leaders Who Coach app exercises
29:48 – Coaching mindset for scalable leadership
30:18 – Elevating others through powerful questions
33:42 – Managing silence in coaching
37:50 – Normalising discomfort in growth
41:49 – Modelling coaching behaviours
44:25 – Authentic leadership through aligned values
45:29 – Growth through course and community
47:02 – Final reflections

Building Trust Through Honesty and Vulnerability 🎙️with Simon Curry

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 01:00:00 -0500

What happens when a leader stops solving everyone’s problems?

In this episode of the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast, Sehaam Cyrene speaks with Simon C an experienced engineering leader and graduate of Leaders Who Coach™, about what changed when he moved from “fixer” to coach.

Simon shares candid reflections on:

• Discovering his core values, caring, integrity and empowerment
• The liberation of not having to have all the answers
• Leading high-performing remote teams
• Giving feedback calmly and clearly
• Navigating redundancy with compassion and self-awareness
• Why vulnerability strengthens trust

This is an honest conversation about leadership maturity, emotional responsibility, and building environments where people truly thrive.

If this conversation resonates with you, you can connect with Simon on LinkedIn and follow his leadership journey here: 👉 Simon C on LinkedIn

🎧 Listen & Subscribe:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sehaam.cyrene/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leaderswhocoach
Download the Leaders Who Coach™ App and complete the Foundation Module free.

Timestamps

00:00 – Building trust through honesty
02:30 – Simon’s leadership turning point
07:00 – The power of values in leadership
12:00 – Stop solving everyone’s problems
18:00 – Leading through redundancy
26:00 – Feedback without adrenaline
34:00 – Advice for new leaders

#006 Who's Coachable? Can you use your coaching skills with anyone?

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 03:29:00 -0400

In this episode, I explain who you can coach and who you can use your coaching skills with as a leader, why some people are not coachable, and the top 6 groups of people you can use your coaching skills with, including your team and your boss.

As Coach-Leaders, it's important to be clear about who you can coach and why you would coach them — what's the upside for you and for them? And do you need their permission to coach them? I explain the difference between you coaching someone you work with and you using your coaching skills with anyone.

Coaching skills are fundamentally great conversation skills and people are attracted to leaders who can hold safe, non-judgmental and confidential thinking spaces for them to get their heads clear and be confident about what they need to do. There are smart strategic reasons to do this and it comes with a responsibility to act with integrity.

Topics in this video

====

00:00 Introduction

00:30 The coaching agreement and permission to coach

01:34 You need a formal agreement with your executive coach

02:36 You need explicit permission from your direct reports to coach them

03:25 Leaders Who Coach™ can use their coaching skills with anyone

04:47 You do not need permission to use your coaching skills

06:04 Not everyone in your team wants to be coached

07:00 When your direct report does not want to be coached by you

09:48 Some people are not coachable

11:38 Why I built Leaders Who Coach™

14:22 Using coaching skills with your peers can increase your influence

15:58 Your boss will love the confidential thinking space you create for them

16:43 Transform your prospect and client conversations

17:44 Grow your supplier’s capability with your coaching skills

18:32 Friends and family love coaching conversations too

Mentioned in this episode

====

⁠Building Trust in Every Conversation: The Who Energy Model™ for Coach-Leaders⁠

🙋🏻‍♀️ Like this? Let me know 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

🎙️🎥 LEADERS WHO COACH™ PODCAST

====

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On Podbean https://bit.ly/podLWC

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On YouTube h

#005 Building Trust in Every Conversation: The Who Energy Model™ for Coach-Leaders

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 11:08:11 -0400

If I'm in a bad headspace and avoiding doing what feels like a boring or difficult task, what's it going to take for me to open up to you as my boss, considering I'm feeling low in confidence, a bit lost, I'm already judging myself negatively? I have no idea how I'm going to get the work done. And can I trust you to not write me off as incompetent?

How are you going to help me, your direct report? Can I trust you? Can you help me shift to a positive headspace?

I want to introduce you to the Who Energy Model™ that I teach in Leaders Who Coach™. This simple model is going to help you as a coach-leader build trust in every conversation you have. In a nutshell, this technique puts the person in front of you, the person you're talking with — which really could be anyone in your life — at the very centre of that. Why is that important?

Key chapters in this episode are:

00:00 Introduction — I'm in a bad head space

00:37 Introducing the Who Energy Model™

02:35 How our human nature distracts and derails us

04:18 Why our ego stops us listening deeply

05:33 Why we avoid big feelings

06:38 The pressure to find the quickest fix

08:21 We are just reacting and coping, not responding

09:51 Positive and negative states of mind in the Who Energy Model™

11:55 What tips us into negative states of mind

13:43 Five tips for asking beautifully simple questions

16:33 Questions that build trust in conversations

18:19 Questions for more complicated conversations, more negative state of mind

21:51 You make the difference in conversations

🙋🏻‍♀️ Like this? Let me know 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

🎙️🎥 LEADERS WHO COACH™ PODCAST

====

On Apple ⁠https://bit.ly/appleLWC⁠

On Audible https://adbl.co/3J7o7fA

On Podbean https://bit.ly/podLWC

On Spotify https://bit.ly/spotLWC

On YouTube https://bit.ly/YTLWC

...and other fine places.

LinkedIn EDITION https://bit.ly/454hgdv

💁🏻‍♀️ Follow me on social

====

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene

Substack https://substack.com/@sehaamcyrene

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/

#004 Mastering the Coach-Leadership Conversation Arc: Key Questions at Every Stage

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 07:08:00 -0400

The Hidden Structure of Amazing Conversations — You're joining me on the Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast today to master the Coach-Leadership Conversation Arc.

This is going to take the boredom, the frustration, the confusion, the wasted energy, the lack of outcome or painfully slow decision-making... basically the drag out of your conversations.

And when you start to apply this Leaders Who Coach™ conversation arc consistently to more and more of your meetings, you'll be thanking me and wondering why no-one ever told you about it before now.

Topics in this episode are:

00:00 Introduction01:16 The purpose of the coach-leadership conversation arc02:01 The 3 parts of the conversation arc — the beginning, middle and end03:38 The BEGINNING of the coach-leadership conversation arc05:02 Agreeing the meeting agenda06:32 Contracting the outcome of the conversation08:26 The MIDDLE of the coach-leadership conversation arc — exploration09:27 What to listen out for in conversations09:52 Hold back on ‘solutioning’, create ownership instead12:18 The Who Energy Model™ for Leaders Who Coach™ 13:16 Your Leaders Who Coach™ Conversation Challenge15:04 Questions ask during exploration17:36 Questions — the most powerful tool in leadership and the most underused18:43 Socrates and critical thinking skills20:24 The END in the conversation arc — designing actions21:01 Questions to ask during designing actions22:09 Nuances like giving advice or sharing additional information24:36 Banish boredom and confusion in one-to-one conversations

LINKS & RESOURCES I mention in this episode:

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Coaching Techniques for People Managers and Leaders

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🎙️🎥 LEADERS WHO COACH™ PODCAST

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On Audible https://adbl.co/3J7o7fA

On Podbean https://bit.ly/podLWC

On Spotify https://bit.ly/spotLWC

On YouTube https://bit.ly/YTLWC

...and other fine places.

LinkedIn EDITION https://bit.ly/454hgdv

💁🏻‍♀️ Follow me on social

====

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@sehaamcyrene

Substack https://substack.com/@sehaamcyrene

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/

Leaders Who Coach™ COURSE ★★★★★ CPD Certified

====

🥇"Transformational!"🥇"Game-changer!"🥇"Secret sauce to high-performing businesses"

🎩 https://coachlead.co/leaders-who-coach/

🎥 Watch my YouTube Playlist, Inside the Leaders Who Coach™ Course https://bit.ly/45M5lDA

📕 The Better Conversations RULEBOOK: Questions & Phrases Practised Daily by Leaders Who Coach™

====

My Amazon #1 Best Seller in Business Management and Leadership ★★★★★

🎁 https://a.co/d/dl0mndJ

🎁 VOLUME 15% DISCOUNT CODE ** TEAM15 ** https://bit.ly/BCRT15

🌍 Outside UK Orders https://coachlead.co/rulebook/

#003 Explaining Coach-Leadership to Your Team, Peers and Your Boss

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 07:05:00 -0400

Your Team, Peers and Boss need to understand your leadership style this way... To help us answer this episode’s focus — Explaining Coach-Leadership to Your Team, Peers and Your Boss — we start by understanding what it feels like to be a coach-leader and what it feels like to be coached by you. I go on to cover why you would explain your coach-leadership approach and how to do it.

Topics in this episode are:

Understanding what it feels like to be a coach-leader
Understanding what it feels like to be coached by you
Why would you explain your coach-leadership approach?
How we make things harder by rushing conversations
Understanding the Socialising Phase to build buy-in
Building a pipeline of coach-leadership advocates
Inherent responsibility of being a coach-leader
Your personal advantages and wins for explaining your coach-leadership approach
The Better Conversations Rulebook and your team discount code
How to be natural and comfortable in explaining your coach-leadership approach
How to explain your coach-leadership approach to your team
How to explain your coach-leadership approach to your colleagues and senior leaders
If you don't tell them, who will?
Creating the interest and attraction

Let’s get into this!

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LINKS & RESOURCES I mention in this episode:

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🎥 E001 — Why Coach-Leadership Beats Traditional Leadership and Pure Coaching: https://www.audible.co.uk/podcast/001-Why-Coach-Leadership-Beats-Traditional-Leadership-and-Pure-Coaching/B0FJ66NS44

🎥 E002 — Uncovering the Truth: How Personal Values & Blind Spots Drive Your Leadership Behaviour: https://www.audible.co.uk/podcast/002-Uncovering-the-Truth-How-Personal-Values-Blind-Spots-Drive-Your-Leadership-Behaviour/B0FHFS67XF

📕 The Better Conversations RULEBOOK: Questions & Phrases Practised Daily by Leaders Who Coach™

🎁 SINGLE Print Order https://a.co/d/dl0mndJ

🎁 VOLUME Print Order with 15% DISCOUNT CODE ** TEAM15 ** https://bit.ly/BCRT15

🌍 Outside UK Orders https://coachlead.co/rulebook/

🎙️🎥 LEADERS WHO COACH™ PODCAST

====

On Apple ⁠https://bit.ly/appleLWC⁠

On Audible https://adbl.co/3J7o7fA

On Podbean https://bit.ly/podLWC

On Spotify https://bit.ly/spotLWC

On YouTube https://bit.ly/YTLWC

...and other fine places.

LinkedIn EDITION https://bit.ly/454hgdv

💁🏻‍♀️ Follow me on social

====

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@sehaamcyrene

Substack https://substack.com/@sehaamcyrene

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/

Leaders Who Coach™ COURSE ★★★★★ CPD Certified

====

🥇"Transformational!"🥇"Game-changer!"🥇"Secret sauce to high-performing businesses"

🎩 https://coachlead.co/leaders-who-coach/

🎥 Watch my YouTube Playlist, Inside the Leaders Who Coach™ Course https://bit.ly/45M5lDA

#002 Uncovering the Truth: How Personal Values & Blind Spots Drive Your Leadership Behaviour

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 07:04:00 -0400

There's a high chance your personal values are being compromised every day and your blind spots are derailing you.

How you demonstrate genuine care towards a member of your team, how you react when you don't have the answers, your use of clean language that lifts your team up instead of loaded phrases that undermine individuals, and whether in a moment of crisis you choose to seek out facts and hard evidence instead of making emotional interpretations that are unhelpful... these behaviours are all driven by your personal values, the beliefs that guide your decisions, and your blind spots, the things you do that you're not aware of.

This is foundational to who you are and how you show up, and I want you to have maximum visibility of your personal values and blind spots so you can be control of how you are showing up.

I go into all the little crevices of personal values and blind spots including one personal value that we sometimes feel awkward about owning. What happens to us physiologically and in our brains when our values are compromised? And who exactly compromises our values?

How do our blind spots derail us from living our values and building stronger relationships, and why is it critical to our success in leadership — and specifically coach-leadership — that we know what they are?

So many questions to answer (or ask!) today!

FREE RESOURCES I mention in this episode:

🎥 Personal Values Exercise Video: https://youtu.be/9bRDeyzKDJU

⤵️ Personal Values Worksheet: https://bit.ly/LWC-PV

🎥 Blind Spots Exercise Video: https://youtu.be/X9sXFYbh5Yw

🎥 How Leading with Integrity Affects Our Reputation https://youtu.be/M3wl2-ffqKs

🙋🏻‍♀️ Like this? Let me know 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

🎙️🎥 LEADERS WHO COACH™ PODCAST

====

On Apple ⁠https://bit.ly/appleLWC⁠

On Audible https://adbl.co/3J7o7fA

On Podbean https://bit.ly/podLWC

On Spotify https://bit.ly/spotLWC

On YouTube https://bit.ly/YTLWC

...and other fine places.

LinkedIn EDITION https://bit.ly/454hgdv

💁🏻‍♀️ Follow me on social

====

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene

Substack https://substack.com/@sehaamcyrene

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/

Leaders Who Coach™ COURSE ★★★★★ CPD Certified

====

🥇"Transformational!"🥇"Game-changer!"🥇"Secret sauce to high-performing businesses"

🎩 https://coachlead.co/leaders-who-coach/

🎥 Watch my YouTube Playlist, Inside the Leaders Who Coach™ Course https://bit.ly/45M5lDA

#001 Why Coach-Leadership Beats Traditional Leadership and Pure Coaching

Sat, 19 Jul 2025 07:03:20 -0400

You are expected to coach your direct reports but you probably haven't even received any leadership training, never mind coach training.

I share research with you that confirms this dire state of play in leadership generally that we seem to have just accepted and the costly impact to teams, organisations and ourselves as leaders, some data about why leadership training is failing leaders, why traditional style leaders, command-and-control leaders, cannot create a culture of accountability, why pure coaching interventions for leaders are not addressing the epic problem, and I explain how coach-leadership works magic in the most common every day occurrence you know so well — when your direct report comes to you with a problem.

The demand on organisations to perform and innovate, stay ahead of the curve has never been higher — economic uncertainty, high customer expectations, speed of change with AI and automation, re-skilling people fast enough to keep up with change and adapt, and higher expectations from our people to be led better given all the knowledge out there about what great leadership should look like.

I hope to pique your interest in coach-leadership and shown you how a simple shift in your stance to responding to a problem your direct report brings to you, by holding space and asking super simple but powerful questions, you can dramatically change the outcome of the conversation and build a culture of engagement, innovation and accountability.

🙋🏻‍♀️ Like this? Let me know 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

🎙️🎥 LEADERS WHO COACH™ PODCAST

====

On Apple ⁠https://bit.ly/appleLWC⁠

On Audible https://adbl.co/3J7o7fA

On Podbean https://bit.ly/podLWC

On Spotify https://bit.ly/spotLWC

On YouTube https://bit.ly/YTLWC

...and other fine places.

LinkedIn EDITION https://bit.ly/454hgdv

💁🏻‍♀️ Follow me on social

====

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@SehaamCyrene

Substack https://substack.com/@sehaamcyrene

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sehaam/

Leaders Who Coach™ COURSE ★★★★★ CPD Certified

====

🥇"Transformational!"🥇"Game-changer!"🥇"Secret sauce to high-performing businesses"

🎩 https://coachlead.co/leaders-who-coach/

🎥 Watch my YouTube Playlist, Inside the Leaders Who Coach™ Course https://bit.ly/45M5lDA

📕 The Better Conversations RULEBOOK: Questions & Phrases Practised Daily by Leaders Who Coach™

====

My Amazon #1 Best Seller in Business Management and Leadership ★★★★★

🎁 https://a.co/d/dl0mndJ

Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast Trailer

Sat, 19 Jul 2025 07:01:02 -0400

Maybe you know something about coaching, maybe you’ve done some coach training and want to improve your skills, maybe you’re one of my Leaders Who Coach™ graduates, or maybe you are new to the whole concept of coaching as a leader or people manager and you want to overcome your hesitation and check if it’s for you!

Hi, I’m Sehaam Cyrene and I teach leaders how to use coaching skills. Wherever you are at, my brand new (and I’m very excited about this) Leaders Who Coach™ Podcast is for you! I’m a big advocate of leaders using coaching skills, what I call coach-leadership, because of the immediate and empowering results it delivers for you and your people.

Straight from my 5-star rated CPD Certified course LEADERS WHO COACH™ that people are calling the “Secret Sauce” “transformational” and a “Game-changer”, each week I show you simple strategies, step-by-step techniques and magical questions you can start using in your very next conversation!

Coach-leadership is a bit different to pure coaching. In pure coaching, your coach is solely focused on you. Coach-leadership is where you as a leader or people manager use powerful coaching skills and techniques with your direct reports, peers, customers, and even your boss… to help you and your team meet your responsibilities, your targets, your deliverables, often under pressure. Coach-leadership is how you get reliable results and have substantive impact that benefits ALL the stakeholders in your organisation, including yourself.

I’m here to show you how to start coaching, how to adapt core coaching skills and techniques for your leadership role at work — realistically, whatever level your level of responsibility — where you and your team have deadlines and targets.

I show you how to get the balance right between directing, managing and coach-leading.

How to (ONE) find the time and approach to be strategic and (TWO) how to use coaching skills to grow the capability of your people — aren’t these the two most important aspects of your role?

I show you how just one question or phrase can change the trajectory of your conversations and relationships, the techniques that move your exchanges from pointless, costly and stressful escalations to strong and healthy working relationships, even when you disagree, even when you’ve got a history of friction, and even when you’re under pressure and battling through a crisis situation.

I help you move away from the limiting and stressful command-and-control style of leadership that stifles creativity and innovation because it disengages us, creating fear, silos and toxic behaviours.

Understand what it is that masterful executive coaches do that you can replicate with your team to unlock ideas, remove resistance and diffuse escalations.

Understand how you can be doing less heavy-lifting in leading and in fact why you need to stop trying so hard, why you need to be less responsible for how your people perform.

Yes! When you create space for your direct reports to grow, they become less dependent on you and more accountable for themselves.

Doesn’t that sound great? Wouldn’t you like to go on holiday and know that your team is not going to be pinging you every few hours while you’re trying to have fun with your family and friends…? So you can properly switch off and recharge? Right?

Leaders Who Coach™ have this magic of drawing people towards them. They are very intentional in how they connect with us, how they create emotional commitment in us, and how they build our confidence to do more with the skills and passions that we have.

These coaching skills can’t just be for coaches — there’s a bigger play here.

You know, I wish this podcast was around for me earlier in my career because I’ve made plenty of mistakes.

Leadership can be so rewarding and way less stressful if we know how to show up.

Honestly, leadership is a privilege.