Coffee House Coaching

Gary Nowak
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Coffee House Coaching is an Executive Coaching podcast where I speak with fellow Executive Coaches about their practice, their process and how they help their clients. I also speak with individuals impacted by coaching and how it has improved their lives. My goal is to shine some light on the wonderful world of Executive Coaching and explain what it is and how it works. So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversations about Executive Coaching.

  1. 3D AGO

    Ep 177 Mike Ettore - 50+ Years in Leadership / Marine to the Core / Sharpen your Listening

    Question-by-Question Highlights 1) Best coaching advice you’ve gotten Coaching is more about listening than talkingAsk multiple layers of questions before offering insightLet clients uncover their own answersResist the urge to jump in early2) What are you still trying to improve about your coaching? Slowing down despite decades of experienceAsking more follow-up questionsAvoiding knee-jerk solutionsLetting the real issue surface naturally3) Most outrageous thing you’ve done in a coaching session Told a CEO he was the primary problemEnded a lucrative engagement on ethical groundsRefused to be an “ally” to blame-shiftingWalked away when accountability was impossible4) What still makes you uncomfortable? Leaders who blame everyone elseLack of self-awareness and humilityResistance to honest self-reflectionCoaching people who won’t look in the mirror5) Advice for new or aspiring coaches Learn how to truly listenKnow what you don’t knowStay in your laneDon’t pretend to be the expert in everything6) What have you had to conquer to be a great coach? The urge to “fix” too quicklyThe temptation to impress with answersWalking away when coaching won’t workAccepting that not everyone is coachable7) How are you using AI in your coaching practice? Content creation and thought leadershipEliminating the blank-page problemExpanding solution options for clientsSupporting judgment, not replacing it8) What have you learned about yourself? Delivery matters as much as insightExperience must be paired with empathyTrust and relationships drive changeCoaching is art, not just scienceFun Stuff Question Favorite movie: PattonWhy: history, leadership, discipline, stoicismBelief: ancient wisdom still applies todayLeadership lesson: study history or repeat it

    36 min

  2. JAN 29

    Ep 176 Angela Falcini - Air Force to Internal Coach / Coaching DNA / "Love Actually"

    Question-by-Question Highlights 1) Best coaching advice you’ve gotten Don’t be attached to the client’s outcomePresence improves when control is removedClient commitment matters more than coach frustrationMissed actions are data, not failure2) What are you still trying to improve about your coaching? Leaning more into somatic awarenessAsking “where do you feel that?” more oftenTrusting body signals as much as intellectSlowing down instead of goal-chasing3) Most outrageous thing you’ve done, tried, or said in a session Told clients they weren’t ready for coachingPaused engagements instead of pushing throughRedirected clients to books instead of sessionsPrioritized service over revenue (wild, I know)4) What still makes you squirm or uncomfortable? Ignoring internal discomfortNot asking the question her gut is screamingLeaving insight “on the table”Playing it safe instead of pushing edges5) Advice for someone new to coaching Learn multiple coaching modelsDon’t copy other coaches, synthesize themStay a student of coaching foreverLet formulas guide early, not define forever6) What have you had to conquer to become a great coach? Attachment to doing it “right”Fear of losing clients by being honestThe urge to rescue instead of reflectTrusting that readiness can’t be forced7) How are you using AI in your coaching practice? AI note-taking with client opt-inUsing transcripts to deepen recallExploring tools and exercises with curiosityLetting tech support presence, not replace it8) What have you learned about yourself through coaching? Imposter syndrome is universalOne-on-one depth beats loud roomsCuriosity is her superpowerBeing heard changes everythingFun Stuff Question Favorite movies: The Princess Bride (classic), Love Actually (Hugh Grant wins)Celebrity look-alikes: Laura Linney, Kirsten Bell (15 pounds ago, allegedly)Strong opinions on names, silence, and Italian pronunciation

    44 min

  3. JAN 22

    Ep 175 Nina Blackshear - The Year of "No" (Ted Talk) / Lawyer to Coach / NOT being the Guru

    1. Best Coaching Advice You’ve Gotten Ask more questions instead of charging in with solutions.Slow down the instinct to “fix”—curiosity beats expertise.Socialize ideas rather than bulldozing with brilliance.2. What Are You Still Trying to Improve? Reducing compound questions (her version of the coaching filibuster).Releasing the impulse to control the conversation.Allowing clients to answer imperfectly without “rescuing” them.3. Most Outrageous Thing You’ve Done in a Session Deploying the wildcard question: “What am I not asking you that I should be?”Admitting out loud when a session feels stuck.Handing responsibility back to the client instead of forcing an insight.4. What Still Makes You Uncomfortable? Knowing when to interrupt clients who go on context marathons.Managing the tension between venting and progress.Timing the interruption like Double Dutch: jump too early and you break an ankle.5. Advice for Someone Considering Coaching Give yourself to the infinite, unpredictable paths a conversation can take.Let go of steering, engineering, and controlling outcomes.Trust the process even when it feels like you’re floating in space without gravity.6. Something You’ve Had to Conquer Ego. Full stop.The belief that being the smartest person in the room is the job (it isn’t).Breaking lifelong habits formed as a lawyer and high achiever.7. How Are You Using AI in Your Coaching Practice? Barely—AI helps run the business, not the coaching room.Protecting the human heart of coaching is a priority.Belief that if you show up like a robot, you’re easier to replace by one.8. What Have You Learned About Yourself Through Coaching? She’s a lifelong learner who never wants to stop honing her craft.Coaching opened an entire new intellectual landscape she wants to master.Minimalism and presence are more powerful than frameworks and prep.Fun Stuff Question (Bridget Jones, blue crabs, Severance, and a reality-TV confession.) Favorite movie: Bridget Jones’s Diary (and she knows you’re judging her).Favorite meal: backyard Maryland crab feasts—an entire family ritual, not a menu item.Favorite show: Severance, plus a guilty-pleasure detour into Love Is Blind.

    37 min

  4. JAN 15

    Ep 174 Stephen Burke - Aerospace to Inner Space / Come Empty / Hold Everything Neutral

    8 Questions + 1 Fun Stuff Summary 1️⃣ Best Coaching Advice Come empty — show up without your agenda or rucksack of tools.Be nothing for your client; let their story lead.The less you bring, the more emerges.2️⃣ What You’re Still Improving Deepening the art of listening to understand, not respond.Using somatic awareness — grounding, feeling feet, breath, and body connection.Staying present instead of preparing a response.3️⃣ Most Outrageous Thing Done Asked a founder, “What if this company isn’t yours to build?” and stayed silent.Invited a high-performing board to consider, “What if your ceiling is your floor?”Held everything neutral — courage through calm curiosity.4️⃣ What Still Makes You Uncomfortable Taking notes during sessions — breaks connection and presence.Managing the tension between documentation and deep listening.Letting silence hold more value than written words.5️⃣ Advice for New Coaches Focus equally on your state of being and the business of coaching.Learn to consciously create your internal state before each session.Build awareness of how your presence shapes every client interaction.6️⃣ What You’ve Had to Conquer Shifting from doing to being — from tools to trust.Letting go of performance mindset from engineering roots.Embracing neutrality and imperfection in the coaching journey.7️⃣ How You Use AI Uses ChatGPT and Gemini daily for proposals, tone checks, and ideation.Exploring creating custom AI agents for repetitive business tasks.Sees AI as a creative partner, not a threat — a reflection tool, not a replacement.8️⃣ What You’ve Learned About Yourself Coaching meets him where he is in every season of life.Always keeps a coach — it’s a non-negotiable business expense.Strives to be “the best coach in the world” — not from ego, but from intention.🎬 Fun Stuff Question — Favorite Movie Amélie — a French film he saw three times in one week.Loves its color, music, and magic.Proof that beauty, like coaching, is found in the small details.

    31 min

  5. JAN 8

    Ep 70 Rita Hausken - Zone of Excellence & Genius / The "Perfect" client / Going deep, never too late

    Highlights: Operating from the Zone of Excellence to the Zone of GeniusMemories of her wonderful son BenjaminWorking with clients with a big legacy perspectiveLearning to say no and opening up space for her "perfect" clientTuning in to her clientsThere is no such thing as impossibleAdvice on working deeper with clientsCan't take anyone deeper than you've gone on yourselfThe Activity Brain Dump"Hell Yes" / "No, not for now" / "Maybe"The energy auditNever too late to "go deep" with your clientCreate space for miraclesAre you a match to what you are asking for?Coming from the goal NOT to the goal

    37 min

  6. JAN 1

    Ep 16 Tory Wobber - Pint size insights / Visualizing the future / Being the client

    https://www.victoriawobber.com/ Tory Wobber brings so much energy to this podcast and she provides a perspective on her coaching niche and how she became a coach Highlights from my conversation with Tory Moving to and coaching in Mexico / Coaching PHd's looking for jobs in industry (this is what tory did) / Paying it forward, then formalizing / Consulting vs coaching / Grieve the loss of their academic identity / Having lived what she is coaching / Visualizing your future / Who am I if I'm not my job / Pint size insights / Helping clients get "unstuck" / Skills are there, helping with the mindset shift / Asking clients to stand and breathe / Finding the right coaching course / The dip and getting to mastery / PB&J conversation

    41 min

  7. 12/25/2025

    EP 47 Jewel Edward Love Jr. - Black Executive Coaching / Puzzle pieces / Buddy system

    Highlights: Started coaching at age 5, yea I knowCorporate outsiderLicensed PsychotherapistFinding his Niche early onwww.blackexecutivemen.comTherapy vs coachingJewels clients see themselves in himPassionate about growth and professional successClarity and the puzzle pieces, getting them all on the tableHis Process = Clarity / Decisions / ActionsWorking with his own coach to get the confidence he neededCreating a Buddy System with his clientsComing from tissues, tears and traumaDaily Newsletter

    43 min

  8. 12/18/2025

    Ep 173 Karen Benoy Preston - Values coaching / Breaking yourself open / Being a Rebel

    Question Summaries  1️⃣ Best coaching advice you’ve gotten “It doesn’t have to be about who — it can be about what.”Freed her from the pressure to niche by audience; she leaned into values.Shifted her entire perspective on what authentic coaching looks like.2️⃣ What are you still trying to improve about your coaching? Learning to embrace silence rather than fill it.Recognizing her own “know-it-all” tendencies and stepping back.Seeing pauses as productive — where the client’s best thinking happens.3️⃣ Most outrageous thing you’ve done, tried, or said in a session Calling BS when clients hide behind surface-level stories.Pushes hard — but only when deep trust exists.Trusts her instincts to dance between mentor, consultant, and coach.4️⃣ What still makes you squirm or uncomfortable? Talking about money and “selling” her value.Learning to see pricing as respect for her own worth.Embracing “Hell yes or Hell no” as her filter — no “Hell maybes.”5️⃣ Advice for someone new to coaching “You have to break yourself open to become a great coach.”True learning comes from going inward and unlearning old habits.Coaching is an inside-out profession — not a set of tools.6️⃣ What have you had to conquer on your path to being a great coach? Releasing the need to fix others (and her kids).Choosing curiosity over control, especially as a parent.Accepting that not everyone wants to grow — and that’s okay.7️⃣ Are you using AI in your coaching practice? Uses AI as a thought partner to spark creativity and expand thinking.Blends AI with tools like Enneagram and Positive Intelligence for depth.Encourages clients to ask AI, “How should I use a coach?”8️⃣ What have you learned about yourself through coaching? A lifelong fascination with human consciousness.Rediscovered her teenage love of psychology and helping people grow.Realized her impact comes from curiosity, connection, and consciousness.🎬 Fun Stuff Question Guilty pleasure: playing with the snarky “Monday” GPT for humor and insight.Loves how it’s both validating and thought-provoking.Proof that self-discovery can come with sarcasm.

    31 min
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About

Coffee House Coaching is an Executive Coaching podcast where I speak with fellow Executive Coaches about their practice, their process and how they help their clients. I also speak with individuals impacted by coaching and how it has improved their lives. My goal is to shine some light on the wonderful world of Executive Coaching and explain what it is and how it works. So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversations about Executive Coaching.

Information

  • Creator
    Gary Nowak
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    177
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Coffee House Coaching
  • Show Website
    Coffee House Coaching