Master Coach University

10/11/2026

Empathy vs. Judgment: The Secret to Effective Coaching

NEXT WATCH: The Trigger Olympics: Who Will Win the Gold Medal of Emotional Control? https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Nxtl7Dit7Tk

One of the fastest ways to lose trust with a coaching client is to make them feel judged or criticized.
As a professional coach, one of the most important coaching skills you can develop is the ability to choose empathy and alignment over judgment and criticism.
We all have an inner critic. We judge ourselves, and we judge other people. But when you bring that judgment into a coaching session, you risk destroying the rapport that allows you to influence, support, and help your clients make meaningful changes.
In this video, I explain why great coaches prioritize empathy, appreciation, and understanding—even when they personally disagree with a client’s choices or behavior.
You’ll discover:
Why judgment and criticism can damage coaching relationships
How empathy creates trust and rapport with clients
Why being your client’s biggest supporter is more effective than being their biggest critic
How to understand a client’s perspective without pretending to agree
When critical feedback is appropriate in a coaching session
How to ask permission before offering potentially difficult feedback
Why alignment makes clients more receptive to coaching
The coaching principle: Start with empathy. Build rapport. Appreciate who your client already is. Then, when appropriate, offer feedback in a way they can actually hear.
Want my guide to building tremendous rapport with coaching clients?
DROP A LINE BELOW, and I’ll share more information about getting the guide.
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QUESTION FOR COACHES: Have you ever seen a coaching conversation change because a client felt judged instead of understood? Share your experience in the comments.

10/08/2026

The Hidden Fear Behind Your Coaching Client’s Decisions

NEXT WATCH: Values Coaching When You’re in a Hurry (Powerful Questioning in Coaching)

Why does a coaching client desperately want to make a change—and still hesitate to actually make it?
Often, two different psychological forces are competing.
On one side are the client's values and aspirations. They want greater fulfillment, achievement, freedom, purpose, connection or some other experience they believe the change could create.
On the other side are their survival needs. They may fear losing control, security, significance, love, connection or their sense of worthiness. In other words, they want the future—but they're afraid of what making the change could cost them.
That's why simply helping clients clarify what they want isn't always enough.
In this video, I explain how coaches can look beneath a client's hesitation, identify the needs and fears preventing them from moving forward, and help them determine how those needs can still be met while pursuing their higher aspirations.
Once the perceived threat to their needs is handled, the resistance can dramatically change—and the client's values can begin pulling them toward the future they actually want.

10/08/2026

The Hidden Fear Behind Your Coaching Client’s Decisions

NEXT WATCH: Values Coaching When You’re in a Hurry (Powerful Questioning in Coaching)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyQjebSpVsA

Why does a coaching client desperately want to make a change—and still hesitate to actually make it?
Often, two different psychological forces are competing.
On one side are the client’s values and aspirations. They want greater fulfillment, achievement, freedom, purpose, connection or some other experience they believe the change could create.
On the other side are their survival needs. They may fear losing control, security, significance, love, connection or their sense of worthiness. In other words, they want the future—but they’re afraid of what making the change could cost them.
That’s why simply helping clients clarify what they want isn’t always enough.
In this video, I explain how coaches can look beneath a client’s hesitation, identify the needs and fears preventing them from moving forward, and help them determine how those needs can still be met while pursuing their higher aspirations.
Once the perceived threat to their needs is handled, the resistance can dramatically change—and the client’s values can begin pulling them toward the future they actually want.

10/06/2026

Why Clients Fail: They’re Not Doing Enough

NEXT WATCH: The Volume Constraint: The Hidden Reason Coaching Clients Don’t Succeed https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kbrBdqZ6jwQ

Why do some coaching clients fail to get results—even when the coaching and strategy are good?
One of the biggest reasons is something I call a volume constraint.
A client may have the right strategy. They may understand exactly what they need to change. Their coach may be doing excellent work.
But none of that guarantees a result if the client simply doesn't do enough of what's required.
They don't make enough calls.
They don't practice enough.
They don't take enough actions.
They don't implement the change at sufficient volume.
And many clients dramatically underestimate how much activity is actually required to produce their desired result.
That creates a dangerous situation for coaches because the client can conclude that the strategy failed—or that something is wrong with themselves or their coach—when the strategy was never implemented at sufficient volume to properly test it.
That's why coaches need to recognize the volume constraint.
When a client isn't producing results, don't immediately abandon the strategy. First examine whether they've actually executed enough of it to reasonably expect the outcome they want.
Sometimes the answer isn't a better strategy.
It's more ex*****on.
If you found value, hit like & subscribe!
QUESTION FOR COACHES: Have you ever had a client who knew exactly what to do—but simply wasn't doing enough of it?

10/06/2026

10/02/2026

The Coaching Tools I Use to Understand Clients Before Session #1

NEXT WATCH: Why ASSESSMENT COACHING is The KILLER APP For Your Coaching Clients
https://www.youtube.com/live/0jnMw4nZI7s

Great coaching starts with understanding WHO you're coaching—not simply identifying the client's problem.
When a new client enrolls with me, I use multiple psychographic profiling tools before we even begin coaching. These empirically supported assessment instruments help me develop a much deeper understanding of the client's personality, behavioral tendencies, values, strengths, weaknesses, and how they tend to think.
Why go through all of that?
Because I want to coach the client, not just the problem.
A client's goals, decisions, challenges, plans, and values don't exist independently of the person experiencing them. The more accurately you understand what makes your client tick, the more context you have when deciding how to coach them.
In this video, I explain why understanding your client is so critical and how psychographic profiling can dramatically shorten the process of learning who you're actually working with.
I'll also point you toward my deeper training where I explain the profiling tools I use, how I use them, and why I believe they give coaches such an advantage.
Without understanding the person behind the problem, you may be coaching blind and missing information that could change how you approach the entire coaching relationship.
If you found value, hit like & subscribe!
QUESTION FOR COACHES: How do you get to know a new client before your first coaching session?

10/02/2026

The Coaching Tools I Use to Understand Clients Before Session #1

NEXT WATCH: Why ASSESSMENT COACHING is The KILLER APP For Your Coaching Clients
https://www.youtube.com/live/0jnMw4nZI7s

Great coaching starts with understanding WHO you’re coaching—not simply identifying the client’s problem.
When a new client enrolls with me, I use multiple psychographic profiling tools before we even begin coaching. These empirically supported assessment instruments help me develop a much deeper understanding of the client’s personality, behavioral tendencies, values, strengths, weaknesses, and how they tend to think.
Why go through all of that?
Because I want to coach the client, not just the problem.
A client’s goals, decisions, challenges, plans, and values don’t exist independently of the person experiencing them. The more accurately you understand what makes your client tick, the more context you have when deciding how to coach them.
In this video, I explain why understanding your client is so critical and how psychographic profiling can dramatically shorten the process of learning who you’re actually working with.
I’ll also point you toward my deeper training where I explain the profiling tools I use, how I use them, and why I believe they give coaches such an advantage.
Without understanding the person behind the problem, you may be coaching blind and missing information that could change how you approach the entire coaching relationship.
If you found value, hit like & subscribe!
QUESTION FOR COACHES: How do you get to know a new client before your first coaching session?

09/30/2026

How to Use Values to Help Coaching Clients Make Decisions

NEXT WATCH: Values Coaching When You’re in a Hurry (Powerful Questioning in Coaching)
V=wyQjebSpVsA

How do you coach a client through a difficult decision without simply telling them what to do? One powerful approach is to help them clarify their needs and values—and compare how each option actually fulfills them.
I recently worked with a successful professional considering a significant career change. He wasn't completely stuck, but he was hesitating and wanted support thinking through the decision.
Instead of giving him advice, we examined two things:
1. Needs — How well are his important needs being met now, and how well would they be met after making the change?
2. Values — How well is his current situation allowing him to fulfill what's most important to him, and how would that change under the new option?
Then we used a simple scoring system.
Current situation: 0–10
Potential change: 0–10
The numbers themselves weren't the most important part.
The real coaching happened when we explored why he gave each area its score.
That forced him to examine the nuances, tradeoffs, risks, opportunities, and consequences surrounding the decision. It also revealed areas that might need to be mitigated or optimized if he chose to make the career change.
That's why difficult decisions can become powerful opportunities for values clarification.
As a coach, you don't necessarily need to make the decision for your client. You can help them understand what matters most, how each option affects those priorities, and what each path could require from them.
If you found value, hit like & subscribe!
QUESTION FOR COACHES: What's your favorite question or technique for helping a client make a difficult decision?

09/30/2026

How to Use Values to Help Coaching Clients Make Decisions

NEXT WATCH: Values Coaching When You’re in a Hurry (Powerful Questioning in Coaching)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyQjebSpVsA

How do you coach a client through a difficult decision without simply telling them what to do? One powerful approach is to help them clarify their needs and values—and compare how each option actually fulfills them.
I recently worked with a successful professional considering a significant career change. He wasn’t completely stuck, but he was hesitating and wanted support thinking through the decision.
Instead of giving him advice, we examined two things:
1. Needs — How well are his important needs being met now, and how well would they be met after making the change?
2. Values — How well is his current situation allowing him to fulfill what’s most important to him, and how would that change under the new option?
Then we used a simple scoring system.
Current situation: 0–10
Potential change: 0–10
The numbers themselves weren’t the most important part.
The real coaching happened when we explored why he gave each area its score.
That forced him to examine the nuances, tradeoffs, risks, opportunities, and consequences surrounding the decision. It also revealed areas that might need to be mitigated or optimized if he chose to make the career change.
That’s why difficult decisions can become powerful opportunities for values clarification.
As a coach, you don’t necessarily need to make the decision for your client. You can help them understand what matters most, how each option affects those priorities, and what each path could require from them.
If you found value, hit like & subscribe!
QUESTION FOR COACHES: What’s your favorite question or technique for helping a client make a difficult decision?

09/29/2026

What to Ask When Your Coaching Client Doesn’t Have the Answer

WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO:

VIDEO ON COACHING QUESTIONS

What do you ask when your coaching client genuinely doesn't seem to have the answer within them? There's one simple coaching question that can help them begin creating the inner resource they need.
Coaches are often taught that the answers are already within the client. And sometimes they are.
A client may already have experiences of confidence, courage, creativity, discipline, work ethic, or another resource that you can help them access and apply to their current challenge.
But what happens when they can't find that resource?
What if they've never experienced the quality they need—or at least can't identify an experience they can draw from?
That's when I like to change the coaching frame with a deceptively simple question:
“What would it be like?”
By answering that question, your client can begin imagining and constructing the resource rather than remaining stuck searching their past for something they can't find.
From there, the coaching conversation can focus on cultivating and strengthening that resource until your client can begin applying it to the area of life they're working to transform.
This is a simple coaching technique, but it's an important distinction for coaches learning how to ask powerful coaching questions and work with clients who feel stuck.
If you found value, hit like & subscribe!
QUESTION FOR COACHES: What's your favorite question to ask when a client tells you, “I don't know”?
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