CLEAR Performance Coaching

Got promoted for solving problems? Time to trade in your cape for better questions.

In Episode 20, Rick Timlick, Sam Bracken and Kent Vaughn take on the Quick Start card Coaching Solves Problems (Card 46). When the leader solves everything, the leader becomes the bottleneck and the team stops learning. The person closest to the problem almost always has information you don't, so a coach's job is to pull the answer out, not hand it over.

In this episode:
- Why the habits that got you promoted can stall you as a leader
- The leader as bottleneck: all thinking flowing through one brain
- Kent's "delegate to develop," not just to get it done
- What Toyota taught Rick about leaders who are "forbidden" from handing over the answer
- Sam's prototypes: do nothing, go extreme, then build in between
- Growth mindset, "we've done that," and the expert's blind spot
- A championship team vs. a team of champions
- Practising in the CLEAR AI Supercoach "practice gym"

Try this in your next 1:1:
1. Ask before you answer: "What do you think?"
2. Prototype: do nothing, go extreme, then build options in between
3. Get a commitment: which prototype will you try, and when will you report back?

"An ordinary leader is the best problem-solver on the team. A great coach builds a team of problem-solvers." - Rick Timlick

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:53 Welcome & Card 46: Coaching Solves Problems
2:57 Trade your cape for better questions
5:17 The leader as bottleneck
6:35 Delegate to develop
8:09 Lessons from Toyota
9:10 Don't give advice, offer prototypes
13:46 "We've done that" and the expert's blind spot
15:13 Growth mindset
18:54 Ranking prototypes & aha moments
21:37 Lowering the threat response
23:41 Nurses & the closure gap
26:20 A championship team vs. a team of champions
29:47 The AI Supercoach as a practice gym
31:46 Landing the plane
33:24 Toyota's Ontario plant & wrap-up

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h8XjHr0eLuI
Watch the clip: https://youtube.com/shorts/Q813dJ64el8

About CLEAR Performance Coaching: We help ordinary leaders become great coaches who create extraordinary results. https://www.clearperformancecoaching.com

Hosts: Rick Timlick, Sam Bracken & Kent Vaughn

Got promoted because you were great at solving problems? It's time to trade in your cape for better questions.

A 1-minute clip from Episode 20 with Rick Timlick, Sam Bracken and Kent Vaughn on the Quick Start card Coaching Solves Problems (Card 46): why leaders who solve everything become the bottleneck, and how coaching builds a team that solves its own problems.

▶ Watch the clip on YouTube: https://youtube.com/shorts/Q813dJ64el8
Full episode coming Thursday.

About CLEAR Performance Coaching: We help ordinary leaders become great coaches who create extraordinary results.
https://www.clearperformancecoaching.com

“I don’t have time to coach.” What if 60 seconds, done consistently, beats an hour?

In Episode 19, Rick Timlick, Sam Bracken and Kent Vaughn take on the Quick Start card Coach in the Gaps (Card 45). The hour you think coaching requires was never the requirement. Short, consistent moments in the gaps you already have build trust, keep you connected to the work, and avoid the anxiety a rare one-on-one can create.

In this episode:
- What “I don’t have time to coach” is really telling you
- Kent’s toothbrush story: a little, done consistently
- What people assume when the leader stops showing up
- Sam’s 60-second coaching moment
- Correcting something egregious with a coaching mindset
- The three watch-outs on Card 45: correct in private, be open to feedback, be loyal to people’s strengths
- The “oh crap” leader vs. the “oh yeah” leader

Sam’s 60-second coaching moment:
1. What would winning look like for you today?
2. What obstacles are you facing?
3. What are you going to do about it?
4. How can I support you?

Your two-week assignment: attach one question to one anchor in your day: “What’s the trickiest part of your day right now?”

“A little done consistently is a lot better than a lot done very infrequently.” - Kent Vaughn

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:53 Welcome & Card 45: “I don’t have time”
2:47 Kent’s toothbrush story
5:54 What “I don’t have time” really means
7:36 The plant-floor walk that stopped
10:02 What a 60-second coaching moment looks like
15:00 Sliding under the threat response
17:32 When you see something egregious
22:51 The three watch-outs on Card 45
27:08 The worst version: the “oh crap” leader
32:31 Your two-week assignment

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/LNouSVJwDTY
Watch the clip: https://youtube.com/shorts/d6T5cExDE1Y

About CLEAR Performance Coaching:
We help ordinary leaders become great coaches who create extraordinary results.
https://www.clearperformancecoaching.com

Hosts: Rick Timlick, Sam Bracken & Kent Vaughn

"I don't have time to coach." What if 60 seconds, done consistently, beats an hour?

A 1-minute clip from Episode 19 with Rick Timlick, Sam Bracken and Kent Vaughn on the Quick Start card Coach in the Gaps (Card 45): the short questions you can ask between meetings, and why the little moments are the ones people remember.

▶ Watch the clip on YouTube: https://youtube.com/shorts/d6T5cExDE1Y
Full episode coming Thursday.

About CLEAR Performance Coaching: We help ordinary leaders become great coaches who create extraordinary results.
https://www.clearperformancecoaching.com

Ask instead of answer. The one move every great coach makes.

In Episode 18, Rick Timlick, Sam Bracken and Kent Vaughn start the Quick Start series with Be Curious. Curiosity over telling is the core move of CLEAR coaching. When you ask instead of answer, you hand the thinking and the ownership back to the person you're coaching. The habit that got you promoted (having the answers) is the habit that caps your team's growth.

In this episode:

• Why curiosity over telling is the core move of CLEAR coaching
• Understand before you act: listen to understand, not to respond
• Helping vs. rescuing, and why giving the answer backfires
• Listening with all your senses (and Sam's "Words can't express my joy")
• The neuroscience: telling triggers a status threat; asking creates a status reward
• Sam's 5 curiosity questions you can use in your next conversation

Sam's Curiosity "Cheat Code" (try these in order):

1. How's it going?
2. What's up?
3. Tell me more.
4. Help me understand.
5. Is there anything else?

Then close with: "What are you going to do about it?"

"Curiosity over telling is the core move of CLEAR coaching. When you ask, you hand the thinking and the ownership back to the person you're coaching." (Rick Timlick)

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:53 Welcome & intros
1:10 The Quick Start cards: Be Curious
2:02 Curiosity over telling: the core move of CLEAR coaching
2:30 Understand before you act
4:13 Deming's 12-foot rule & why experts stop being curious
6:27 Curiosity under stress, and how it rewires the brain
8:01 Why you shouldn't give the answer (even when you know it)
10:25 Helping vs. rescuing
12:17 Listen with all your senses: "Words can't express my joy"
14:20 The $250,000 smoke break: curiosity in action
16:12 Best idea wins: separating ego from facts
17:25 Be present: put the phone away
19:37 Practicing curiosity with Super Coach
21:02 The neuroscience: status threat vs. status reward
23:30 "So I think what you're telling me is..."
26:12 Sam's 5 curiosity questions
27:51 "What are you going to do about it?"
28:55 Watch-out: leading questions & authenticity
30:53 Wrap-up & key takeaways
32:42 One question, one pause

▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aZKrj_AwcV0
▶ Watch the clip: https://youtube.com/shorts/9wrzqYCadYU

About CLEAR Performance Coaching: We help ordinary leaders become great coaches who create extraordinary results.
https://www.clearperformancecoaching.com

Hosts: Rick Timlick, Sam Bracken & Kent Vaughn

Ask instead of answer. The one move every great coach makes.

A 1-minute clip from Episode 18 with Rick Timlick, Sam Bracken and Kent Vaughn on the Quick Start card Be Curious: when you ask instead of answer, you hand the thinking and the ownership back to the person you're coaching.

▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/aZKrj_AwcV0

About CLEAR Performance Coaching: We help ordinary leaders become great coaches who create extraordinary results.
https://www.clearperformancecoaching.com

Meet the hosts: 

🎙️ Sam Bracken | Co-Founder and Author
Sam brings a coaching-first approach to performance improvement, combining extensive experience in behavioral change with deep expertise in organizational dynamics.

🎙️ Rick Timlick | Co-Founder
Rick specializes in translating coaching principles into practical, implementable frameworks that drive immediate organizational impact.

🎙️ Kent Vaughn | Co-Founder
Kent focuses on leadership and team dynamics, helping organizations build commitment around behavioral change initiatives.

GET PEOPLE UNSTUCK | The Stuck State — CLEAR Performance Coaching Podcast #15

Are you standing in your own way?

In this episode, the co-founders of CLEAR Performance Coaching — Sam Bracken, Rick Timlick, and Kent Vaughn — break down what happens when people get stuck and how coaches can help them find their way out.

We dig into Card 41 of the CLEAR coaching system: The Stuck State. You'll learn the five questions that cut through blame and get to the real barriers holding people back — from circumstances and systems to thinking and self-esteem.

In this episode:

- The breakthrough funnel: how to move someone from stuck to clarity
- Why the first obstacle someone tells you is rarely the real one
- "We judge others by their actions and ourselves by our intent" — and - - why that keeps you stuck
- Anson Dorrance's 21 national championships and what he knew about accountability that most leaders miss
- The Mercedes-Benz leader who discovered she was the barrier
- How Dolly Parton turned a personal crisis into "Jolene" — the power of reframing
- Three watch outs: don't get paralyzed, use challenges as stepping stones, reframe to ignite hope
- Why letting people "gripe it out" before problem-solving actually works
- The coaching secret: stop giving advice and start asking better questions
- "A problem well-defined is half solved" — what that really means in practice

Key takeaway: When someone brings you a blocker, don't fix it right away and don't accept it. Ask one more question. The first obstacle is usually the story they're telling themselves — the third one is probably the truth.

Next episode: Breakthroughs — how to help people move from stuck to action.

Upcoming Events:
Tue  Sep 29    Podcast #16 1-min clip
Thu  Oct 1       Podcast #16 Full version
Thu  Oct 1 Workshop   8:30 AM – 12:45 PM  (Mountain Time) 
Wed Oct 14 Webinar      12:00 – 1:00 PM          (Mountain Time)         
Thu  Nov 5 Workshop   8:30 AM – 12:45 PM  (Mountain Time) 
*Contact [email protected] for details*

Meet the hosts:

🎙️ Sam Bracken | Co-Founder and Author
Sam brings a coaching-first approach to performance improvement, combining extensive experience in behavioral change with deep expertise in organizational dynamics.

🎙️ Rick Timlick | Co-Founder
Rick specializes in translating coaching principles into practical, implementable frameworks that drive immediate organizational impact.

🎙️ Kent Vaughn | Co-Founder
Kent focuses on leadership and team dynamics, helping organizations build commitment around behavioral change initiatives.

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