This week, we are joined by a powerhouse of a life coach, university lecturer, public speaker, and author, Lauren Handel Zander. Lauren has over 20 years’ experience of challenging people to tell the truth, change their habits and really “cut the crap” in their life. She talks about the steps in her life that led her to found the Handel Group, an International Corporate Consulting and Life Coaching Company, that employs her no-nonsense and practical approach, the Handel Method. Her coaching methodology is not for the faint of heart and is sought out in over 35 universities and institutes of learning around the world including MIT, Stanford, and NYU.

Lauren practices what she preaches, and shares the way she takes the principles of her book, Maybe It’s You: Cut the Crap. Face Your Fears. Love Your Life, and uses them in her work with CEOs, teams, and organizations. 

Key Takeaways:

[2:23] Lauren brings her whole self to work and life and encourages others to be transparent, and act in a way where what you see is what you actually get.

[5:33] Lauren’s job at the United Nations showed her she cared about the environment but felt like an imposter working in a situation that wasn’t a definite “yes” to her. She traveled instead down the self-help path and shares the journey of how she stepped out on her own and worked hard to get 40 clients out of the gate.

[12:46] Both Lauren and I agree that education could have an even larger impact by adding more in the realm of teaching young people how to eat healthy, interpersonal human communication skills, and just generally be a capable and responsible human.

[14:24] Lauren’s class at Stanford, and pretty much any work she does, is for people that are truly ready to disrupt, change, or face everything in their lives.

[16:25] When we lie and bury our secrets, we are actually keeping it stuck in our lineage for generations to come. Issues are handed down, and we must do things differently to change the patterns of our past, present, and future.

[25:34] Lauren starts from the top down when working with a corporate team. She teaches the whole culture how to have difficult conversations, sniffs out who no longer should be at the job, and cleans up toxic relationships so the company can function as a connected unit.

[32:25] Lauren mixes up the voice and tone of her company by employing 30 other coaches besides herself. Depending on the type of person a company or individual clicks with best, she most likely has a coach that fits it.

[35:02] There is pride in owning your secrets. It is erroneous to think that our hidden secrets will go unnoticed, as they almost always have a vice attached to them.

[40:46] Our political climate now is a prime example of needing to tell the truth and deal with the reality of what is actually happening in our life.

[43:41] Whether it’s our weight, debt, relationship or something in our jobs, we must tell the truth and face it for what it is. Then, the real progress and growth come.

Resources:

Purchase Bring Your Whole Self to Work and gain access to bonus material.

Mike Robbins Website

Mike Robbins Podcast

Mike Robbins on Facebook

Mike Robbins on Twitter

Mike Robbins on Instagram

The Handel Group

Maybe it’s You: Cut the Crap. Face Your Fears. Love Your Life, by Lauren Handel Zander

Lauren Handel Zander at Stanford

InnerU (Use the promo code WHOLESELF75 for a $75 discount)

The Current Reality Quiz (Free coaching tool from Lauren Handel Zander)