STaR Coach Show

What if your client’s resistance isn’t something to overcome—but valuable information about what they need in order to move forward?

As coaches, it can be frustrating when a client says they want change, then suddenly pulls back just as real transformation is within reach. In today’s conversation, Meg sits down with Travis Hahler, author of Rethink Resistance: Embracing Neuroscience to Lead Transformational Change, to explore what is really happening beneath that resistance. Instead of pushing harder, Travis encourages coaches to get curious.

Drawing on neuroscience and more than 15 years of guiding organizations through change, Travis explains six neurological barriers that can cause people to resist—even when they genuinely want the outcome on the other side. You’ll learn why high performers can be especially resistant to change, why every change involves some form of loss, and how curiosity, empathy, inclusion, transparency, and trust can help clients move forward.

Most importantly, Travis gives coaches a new lens for those moments when a client seems stuck: Rather than asking, “Why won’t they do this?” begin asking, “What is this resistance trying to tell me?”

About Travis Hahler

Travis Hahler is the author of Rethink Resistance: Embracing Neuroscience to Lead Transformational Change. His unique background includes conducting EEG research in Denmark, studying neuropsychology at Harvard, earning an MBA, and leading transformational work with major organizations including Google and Salesforce.

Over the past 15 years, Travis has guided more than 100 companies through change efforts, earning him the nickname “The Resistance Fortune Teller” for his ability to identify where transformation is likely to stall. His work reframes resistance not as a problem to eliminate, but as information that helps leaders and coaches better understand what people need to navigate change successfully.

Show Highlights:

• Why fighting resistance can create an “us versus them” dynamic—and why curiosity is a more effective response
• How coaches can avoid taking a client’s resistance personally or allowing their own ego to enter the coaching conversation
• The connection between curiosity, understanding, empathy, and meaningful change
• Why even positive, desired change involves loss—and why acknowledging that loss matters
• Why high performers may experience more resistance to change because their established routines have contributed to their success
• The importance of allowing time for learning, practice, integration, and rest when developing new behaviors
• The difference between natural resistance and intentionally choosing to resist change
• Travis’s six neurological barriers to change and how they can help coaches identify what may be keeping a client stuck
• How routines, energy demands, exclusion, ambiguity, anxiety, and loss can influence a person’s ability to move forward
• Why inclusion and opportunities for feedback can reduce resistance and create greater ownership
• How frequent, transparent communication helps reduce ambiguity and build trust
• Why anxiety and overwhelm can make change especially difficult—and how modeling can help people see that change is safe
• How understanding an individual’s specific resistance triggers can strengthen connection, psychological safety, and organizational culture
• Why coaches should replace “Why aren’t you doing it?” with deeper, more curious questions that uncover what is happening beneath the resistance
• How Travis’s six-barrier framework can become a practical checklist when a client wants change but struggles to take action

A Key Takeaway for Coaches

Resistance doesn’t automatically mean that your client is unmotivated, unwilling, or not ready for coaching. It may be a signal that a routine feels safer, the learning curve is consuming too much energy, the client feels excluded, the path ahead is too ambiguous, anxiety is taking over, or the change represents a loss they haven’t yet acknowledged.

Rather than pushing, parenting, or shaming a client into action, get curious. Identifying the barrier beneath the resistance can open the door to deeper questions that help your client move forward.

Resources:

Connect with Travis Hahler:

Visit Travis Hahler’s website

Connect with Travis Hahler on LinkedIn

Learn more about Rethink Resistance: Embracing Neuroscience to Lead Transformational Change

Connect with Meg:

Explore our mentor program! Now enrolling for Fall 2026! Click here for more information!

Learn more about the STaR Coach Community. We would love for you to join us!

Explore past episodes and other resources at www.STaRcoachshow.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

From Secret to Sensation Free Masterclass

Are you a talented coach who still feels like the best-kept secret in the room? Join Meg Rentschler for her free live masterclass, From Secret to Sensation. In just 60 minutes, you’ll discover why great coaches can struggle to grow their businesses, how to create messaging that attracts the right people, and why trying to do it all alone may be keeping you stuck.

If you’ve spent months building the curiosity muscle, how do you answer when asked, “So, what do you do?” The quiet skills that make you a great coach can work against you when it comes to marketing. Meg Rentschler shares a candid confession about her early years as a coach, when she found herself rambling, hedging, and accidentally coaching people at dinner parties. She introduces the “two rooms” of a coaching career and explains the main struggle that new coaches face. You’ll discover that what looks like a confidence problem is usually a clarity problem, and you’ll learn a doable exercise to use right now. Join us!

Show Highlights:

• Meg’s confession about her early years of coaching
• What successful marketing requires
• The two rooms: your coaching room and your marketing room (We can’t bring “room-one” furniture into “room-two.”)
• Building the curiosity muscle can seem like more of a struggle than building the business-building muscle.
• What I KNOW to be true about business building
• It’s NOT a confidence problem; it’s a clarity problem! (The wrong skillset in the wrong room makes it seem like we aren’t “cut out” for this profession.)
• One small, doable step to take right now: Try this exercise. Finish this sentence: “Here’s something I know to be true about the people I work with . . .” (State the belief plainly, without “coach speak.”)
• The facts: Curiosity makes a better leader than expertise. Presence beats performance, every time.
• Your assignment from Meg: Pick one belief you know to be true about the people you serve, say it aloud, and write it down. Say it once publicly this week in some capacity.

Resources:

Links mentioned in this episode:

“What’s Your Value Proposition?” https://www.starcoachshow.com/336

Moira Lethbridge’s interview in Episode 509 - https://www.starcoachshow.com/509

Connect with Meg

Learn more about the STaR Coach Community. We would love for you to join us!

Explore past episodes and other resources at www.STaRcoachshow.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

From Secret to Sensation Free Masterclass

Are you a talented coach who still feels like the best-kept secret in the room? Join Meg Rentschler for her free live masterclass, From Secret to Sensation. In just 60 minutes, you’ll discover why great coaches can struggle to grow their businesses, how to create messaging that attracts the right people, and why trying to do it all alone may be keeping you stuck.

Today’s guest shares his journey into “fixer” coaching, which later developed into ICF-style curiosity-based coaching. This switch transformed his approach and the performance of Team USA’s Olympic swim coaches as he prepares them for the highest levels of international competition. Our conversation moves from the mechanics of high performance under pressure to the vulnerability of unlearning the “I know what you don’t know” mentality. We land on a message every coach, sports or otherwise, needs to hear: knowing yourself is the prerequisite to building a high-performing team around you. This is a rich conversation about ego, identity, and staying curious, even when you are the most accomplished person in the room. Join us!

Brendan Hansen is a six-time USA Olympic medalist and 2008 gold medalist in Beijing. This highly decorated competitive swimmer has transitioned into a new career as an executive/leadership coach. Since retiring from competitive swimming at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Brendan has worked with startups, long-standing businesses, and nonprofit organizations. He currently serves as Director of the National Junior Team at USA Swimming, developing the pipeline of athletes and coaches to compete in the 2028 and 2032 Olympics.

Show Highlights:

• Brendan’s journey: from being a competitive swimmer with Olympic gold medal success to a leadership coach
• Brendan’s biggest lesson learned from his journey: “Being comfortable is the worst drug on the planet.”
• “Coaching” in the swimming world is very different from what Brendan does today because he was accustomed to being the “fixer.” (Let go of your “fixer” mindset!)
• Shifting to a mindset that says, “I don’t have to know the answer.”
• The #1 question Brendan gets asked: “How do I create an environment for a high-performing team?”
• The key to creating a high-performing team is knowing who YOU are as a coach.
• Want to challenge yourself as a coach? Keep showing up in the spaces where you are NOT an expert.
• What’s next for Brendan?
• The power of the word WAIT (“Why Am I Talking?”)
• The value in keeping a curious mindset

Resources:

Connect with Brendan Hansen: Website

Connect with Meg:

Explore our mentor program! Now enrolling for Fall 2026! Click here for more information!

Learn more about the STaR Coach Community. We would love for you to join us!

Explore past episodes and other resources at www.STaRcoachshow.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Mentor Program

If you're working toward your ACC or PCC credential, or if it's time to recertify your ACC mentor, coaching isn't just a requirement on a checklist. It's one of the most transformative investments you can make in yourself and your coaching. I've taught or mentored over 2000 coaches, and I hear the same thing again and again. I came because I had to, and I am so glad that I did. Coaches tell me they walk away with renewed energy, deeper confidence and a community of peers who genuinely support each other. Here's what you need to know right now. Mentor coaching must span a minimum of three months, so the time to start is not when your credential is just about to expire. And if you complete your hours in 2026, you get ahead of the upcoming ICF changes, which means peace of mind along with skill development. My fall cohort is already filling up. Every group is capped at ten.

Today’s episode explores a backdoor path to visibility that most coaches overlook. We explore backlinks, guest blogging, and directory listings as low-lift ways to build credibility and domain authority. Our expert guest, a self-styled “joyologist,” helps us reframe the core purpose of marketing: coaches aren’t pitching themselves; they are pitching the coaching profession. Ready to build your “constellation” with a fresh marketing mindset? Join us to learn more!

Christine Kutnick, PCC, is a speaker and certified professional coach focused on joy. She founded Coach LinkUp, an ecosystem that connects people to values-driven coaches. Before becoming a coach, she spent over 25 years in nonprofit leadership, fighting for equity in education and healthcare. After years of pouring everything into work and parenting, she realized she had lost sight of herself. With her youngest child off to college and a suitcase packed for Europe, Christine and her husband quit their careers and set off on a journey–one that led her back to a forgotten mission statement: To be a “change agent for joy, harmony, and inner peace.” Today, she helps others reconnect with that same spark. Christine now works with clients, aka “Joyriders,” who are navigating midlife reinvention, career change, and burnout. Her approach is both playful and profound, helping people ditch the stuckness and step into joy. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and is the proud mom of two bold, thriving adult kids.

Show Highlights:

● Christine’s big leap: a massive career transformation (for her husband, too!)

● Turning a personal tragedy into a new mission and purpose

● The journey to create Coach LinkUp

● Helping coaches who feel like marketing takes ALL their time and energy

● A mission to educate the public about coaching and what it offers

● What Coach LinkUp can offer to invite people into the world of coaching

● Being messy and authentic makes you relatable.

● Maximizing a website or social media platform by using backlinks (Think “constellation.”)

● Christine’s best tips for getting started in establishing backlinks: guest blogs, client referrals, get listed on directories, link to prior content in your profile, etc.

● Change your mindset around marketing.

Resources:

Connect with Christine Kutnick: Website, Website for Coaches, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Christine’s FREE Giveaway.

Connect with Meg:

Explore our mentor program! Now enrolling for Fall 2026! Click here for more information!

Learn more about the STaR Coach Community. We would love for you to join us!

Explore past episodes and other resources at www.STaRcoachshow.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Mentor Program

If you're working toward your ACC or PCC credential, or if it's time to recertify your ACC mentor, coaching isn't just a requirement on a checklist. It's one of the most transformative investments you can make in yourself and your coaching. I've taught or mentored over 2000 coaches, and I hear the same thing again and again. I came because I had to, and I am so glad that I did. Coaches tell me they walk away with renewed energy, deeper confidence and a community of peers who genuinely support each other. Here's what you need to know right now. Mentor coaching must span a minimum of three months, so the time to start is not when your credential is just about to expire. And if you complete your hours in 2026, you get ahead of the upcoming ICF changes, which means peace of mind along with skill development. My fall cohort is already filling up. Every group is capped at ten.

Today’s guest has focused her life’s work on closing the leadership gap for women. She spent years as a CEO in the corporate world, always trying to make herself fade into the background instead of letting herself shine. She shares what it took to overcome a multitude of limiting beliefs and how she finally realized that her methodology works—100% of the time. She shares a real-client example of applying her approach to flip the script and reap the results. You’ll also learn how she turned client testimonials into a mantra that keeps her going, even when life gets challenging. Join us to learn more!

Moira Lethbridge is a speaker, executive and leadership coach, and the creator of The Female Advantage, a unique leadership approach. She is the author of Savvy Woman: Make Time for a Life That Matters and The Gift of Receiving. Moira serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Richmond and is the principal and owner of Lethbridge & Associates. As a former president and CEO, she draws on 25 years of organizational experience and success to help individuals and companies boost productivity and improve performance. She works with business owners, executives, and individuals to help them grow their business, do more of what they enjoy, and balance health, well-being, and achievement.

Show Highlights:

• Moira’s experience: Being a stuck CEO who learned that the same behaviors (from men and women) result in very different outcomes.
• Listening to “the voice in the room” and learning that “to be successful, I had to be less.”
• Developing The Female Advantage
• Turning client testimonials into a useful mantra
• Finding the courage to “claim your lane”
• Moira’s revolutionary discovery: “My framework works 100% of the time.”
• It’s okay for revenue numbers to confirm and validate the work you do.
• Moira’s advice to leaders about having and showing courage
• What’s next? Moira shares her exciting next steps.
• Moira’s key takeaway for leaders: “You are magnificent.”

Resources:

Connect with Moira Lethbridge: Website, LinkedIn, and Stuck or Overextended? Resource

Connect with Meg:

Explore our mentor program! Now enrolling for Fall 2026! Click here for more information!

Learn more about the STaR Coach Community. We would love for you to join us!

Explore past episodes and other resources at www.STaRcoachshow.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Mentor Program

If you're working toward your ACC or PCC credential, or if it's time to recertify your ACC mentor, coaching isn't just a requirement on a checklist. It's one of the most transformative investments you can make in yourself and your coaching. I've taught or mentored over 2000 coaches, and I hear the same thing again and again. I came because I had to, and I am so glad that I did. Coaches tell me they walk away with renewed energy, deeper confidence and a community of peers who genuinely support each other. Here's what you need to know right now. Mentor coaching must span a minimum of three months, so the time to start is not when your credential is just about to expire. And if you complete your hours in 2026, you get ahead of the upcoming ICF changes, which means peace of mind along with skill development. My fall cohort is already filling up. Every group is capped at ten.

What guidelines should coaches follow in using (and not using) AI? AI is here to stay, and we have to adjust. Coaches who niche down to one specialty become replaceable, while those who bring their full constellation of experience become irreplaceable. In this episode, you’ll learn three waves of AI use for coaches, along with the practical AI tools she has created to perform specific tasks on her team. You’ll learn about the new app that came from her personal history of childhood trafficking and coercive control. Join us to learn more!

Dr. Lisa Turner is the founder of CET Freedom and the creator of a suite of AI tools that help coaches and practitioners make the invisible visible. A Ph.D. engineer in mathematical modeling who transitioned into a consciousness and transformation specialist, she has spent over 20 years training coaches and practitioners. She builds AI that augments their work rather than replacing it. Her TEDx talk, "How AI Can Free Us From Invisible Control,” grew out of her experience of coercive control and her conviction that there is always an algorithm underneath human patterns, if you know how to find it. Known as the “Rational Mystic” for bridging engineering precision and deep inner work, she was recently named number 10 in TechRound’s Top 50 Women in Tech and Startups. As the author of five books, she helps coaches hear what their clients aren’t saying and shows clients the patterns they can’t yet see for themselves.

Show Highlights:

• Understanding the “Venn Diagram of You” (There may not be another person with the same “circles” of expertise as you. You are irreplaceable. Don’t niche down; niche OUT.)
• The big question: “Do your clients think they can replace you, their coach, with AI?”
• The 3 waves of AI: content creation, agentic AI, and pattern-revealing AI
• How coaches can use AI tools to better the client experience.
• The difference between “made by AI” and “made with AI”
• Try Lisa’s tool, BeliefScan, for free analysis of your sales conversations. (See Resources.)
• “Sometimes, what looks like an affordability issue is really a worthiness issue.”
• An overview of agentic AI in action: Lisa’s custom AI tools that serve as Lisa’s 14 team members
• Patterns: They are almost impossible to see from within; we have to step out to see them.
• Four core components of every powerful change: linguistic, somatic, energetic, and trans-personal (another YOU in the future)
• Lisa’s new app, Validate, identifies coercive behavior. She needs your help!

Resources:

Connect with Dr. Lisa Turner: Website and a FREE gift, the BeliefScan (Use discount code FREEBELIEF for a 100% discount!)

Connect with Meg:

Explore our mentor program! Now enrolling for Fall 2026! Click here for more information!

Learn more about the STaR Coach Community. We would love for you to join us!

Explore past episodes and other resources at www.STaRcoachshow.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Mentor Program

If you're working toward your ACC or PCC credential, or if it's time to recertify your ACC mentor, coaching isn't just a requirement on a checklist. It's one of the most transformative investments you can make in yourself and your coaching. I've taught or mentored over 2000 coaches, and I hear the same thing again and again. I came because I had to, and I am so glad that I did. Coaches tell me they walk away with renewed energy, deeper confidence and a community of peers who genuinely support each other. Here's what you need to know right now. Mentor coaching must span a minimum of three months, so the time to start is not when your credential is just about to expire. And if you complete your hours in 2026, you get ahead of the upcoming ICF changes, which means peace of mind along with skill development. My fall cohort is already filling up. Every group is capped at ten.

Today, host Meg Rentschler dives into the idea of “the thing beneath the thing,” those deeper beliefs and stories that are really driving our clients’ surface-level issues. Meg talks about some common traps coaches can fall into, like jumping too quickly into action steps, assuming “I don’t know” means a client is being resistant, or relying too much on spotting patterns. She also shares some down-to-earth tips for slowing things down, asking questions that are easier for clients to answer, and staying genuinely curious. Tune in to hear Meg’s main point about real, lasting change for clients not coming from just fixing the problems they bring to the table, and helping them discover and explore the stories and beliefs that are really at play underneath it all.

Show Highlights:

• What I mean by “the thing beneath the thing”: The belief or self-story generating why the problem feels the way it does
• Content vs. meaning-making (“Depth before Doing”)
• The trap of moving to action too fast (It produces compliance, not durable change.)
• Reasons coaches rush to action
• “I don’t know” is rarely a dead end.
• Meet “Dana,” a hypothetical client (the key is to meet her where she is).
• Six practical moves for going deeper and expanding the lens: Ask about the story, ask what it means about them, name the energy shift, ask where the belief came from, slow down what they try to skip past, and resist the urge to solve too soon.
• Focus on belief and pattern work, not clinical trauma processing.
• The curiosity muscle vs. the knowing muscle framework

Resources:

Connect with Meg

Explore our mentor program! Now enrolling for Fall 2026! Click here for more information!

Learn more about the STaR Coach Community. We would love for you to join us!

Explore past episodes and other resources at www.STaRcoachshow.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Mentor Program

If you're working toward your ACC or PCC credential, or if it's time to recertify your ACC mentor, coaching isn't just a requirement on a checklist. It's one of the most transformative investments you can make in yourself and your coaching. I've taught or mentored over 2000 coaches, and I hear the same thing again and again. I came because I had to, and I am so glad that I did. Coaches tell me they walk away with renewed energy, deeper confidence and a community of peers who genuinely support each other. Here's what you need to know right now. Mentor coaching must span a minimum of three months, so the time to start is not when your credential is just about to expire. And if you complete your hours in 2026, you get ahead of the upcoming ICF changes, which means peace of mind along with skill development. My fall cohort is already filling up. Every group is capped at ten.

The biggest changes in decades are coming to mentor coaching. Today’s show walks you through the research behind the new Mentor Coaching Competencies, explains the brand-new Mentor Coach Specialization (MCS) credential, and lays out exactly what mentors and mentees need to do before the January 1, 2027 deadline. We also discuss the bigger shift coming in April 2027, when the portfolio path performance evaluation is retired in favor of documented mentor coaching. If you’re feeling “change anxiety” about these new guidelines, join us for today’s conversation!

Carrie Abner is the VP of ICF Credentials and Standards and a Certified Association Executive (CAE) who has advanced professional associations at the local, state, national, and international levels. With a passion for bringing together diverse communities of practitioners through common purpose and voice, Carrie has more than two decades of experience in communications, domestic and foreign policy, and nonprofit management in her roles at the International Coaching Federation, The Council of State Governments, and the International Council for Voluntary Action.

Show Highlights:

• Maintaining the highest standards requires constant growth and change.
• Mentor coaching: What is it, and why is it important at every level?
• Mentor coaching is a requirement at the ACC level.
• Highlights of the upcoming changes–and the research data behind them
• What the new guidelines mean for mentor coaches and mentees in 2026 and 2027
• Understanding the new Mentor Coach Specialization (MCS) credential– and the two paths to achieve it
• Finding the courses you need (See Resources below for specific links.)
• Requirements for experienced mentor coaches
• Benefits of the new requirements: reduced application fees, faster review times, and the ability to match language/accessibility needs
• Key takeaways from Carrie
• An ideal breakdown of 10 hours of mentor coaching for mentors and mentees

Resources:

Mentor Coach Specialization (MCS) Application

Mentor Coaching Handbook

Introduction to Mentor Coach Specialization MCS

What Qualifies as Mentor Coaching Hours?

MCS Standard Sample Application

MCS Credit for Prior Learning Sample Application

Connect with Meg:

Explore our mentor program! Now enrolling for Fall 2026! Click here for more information!

Learn more about the STaR Coach Community. We would love for you to join us!

Explore past episodes and other resources at www.STaRcoachshow.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Mentor Program

If you're working toward your ACC or PCC credential, or if it's time to recertify your ACC mentor, coaching isn't just a requirement on a checklist. It's one of the most transformative investments you can make in yourself and your coaching. I've taught or mentored over 2000 coaches, and I hear the same thing again and again. I came because I had to, and I am so glad that I did. Coaches tell me they walk away with renewed energy, deeper confidence and a community of peers who genuinely support each other. Here's what you need to know right now. Mentor coaching must span a minimum of three months, so the time to start is not when your credential is just about to expire. And if you complete your hours in 2026, you get ahead of the upcoming ICF changes, which means peace of mind along with skill development. My fall cohort is already filling up. Every group is capped at ten.

What is your top leadership challenge? A recent informal study gathered data from 23,000 HR professionals, and they identified difficult conversations and feedback as their top leadership challenge. Today’s guest walks us through each of the 5 C’s of difficult conversations. Join us to learn how to ready your mindset for difficult conversations so you can thrive as a coach and leader!

Maren Perry is the founder and CEO of Arden Coaching, a B2B leadership development firm she started in New York in 2007, when coaching was a largely unknown field. Today, Arden is a national firm of 40-plus Professional and Master Certified Coaches serving CHROs, VPs of HR, and directors of leadership and development at mid-market organizations across engineering, construction, finance, healthcare, and tech. Some of their clients include Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Mars/Wrigley, ZipRecruiter, BetMGM, and JLL. With a background in cognitive science and thousands of coaching hours at the senior executive level, Maren and her team specialize in developing technically brilliant people into leaders who build high-performing teams.

Show Highlights:

• Maren’s journey to clarity about the real problem in having difficult conversations for HR professionals
• The truth: People are desperate for feedback. (and it’s kind to offer feedback!)
• The 5 C’s to prepare for difficult conversations:
• Courage–Have difficult conversations, even when you are fearful about it.
• Clear–Clear yourself of stories (that might be true or untrue) and emotions first.
• Collaborative–This mindset is to “sit on the same side of the table.”
• Certain–Go into the conversation with clarity and certainty, not stubbornness.
• Curious–Curiosity is key for coaches and leaders; leave space to be wrong.
• Transformations in using the 5 C’s framework
• A key takeaway from Maren: “Practice the 5 C’s of difficult conversations. No one gets better without practicing.”

Resources:

Connect with Maren Perry: Website and LinkedIn

Connect with Meg:

Explore our mentor program! Now enrolling for Fall 2026! Click here for more information!

Learn more about the STaR Coach Community. We would love for you to join us!

Explore past episodes and other resources at www.STaRcoachshow.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Mentor Program

If you're working toward your ACC or PCC credential, or if it's time to recertify your ACC mentor, coaching isn't just a requirement on a checklist. It's one of the most transformative investments you can make in yourself and your coaching. I've taught or mentored over 2000 coaches, and I hear the same thing again and again. I came because I had to, and I am so glad that I did. Coaches tell me they walk away with renewed energy, deeper confidence and a community of peers who genuinely support each other. Here's what you need to know right now. Mentor coaching must span a minimum of three months, so the time to start is not when your credential is just about to expire. And if you complete your hours in 2026, you get ahead of the upcoming ICF changes, which means peace of mind along with skill development. My fall cohort is already filling up. Every group is capped at ten.

Metaphors matter and, whether intentional or not, they exist in every coaching conversation. The metaphorical images we use have a strong impact on our clients’ brains, and we need to understand the neuroscience behind this power. Today’s guest explains how we work with the client’s own metaphor rather than quietly replacing it with our own, and we explore a simple shift in language that can change how you think about the people you coach.

Lyssa deHart is an author, master coach trainer, YouTube educator, and host of The Coaching Studio Podcast. Her books include StoryJacking: Change Your Inner Dialogue, Transform Your Life, the Reflective Coach, Light Up: The Science of Coaching with Metaphors, and Sticky Outcomes! at the Intersection of Coaching, Neuroscience, & Lasting Impact. Lyssa is a recovering therapist, Confidence Coach, Certified Mentor Coach, Coaching SUPERVision Partner, ICF PCC Assessor, and coaching educator. She guides and empowers professional coaches to enhance their client outcomes through deep listening, client-led approaches, and fostering a partnership that empowers their clients. In all her work, she is committed to improving the coaching community by enhancing the quality and impact of the coach-client relationship.

Show Highlights:

• Using the client’s own metaphors to listen and make them feel heard
• Getting curious with directionality about metaphors in conversation
• Metaphors are idea containers–structures in language to describe an experience. (Metaphors are the language of people!)
• Guard against extraneous cognitive load unnecessarily in client conversations. (Don’t change the client’s language.)
• The neuroscience behind visual language
• Next steps for coaches who want to partner with clients in metaphorical language
• Resisting the urge to bring your own metaphor into the coaching conversation with “the thinker” (your client)
• Replacing “client/coachee” language with “thinker” and understanding the deeper meaning
• Lyssa’s key takeaway: “Start noticing metaphors in every conversation, and be curious about them.”

Resources:

Connect with Lyssa deHart: Website, LinkedIn, Learning Academy, YouTube, The Coaching Studio Podcast, StoryJacking: Change Your Inner Dialogue, Transform Your Life, the Reflective Coach, Light Up: The Science of Coaching with Metaphors, and Sticky Outcomes! at the Intersection of Coaching, Neuroscience, & Lasting Impact.

Connect with Meg:

Explore our mentor program! Now enrolling for Fall 2026! Click here for more information!

Learn more about the STaR Coach Community. We would love for you to join us!

Explore past episodes and other resources at www.STaRcoachshow.com.

Mentioned in this episode:

Mentor Program

If you're working toward your ACC or PCC credential, or if it's time to recertify your ACC mentor, coaching isn't just a requirement on a checklist. It's one of the most transformative investments you can make in yourself and your coaching. I've taught or mentored over 2000 coaches, and I hear the same thing again and again. I came because I had to, and I am so glad that I did. Coaches tell me they walk away with renewed energy, deeper confidence and a community of peers who genuinely support each other. Here's what you need to know right now. Mentor coaching must span a minimum of three months, so the time to start is not when your credential is just about to expire. And if you complete your hours in 2026, you get ahead of the upcoming ICF changes, which means peace of mind along with skill development. My fall cohort is already filling up. Every group is capped at ten.