Gallup 2025: engagement matters - how coaching helps

Last week we kicked off our new Coaching Café season by exploring what competent coaching looks like at the ACC level. This week, we’re taking it up a notch as we unpack PCC-level coaching—and what it truly means to coach at that next level.  ✨ What distinguishes a competent coach from a PCC coach? ✨ What does it sound like when you're coaching at the PCC level? ✨ What are the most common things that hold coaches back from reaching PCC standards?  Hosted by Paula Jones-Hunt, join us as Brigitte Calvert, Open Door’s Learning and Development Manager and long-time ICF assessor, shares her perspective from listening to and evaluating hundreds of coaching demonstrations at the PCC level.  This session will help you: ✔️ Understand the jump in depth and complexity expected at PCC ✔️ Recognise how mindset, presence and partnership evolve at this level ✔️ Identify your own development priorities if you're working toward PCC—or want to deepen your coaching  Whether you're actively preparing for your credential, mentoring other coaches, or simply want to elevate your coaching practice, this Coaching Café is packed with insights. Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast please leave us a 5 star review where ever you listened to us! It helps promote the podcast to streaming services and other listeners. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Check out the YouTube Video of this podcast. YouTube Email us at [email protected] Thanks for listening!

After focusing on how we coach others in the past series, we’re now turning the lens inward. In this new Coaching Café series, we shift the focus to our own coaching development - starting with a deep dive into the ACC level of competency. ✨ What does competent coaching look like, sound like, and feel like? ✨ What behaviours or practices might be deemed not yet competent under the ICF Core Competencies? ✨ Would your coaching be assessed as competent against international standards? This week, you’ll have the unique opportunity to learn from Open Door’s Learning and Development Manager, Brigitte Calvert. With over 20 years of experience as an ICF assessor, Brigitte brings expert insights from listening to and giving feedback on hundreds of coaching demonstrations. Along with insights from Paula Jones-Hunt, you’ll get clear, practical insights into what makes a coach competent - and what doesn’t. Whether you’re working toward your ACC or want to refine your coaching at any level, this session will help you: ✔️ Understand how coaching is assessed at ACC level ✔️ Recognise the difference between competent and not-yet-competent coaching ✔️ Identify a few key areas to focus your own development 🎯 Let’s start the new season by raising the bar for ourselves as coaches. Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast please leave us a 5 star review where ever you listened to us! It helps promote the podcast to streaming services and other listeners. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Check out the YouTube Video of this podcast. YouTube Email us at [email protected] Thanks for listening!

Over the past few weeks, we’ve focused our Coaching Café series on one of the most critical leadership and coaching opportunities: annual performance conversations. We’ve explored: ✔️ How performance conversations can build engagement ✔️ How coaching shifts under-performance ✔️ How to prepare better questions ✔️ How to coach through the tricky conversations ✔️ How strengths-based conversations can create a 36% uplift in performance Now it’s time to bring it all together. This Coaching Café is your chance to take stock, reflect, and finish strong. Whether you’ve already had your conversations, are still in the middle of them, or are preparing for future discussions - this session will help you refine your approach and apply the coaching mindset with confidence. Join Natalie and Paula as they share: 💬 Key takeaways from the Coaching Café series 💬 The biggest lessons for making performance conversations meaningful 💬 Practical coaching reminders you can apply year-round 💬 How coaching conversations are the key to building ongoing engagement and performance Let’s bring home performance season strong - and set your coaching conversations up for success all year long.Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast please leave us a 5 star review where ever you listened to us! It helps promote the podcast to streaming services and other listeners. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Check out the YouTube Video of this podcast. YouTube Email us at [email protected] Thanks for listening!

Recently, during a workshop, a manager said what many others are thinking: “It’s not all rainbows and lollipops. What if they are under performing? What do you do then?” The frustration was real, and it is common.  This was a manager doing their best to support an employee but unsure what else to try; and they needed more strategies, and wanted to understand how coaching might help.  With this in mind, we continue our focus on annual performance review season in this week’s Coaching Café Pocast.   So far, we’ve explored how these conversations can build engagement in the workplace; frameworks and tips to set up conversations for success; strengths-based conversations and the trickier conversations. This week, join Natalie and Paula as we explore one of the most challenging topics: how a coaching approach can shift under performance. You’ll walk away with: A coaching mindset/approach to address under performance constructively Strategies for reframing these conversations to build ownership Practical tools from Open Door you can use immediately Whether you’re designing performance conversations, coaching managers, or coaching an employee – you will benefit from learning how to coach around under performance. If you are a regular, you know the vibe and the great contribution that you make to our discussions; so we look forward to welcoming you back and offering you a value-packed 30 minutes each Tuesday. If you’ve not joined us for a Coaching Café Podcast, now is your opportunity to schedule this time for your professional and personal development.    In no time at all, you’ll be looking forward to Tuesdays, just like we all do! Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast please leave us a 5 star review where ever you listened to us! It helps promote the podcast to streaming services and other listeners. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Check out the YouTube Video of this podcast. YouTube Email us at [email protected] Thanks for listening!

We continue our focus on annual performance review season in this week’s Coaching Café Podcast and how these conversations can build engagement in the workplace. So far, we’ve shared frameworks and tips to set up conversations for success. Now it’s time to talk about the trickier conversations. A frustrated manager recently asked us: “What do you do about people who think they’re meeting expectations, but they aren’t? Or worse, they don’t have goals. They’re not engaged. They’re just working to retirement. You still have to write something on the form!” We hear this all the time and it’s exactly where coaching can help. This week, join Natalie and Paula as we explore how a coaching approach can shift even the most challenging performance conversations. You’ll walk away with: An understanding of how/why conversations become difficult Strategies for reframing these conversations A practical tool from Open Door you can use right away Whether you’re designing performance conversations, coaching managers, or facing your own review – you will benefit from learning how to coach through the difficult conversations. If you are a regular, you know the vibe and the great contribution that you make to our discussions; so we look forward to welcoming you back and offering you a value-packed 30 minutes each Tuesday. If you’ve not joined us for a Coaching Café Podcast, now is your opportunity to schedule this time for your professional and personal development.   In no time at all, you’ll be looking forward to Tuesdays, just like we all do! Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast please leave us a 5 star review where ever you listened to us! It helps promote the podcast to streaming services and other listeners. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Check out the YouTube Video of this podcast. YouTube Email us at [email protected] Thanks for listening!

Performance conversations aren’t just a HR requirement – they are an opportunity to drive real engagement. Research shows that when managers focus on strengths during performance conversations, it can lead to a 36.5% uplift in performance. That’s not all - engagement increases, productivity rises, and absenteeism drops. When we first came across this data years ago, we said, “Tell us more!” It was the beginning of our commitment to a strengths-based approach to coaching and one that has grown in relevance as we look at the low engagement scores across our workplaces. Today, workplaces are under pressure. People feel tired, under-valued, and stretched. But this is exactly where coaching makes the difference. Especially when it comes to the annual performance review. Therefore, join Natalie and Paula for our Coaching Café Podcast this week as we share: The power of strengths-based conversations How coaching shifts the tone of performance reviews Practical tools to help your team leave energised - not deflated And we turn performance reviews into a genuine engagement strategy. If you are a regular, you know the vibe and the great contribution that you make to our discussions; so we look forward to welcoming you back and offering you a value-packed 30 minutes each Tuesday.If you’ve not joined us for a Coaching Café, now is your opportunity to schedule this time for your professional and personal development.  .  In no time at all, you’ll be looking forward to Tuesday lunchtimes, just like we all do! Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast please leave us a 5 star review where ever you listened to us! It helps promote the podcast to streaming services and other listeners. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Check out the YouTube Video of this podcast. YouTube Email us at [email protected] Thanks for listening!

International Coach Week: Your chance to hear from an inspirational leader This year, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) marks its 30th anniversary – 30 years of inspiring change through coaching and setting the standards for our profession. It’s the perfect week to celebrate who we are as coaches – and to recognise the difference each of us makes as part of the Open Door Alumni. In terms of making a difference, this year we have the opportunity to learn from Hayley Goldsmith from who is currently serving as a Clinical Team Leader at Victoria Police. Join Natalie as she interviews Hayley on her remarkable career and how she has applied coaching in very different contexts, from ANZ Bank to her current role at Victoria Police.  Join us for the special presentation for International Coach Week. About Hayley  With over 22 years of professional experience and a decade specialising in leadership coaching, Hayley is passionate about empowering individuals and teams to reach their full potential.  Currently serving as a Clinical Team Leader at Victoria Police, Hayley brings a unique blend of leadership, coaching and clinical expertise to her work. Hayley is passionate about coaching, mental health support and initiatives and the well-being of others.   Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast please leave us a 5 star review where ever you listened to us! It helps promote the podcast to streaming services and other listeners. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Check out the YouTube Video of this podcast. YouTube Email us at [email protected] Thanks for listening!

Is the annual performance conversation season a chance to turn around engagement? Last week kicked off our new Coaching Café Podcast series by unpacking the newly released Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report for 2025.  But the headlines are hard to ignore: Is the global workplace at breaking point? Employee engagement on the brink (of collapse) Management engagement falls from 30% to 27% (no other worker category has experienced as significant decline). This round of Coaching Cafés Podcasts we are focusing on enabling effective performance conversations. Understandably, this might feel worrying for some managers, given low engagement scores.  However, we believe there is a real opportunity. If done right, the annual performance conversation season could be a chance for many managers to begin the turnaround of employee engagement.  Therefore, join Natalie and Paula as we explore: 💡 How to approach performance conversations as a catalyst for engagement 💡 Why traditional performance reviews often miss the mark 💡 Coaching strategies to make annual conversations more meaningful Let’s focus on enabling effective performance conversations …and see how coaching can make a difference.   If you are a regular, you know the vibe and the great contribution that you make to our discussions; so we look forward to welcoming you back and offering you a value-packed 30 minutes each Tuesday.If you’ve not joined us for a Coaching Café Podcast, now is your opportunity to schedule this time for your professional and personal development.  In no time at all, you’ll be looking forward to Tuesdays, just like we all do!  Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast please leave us a 5 star review where ever you listened to us! It helps promote the podcast to streaming services and other listeners. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Check out the YouTube Video of this podcast. YouTube Email us at [email protected] Thanks for listening!

The Gallup State of the Global Workplace 2025 report has just landed. Call us nerds, but we dropped everything to download it. Like many, we hoped to see improvements in global workplace engagement. After all, increasing engagement feels like a shared crusade among leaders, coaches, and organisations alike. Now join Natalie and Paula as they kick off a new series of Coaching Cafe Podcasts. This series will focus on enabling effective performance conversations - which may be a worrying time for some, given low engagement scores. But first let’s get a handle on the current state of our workforce in today's podcast. Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast please leave us a 5 star review where ever you listened to us! It helps promote the podcast to streaming services and other listeners. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Check out the YouTube Video of this podcast. YouTube Email us at [email protected] Thanks for listening!

This week Natalie reflects on ANZAC day. For those unfamiliar with the day, ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and the day commemorates the 25th of April 1915, the day the Anzac's landed in Gallipoli in the 1st world war. While the day was originally intended to honour the over 8,000 lives lost in the campaign, the day now honours all service people who have lost their lives to war. Lest we forget. Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the podcast please leave us a 5 star review where ever you listened to us! It helps promote the podcast to streaming services and other listeners. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Check out the YouTube Video of this podcast. YouTube Email us at [email protected] Thanks for listening!