the Coaching Studio with Guest Dr. Jeffrey Hull, BCC

You Don’t Have Free Will, You Have Free Won’t — with JJ KennedyJJ Kennedy’s path into neuroscience started with a near-fatal accident at twenty-nine and a strange piece of news from his neurosurgeon: the part of his brain that was affected meant he’d never get to have the mystical experience he’d always been drawn to. That clinical detail reshaped how he thinks about the brain, the mind, and what coaches are actually doing when they talk about “rewiring” a client’s thinking, and it’s the foundation for everything we get into in this conversation.In this episode:JJ’s accident, his recovery, and the conversation with his neurosurgeon that turned him into a scientistWhat a “Neuroplastician” actually is, and how it’s different from a coach who just uses neuroscience buzzwordsThe idea of “free won’t” — why we don’t choose what we want, only whether we act on itWhy most of what gets called “imposter syndrome” in coaching isn’t the clinical condition at allThe one question JJ thinks every practitioner should open a session withAbout JJ KennedyDr. Justin James (JJ) Kennedy is a professor of applied neuroscience and organizational behavior, a TEDx speaker, and the author of Brain Re-Boot: A Change of Mind Will Change Your Brain. He’s the co-founder of the Institute of Organizational Neuroscience and npnHub, communities built around applying neuroscience practically rather than theoretically, and he coined the term “Neuroplastician” to describe practitioners who use brain science as a working tool in coaching, education, and clinical practice rather than as jargon.LinksJJ's WebsiteNPN HubBOOK: Brain Reboot: A Change of Mind Will Change Your BrainFind JJ on LinkedInTo find the books that were recommended, please visit my website. Season 1-6Host: Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCCLet's Connect on LinkedInWebsite Lyssa deHartJoin the Monthly Coaches Q&A my treat! Producer: Michele LoganVideo Editor: Lyssa deHartSocial Media: Lizana GuillenMusic: Momentuum - Created with Eleven LabsSubscribe, Rate, & Follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Best Leaders Are Trying to Make Themselves Obsolete — with Jeffrey HullDr. Jeffrey Hull has spent thirty years studying what makes a leader effective, and his central finding cuts against how most of us are trained to think about power: the goal isn't to hold it, it's to give it away. In this conversation, Jeffrey traces that idea back to an unexpected discovery in his doctoral research, walks through the leadership shadow framework from his new book with Margaret Moore, and makes the case that strength and courage are not the same thing at all.In this episode:How a psychology dissertation on "healing communities" led Jeffrey into leadershipThe four-step framework for recognizing and working through leadership shadowsWhy strength and courage are different capacities, and why leaders need bothThe three levels of humility: intellectual, cultural, and ecologicalWhat AI means for the future of coaching and leadershipAbout Jeffrey Hull Dr. Jeffrey Hull is Executive Director of the Institute of Coaching, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, and a Clinical Instructor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of Shift and the best-selling Flex: The Art and Science of Leadership in a Changing World, and co-author, with Margaret Moore, of The Science of Leadership: Nine Ways to Expand Your Impact, winner of the 2025 Thinkers50 Award for Coaching and Mentoring.LinksFind Jeffrey at his websiteThe Institute of CoachingLinkedInBook: The Science of LeadershipBook: FlexBook: ShiftTo find the recommended books, please visit my website. Season 1-6Host: Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCCLet's Connect on LinkedInWebsite Lyssa deHartJoin the Monthly Coaches Q&A my treat! Producer: Michele LoganVideo Editor: Lyssa deHartSocial Media: Lizana GuillenMusic: Momentuum - Created with Eleven LabsSubscribe, Rate, & Follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Emotional Intelligence Doesn't Live in a Person, It Lives in a Team — with Dr. Vanessa DruskatDr. Vanessa Druskat has spent thirty years studying why some teams just work, while others, full of talented people, never quite come together. Her answer: you can put a room full of emotionally intelligent people together and still end up with a dysfunctional team, because emotional intelligence isn't a trait people carry in, it's a set of norms teams build together. In this episode, we talk about her Team Emotional Intelligence model, the $9.8 million performance gap between high- and average-performing teams, and why belonging has to be built collectively rather than found within.In this episode:Her Team Emotional Intelligence model, nine norms across three clustersWhy belonging, not friendship, is what actually drives performanceThe middle school bullying study that cut incidents by 30%, and what it means for teamsWhere AI fits on a team, and where it can't replace human collaborationAbout Dr. Vanessa Druskat Dr. Vanessa Druskat is an award-winning researcher and leading expert on team leadership, and a pioneer of the Team Emotional Intelligence (Team EI) model. She advises leaders and teams at organizations including Ferrari, Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, and Massachusetts General Hospital. She serves on the faculty of the University of New Hampshire's Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, and on the executive board of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. Her new book is The Emotionally Intelligent Team: Building Collaborative Groups that Outperform the Rest.LinksVanessa Druskat's websiteVanessa Druskat on LinkedInThe Emotionally Intelligent Team: Building Collaborative Groups that Outperform the RestTo find the books that were recommended, please visit my website. Season 1-6Host: Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCCLet's Connect on LinkedInWebsite Lyssa deHartJoin the Monthly Coaches Q&A my treat! Producer: Michele LoganVideo Editor: Lyssa deHartSocial Media: Lizana GuillenMusic: Momentuum - Created with Eleven LabsSubscribe, Rate, & Follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Joy Isn't a Mood, It's a Practice — with Dr. Pamela LardeDr. Pamela Larde started studying joy right before the world shut down — and ended up with a front-row seat to those who reach for joy under pressure, and who can't quite believe it's allowed. In this episode, we talk about her Multidimensional Framework of Joy (well-being, connection, integration, liberation), the idea of a "joy enabler," and why joy — unlike happiness — doesn't need your circumstances to be good. It needs a decision.In this episode:Her Multidimensional Framework of Joy, and why well-being comes firstWhat a "joy enabler" is, and why one is often enough"Perceived joy" — finding joy in other people's pain, and what it revealsJoy strategies for surviving a toxic bossAbout Dr. Pamela Larde Dr. Pamela Larde teaches leadership at Anderson University, founded the Academy of Creative Coaching, and leads education at the Institute of Coaching. She's the author of several books, including Joyfully Single and her newest, The Joy Whisperer, and she hosts the Joy Whisperer podcast.LinksDr. Pamela Larde's websiteThe Joy WhispererThe Joy Whisperer podcastJoyfully SingleAll resources from the episode are available at Lyssa deHart's Website. Season 1-6Host: Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCCLet's Connect on LinkedInWebsite Lyssa deHartJoin the Monthly Coaches Q&A my treat! Producer: Michele LoganVideo Editor: Lyssa deHartSocial Media: Lizana GuillenMusic: Momentuum - Created with Eleven LabsSubscribe, Rate, & Follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Unmuted at Work: Accent Bias, Belonging, and What We Think We HearIn this episode of The Coaching Studio, I sit down with Heather Hansen to talk about something most of us don’t notice until it’s right in our face: how quickly we decide what someone “knows” or how competent they are, based on how they sound.Heather shares her path into linguistics, starting with being a talker as a kid, competitive speech and debate, then studying language and society, and eventually building Global Speech Academy in Singapore. You can hear the through-line: she’s been tracking the power dynamics of English as a bridge language for a long time, who gets listened to, who gets dismissed, and what it costs people to constantly translate themselves into “acceptable.”We dig into her book Unmuted and the framework behind it, because the ability to speak up is not just about confidence. Heather breaks it into three overlapping parts: conscious communication (reading the room, culture, timing), confident communication (skills and self-trust), and connected communication (belonging and psychological safety). When one piece is missing, people get too loud, go quiet, or start self-editing until they disappear.Then we go deeper into accent bias, and Heather doesn’t sugarcoat it. “Perfect English” isn’t how global business actually works, and a lot of what we treat as “professional” is just power and familiarity dressed up as standards. She shares the real tension she lives with in her work: helping individuals succeed inside a biased system while also trying to change how the system listens.We also talk about what this means for coaches and leaders. Heather points out that we’re listening to layers, pace, pitch, emphasis, tone, and then we assign meaning fast, often without realizing it. And in global workplaces, misunderstandings happen all the time because people assume understanding instead of checking for it. Her practical takeaway is simple and strong: don’t ask “Do you understand?” Ask people to reflect back what they’re taking away and what they’ll do next.Finally, we touch on what’s coming fast: real-time translation and “accent translation” tech. Heather’s take is nuanced, yes, it can reduce harm and open access, but it also raises real questions about identity, inequality, and the cultural misunderstandings that don’t disappear just because everyone sounds the same in an earbud.This was one of those conversations that changes how you listen the next time you’re in a meeting, on a Zoom call, or coaching someone who doesn’t sound like you. And it ends with a book recommendation I loved, and a big question about what we hope people remember about us when we’re gone. Season 1-6Host: Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCCLet's Connect on LinkedInWebsite Lyssa deHartJoin the Monthly Coaches Q&A my treat! Producer: Michele LoganVideo Editor: Lyssa deHartSocial Media: Lizana GuillenMusic: Momentuum - Created with Eleven LabsSubscribe, Rate, & Follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Scaling the Human Center: Tim Harrison on AI and the Future of CoachingOn this episode of the Coaching Studio, Tim Harrison, founder and CEO of the Coaching Innovation Lab, joins Lyssa deHart to explore what AI is changing in coaching, and what still requires a human being. Tim shares his path from Division I basketball into coaching and psychology, shaped by an early experience of being coached during a major identity shift. That origin story informs his focus on widening access to meaningful developmental support.A core thread is scale without losing the human center. Tim describes building EPOG Academy and running into the practical limits of time and cost, then discovering how quickly AI could expand access when used thoughtfully. He argues that for many people the real comparison is not “AI vs. a human coach,” it’s “some support vs. none,” and he’s candid about the disruption that creates for the profession.The conversation turns practical: how coaches can use AI without getting diluted. Tim shares what research suggests about AI’s “compression effect,” why authenticity matters (people want your voice, not generic polish), and why hybrid models are likely. He offers two frameworks coaches can apply immediately: his “Four A’s of Innovation” (automation, augmentation, amplification, adaptation) and a “Model T” mindset, rethinking the work rather than just bolting AI onto old workflows. The episode closes with Tim’s spoken word piece, “Final Slumber,” a reflection on mortality, meaning, and choosing a life that’s lived on purpose. Season 1-6Host: Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCCLet's Connect on LinkedInWebsite Lyssa deHartJoin the Monthly Coaches Q&A my treat! Producer: Michele LoganVideo Editor: Lyssa deHartSocial Media: Lizana GuillenMusic: Momentuum - Created with Eleven LabsSubscribe, Rate, & Follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

In this episode, I sit down with Professor Jonathan Passmore for a grounded conversation about coaching as a profession, how it has evolved, and what it takes to do it well in the real world. We start with his path: the early roles, the consulting years, and the move into academia, all shaped by a consistent interest in what actually supports human change, not just what sounds good in theory.From there we look at the way coaching has shifted over the last two decades. It’s no longer an executive perk tucked inside leadership development. It’s increasingly used at scale inside organizations navigating strategy shifts, mergers, and technology change. Jonathan offers a clear view of what has improved, what has gotten diluted, and why the coaching relationship still matters when everything is moving fast.We also spend time on the craft: what coaches need to notice, what gets missed when coaching becomes overly procedural, and why presence includes more than good questions. We talk about the role of the body in sense-making, and the importance of humor, not as performance, but as relational timing that builds trust.AI comes in as one part of the bigger picture. We touch on what it can offer, where it falls short, and why ethics, governance, and discernment matter if coaching is going to expand responsibly. We close with a personal reflection: how this work has shaped Jonathan over time, and what he’s still practicing, especially the ongoing discipline of listening well.  Season 1-6Host: Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCCLet's Connect on LinkedInWebsite Lyssa deHartJoin the Monthly Coaches Q&A my treat! Producer: Michele LoganVideo Editor: Lyssa deHartSocial Media: Lizana GuillenMusic: Momentuum - Created with Eleven LabsSubscribe, Rate, & Follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Wonder of Words: Haesun Moon on Dialogue, Meaning, and the Power of “Languaging”Haesun shares how her lifelong fascination with language began in childhood, shaped by a mother who taught her the power of “languaging” and a father who instilled a love of linguistic beauty. She traces how this early awareness, coupled with learning multiple languages, shaped her ability to hear nuance, intention, and the life logic embedded in how people speak.The conversation moves into her groundbreaking work on the Dialogic Orientation Quadrant, born from microanalysis research and refined into an accessible framework for leaders, clinicians, and coaches. Haesun illustrates how conversations move between past and future, resources and struggles, and how what we listen for influences what grows in a dialogue. She offers vivid examples, from her misplaced phone and surprising sense of peace to a handbag in a Korean market that taught her about how we might want to listen like a salesperson, all the while, discussing how perspective can shift everything.Throughout the episode, Haesun and Lyssa explore curiosity, relational fluency, respectful engagement with metaphors, and the difference between acknowledging someone’s difficulty and diving unnecessarily into it. Their conversation reveals how subtle word choices, like asking “something else” instead of “anything else,” can dramatically increase clarity, reduce unmet needs, and make people feel truly valued.Rich with practical insights for anyone who wants to become more intentional in communication. We are reminded that dialogue is co-created, meaning emerges moment by moment, and even small linguistic shifts can open pathways to connection, trust, and genuine change.This is an episode for coaches, clinicians, leaders, and anyone fascinated by the lived poetry of conversation. Haesun doesn’t just teach about dialogue, she embodies it. Her insights linger long after the interview ends, reminding us that our words are tools for shaping meaning, connection, and possibility. Season 1-6Host: Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCCLet's Connect on LinkedInWebsite Lyssa deHartJoin the Monthly Coaches Q&A my treat! Producer: Michele LoganVideo Editor: Lyssa deHartSocial Media: Lizana GuillenMusic: Momentuum - Created with Eleven LabsSubscribe, Rate, & Follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Beyond the Individual: Professor Peter Hawkins on Consciousness, Systems, and the Future of CoachingIn this powerful conversation, Lyssa deHart sits down with Professor Peter Hawkins, one of the most influential thinkers in systemic coaching and organizational transformation. Together, they explore the deeper shifts required for leaders, teams and coaches to meet the complexity of our world, moving beyond individual performance toward collective purpose, ecological awareness and relational intelligence.Peter traces the arc of his remarkable journey, from literature and drama therapy to mental health, psychotherapy and global systems consulting, revealing how each chapter shaped his understanding of human consciousness. He shares the story of his granddaughter’s sudden paralysis, illustrating how his five-step practice of “grumble to gratitude” became not just theory but a profound lived discipline. The conversation expands into the urgency of unlearning individualistic paradigms, the role of beauty in transforming consciousness, the interdependence of all systems we inhabit and why coaching must evolve to serve life itself, not just the person in the room.This episode is a meditation on purpose, service and the great work of our time: shifting human consciousness so we can respond wisely to the interconnected crises we face. Peter’s humility, clarity and grounded wisdom offer a rare glimpse into what systemic leadership looks like when practiced from deep authenticity.Listeners will walk away with a richer sense of what it means to coach relationally, lead ecologically and live with radical responsibility for the future we are shaping. Season 1-6Host: Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCCLet's Connect on LinkedInWebsite Lyssa deHartJoin the Monthly Coaches Q&A my treat! Producer: Michele LoganVideo Editor: Lyssa deHartSocial Media: Lizana GuillenMusic: Momentuum - Created with Eleven LabsSubscribe, Rate, & Follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Coaching the Person in a Changing World: Marcia Reynolds on Connection, Identity, and the Power of Reflective InquiryIn this full-circle conversation, Lyssa welcomes back Dr. Marcia Reynolds, Psy.D., MCC, the very first guest ever on The Coaching Studio and one of the most influential voices in modern coaching. Marcia has spent four decades exploring what actually transforms the human mind, and in this episode, she pulls back the curtain on the deeper mechanics of reflective inquiry, emotional co-regulation, and why authentic human connection remains irreplaceable even in an AI-saturated world.The conversation ranges from neuroscience to identity to the simple, courageous act of being fully present with another person. Marcia shares the evolving insights behind the upcoming second edition of Coach the Person, Not the Problem, including new work on identity-based coaching and the expanding research on how our emotional state shapes a client’s capacity for insight. She and Lyssa explore the stories people live inside, how coaches can learn to listen for context instead of details, and why a real coaching partnership helps us bypass the brain’s built-in resistance to self-examination.They also laugh about turning seventy by skydiving, reflect on the gift of being challenged with compassion, and talk candidly about the places where even seasoned coaches still hide parts of themselves. It’s a rich, warm, deeply human episode that will leave coaches more attuned to presence, more curious about identity, and more committed to creating the kind of space where people can finally hear themselves think.Check out her websiteAnd follow her on LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. Season 1-6Host: Lyssa deHart, LICSW, MCC, BCCLet's Connect on LinkedInWebsite Lyssa deHartJoin the Monthly Coaches Q&A my treat! Producer: Michele LoganVideo Editor: Lyssa deHartSocial Media: Lizana GuillenMusic: Momentuum - Created with Eleven LabsSubscribe, Rate, & Follow on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.