The Coaching for Leaders Community supports members in creating regular connection with other leaders, discovering real-time advice from experts, and surfacing practical wisdom.
Whenever I send out surveys to our listening community, people tell me things like this:
- It would be great if there was a way to get connected with other people listening to the show.
- Could we get even more insight into what other listeners are dealing with?
- I’d love to learn what’s working and not working for others leaders. Maybe even do some problems-solving in real-time.
- Could there be a forum or other online portal for us to access?
I get it — after all, leadership can be a lonely endeavor. Not because we’re not around people all day long — but because the people we’re around tend to be folks who either report to us, manage us, or rely on our product or service. That means, it’s not always to get objective perspective that’s not influenced by organizations politics.
It’s one of the reasons that I’ve engaged with professional communities as well. But, often I’ve found them not quite hitting the mark…
Either the “community” was paying a fee for access to additional content or advertising removal…
…or it was a group of thousands of people I didn’t know on a public social media platform.
In one case, I joined the membership of another program awhile back and was thrilled to make connections with people — but it seemed really hard with thousands of others inside the forum. And, even when I did connect, there wasn’t really any way to engage other than just posting in the forum.
That’s why, despite the requests, I’ve not moved on building a community with our listening community. For a long time, I hadn’t seen it done well — and outside of the social media platforms, the technology wasn’t there yet to make it happen.
But then, two things changed…
A year ago, we migrated our Academy members onto a new technology platform that allows us to have richer dialogue — and discover more about each other through member profiles — and connect with other leaders with similar interests – and find each other geographically.
It’s helped our Academy members enhance relationships outside our live interactions — and it’s opened doors for us to support live events for a larger community.
And, this also happened…
I got to thinking — wouldn’t it be great if I could open up the opportunity for members to have conversation with experts, just like I do on the podcast?
So, I invited two people who I respect a lot and I knew would be helpful to our members to have a line conversation with — Michael Bungay Stanier of The Coaching Habit and Scott Anthony Barlow of Happen to Your Career.
We called the events…Masterchats. Instead of “master classes” where you’re often just watching a video from an expert, I knew it would be even more valuable for our members to get to have a conversation with experts. So, we turned the tables and asked questions of them.
It worked — and our members gave rave reviews. And I realized…
So many other listeners would benefit from getting connected with experts in this way.
But that’s not all…
I also realized that the coaching conversations our Academy members already have would be valuable for more in our listening community.
That’s why, I’ve been piloting (behind the scenes) regular Coaching Forums inside our Academy membership for the past year. It’s helped lots of our Academy members get insight on current problems and situations, outside of their regular cohort sessions.
Each time we help one person navigate through a tough situation, inevitably there are several other people who were part of the conversation saying, “I’m handling a similar situation, so this was really useful for me too.”
Now that I’ve seen the benefits that people have received from being connected better to experts and each other, I’m thrilled to open up a new opportunity for a small group of leaders in our broader listening community.
You’re Invited to Get Connected
And become one of the first 50 members in the Coaching for Leaders Community.
Our community members will get full access into our private platform for real-time discussions with each other, our Academy members, and me — to support each other with help, celebrate wins, share practical tips and ideas, and discuss what we’re hearing on the podcast.
Our member portal allows our members also, if they want, to make connections with others members in the same industry and also connect with others who are close to them geographically. And, every member gets to create and share a custom profile to assist in making connections throughout the community.
But that’s just the foundation we’ll build on. Each month, we’ll be holding two live, online events via videoconference that will support our community members in getting connected with other members and experts in our community.
First, I’m going to be hosting a live, monthly coaching forum. Each month, we’ll select 2-3 members to dive in on a current issue or topic they are dealing with right now — and then a small group of others community members and myself will ask coaching questions, share experiences, and give advice that we think will be helpful for that person to move forward.
Community members will be able to volunteer to be selected for either getting help themselves or joining in as peer coaches — and everyone who’s a community member will get to attend live with us for the forum.
The coaching forum will allow those bringing current challenges to get advice — but just as importantly, the members selected will represent the leadership situations many of us struggle with — so everyone in the community membership will benefit from the dialogue.
And there’s going to be a second event every month — a Masterchat.
You’ve probably heard about masterclasses before — or maybe you’ve even watched a few online. That’s when someone who’s an expert has a bunch of videos posted in a course that you get to watch and learn from.
They’re great — but they’re generally only one way communication. Instead, we’re going to turn the tables and have our members posing questions to expert guests live once a month, via online videoconference — people who’ve appeared as guests on the podcast.
A few of our recent Masterchats have featured Michael Bungay Stanier, author of The Coaching Habit, and Scott Barlow, host of the Happen to Your Career podcast:
Here’s what on the schedule for the next few months of Masterchats:
Effective Delegation, with Hassan Osman (September 15th)
Hassan Osman has helped many listeners in our audience through his past guest appearances and book, Effective Delegation of Authority. In this Masterchat, he’ll take questions from us on a skill almost every leader can improve on: delegation to others.
Personal Finance in Turbulent Times, with Jill Schlesinger (October 15th)
Jill is the Emmy-nominated Business Analyst for CBS News and host of the Jill on Money podcast and of the nationally syndicated radio show, Jill on Money. During this Masterchat, I'll be inviting you to ask questions live of Jill on how to handle personal finance decisions
Tell Stories Better During Uncertainty, with David Hutchens (November 12th)
David taught the Storytelling Leader program all over the world at some of the most influential organizations — and he’s written many books, including most recently the Circle of the 9 Muses and The Leadership Story Deck. We’ll ask questions live of David on how to tell stories better.
How to Manage Up, with Tom Henschel (December 8th)
Tom is the host of The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast and many-time past guest on Coaching for Leaders. In December, he'll be helping us navigate the difficult situation of managing up to your boss. Come ready to ask live questions of a top, executive coach.
Ready to join in on our upcoming Masterchats? Apply for Community membership:
The Benefits of Annual Membership
For this week only, I’m opening up the doors for the first 50 members of the Coaching for Leaders Community. New members will get access to three core benefits throughout their annual membership:
Regular connection with other leaders
Our membership portal provides continual access to other leaders to discuss recent episodes, share resources, find answers to problems, and celebrate wins.
Real time advice from experts
The monthly Masterchats with experts will provide personal insight you can’t get from simply listening to video courses or podcast episodes. Experts will respond to questions in real time to address the immediate concerns and needs of all members.
Ideas for next steps
The monthly Coaching Forums will feature the current challenges of 2-3 members and allow us to support them with ideas, experiences, and next steps. Plus, members may volunteer as coaches to offer their insights and refine their coaching skills.
Ready to benefit from Community membership?
Want more details? Be sure to review the frequently asked questions below.
Frequently Asked Questions
With 50 people joining the Community membership, how will members be able to all participate in the Masterchats and Coaching Forums?
Each month, I’ll host a Masterchat with a guest expert so our community can ask live questions from them. Prior to the event, our members will get to volunteer to serve as panelists (we’ll select 2-3 members for each Masterchat) and they’ll join live on videoconference with me to ask questions on behalf of all of us.
All other members will join the event in view only mode so that you can watch us live and submit your own questions to the panel. The panel will curate questions in real time coming for everyone listening in and we’ll pose the best questions to our guest expert.
For the monthly Coaching Forums, I’ll make the invitation in advance of the event for members to volunteer to have us offer feedback on a current situation. We’ll select 2-3 members for each live, coaching forum.
I’ll also ask for members to volunteer to join in with the forum to ask questions live of members. We’ll likely have 3-4 members serve as coaches. Just as with the Masterchats, all other members will be able to attend live in view-only mode and submit questions in real time.
When will live events typically take place?
Most live events will be held at 3:00 p.m. New York / 12:00 p.m. Los Angeles time for one hour. This time allows members to attend live from many places in the world. Live events (both the monthly Masterchats and Coaching Forums) will typically be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays.
The monthly Masterchats featuring guest experts will be recorded and made available to all Community members after the event. However, the monthly Coaching Forums will not be recorded, to support confidentiality, since members may be discussing current situations in their organizations.
What guidelines do you have to ensure great relationships within the community?
There are three guidelines for all members:
Kindness
Our community is a safe place for all of us to ask for help, share ideas, and get better. Perspective, experiences, and different opinions are welcome and part of the value we receive from this space. When members offer an idea or suggestion, I ask them to do it with kindness and grace.
Confidentiality
In order for members to best help each other, it's sometimes prudent to share information about careers, colleagues, or organizations. As a result, all members are expected to keep conversations in our community confidential.
No Self-Promotion
Our members seek the experiences, wisdom, and objective perspective from other leaders. Many of us regularly recommend books, organizations, and services to each other that will help support our goals.
While resource sharing is welcome and encouraged, self-promotion is not. I ask that members refrain from promoting any organizations, products, or services they have a personal or financial interest in.
Will members have personal access to you?
I facilitate all live events and engage regularly inside the membership portal. So, you’ll see my input in a lot of places and conversations.
While I will encourage all of us to connect and support each other, I’m not able to respond to personal requests for support or coaching as part of your community membership.
If personal coaching is important for you right now, the community is probably not the right fit. I’m happy to suggest coaches in my network who may be helpful for you. I don’t offer 1:1 coaching services myself, as my time is focused on our Academy and Community members, and the podcast.
You may also want to consider the Coaching for Leaders Academy, where 5-6 other leaders and I work personally with you for an entire year.
Is the Community a “light” version of the Academy?
No. The driving intention behind the two is different.
The focus of the Academy is movement. Academy members complete a full executive assessment, craft a leadership vision, take on peer mentor, and stay accountable to 90 day commitments. I’m focused personally on helping all Academy members make sustainable behavior change that drives their leadership development. That’s why over 30 hours of live, personal interaction with 5-6 other leaders and me occurs over the entire year.
The focus of the Community is connection. Community members are invited to attend every monthly Masterchat, Coaching Forum, and engage regularly inside our member portal. This supports our members in discovering wisdom from experts, gaining new perspective from other leaders, and building sustainable relationships.
Academy members also receive all the benefits of Community membership, so all members are able to leverage relationship building and connection across both memberships.
I’ve been considering your Academy. Can I transition into the Academy later if I become a Community member?
Yes. In fact, I’ll likely offer early/preferred application opportunities for Community members who wish to move beyond connection with other leaders and want to create substantial movement in their leadership development inside the Academy.
If you apply to and are accepted into the Academy during your Community membership, your Academy membership will be prorated to reflect the membership fee you’ve already paid. In addition, many Academy members have the option to continue with a Community membership at the conclusion of their Academy year.
Is annual membership the only option? I’ve seen monthly membership options for other communities.
The driving intention behind our community is to create connection between leaders. Monthly memberships encourage transiency — and may attract members who are more interested in specific events instead of connection with other members.
As a result, I don’t have any plans to offer a monthly membership. That means we’ll exclude some people, but those that jump in will be more invested in connection over the entire year.
I’ll be expensing my membership dues to my organization. Will you accept an electronic payment from them instead of a credit card?
In order to simplify membership logistics for everybody, I’m only accepting credit card payments for Community membership.
If your organization is sponsoring your $500 USD annual dues, you may elect to either use a corporate card — or simply have your organization reimburse you directly.
This document may be useful if you are requesting reimbursement for your membership fee.
Will you auto-renew my membership at the end of the year?
No. I never auto-renew any memberships.
I want our members to be actively engaged inside our Community and, should they elect to renew their membership, make an affirmative decision to do so.
At the end of the year, you’ll receive an invitation to renew your membership. If you take no action, you will automatically be migrated back to a free membership.
Now, it’s your turn…
The first 50 seats of community membership are only available this week, until August 14th — and then we’ll close the doors until the time is right to consider more seats down the road.
If you’d like to be considered for one of the first 50 seats of membership, don’t delay. Applications close this Friday. Submit your application now:
