A coaching podcast with Nils I. Cornelissen and Tobias Weghorn on why leadership coaching in times of transformation starts with the leader, not the org chart. Drawing from his work with executive teams in large corporations, Nils shares why organizational change management so often fails even when the strategy looks “right” on paper. You’ll hear practical ways to stay “above the line” (vs. “below the line”) in difficult conversations, including tiny questions that build ownership and a short centering routine for high-stakes moments. It’s a candid look at emotional intelligence for leaders, self-management, and how to model the mindset you want to see across the organization.

Key Learnings:

• Use leadership coaching to shift ownership back to the team: when someone asks for a solution, respond with “What have you already tried?”, “Who have you talked to?”, and “What do you need from me?” to support adult-to-adult leadership.
• In executive team coaching, normalize noticing the “above the line below the line mindset”: watch for cues like “I’m right, they’re wrong” or “I’m surrounded by idiots” as early warning signs you’ve slipped into reactive mode.
• Before a difficult conversation, train emotional intelligence for leaders with a 60-second reset: sigh/breathe out, relax shoulders, feel your stance, then actively generate gratitude and empathy (“Why might their reaction make sense?”) to re-enter a creative state.

Resources:

• Nils I. Cornelissen's Website: https://www.returnonmeaning.com/nils-cornelissen
• Nils I. Cornelissen's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilscornelissen/
• Above the line vs. below the line video, Nils mentions: https://youtu.be/fLqzYDZAqCI?si=sOzQEXMTFzPxQnuN
• Find your Coaching Tool: https://metaFox.eu
• Try the metaFox Strengths Discovery: https://strengths-discovery.com
• Connect with Tobi on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tobiasweghorn

Episode Chapters:

00:06 “How Are You Going To Change?” Starting with the Leader

00:12 Coaching the Solution Out of the Client (Not Solving It for Them)

00:14 The 3 Questions That Build Ownership (Treat People Like Adults)

00:22 Preparing for the Boardroom: Your Mindset Is the Tool

00:25 The 60-Second Centering Routine (Sigh, Gratitude, Empathy)

00:33 Above the Line Below the Line Mindset in Executive Team Coaching

00:35 Inner Thermometers: How to Notice You’ve Gone Reactive

00:42 Training Emotional Intelligence for Leaders (Momentum Program)

A coaching podcast with Max Friedle and Tobias Weghorn to close out a year of "The Making of a Coach" and kick off the rebrand to "The Impactful Coach". Using Max’s coaching development framework (mindset, methods, skills, tools), they look back at highlights from coaching demos and episodes - and what actually makes sessions more impactful in real life. You’ll hear how solution focused coaching keeps conversations light and future-oriented, when the miracle question helps clients move fast, and why “ready, willing, and eager” can be a useful readiness gate. They also get practical about emotional hygiene before coaching sessions and silence as a coaching intervention (yes: count to six).

Key Learnings:

• Use solution focused coaching to shift fast from “what’s wrong” to “what’s desirable”: explore exceptions first, then use the miracle question to help clients describe the desired future in detail.
• Build a simple readiness gate: only coach clients who are ready, willing, and eager - so the work stays with the client (and solution focused coaching doesn’t turn into problem-fixing).
• Practice emotional hygiene before coaching sessions and train silence as a coaching intervention: ask the question, hold eye contact, count to six, and let the client do the work.

Resources:

• Find your Coaching Tool: https://metaFox.eu
• Coach online: https://metaFox.online
• Try the metaFox Strengths Discovery: https://strengths-discovery.com
• Connect with Tobi: https://linkedin.com/in/tobiasweghorn
• Connect with Max: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximilianfriedle

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Teaser: Ready, Willing, And Eager + “You Gotta Shut Up At Times”

01:00 Anniversary Episode: Rebrand To Impactful Coach

03:00 The Coaching Development Framework: Mindset, Methods, Skills, Tools

06:00 Mindset: Hold Space, Don’t Fix (“It’s Not The Pam Show”)

09:00 Emotional Hygiene Before Coaching Sessions

11:00 Methods: Readiness Gate + Coaching Demos Focus

13:00 Solution Focused Coaching: Exceptions + Miracle Question

16:00 Zurich Resource Model (ZRM) Picture Work Meets Somatics

18:00 Skills: Silence As A Coaching Intervention (Count To Six)

24:00 Tools: Shared Language (Belbin, Strengths, MBTI) + Risks Of “Boxing”

34:00 What Changes In 2026: More Coaching Skills, Less CV Stories

On this episode, Tobi meets Julika Franke for a coaching demo that starts as brand positioning and quickly turns into imposter syndrome coaching around stepping into a coach‑trainer role. Julika usually uses her Business Hub approach to map roles, goals, and visibility, revealing to come up with clear positioning and a crisp mission. In Tobi's example they find a way to fit all his hats under the vision statement of metaFox: "A world embracing emotional intelligence".

Key Learnings:

• How a vision statement can serve as north star and unify different roles.
• How Julika defines a founder‑level role map (visionary, product developer, ambassador, trainer).
• How this kind of positioning work can be an alternative to mindset coaching for overcoming imposter syndrome.

Resources:

• Julika Franke's Website: https://julika-franke.de/
• Julika Franke's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julika-franke/
• Find your Coaching Tool: https://metaFox.eu
• Try the metaFox Strengths Discovery: https://strengths-discovery.com
• Connect with Tobi on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tobiasweghorn

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Opening: Emotional Intelligence And Identity Friction

01:00 Coaching Demo Setup: From Positioning To Imposter Syndrome

03:00 The Business Hub: Structuring Brand Positioning

06:00 Meta Fox Inner Journey And Tools For Emotional Intelligence Coaching

12:00 Training Roots: MBTI And Early Facilitation

15:00 Naming The Imposter Syndrome Coaching Challenge

18:00 Mission, Roles, And Personal Branding For Coaches

25:00 Two Worlds Collide: Engineering Vs Coaching Identity

35:00 From Clarity To Market: Positioning, Offer, And Visibility

41:00 Rethinking The Coaching Industry And Value Focus

On this 'Making of a Coach', Tobi meets Julika Franke for a deep dive into creating a compelling offer that genuinely helps coaches find paying clients. Grounded in Alex Hormozi’s Value Equation, Julika unpacks how to define a crystal‑clear dream outcome, increase the perceived likelihood of achievement, and shape real offer components that reduce time delay and client effort. They discuss ethics, specificity (“riches in the niches”), and how to align marketing with authenticity—not hype—for sustainable client acquisition. You’ll also hear practical ways to price your offer and become a “category of one.”

Key Learnings:

• Map client A→B with a concrete dream outcome, then apply the value equation to raise value: pick a tight market, sharpen language in their words, and design components that increase perceived likelihood of achievement—test with 1–3 real clients for feedback.
• Compress time delay and lower effort/sacrifice: add structures that speed results (clear timeline, templates, checklists, accountability touchpoints, group/WhatsApp support), especially for B2B pilots or “offer ladder” entry points.
• Price the transformation, not the hours: anchor on what the problem is worth to solve, bundle your unique assets (method, tools, process) to be a category of one—this is the core of creating a compelling offer for client acquisition.

Resources:

• Julika Franke's Website: https://julika-franke.de/
• Julika Franke's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julika-franke/
• Alex Hormozi’s Value Equation: https://acquisition.com
• Find your Coaching Tool: https://metaFox.eu
• Try the metaFox Strengths Discovery: https://strengths-discovery.com
• Connect with Tobi on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tobiasweghorn

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Teaser: Niches And Offers

00:01 Creating A Compelling Offer — Why It Matters

00:03 Julika Franke’s Journey Into Coaching And Marketing

00:09 The Value Equation For Client Acquisition

00:13 From Dream Outcome To Target Market Clarity

00:15 Riches In The Niches: Specificity Beats Generic

00:23 Time Delay, Offer Ladders, And B2B vs B2C

00:26 Reducing Effort And Sacrifice In Your Offer

00:27 Relationship Coach Example: Should I Stay Or Go?

00:36 First Steps And Pricing: Build Your Category Of One

On this 'Making of a Coach', Tobi meets career coach and coach trainer Lucy Higgins for a coaching demo that explores restlessness using the saboteur assessment from Positive Intelligence. Drawing on the Introduction, we frame Lucy’s directive career change program for ambitious mothers and how she resolves blockers like unhelpful beliefs with lightweight mindset tools. Together, Lucy and Tobi run a live coaching demo around the Restless and Hyper‑Achiever patterns, aiming for presence and peace of mind during early parenthood. You’ll hear how a shared language from Positive Intelligence can carry through a coaching journey without needing the full accreditation program.

Key Learnings:

• Integrate the saboteur assessment early to create shared language for your career change program; contract for a short coaching demo and use it to surface “judge + accomplice” patterns like Restless or Hyper‑Achiever.
• Translate insights into simple mindset tools: name the trigger thought, thank the saboteur’s old survival role, then practice a “switch‑off” ritual that redirects attention to meaningful connection (e.g., family time) using Positive Intelligence language.
• Build the client’s “healthy voice” from values and strengths; borrow Adult state from transactional analysis and ventral vagal cues to anchor presence, and repeat the coaching demo language in follow‑ups to reinforce new habits.

Resources:

• Lucy Higgins’s Website: https://lucyhigginscoaching.co.uk/
• Lucy Higgins’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-higgins-coaching/
• Positive Intelligence's Saboteur Assessment: https://www.positiveintelligence.com/saboteurs/
• Find your Coaching Tool: https://metaFox.eu
• Try the metaFox Strengths Discovery: https://strengths-discovery.com
• Connect with Tobi on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tobiasweghorn

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Seeking Peace Of Mind And Restlessness

00:02 Intro: Lucy’s Directive Career Change Program

00:05 Mindset Tools And When To Use The Saboteur Assessment

00:09 How The Positive Intelligence Test Works

00:13 Choosing The Restless Saboteur

00:18 Coaching Demo Goal: Presence Over Restlessness

00:21 Judge And Accomplice Saboteurs Explained

00:26 Costs Of Restlessness And Finding Balance

00:30 Switching Off: What Already Works For Tobi

00:37 Beyond The Tool: TA And Polyvagal In Practice

On this 'Making of a Coach', Tobi meets Lucy Higgins to unpack how she became a career coach and built a private practice around a career change program for ambitious mothers. They contrast non-directive coaching with a more directive coaching offer and walk through Explore - Dream - Discover as adapted from Fireworks Coaching.

Lucy connects her own matrescence journey to clear positioning, pricing, and the balance between platform work (BetterUp) and private clients - useful if you want to become a coach with a tangible, outcomes-based offer.

Key Learnings:

• Decide when to use non-directive coaching versus a structured career change program: map client readiness (tweak vs reinvention), define deliverables, and set clear package lengths and outcomes.
• Productize your expertise into directive coaching: adapt a framework like Explore–Dream–Discover, add your own exercises, and price for both session time and between-session prep.
• Bring a motherhood studies lens where relevant: normalize systemic barriers, coach identity shifts post-matrescence, and translate insights into skills like stakeholder communication and personal branding to help clients move.

Resources:

• Lucy Higgins's Website: https://lucyhigginscoaching.co.uk/
• Lucy Higgins's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-higgins-coach/
• BetterUp Coaching Platform: https://www.betterup.com
• Find your Coaching Tool: https://metaFox.eu
• Try the metaFox Strengths Discovery: https://strengths-discovery.com
• Connect with Tobi on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tobiasweghorn

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Welcome & Framing The Career Change Program

00:03 Platforms vs Private Work

00:04 Mission: Helping Women Navigate Systems

00:06 Motherhood As Catalyst For Career Change

00:12 What Is Matrescence?

00:17 Non-Directive Coaching Packages

00:20 Directive Coaching: Explore, Dream, Discover

00:23 Tackling Fear, Identity & Systemic Barriers

00:31 Pricing: Packages And Corporate Rates

00:36 Advice To New Coaches: Lean Into What You Love

On this 'Making of a Coach', Tobi meets Lucy Higgins to unpack real "Frequently Asked Questions" from aspiring coaches wanting to become a coach.

Drawing on her work training cohorts of new coaches at Animas in the UK and her own practice, Lucy digs into client acquisition strategies, whether to niche, and the true timeline of coaching business building. They also explore coaching pricing models, the balance between directive and non‑directive work, why supervision matters and when ICF/EMCC accreditation helps (and when it doesn’t).

Key Learnings:

• Define a precise client avatar and map “Hell Island to Heaven Island” outcomes; choose outreach where those clients already are (e.g., LinkedIn, events), then prioritize referrals - practical client acquisition strategies to become a coach who consistently books calls.
• Run an 80/20 split: 80% delivering, 20% building; set up simple systems early (e.g. Calendly or similar tools for scheduling) to compound your coaching business building.
• Calibrate fees to client segment and outcomes, then review quarterly; consider sliding scales and raise rates as evidence and confidence grow - your working “coaching pricing models.” If you target corporates or platforms, evaluate ICF/EMCC accreditation requirements first.

Resources:

• Lucy Higgins's Website: https://lucyhigginscoaching.co.uk/
• Lucy Higgins's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyhigginscoaching/
• Animas Centre for Coaching: https://www.animascoaching.com
• International Coaching Federation (ICF): https://coachingfederation.org
• EMCC Global: https://www.emccglobal.org
• Association for Coaching (AC): https://www.associationforcoaching.com
• Calendly: https://calendly.com
• CoachHub: https://www.coachhub.com
• BetterUp: https://www.betterup.com
• Find your Coaching Tool: https://metaFox.eu
• Try the metaFox Strengths Discovery: https://strengths-discovery.com
• Connect with Tobi on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tobiasweghorn

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Teaser: Hell Island To Heaven Island

00:02 Why This Coach‑Trainer FAQ Episode

00:10 Client Acquisition Strategies: Avatar, Channels, Referrals

00:13 Coaching Business Building Timeline And Buffer

00:15 Should I Niche Or Be The Niche?

00:17 Selling As A Helper, Not A Salesperson

00:19 Coaching Pricing Models And Sliding Scales

00:25 Systems That Save Time: Calendly, Xero, SEO

00:36 Directive vs Non‑Directive Coaching

00:40 Coaching Accreditation: ICF, EMCC, AC

On this 'Making of a Coach', Tobi meets Dr. Ronald Franke, the co-founder behind the LINC Personality Profiler, to trace how a psychology student became a coach, researcher, and entrepreneur. Next to a deep dive into the personality and coaching, the conversation unfolded as an entrepreneurial journey through the coaching industry - from cultural research to launching a B2B tool now used by 5,000+ coaches running 40,000+ assessments a year.

Along the way, they unpack where personality assessments fit into real coaching versus debriefs, and why type-based tools fall short of trait-based approaches. Originally recorded in German and shared here via AI transcreation, this coaching podcast doubles as a candid playbook for turning expertise into a scalable tool.

Key Learnings:

• Use a trait-based approach (e.g., Big Five) to link coachee goals to personality patterns; when it fits, bring the LINC Personality Profiler into leadership or team topics to speed insight without replacing coaching.
• If you build services around personality assessments, validate willingness to pay with small experiments and an MVP before scaling digital products.
• For revenue stability, go B2B: certify as a provider, package debriefs plus coaching for HR and leadership development, and track success by the implementation rate of agreed actions.

Resources:

• More on LINC on: https://linc.de and https://linc-north-america.com
• Ronald's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ronald-franke-b5360123/
• Big Five Model: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BigFivepersonality_traits
• Find your Coaching Tool: https://metaFox.eu
• Try the metaFox Strengths Discovery: https://strengths-discovery.com
• Connect with Tobi on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/tobiasweghorn

Episode Chapters:

00:00 Opening: Why Personality Assessments Matter

01:00 Meet Dr. Ronald Franke And The LINC Personality Profiler

03:00 From Psychology Studies To Coaching And Research

05:00 Culture Research To Product: Early Tests And Pivots

06:00 Choosing Coaches Over HR: Finding The Initial Niche

12:00 Building Products, MVPs, And What Actually Sells

17:00 Beyond The Tool: HR Solutions And B2B Services

20:00 Big Five Model In Coaching: From Debrief To Real Change

29:00 Internationalization And What’s Next