Coffee House Coaching
Coffee House Coaching is an Executive Coaching podcast where I speak with fellow Executive Coaches about their practice, their process and how they help their clients. I also speak with individuals impacted by coaching and how it has improved their lives. My goal is to shine some light on the wonderful world of Executive Coaching and explain what it is and how it works. So, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and enjoy my conversations about Executive Coaching.
Coffee House Coaching
Ep 175 Nina Blackshear - The Year of "No" (Ted Talk) / Lawyer to Coach / NOT being the Guru
•
Season 3
•
Episode 175
1. Best Coaching Advice You’ve Gotten
- Ask more questions instead of charging in with solutions.
- Slow down the instinct to “fix”—curiosity beats expertise.
- Socialize ideas rather than bulldozing with brilliance.
2. What Are You Still Trying to Improve?
- Reducing compound questions (her version of the coaching filibuster).
- Releasing the impulse to control the conversation.
- Allowing clients to answer imperfectly without “rescuing” them.
3. Most Outrageous Thing You’ve Done in a Session
- Deploying the wildcard question: “What am I not asking you that I should be?”
- Admitting out loud when a session feels stuck.
- Handing responsibility back to the client instead of forcing an insight.
4. What Still Makes You Uncomfortable?
- Knowing when to interrupt clients who go on context marathons.
- Managing the tension between venting and progress.
- Timing the interruption like Double Dutch: jump too early and you break an ankle.
5. Advice for Someone Considering Coaching
- Give yourself to the infinite, unpredictable paths a conversation can take.
- Let go of steering, engineering, and controlling outcomes.
- Trust the process even when it feels like you’re floating in space without gravity.
6. Something You’ve Had to Conquer
- Ego. Full stop.
- The belief that being the smartest person in the room is the job (it isn’t).
- Breaking lifelong habits formed as a lawyer and high achiever.
7. How Are You Using AI in Your Coaching Practice?
- Barely—AI helps run the business, not the coaching room.
- Protecting the human heart of coaching is a priority.
- Belief that if you show up like a robot, you’re easier to replace by one.
8. What Have You Learned About Yourself Through Coaching?
- She’s a lifelong learner who never wants to stop honing her craft.
- Coaching opened an entire new intellectual landscape she wants to master.
- Minimalism and presence are more powerful than frameworks and prep.
Fun Stuff Question
(Bridget Jones, blue crabs, Severance, and a reality-TV confession.)
- Favorite movie: Bridget Jones’s Diary (and she knows you’re judging her).
- Favorite meal: backyard Maryland crab feasts—an entire family ritual, not a menu item.
- Favorite show: Severance, plus a guilty-pleasure detour into Love Is Blind.