Ep 177 Mike Ettore - 50+ Years in Leadership / Marine to the Core / Sharpen your Listening

Question-by-Question Highlights

1) Best coaching advice you’ve gotten

• Coaching is more about listening than talking
• Ask multiple layers of questions before offering insight
• Let clients uncover their own answers
• Resist the urge to jump in early

2) What are you still trying to improve about your coaching?

• Slowing down despite decades of experience
• Asking more follow-up questions
• Avoiding knee-jerk solutions
• Letting the real issue surface naturally

3) Most outrageous thing you’ve done in a coaching session

• Told a CEO he was the primary problem
• Ended a lucrative engagement on ethical grounds
• Refused to be an “ally” to blame-shifting
• Walked away when accountability was impossible

4) What still makes you uncomfortable?

• Leaders who blame everyone else
• Lack of self-awareness and humility
• Resistance to honest self-reflection
• Coaching people who won’t look in the mirror

5) Advice for new or aspiring coaches

• Learn how to truly listen
• Know what you don’t know
• Stay in your lane
• Don’t pretend to be the expert in everything

6) What have you had to conquer to be a great coach?

• The urge to “fix” too quickly
• The temptation to impress with answers
• Walking away when coaching won’t work
• Accepting that not everyone is coachable

7) How are you using AI in your coaching practice?

• Content creation and thought leadership
• Eliminating the blank-page problem
• Expanding solution options for clients
• Supporting judgment, not replacing it

8) What have you learned about yourself?

• Delivery matters as much as insight
• Experience must be paired with empathy
• Trust and relationships drive change
• Coaching is art, not just science

Fun Stuff Question

• Favorite movie: Patton
• Why: history, leadership, discipline, stoicism
• Belief: ancient wisdom still applies today
• Leadership lesson: study history or repeat it