A Coach Academy podcast
Nathalie Blais talks with coaches, executives and researchers about connection, and about the parts of leadership nobody teaches you. Real conversations, not interviews.
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New episode every Tuesday
49:24Episode 36
"Just be yourself" usually means defaulting to the style you've run for years. Nathalie makes the case for being yourself on purpose, moving from authentic to genuine, and why that out-of-your-depth feeling is often just learning.
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Founder of Coach Academy and an ICF Master Certified Coach. She holds a Master’s degree in Psychology from Harvard and has spent 50,000 hours in coaching conversations. She has given a TEDx talk on why connection matters more than curriculum.
She started this podcast for one reason: connection skills are the most useful thing she knows, and almost nobody is taught them.
Why listen
Every episode leaves you with one question to ask differently, or one habit to drop. Not theory you nod along to.
Executives, psychologists and coaches who will tell you what went wrong, not only what worked.
Every episode is raw, from the heart, and all about experimenting with human connection.
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Get to know CA alumni and learn from our incredible guests
1:00:10
Julian Treasure's five TED talks on listening have 170M+ views, all circling one uncomfortable truth: most of us think we listen well, and don't. He shares his RASA method and the two words that make anyone feel heard.
47:46
Thinking about coach certification? Nathalie answers the five questions her admissions team hears most: when to refer to therapy, whether you need psychometric tools, will AI replace coaches, how to stand out, and what makes a good fit.
57:00
Most leaders think they listen well because they can hear. Nathalie and Coach Academy faculty member Kelly Wood explore what real listening asks of us — and the two-word question that unlocks deeper thinking.
53:56
On March 16, 2022, a partnership Nathalie trusted unravelled into a hostile takeover attempt and a legal battle. How coaching helped her move from "Why me?" to "Watch me" — without letting betrayal define her.
55:00
Jesse Schuhlein grew Zabre Technologies from two customers to 170 people, then became a coach. He and Nathalie explore comfort in the unknown, leading without being the expert, and where AI helps coaching — and where it can't.
1:13:25
What does it actually take to leave a 20-year legal career and become an executive coach? Jonathan Cullen spent two decades as in-house counsel, including at Pfizer, before making that shift.
53:32
Ten years ago, Coach Academy started on a couch with a single question about human connection. Today, more than 4,000 graduates carry those coaching skills into their work and lives.
59:10
Carla Catherwood built Army of Sass into a licensed network of 40+ dance locations across Canada and the US. Then COVID killed it overnight. She and Nathalie get into community versus audience, burnout, and starting over.
52:14
Why aren't connection skills taught in schools? Nathalie Blais spent 50,000 hours coaching, went to Harvard to research the question with 150+ educators worldwide, and took the answer to a TEDx stage.…
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Nathalie records with coaches, leaders and researchers. If that is you, tell us what you would want to talk about.
Next step
The skills in these conversations are teachable. That is what Coach Academy does.
ICF-accredited certification, live online, with faculty who coach for a living.
See the programsTell an advisor where you are. They will tell you honestly whether one of them fits.
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