CBC/Radio-Canada has filed an application in Federal Court to fight an order directing it to disclose subscriber numbers for its Gem streaming service.
The information commissioner ordered CBC to make available the number of paid subscribers to Gem following an access-to-information request for the data.
CBC/Radio-Canada president Marie-Philippe Bouchard told The Canadian Press the subscriber numbers are sensitive commercial information.
That confidentiality matters when it comes to things like commercial negotiations on bundling Gem with other streaming services, Bouchard added.
The public broadcaster is “charged with making some of our budget out of commercial relationships,” she said.
“And that has to be played according to the rules of the market. And so we’re finding ourselves, with this ruling, uncomfortable with the interpretation.”
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In refusing to disclose the numbers, CBC cited exemptions for programming activities and information that could harm its competitive position.
In her final report on the access-to-information complaint, Information Commissioner Caroline Maynard said the subscriber numbers relate to CBC’s programming activities, but they also relate to its general administration — which means the exemption to disclosure does not apply.
Maynard said while “CBC did identify possible harms to its competitive position or to ongoing negotiations, it did not demonstrate that there was a reasonable expectation that these harms could occur, well beyond a mere possibility.”
Carney pledges more funding to CBC while Poilievre plans cuts
The information commissioner’s ruling contradicts the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s interpretation of what constitutes “sensitive commercial information,” Bouchard said.
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Bouchard said CBC/Radio-Canada wants the courts to provide clarity on the issue.
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CBC launched the Gem streaming service, which has both paid and free versions, in 2018. The paid version, which costs $5.99 a month, includes ad-free on-demand streaming and a stream of CBC’s 24-hour news channel, CBC News Network.
Paid subscribers “are not what makes Gem,” Bouchard said. “Gem is mainly a free-to-user service. And the paid part is really a commodity for people who don’t want advertising.”
CBC does not disclose the number of paid or unpaid subscribers to Gem.
In its notice of application, CBC/Radio-Canada asks the court to set aside the information commissioner’s order and declare that Gem records are exempt from disclosure.
It argues the public broadcaster “operates in a highly competitive environment in which foreign and domestic private and community broadcasters and other digital streamers offer their own programming on their respective distribution platforms.”
Bouchard was pressed on the question Monday afternoon during an appearance at the House of Commons heritage committee.
Conservative MP Kevin Waugh asked Bouchard whether she was “embarrassed” by the number.
“No,” she responded.
“Why don’t you come out and just say, here’s the numbers that we got,” Waugh asked again, telling Bouchard to “give us some numbers.”
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Bouchard responded that more than five million people have created an account.
In a later exchange with Waugh, Bouchard said the CRTC allows businesses to “consider that information confidential,” while the information commissioner’s interpretation “says that we have not met the standard for that confidentiality.”
“We want reconciliation between those two interpretations, and that’s why we asked the Federal Court to consider the situation,” she said.
Waugh disagreed, telling Bouchard: “I don’t know what you’re hiding. I really don’t, because you’re a public broadcaster, you’re getting the funds from the public, and you’re not in competition with Bell Media, Crave or any of those.”
The joy of sharing life with a dog or cat comes with a solemn responsibility—their health depends on vigilance beyond visible signs. Many diseases lurk quietly, revealing themselves only when it’s too late. Routine diagnostic tests for dogs and cats are the secret arsenal to uncover hidden threats early, protecting a beloved companion’s future.
Blood Work
Regular blood tests, including a Complete Blood Count (CBC) and chemistry panels, offer an internal snapshot. These reveal anemia, infections, organ stress, and metabolic imbalances long before symptoms arise. They can catch early signs of diabetes, kidney disease, liver dysfunction, and thyroid issues, conditions common and often silent in older animals. Imagine uncovering a hidden trouble spot like a stressed kidney or undetected infection before it severely weakens them—a priceless gift of time.
Urinalysis
Urinalysis complements blood work, revealing insights into kidney function, hydration status, infections, and early markers of diabetes. Urine analysis spots troubles invisible externally, illuminating conditions affecting urinary health or metabolic balance. It’s like giving your companion a voice to tell you about unseen struggles.
Fecal Exams
Though often overlooked, fecal tests detect intestinal parasites—such as roundworms, hookworms, and Giardia—that can cause nutrient loss, discomfort, and spread infectious risks within the home. Annual fecal exams act as guardians, keeping digestive health in check and preventing silent damage from parasitic invaders.
Heartworm Testing
Annual heartworm tests are crucial, especially for dogs, to detect this potentially fatal parasite spread by mosquitoes. Early detection allows intervention before irreversible heart or lung damage occurs, protecting long-term quality of life.
X-Rays and Ultrasounds
Diagnostic imaging reveals hidden fractures, joint diseases, and internal organ abnormalities. Ultrasounds can assess heart, liver, and kidney health, giving a window into internal complexities without invasive measures—capturing subtle changes before illness declares itself loudly. For example, fatty liver disease can be identified early with an ultrasound, allowing for a corrective course to be adopted in time.
Why Routine Matters: The Silent Progression of Disease
Animals instinctively mask pain and illness, instinctually protecting their vulnerability. This silence requires caregivers to be proactive. By testing twice yearly, diseases caught early allow simpler, more effective treatment. Chronic conditions—kidney disease, thyroid imbalances, diabetes, liver conditions—benefit immensely from timely management, prolonging vitality and joy.
Bridging Affectionate Care and Science
Watching a beloved dog or cat age gracefully is a profound gift. Routine diagnostic tests for dogs and cats can ensure a healthy furry life. Combining affection with regular diagnostics creates a protective net woven with science and care. These tests are not mere procedures; they are promises of more wagging tails, purring evenings, and irreplaceable moments together.
Share this knowledge: encourage conversation about regular diagnostics with fellow dog and cat families. Together, vigilance becomes strength. Together, lives are longer, brighter, and healthier.
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Animal Wellness is North America’s top natural health and lifestyle magazine for dogs and cats, with a readership of over one million every year. AW features articles by some of the most renowned experts in the pet industry, with topics ranging from diet and health related issues, to articles on training, fitness and emotional well being.
Team coaching and group coaching are often confused with each other because they both relate to groups of people and are often used in organizational settings. However, there are some key differences that set these two methods apart.
Let’s explore what they are and how you can use them in your practice.
What Is Team Coaching?
Team coaching specifically targets intact teams within organizations that work together on a regular basis. It aims to improve the collective performance, collaboration, and effectiveness of the team as a whole. What’s more, it can create team dynamics, communication, problem-solving, and goal attainment to achieve better results.
Team can be used, for example, for coaching a sales team to hit their targets or resolving a conflict in an upper management team.
What Are the Benefits of Team Coaching?
Coaching a team within an organization can have several benefits. Studies have shown that organizations with teams that are coached have a culture that is 36% more collaborative. They also had 32% less turnover and an 18% improvement in their bottom line.
Additionally, team coaching may help to:
Align toward common goals.
Develop an inspiring vision.
Build healthy team relationships with clearly defined roles.
Take responsibility for actions and results.
Make constructive decisions in line with their organization’s goals.
How Does Team Coaching Work?
A team is a group of people who come together for a common purpose, ideally with clearly defined roles and objectives. They’re generally expected to achieve more than any individual on their own.
However, they can struggle or fail when they’re stuck in unhelpful patterns and unresolved conflicts that hinder team performance.
Coaching can help with:
Assessment. This can make performance and KPIs measurable. It also identifies individual as well as group strengths and areas for improvement.
Goal setting. Based on the assessment findings, the coach collaborates with the team leader to set clear goals and targets.
Coaching sessions. These sessions may focus on improving certain skills, resolving conflict, or instilling new team values.
Reflection and feedback. The coach may facilitate reflection exercises and guide team members to give constructive feedback to each other.
Executive team coaching and talent development on various levels of an organization are especially useful when:
A team merges.
A new manager takes over the team.
Team conflicts need to be addressed.
Team efficiency needs to be increased.
Long projects lead to burnout.
Conflict or stress reduces productivity.
The team is not meeting its goals.
Commitment is low.
There is a major organizational change.
Embarking on new and challenging projects.
What Is Group Coaching?
Group coaching is a collaborative and structured process where a coach works with multiple individuals at the same time to achieve their personal or professional goals. In these sessions, participants benefit from shared experiences, peer support, and collective accountability, often resulting in accelerated growth and transformation.
The Benefits of Group Coaching
Group coaching can prove more effective than one-on-one coaching in many situations. Here’s why:
1. Promotes problem-solving among members
This type of coaching is great for solving problems collectively. Why? Because it encourages group members to clarify challenges, identify solutions, and define action steps together. Individuals from all walks of life (or with different professional backgrounds can share their knowledge and contribute unique perspectives.
2. Guarantees transfer of training
Group coaching fosters support and accountability. It can ensure that everyone in the group applies the training content and completes their assigned exercises.
3. Fosters a learning environment
The close engagement among members and their strong focus on helping each other can quickly form a close and confidential bond. This connection allows members to rely on each other to achieve their individual goals.
4. Creates opportunities for networking
Members of a coaching group share more than just business cards when they collaborate. They discuss their personal experiences or viewpoints, give each other open and honest feedback, and share useful resources.
5. Helps them acquire core coaching skills
Cultural changes within an organization require each employee or community member to change their behavior. Group coaching can be a catalyst for that.
It creates an environment where members coach each other and cultivate cultural changes on a smaller level first. These new values and behaviors can then ripple out into the organization as a whole.
6. Creates a trusting environment beyond the group
People who undergo this type of coaching apply what they learn to their work and daily lives. They develop openness and honest communication in their relationships, making sure everyone around them feels seen, heard, and respected.
Team Coaching vs. Group Coaching
Here’s a closer look at team coaching vs. group coaching:
Team Coaching
Group Coaching
Main focus
Team development goals
Individual development goals
Participants
Team members within an organization
Individuals from different backgrounds/organizations
Commonality
Shared organizational goals
Shared theme/competency for individual growth
Number of participants
Typically under 10
Typically under 10
Environment
Collaborative, feedback-rich, goal-oriented
Collaborative, feedback-rich, non-judgmental
Impact on individual growth
Can be significant but ultimately tied to team development
Supported as a byproduct of group experience
Impact on Collective Goals
Direct, focused on achieving shared team objectives
Indirect, through individual development
Momentum Building
Through collaboration and progress towards team goals
Through shared experiences and peer support
Similarities between group coaching and team coaching
Let’s take a look at some of the common features that group and team coaching share:
In both cases, individuals strive to improve their skills and performances.
It involves multiple participants, but usually not more than 10.
It’s designed to create a collaborative environment where feedback can be shared, and questions can be answered.
It’s not focused on one person. However, it may also include drilling down to a specific individual when all members benefit from the group-sharing experience.
It may support individual growth while also advancing the collective mission and goals through the coaching process.
It helps group members build momentum while working with others.
Team Coaching Methodologies
Coaching teams involves techniques and methods that take into account group dynamics and areas like communication, collaboration, and culture.
Commissioning. Helping teams establish a clear purpose, success criteria, and collaborative opportunities.
Clarity. Supporting them in clarifying their purpose, goals, values, roles, and expectations.
Co-creation. Creating a collective awareness of team dynamics and performance.
Linking. Coaching them to work together effectively to achieve their common goals.
Core learning. Enabling the group to develop, adapt, and support themselves within the organizational and wider business environment.
By developing these skills, coaches enable teams to create sustainable environments for high performance, creativity, and effectiveness.
Group Coaching Methodologies
Group coaching programs can perform one of three functions for their members: education, training, or support.
Groups cannot be expected to work well from the start. Forming a group is like cultivating a relationship. It takes time, patience, support, and effort. Members often go through recognizable stages in the process of transforming from a gathering of strangers to a unified group with shared goals.
The first phase of group development is the formation phase. It represents the time when the group comes together for the first time and may feel fear and uncertainty.
The members act modestly because they want to be accepted by all members of the group. Conflicts, disputes, misunderstandings, and personal opinions are avoided—even as members begin to form impressions of each other and understand what the group does together.
The important thing here is to understand the group’s purpose, determine how the team is organized, who is responsible for what, and discuss the major milestones or phases of the group’s goals.
During this phase, group coaches provide an overview of group rules, including meeting times and available resources. Meanwhile, group members learn their roles, how the group operates, what is expected of them, and what is acceptable.
2. Power struggle (charge phase)
The second phase of group development is the charge phase, also known as the storming phase. Arguments and competition are often at their maximum as group members develop an initial sense of belonging to the group. More aggressive group members emerge, while less confrontational members stay in their comfort zones.
Questions about leadership, authority, rules, policies, norms, responsibilities, metrics, and reward systems typically arise here. These questions need to be answered for the group to move on to the next stage.
3. Collaboration and integration (normalization phase)
During this phase, the group becomes more fun and enjoyable. Group interactions are much easier, more collaborative, and more productive with balanced give-and-take, open communication, bonding, and mutual respect.
If there is a dispute or roadblock, it can be resolved relatively easily, and the group can get back on track. Group leadership is very important, but the coach can step back and let the group members take the lead and move forward together.
4. Synergies (implementation phase)
Once the group has identified its needs, the standardization phase can be reached. This is the time when the group truly comes together.
At this stage, morale is high as group members actively recognize the talents, skills, and experience each member brings to the group. A sense of deeper belonging is created, and the group remains focused on its shared purpose and goals.
Members are flexible, interdependent, and trusting. Leadership is distributed, allowing individuals to make key decisions in their own domains.
5. Closure (deferred stage)
This stage of the group is usually reached when members no longer need the coach to support them and begin to work independently.
Scale Your Business Coaching Practice With Proven Methods
While both group and team coaching work towards better group dynamics, they have their own methodologies and purposes.
However, there’s a foolproof process that works for any business coach, no matter their niche. Discover the ultimate formula for delivering breakthrough results to your business clients in the free Become a Mindvalley Certified Business Coach masterclass.
Legalization has brought in millions of new users to marijuana. People are leaning into the joy and relaxed high without hangovers. Gummies have become the most popular, but many in their learning curve are enjoying flower. The plant is versatile giving a variety of experiences. You may notice a tag written on packages, what is it? TAC is way to have more marijuana fun.
First of all, TAC stands for Total Active Cannabinoids. It refers to the cannabis profile of a strain. When purchasing a cannabis product or seed, consumers are able to have more insight into the total cannabinoid content of the strain. With TAC, users can customize their cannabis sessions.
Photo by Connor Wilkins via Unsplash
The Total Active Cannabinoids of a strain take the focus away from THC alone and directs more attention to other minor cannabinoids in the plant. TAC informs users about how potent or effective a strain may be when consumed. Most of the time, the TAC is indicated by a cumulative figure, while a few manufacturers choose to disclose the individual properties of the cannabinoids present in the strain. This way, users can effectively decide which product they need at that very moment based on its potential effects.
TAC represents the total amount and potency level of the various cannabinoids found within a specific cannabis plant. Cannabis plants contain over 50 different cannabinoids, although not all are detectable. Current testing methods can only identify a set of cannabinoids available in substantial quantities. So, in reality, the TAC figure is usually less than the exact amount of cannabinoids in the strain.
The non-detectable cannabinoids in a strain are inactive or not sufficient enough to induce a notable impact. For cannabinoids to be included in the TAC means they have some form of influence on the effects that manifest in the user. Cannatech operators are yet to figure out a direct mechanism to identify the mechanism of an individual cannabinoid in a strain.
The Entourage Effect and TAC Relationship
The “entourage effect” best describes the synergy between all the cannabinoids in a cannabis plant. The theory reveals that all compounds, including terpenes and phytocannabinoids, available within a cannabis herb work together to induce the best effects.
The total active cannabinoids figure is important to the entourage effect. Scientists believe that the TAC reveals how the entourage effect operates. Explains why THC and CBD induce better physiological effects when they are consumed together or in addition with other minor cannabinoids.
The knowledge of TAC is most beneficial to medical cannabis users. It gives them an indication of what to expect from the entourage effect. On the other hand, recreational users use TAC to improve their smoking or dabbing experiences.
A few novices in the industry often confuse the meaning of TAC as being Total Aerobic Count. This is different from total active cannabinoids and has a different meaning. A total aerobic count is a measurement of the total microbial counts in a cannabis sample.
Photo by VICTOR DE SCHWANBERG/Getty Images
Cannabinoids In Cannabis
Over 60 cannabinoids can be found in weed plants. Some TAC labels could list up to 100 cannabinoids in one product. However, the majority of these compounds are relatively unknown—they have been identified, but their mechanisms are not understood. Some of the most common cannabinoids found in large and trace quantities in cannabis crops are as follows:
CBD induces effects that help to counteract the “high” produced by psychoactive cannabinoids. It does this by inhibiting the release of FAAH (an enzyme that breaks down anandamide). This action encourages the availability of anandamide, also known as the bliss compound. Studies have shown that CBD has anti-inflammatory properties and other therapeutic potential.
THC is literally the most famous cannabinoid in the weed ecosystem. This cannabinoid is the dominant compound that induces psychoactive effects on the user. THC reacts with CB1 receptors in the endocannabinoid system to produce the “high.” It emulates anandamide to induce the release of FAAH. Unlike other cannabinoids, THC is more potent and lasts much longer in the system.
CBDV is a minor cannabinoid that is often found in wild and hybrid varieties of cannabis. Cannabis crops grown in Central Asia have trace amounts of this cannabinoid. Research is ongoing to understand the compound’s reaction with the ECS, but cannabis researchers have pointed out that it has a similar chemical structure to CBD.
is a minor cannabinoid found in trace amounts in cannabis plants. Information about this cannabinoid is limited. Very little is known about its interaction with CB1 and CB2 receptors. Some studies suggest that CBC adds holistic efficacy to the entourage effect.
Aside from cannabinoids, cannabis contains other essential compounds like fatty acids, terpenes, and flavonoids. Most of these other compounds are poorly understood in the ecosystem. Yet, they all play vital roles in the entourage effect.
Terpenes are compounds that give cannabis strains their unique flavors. Terpenes are found in plants, fruits, and flowers of all crops, not just cannabis crops. Examples of terpenes are pinene, limonene, eucalyptol, and linalool. Terpenes also boost the effects of cannabinoids in the endocannabinoid system.
On the other hand, flavonoids give plants their pigment. They induce antioxidant effects in consumers. Their role in the entourage effect is vague, and their interaction, as well as the breakdown process, is yet to be established.
Knowing the TAC value of your cannabis products can be important. It’s just one more reason why cannabis regulations enforce manufacturers to include this information when labeling the products. It’s better when the total cannabinoids are listed. With this information, you can experiment with different product ratios to decipher the concentration that gives you the best cannabis experience. Medical officers can use this accurate measurement to determine the best therapeutic concentration for cannabis patients.
Marketing and sales gurus, established coaches, and other business experts chant the same mantra:
Overdeliver, overdeliver, overdeliver.
You need to exceed expectations—to overdeliver—when you work with your clients.
But for Ajit Nawalkha, the co-founder of Mindvalley Coach, he’s not one to accept advice just because it’s common or popular.
It’s good to evaluate and analyze everything you hear and read based on your personal experiences and observations. This way, you don’t get caught up in short-lived trends or ideas that may harm more than help your business.
Instead of wondering how to underpromise and overdeliver, take the cost of it into account first.
Based on Ajit’s own experiences working with countless coaches over hundreds of hours, here’s what he advises…
What Does “Underpromise and Overdeliver” Mean?
The phrase “underpromise and overdeliver” basically means promising someone less but delivering more. It’s the idea of setting modest expectations and then pleasantly surprising others by going above and beyond what you initially committed to.
It’s akin to saying, “I’ll do my best,” and then surpassing expectations by aiming for exceptional results.
Overdelivering is great—but only up to a point.
If you don’t do it right, you could end up creating massive problems that could destroy your entire coaching practice.
Here are three signs that tell you you’re overdoing over-delivery—and what you should do instead.
3 Signs The “Underpromise and Overdeliver” Mantra Is Damaging Your Coaching Business
Sign 1: Time boundaries mean nothing to you
Your coaching sessions are powerful and results-driven. You don’t end a coaching session until you’ve answered every question that your clients ask.
Even if it means going over the session time by 15, 20, 60 minutes, or more.
Do you recognize yourself here? If you said yes, it’s time to stop what you’re doing and reevaluate what’s really going on.
So what are the risks of underpromising and overdelivering here?
When you allow a coaching session to go way beyond the designated time, you’re showing your client that you have no boundaries.
Healthy boundaries are crucial if you want to build a successful, sustainable coaching practice. Over-stretching yourself because of weak boundaries will cause you to feel overworked, overwhelmed, and under-appreciated.
You’re likely to feel deep resentment toward your clients, and you might even end up believing that coaching is not for you. Avoid this by protecting your boundaries as a coach from the start.
Highlight what you will and will not do (no client calls after hours or on weekends, for example) in your client contract and when you first speak to your clients on a discovery call.
Doing this will create clarity and help you to uphold boundaries if your client steps over the line.
Sign 2: You deliver amazing results but your prices are ridiculously low
Some coaches figure that if they overdeliver by charging less for top-notch services, clients will be impressed and keep coming back for more sessions. They hope that more clients will be attracted to their low price point, and this will create business success.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Success is not measured by the quantity of clients that you work with but by the quality of the work you do.
If you’re spending just about every waking hour working with clients to make ends meet, then you’re headed straight toward “Burnout City.” If you’re exhausted all the time, you will not be able to help your clients achieve the results they’re looking for, which will damage your reputation as a coach.
When you charge a ridiculously low price, you are also demonstrating to your clients that you don’t value your own services, and this means they’re likely to do the same.
When you undercharge, your clients will take you for granted, will be less inclined to work with the strategies, tips, and tools that you share with them, and may even be happy to skip sessions with no prior notice.
This is not the kind of coaching practice that you want, and it’s certainly not the message that you want to give your clients.
Evaluate your price points with care. Do a little background research on your competitors, and make sure you are pricing competitively and in line with the true value of your services.
Sign 3: You consistently do your clients’ work for them
Imagine this scenario…
A business coach comes up with a list of strategies that his client needs to implement to move forward in their business.
One of these strategies is to come up with a list of ideas around creating products or programs that the client can sell to create a great passive income stream.
The coach tells the client to create this list so they can discuss it during a follow-up coaching session.
The client fails to do this. So the coach comes up with ideas for the client during the follow-up in an attempt to “overdeliver.”
In this all too common scenario, the coach does the client’s work, and the client ends up with a great list of program ideas without having to do any of the creative thinking or research.
Does this feel familiar?
If you do the work for your clients, it doesn’t mean you go the extra mile. It means that you’re teaching them to depend on you.
You’re demonstrating that they don’t have the capability or the creativity to do what it takes to create success in their own lives. And without even meaning to, you’ll end up disempowering your clients.
No matter how tempting it is, never do the work for your clients in the name of “overdelivering.” Instead, hold your clients accountable for the work they must do so they can create the results that they want in their lives.
Impress Your Clients Without Overstretching Yourself
If your goal is to overdeliver and exceed your clients’ expectations, pick just one thing and be very specific. For instance, if you’re a business coach, share five marketing strategies instead of three, or offer a surprise bonus along with your programs or packages.
When it’s not done right, overdelivering can sink you into the depths of burnout and put your entire business in jeopardy.
When it’s done right, overdelivering will create a mind-blowing reputation that will skyrocket your coaching practice.
Choose wisely.
Join our free Masterclass Become a Mindvalley Certified Business Coach and discover how you can create future-proof wealth, freedom, and expansion in your business with high-paying coaching clients.
You might be wondering, “Why hire a business coach when you’re one yourself?”
The thing is, it benefits not only your revenue but also makes you a better coach by experiencing what your clients experience firsthand.
Hiring one for the first time can be intimidating. You might be feeling like you’re supposed to know these things. After all, it’s what you make a living out of.
If you’re concerned about “How much does a business coach cost?” then career coach Robbie Swale might offer you a new perspective on this: seeing it as an investment and focusing on earning it back by growing your business.
Here are six reasons why working with a coach is the best move you can make to scale your practice, told through the lived experience of Robbie himself.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn in February 2019 by Robbie Swale and has been edited for punctuation and clarity.
I was speaking to a client of mine, a coach. We were just finishing our final session. Extraordinary things had happened for the client in her life, and her coaching business. She said, reflecting on the power of the work, “I just don’t understand coaches who don’t have coaches.”
And I don’t either.
Because if there is one thing a coach can do to have the greatest positive effect on the success and impact of their coaching business, then it is to hire a coach for themselves.
And that’s what this article is about. It’s about how, if you want to start a successful coaching business, then you should consider hiring a coach.
Having your coach will not only be a joyful, powerful, and inspiring journey, but it will also be singularly impactful on how successful you are in making this coaching thing your livelihood.
Here’s why…
1. It’s the Quickest and Easiest Way to, Let’s Say, Triple What You Know About Selling Coaching
I was running a group supervision call with a colleague, supporting several new coaches with the challenges they were having in the first few months after completing their coach training. On this particular call, the common business coach challenges they brought were mainly around how best to enroll new clients.
This included everything from contracts to the actual mechanics of the conversations with prospective clients. I couldn’t work out why I found it so confusing that these coaches were asking these questions.
Where did I learn this? Because only some of it had been when I studied in the same coaching course a couple of years before. And then I realized that the three coaches on the call had never hired a coach.
Hiring a coach once would have shown them the answers to almost all their questions; seeing what went through their minds as they decided which coach to hire, or seeing what the coaches did and what made the difference.
In fact, they would have learned so much even from coaches they decided not to work with.
While I was studying coaching, I read The Prosperous Coach, a fantastic book by Rich Litvin and Steve Chandler. One of the things they say in the book is: Hire a coach. After all, who would (as they say, memorably) trust a doctor who told you they didn’t go to the doctor?
So after I finished my training, I went out and spoke to coaches. It was fascinating, and the lessons I took away helped me create new ways of being and behaving in my business that I could believe in.
That included ways I didn’t want to be.
And you just can’t learn all that from a 10-step webinar program. You need to play in the real world.
2. It Will Make You a Much Better Coach, Faster
The section above is about the enrollment process, and there’s so much to learn there. But hiring a coach will gift you so much more than that: It has the potential to change and inspire the way you work and change lives every day.
So hire a coach who hasn’t trained in the same place you did. Hire one who has developed themselves over the years. Hire one who’s better than you. And then learn from them. Because seeing people in action is inspiring and enlightening.
It gives you a feeling for how a different coach plays the game: how they lead and when they follow, what questions they ask and when, how they play with exercises and assignments, and what it’s like when they do.
It supports you in going through one of the most important shifts that a coach needs to go through to do their best work: the shift into trusting that you can create your own coaching style as well as your own coaching business.
That shift partly comes from seeing how other people do things and thinking, “I could do that. But would I?”
What did it feel like when they said that, or sent you that email or assignment?
What was the outcome?
Would you do it like that? If yes, then start doing it. If not, then why not?
As another client of mine said to me recently, “There shouldn’t be any shame in copying what others have done.” Absolutely. You’re here to serve your clients, to support them as best you can, so borrow what other coaches have said and done to change your clients’ lives.
I heard someone say once: there’s no new wisdom in the world, but when you share the age-old wisdom, you give it your flavor, and that makes it new. So use what your coach uses to serve your clients as best you can, and give it your flavor.
3. It Will Guide You Through Your Money Issues
I’ve spoken to many coaches, and most (if not all) of them have at some point in their life had this thought “Is my coaching worth $X?”
Often, this challenge (working through our resistance to charging for our time) is one of the things that holds coaches back from running a successful business, from having the money they need, the money that is the lifeblood enabling them to change the world.
Now, hiring a coach doesn’t always resolve that—although it can, if you focus your work there—but it can answer a bigger and often underlying question: Is any coaching worth $X?
Because once you have paid a coach $1,000, $2,000, or $10,000 and seen and felt what you got in return, you will know this. It will be a part of your experience. Was it worth that money? If yes, why? If not, why not?
When looking for a development opportunity in 2017, I came across a program I wanted to do: Brené Brown’s Daring Way Certification. It was in Houston, Texas, and cost $3,000. Plus, of course, I had to go to Houston. This seemed like an enormous amount of money until I shifted my perspective to look at it as an investment in my business.
I did this almost by accident, by asking myself this question: How many extra clients would I have to get to make this investment in my business—of about $4,000 including the travel—worth it? I was charging £1,500 for my typical engagement at the time, so the answer was easy: three.
Then I thought, would being able to say I am an accredited Daring Way facilitator lead to me getting three extra people, ever, to work with me? That ever there, that’s important. I can add that in there because I’ve made a commitment to coaching for the long term. And with that commitment—and making the commitment is important if you want to make a success of your coaching business—the answer came to me: It was a pretty obvious yes.
In the end, I didn’t go for that training, but that opened something up for me in how I looked at investing in myself. It was the final push that opened the door to “If I do things differently, I can create more money for myself.” It was the final nail in the coffin of “There is a scarcity of money available to me.”
For many of you, entrepreneurs and business owners especially, this may not be new, but for me, it was, and the shift was important.
4. It Will Teach You—Deep Down—What It’s Like to Be a Client
The sales process is not the only part of working with someone that you will learn from about receiving coaching. You will also learn more about every stage of the process.
About three months into the Prosperous Coach Salon, I was getting worried. I hadn’t made as much money during the program as I thought I would.
My thoughts were all over the place…
Is it working?
Will I get the value I want?
Am I doing it wrong?
Will I regret taking part in the program?
Has this all been a terrible mistake?
And until I wrote down my worries to try to process them, I wasn’t able to see how funny it was. When I looked down at it in writing, I laughed out loud because this is something I speak to my clients about all the time.
From my earliest clients, I had begun to see how it happens for people, often about one-third or halfway through their coaching. They worried about it; they felt like enough progress wasn’t being made.
It’s the period in the middle of the hero’s journey (that’s what a commitment to changing your life and changing yourself is) that Joseph Campbell calls in the belly of the beast, where you most want to give up, where it feels most hopeless.
I had seen this, so I often shared that this might happen with clients near the start of our work. I had felt it before myself, but this time, with more money on the line—more money than I had paid for almost anything ever—I felt it so much more strongly. And after I had had the experience of that during the Salon, I was able to notice it even more with my clients and develop extra compassion for them at that stage in their journeys.
I was also able to learn from how Rich prepared us for it and then how he worked with the members of the group (including me) on our concerns. I was also able to see how that stage is sometimes a necessary part of the process, as Campbell, Steven Pressfield, and so many others tell us. From that moment and that realization, things really started to shift for me in Rich’s program. My growth and engagement accelerated.
It’s not just that, though, that you learn about what it’s like to be a client. It’s about all stages of the process and the journey.
You learn about the beginning of engagements: How do you set them up to be powerful?
You learn about the ends of them: what kind of ending serves you when you’re a client? How can you make the way you end your engagements even better and gift your clients a powerful ending?
And you learn about how a coach manages, supports, and works with their clients throughout the process. Then you can reflect: What would you want more of or less of, and how can you deliver it to your clients at each stage of the process?
5. It Will Transform Your Belief in Coaching
“What do you actually do, Robbie?” said a friend of mine to me a couple of years ago. “As far as I can tell from your articles, you just listen to people and reflect back what they say?” It wasn’t said with malice, but I felt at least a dash of skepticism.
My stomach dropped. It played into my doubts: Is coaching even a thing?
How can sitting and listening to people, reflecting things to them, and asking questions make such a difference?
Why do people pay money for this? Is this a real job? Am I about to get found out?
But, inside me, something was different from how it had been a year before when my confidence and my belief in coaching were far more fragile. I was more confident. I believed more. Some of that came from seeing the results for my clients: From seeing my income go up and reading the feedback people had given me.
The belief came from the feeling I felt every time I left sessions with my coach and seeing the things I achieved with that energy and momentum. Things I didn’t think myself capable of. It came from understanding the value of making a commitment to work with someone for several months and to work on myself.
6. It Will Keep You On The Right Path
Coaching is hard. Being an entrepreneur is hard. It isn’t for everyone.
It has downs to go with the ups, struggles to go with the successes and stress to go with the joy. I’ve spoken before about how important it is to make a long-term commitment to coaching (indeed, I believe that’s true of any venture), because committing to the long term will free you in the present.
Making a commitment frees you to do so many things: To make investments in yourself, to create long-term relationships, and to not be chasing the next client desperately. But making a commitment only works if you can stay committed.
There’s a reason that we do what we do, that we love coaching. It’s because it’s an incredibly powerful way of developing yourself, meeting challenges, getting through struggles, and relieving stress. I remember thinking early on in my business, “Wow, this coaching I’m getting is so valuable. Even if all my business does is pay for this, it’ll be worth it.”
If you hire a coach, it will keep you invested in coaching. It will help you keep your belief and your faith, and it will help you stick with this thing, even when you’re doubting, even when you feel like giving up. Elevate your career and future-proof your business by learning this one crucial skill for coaches. Join us in the Become a Mindvalley Certified Business Coachfree masterclass.
One of the biggest sources of strength for a leader is knowing where they draw their power from.
In 1959, social psychologists John French and Bertram Raven identified five bases of power manifested by leaders in positions of authority. Later on, they added a sixth power base to the list to help leaders understand how they can fulfill their roles effectively.
Power bases are the methods by which leaders manifest their power and influence their teams. This is why it’s so essential for them—and for you as their coach—to understand this key concept.
Discover how you can use power bases in leadership as a coaching tool and help your clients lead their teams more intentionally.
What Does Power Mean in Leadership?
In the context of leadership, power refers to the ability to influence others. There are different ways leaders can guide, motivate, and direct their teams depending on their style and the organizational culture they operate in.
Power is not just about control or authority but also about the leader’s capacity to affect the behavior, decisions, and attitudes of their reports. They need to skillfully navigate interpersonal dynamics and mobilize their teams to work towards a common goal.
What is the difference between power vs. influence?
When coaching clients on business and leadership skills, it’s important to help them understand the difference between power and influence. This way, they can develop greater awareness of whether they rely on legitimate power (their official position or title) or use influence tactics.
Power
Influence
Definition
The ability to control or direct others, often associated with authority and position in an organization.
The capacity to affect the thoughts, behavior, or opinions of others, regardless of formal authority.
A Typical Example
CEOs using their formal authority to make strategic decisions.
A mentor influencing a mentee through guidance, support, and positive role modeling.
Where Power Is Drawn From
Can be derived from formal positions, titles, or roles within an organization (legitimate power), expertise, charisma, rewards, punishment, or control of information.
Primarily stems from personal qualities, relationships, communication skills, and the ability to inspire and persuade.
How Authority Is Used
Often involves the exercise of authority and control to achieve compliance.
Involves persuasion, inspiration, and the ability to motivate others voluntarily.
Impact
Can be effective as long as the person holds a formal position or authority.
May have a more enduring impact, as it is based on personal relationships and trust.
What Are the Different Types of Power Bases?
The six power bases developed by French and Raven can be an essential coaching tool for working with leaders. Let’s look at what each of these forms of leadership is and how they manifest in real-life situations.
1. Legitimate power
This is the leader’s power to get others to comply purely based on their position. In a hierarchical organization, the executives at the top have legitimate power to demand compliance from others.
Although employees may comply based on legitimate power, they might not do so with a sense of cooperation and commitment.
2. Reward power
This is a leader’s ability to yield power by compensating their employees for compliance. In this case, they control a desired outcome for their employees, such as recognition, extra holidays, a bonus, or a promotion.
Used in the right context, reward power can be a strong incentive for employees. However, if overused, employees may be tempted to focus solely on the extrinsic rewards of their work and forget about the more meaningful, intrinsic motivation for their jobs.
3. Coercive power
Using coercive power means making employees comply through force. It can be economic, social, emotional, political, or even physical.
Though these are extreme examples, many leaders use threats (either direct or indirect) to get the work done if they don’t have better leadership tools.
4. Informational power
Informational power in a leader’s hands means controlling critical information that others need. They can exercise this type of power by withholding that information.
However, this type of power dissipates immediately once the information is shared.
5. Referent power
Referent power is a leader’s ability to lead by example. Drawing from this power base allows leaders to earn respect for their values and become role models for employees and mentees.
Leaders can only empower and inspire others if they possess referent power. Naturally, this power base takes more time to develop, and it’s what’s most effective in both organizational and other hierarchical settings.
6. Expert power
Expert power relies on a leader’s specialized knowledge, domain expertise, or skill set. Interestingly, an employee with greater knowledge might have higher expert power when it comes to a particular area.
This power base diminishes as a leader starts sharing their knowledge with their employees. Fearing this, leaders sometimes intentionally choose not to educate their employees.
While this might increase the leader’s perceived power, it weakens the organization’s effectiveness over time, as well as their respect for their leader.
What Are Some Examples of Power Bases in the Workplace?
Legitimate power: A company’s CEO. Employees are expected to follow the head of the organization’s directives and decisions because of their formal position at the top of the hierarchy.
Reward power: A manager. They have the authority to grant bonuses, promotions, or other rewards, so employees are motivated to perform well in the hope of receiving these incentives.
Coercive power: A supervisor. They have the authority to impose disciplinary actions or penalties, so employees may comply with directives to avoid negative consequences such as reprimands or job loss.
Informational power: An executive assistant. They control access to critical information in a company. Others may seek their favor or cooperation because of the valuable insights and data they can provide.
Referent power: A popular and respected team leader, well-liked by their colleagues. Team members are more likely to follow their lead due to the positive relationships they’ve built and the admiration they receive.
Expert power: An IT manager. They have extensive knowledge of cybersecurity, so their colleagues respect and defer to their decisions related to security measures.
The first four power bases are more positional, which means they depend on the role of the leader within an organization.
The last two (referent and expert) are more personal. They stay with the leader, irrespective of their title in the organization; this also makes them easily transferable. Additionally, they’re the most effective at building long-term commitment amongst employees.
Coaching Leaders Through Their Power Bases
The objective of this coaching technique is to help your clients gain a deeper understanding of their power bases by reflecting on real-life scenarios.
Focus on these two questions during your coaching session:
1. How do they exercise their power right now as a leader?
2. What kind of power would they like to develop more of?
Understanding this concept helps them improve their relationships with their employees and their performance as a leader.
An 8-step process to coaching leaders on their power bases
Start off by explaining the framework to your client and what each power base means.
Ask them which one or two power bases they use most often
Invite them tothink of a specific time when they used them effectively.
Dig deeper: How much of this power base do they use in their relationships with their juniors, peers, and superiors?
Can they recall instances when this form of power wasn’t effective?
What power bases would they like to use more often to become better leaders?
What are they learning about their relationship with power through this process?
Is there a dominant power base in their organization or team? How is it affecting their overall company culture?
From Insight to Action
A leader’s ultimate source of power comes from how effectively they are able to influence their team. Using this powerful coaching model will help your client leave with specific action steps on how they can develop their effectiveness as a leader. If you want to dive deeper into the art of masterful coaching, join us in the Become a Mindvalley Certified Business Coachfree masterclass to learn how to transform your passion into a purposeful profession.
— Some of the images have been generated on Midjourney.
1. Starting and scaling a global tech leader from Canada is hard
“We are a risk-averse country,” says McNish. “We are dominated by large corporations, whether in banking or technology or real estate.” BlackBerry—then known as Research in Motion, and RIM for short—only got noticed in Canada after it was backed by American investors and banks, and lauded by the likes of Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Dell and GE’s Jack Welch.
“That is something that as a country and as a marketplace we should fix,” she says. But until that happens, be realistic about how Canadian tech companies stack up against foreign, especially American, competitors that come by this support more easily.
2. First-mover advantage is worth less than you’d think
Photo of author Jacquie McNish by Fred Lum
BlackBerry is credited with inventing the now ubiquitous smartphone product category, but many other tech firms had already tried to merge cellphone technology and internet capabilities by the time it came along.
“For 10 years prior to that, the landscape was littered with failures by major companies. Even Apple in ’93 tried to do a message pad that would be transmitted over a network,” McNish says.
BlackBerry’s breakthrough came from finding ways to conserve network bandwidth. When wireless carriers instead switched to selling data, and bandwidth exploded, that advantage became moot. The new competition, Apple’s iPhone, promised pictures, maps, video—“things that BlackBerry said was an impossibility,” she says.
3. Corporate partnerships are key
BlackBerry’s first big break came in 1997. “It had basically been blessed by a major telephone carrier in the United States as the future” when it introduced the first BlackBerry device, a pager called the Bullfrog, McNish notes. Apart from its appeal to consumers, BlackBerry offered carriers a mutually beneficial business proposition. The company’s market position began to crumble when it took those partnerships for granted.
When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone in 2007, McNish says, “he also brought on stage a very important individual who was an AT&T senior executive who was offering billions of dollars for the exclusive right to sell the Apple iPhone for a number of years” as well as committing to upgrade the company’s network to handle the soaring volume of data that entailed.
4. Beware cognitive dissonance
Apple’s announcement proved a turning point. Jobs, who had earlier dismissed the idea of making a smartphone, tacitly acknowledged the market opportunity that BlackBerry opened up. “And then the second critical moment was when people started asking Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, the two senior people at the top of BlackBerry, were they worried about it,” McNish says. “They brushed it off.”
