Executive Leadership Coach Brooke Dinse McCarrison

Intro: [00:00:02] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for Coach the Coach Radio brought to you by the Business RadioX ambassador program, the no cost business development strategy for coaches who want to spend more time serving local business clients and less time selling them. Go to BRXAmbassador.com to learn more. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:33] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Coach the Coach Radio, and this is going to be a fun one. Today we have with us Brooke Dinse McCarrison with Brooke Brooke Dinse McCarrison coaching. Welcome, Brooke

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:00:45] Haley. Thank you so much for having me on today.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:48] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to tell us about your coaching practice. I know you focus on executive leadership. Talk about that a little bit.

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:00:57] Yeah. Thank you. Yes. I help both emerging leaders and seasoned executives really just connect in with their true purpose so that they can find their real spark and use that to have the impact they want to have to help their teams grow in meaningful ways. And just really, you know, have a have a career that’s that’s fulfilling and a life that’s fulfilling as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:24] So what’s your back story? Were you always a coach or is this something you got into a little later in your career?

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:01:31] Yeah, definitely. Definitely something I got into later in my career. I have a bit of a winding road when it comes to my career journey. I, I taught factory workers for a while, English and Spanish language courses, and through that experience, really got to see firsthand how frustrating it can be when you can’t communicate effectively as a team. And then I work with foster kids in Chicago for a while and helping their families navigate through crisis situations and through that system was extremely Eye-Opening for me. And then I worked at a law firm and and helped paralegals and legal assistance and lawyers move through high stress situations there, and then eventually found myself as working for an insurance company and moving into led a team of operations folks at that insurance company through a lot of change and a lot of growth. So, yeah, it was a winding road, but ultimately the thread that ran through it for me was the difference between what can happen when a team of people is led by a really inspirational and purposeful leader and when they’re not. And so knowing that difference and getting to be in that seat for a while, I really I really learned that I that that’s where my my genius’s I want to help leaders grow into the best version of the leader they could possibly be so that they can lift everybody up around them.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:12] Now, on this journey. Did you have an opportunity to be coached yourself?

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:03:18] Yes, definitely. So I I was coached really quite a bit. I found coaching to be extremely helpful to me in my own personal development and my development specifically as a leader. And it was actually crucial for me to really have that kind of support in order to develop the skill set that I really needed to be an effective and inspirational leader. So not only did I receive the help through coaching in that regard, it also helped me to come to realize that that coaching was really the work I’m meant to do in my life as well. And so it helped me make that that transition, too.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:01] So for the folks who have never been coached before, what is some of the kind of unexpected benefits of working with a coach that you found that might help persuade them to try coaching?

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:04:13] Yeah, I love that question. So I think a lot of people, they have familiarity with coaching around, say, maybe a sports coach, which I was an athlete in high school and college. So I definitely know what that’s all about. Or or they think of it as something. Once you get into the professional development space, they think of it as something that maybe only really top level executives have access to or should take advantage of. And I think I think the most unexpected thing that I found in the power of coaching is that really it can help you amplify what you’re already doing and what you’re already experiencing to a level you never even thought possible. And so I think it comes in it comes in to be this extremely helpful thing at whatever stage of your career you’re in, but also whatever stage of fulfillment you’re in as well, because it can help you when you’re really in quite a bit of challenge and struggle and maybe moving into something new for the very first time, like your very first leadership role, for example. It can help you there, but it can also help you at times when you’re kind of just coasting. Right. You’ve got kind of got this thing down. You’ve figured out what’s going on, but, you know, you’re not operating at your optimal level. And and that’s the. Driving you crazy to some extent, right, you’re not getting the kind of level of joy and happiness and fulfillment out of your life that you really know you’re you’re capable of and you want more of. And so coaching can really help in those situations, too.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:47] Now, do you think coaching is better suited for that kind of achiever mindset person that people that want more that aren’t satisfied with where they’re at as opposed to that kind of remedial way of dealing with people and saying, hey, I need you to fix these things to really up level something from basic to, you know, better rather than from good to great.

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:06:12] Yeah, that’s such a great question. I love it. So I think that I think they’re both good places to receive coaching and coaching can really help you benefit. The critical piece. Is the person seeking out the coaching really wanting to make a change? Right. So so whether you are feeling like you’re at just the very beginning base level of your skills in a certain area or your understanding or your clarity or your knowing in a certain area or whether you think you’ve moved quite a ways along, but you want to just amplify it and get better, get even better. The critical pieces, you wanting to make a change. And I think if if if that commitment and that dedication is there, it doesn’t really matter what level you’re at. It just matters that you’re ready to show up and you’re ready to be open to looking at things differently and trying different things to find what your next best step is to take that that step toward raising your bar right to the next to the next point.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:21] Now, when you’re working with leaders, do you find that a lot of times the leader has that kind of. Special, something within themselves, but sometimes they get bogged down with some of the I don’t want to downplay it in terms of calling it minutia, but some of the kind of the nuts and bolts of the job and less of the inspirational kind of classic leadership that you would see in movies, part of the job.

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:07:49] Yes, absolutely. You have me laughing on that one because that one rings very true for me. Right. I am remembering when I first stepped into a leadership position and I had so much hopeful optimism and so much of my own momentum built up, wanting to be the leader that I’d seen in movies are the leaders I’ve been lucky enough to have in real life, too. And I wanted to be like those people. Right. I wanted to give that gift really to my team. And it does not take long once you step into that role and it doesn’t really matter what level it’s at, whether it’s your first time being a leader, whether you’ve been doing it for years, but your role has shifted or you’ve changed companies, it does not take long for those feelings to come to spiral into the overwhelm the because there is so much, especially as you move your way up the ladder, so to speak, there’s so much to pay attention to. And and depending on where your team is at, depending on where your companies that depending on what resources you have available to you, what level of talent you have on your team, all of those things come into play to really equate to a leader is responsible for a lot of things and the buck stops with you. And so it needs to get done one way or the other. And so I think a lot of leaders find themselves taking on a lot of, like you said, the minutia or the the to do list just gets longer and longer and longer. The the number of emails they need to respond to in their email just becomes crushingly overwhelming. And it can be so easy to lose sight of those things that you were once focused on in order to bring that inspiration and motivation both to yourself and to your team.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:39] Now, do you find that most people have kind of that leadership quality within them and they just need to have it coaxed out? Or do you believe some people are just kind of born with the charisma and the skills of the leader?

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:09:54] I love that question so much. So I I definitely think that there are folks who are born with the quote unquote leadership qualities. But I truly believe that there is a leader inside of all of us and we’re actually always leading all the time. It’s just whether we’re leading actively or whether we’re leading passively. And so gaining self awareness around how you’re currently showing up, how you’re being perceived, how that’s affecting the way in which you move through the world and the people who you interact with move through the world and then really taking that self-awareness and making intentional choices about how you move forward from there. I think anyone has the ability to do that. And I also think that leadership in large part is a learned skill set and it’s oftentimes a skill set that is not so. It’s not taught in the same kind of way that teaching someone how to do a job well is taught right. And so a lot of times people find themselves just quote unquote, falling into leadership roles or getting promoted into them because they’ve been in a company for a long time or they’ve been an exceptional performer in in the role that they were responsible for before. And then they’re kind of just left to figure it out as a leader. And I think that’s where it’s really important to find the right kind of support, to be able to have someone in the ring with you to help you develop that skill set based on where you are right now and what your next best steps forward are, because I think anybody has the ability to be an amazing leader. It’s just about what how you want to lead.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:43] Now, let’s talk about your specific practice. What is the typical kind of point of entry for a client of yours? What’s the pain that they’re having? Where it’s the right move is to call Brooke in her team.

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:11:56] Yeah, thank you for that question. So it’s a couple of things. I have folks who come to me who are first time leaders, right. They’re moving from being that exceptional individual contributor and they’re taking on their first leadership role. And they’re either anticipating starting doing that or they’ve gotten into it and they’re realizing, whoa, hold on a minute, this is a different pool and the water is a lot deeper over here. So I got to figure this out. And they and they realize that having someone in their corner to help them. Troubleshoot their help, guide them through that and help them work through it is exactly what they need, right? Right at that time. So that’s that’s some of the folks. The other I would say the majority of the other folks who come to me, it’s actually two things. One is they they know they are capable of so much more as a leader. They they’ve proven that to themselves and to other people in other roles that they’ve had or at other companies that they’ve been at. But they find themselves in a truly toxic work situation. And it’s just not the right fit. It’s not working. And so they’ve been they’ve really been through the fire. Right. Just and really gone into survival mode, trying to make sure that they can salvage something out of the situation. And that’s a really hard place to try to figure stuff out from and to motivate yourself from. And so they seek out the coaching in order to help them do that, in order to help them move through it and move move past it. And then I’d say the third group is folks who are our leaders. They know they’re good at it. They’re getting by. Their team is doing OK, they’re doing OK, but OK is not good enough for them. And they just really want to magnify the the impact that they’re having and show up in a in a more purposeful way.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:52] So now you mentioned working with emerging leaders or even experienced leaders that are having some difficulty. Is there an industry that you work in that you feel more comfortable in or the kind of industry agnostic?

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:14:07] Yeah, great question. So I think my most recent and and longest tenure experience before becoming a coach was in the insurance industry. And I definitely had a lot of clients who coach and clients who who are in the insurance industry as well. So I’m really well versed in that and feel comfortable there. But my client base really spans all industries and it spans nonprofit and and corporate environment. There’s there’s leaders in every realm. Right. And so it really just the details are less important than the experience that the leader is going through at that time. And we can quickly get up to speed related to the specifics and then just spend our time diving deep into exactly what’s going on for that individual. And then I can customize a plan for them from there based on what they most want and what they know, how quickly they want to get there.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:10] Now, are you finding that the corporations that you’re working with are more open to coaching number one for themselves, but also to deploying it for their other employees, like maybe deeper in their bench than they had previously, that maybe, like you said earlier, that at one time this was only for a select handful of, you know, high performers to get even better. But now it’s becoming accepted as a this is a nice kind of part of our corporate culture to really upscale as many people as we can.

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:15:44] Yes, I think I think the answer to that question is, is both is true. Right. I have seen a lot more examples recently of companies wanting to invest more, seeing the benefit that coaching can bring to everyone within their organization at all levels, not just at those really high senior levels or the emerging leader levels. And so the organizations that recognize it as a benefit are starting to build it in to more more concretely into their offerings. And then they’ve also got other other spaces where it still hasn’t permeated yet. Right. And I think the. Either way, whether it’s something that’s offered through someone’s company or organization or it’s it’s opt or it’s someone saying, OK, this isn’t offered through my company or organization, I’m going to go seek it out myself. I think that more and more individuals are finding that they they’re getting more nuanced in what exactly and being able to tell what exactly it what kind of support they really need at that time. And so I think more and more we’re going to see the employees and the leaders within companies kind of pushing for a more customization when it comes to the support that they’re receiving. Because I can’t tell you how many times I went on training sessions when I was in my leadership roles. And they were amazing and they were wonderful. I learned so much. I came out of there so invigorated and ready to go. And then within 20 minutes of getting back to my desk and reading all of the emails that I needed to catch up on or being informed of fire, I needed to be put out. It’s like all of that just went out the window. Right. And so I think that more and more we’re starting to see kind of driven by the individuals within companies saying we need some ability to customize this year for ourselves and pick the things, the kind of support that works best for us.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:41] Now, any advice for that new coach that’s trying to transition from maybe a corporate gig to coaching? Is there any kind of dos and don’ts that you can share?

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:17:52] Oh, good question. Well, I think. I would say, you know, the first thing that comes up is just just follow your heart, right? And that sounds, I think, kind of high level and easy. But when it comes to when to do it, the right time to do it, how you do it, who you most want to work with, I think it really comes down to getting very clear in your heart and in your gut because you’re going to do a really good job of figuring out all the mundane stuff, going through all the thoughts and all the strategy and all the planning and all of that. But but really stay connected with your heart and with your gut around, you know, timing when when the right timing is for you to transition from one to the other and who you most want to work with and what you most want to help them with. Because I think at the end of the day, that’s what it will really come down to, is that’s where your passion is going to lie. That’s where your genius is going to lie and everything else, all the technical and practical pieces you can lay on top of that great advice.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:00] Now, if somebody wants to learn more about you and your team and your practice, what is the website? What’s the best way to get a hold of you?

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:19:08] Yeah, so they can get a hold of me at my website. It’s Brooke Demsey McCrossin dot com. And that’s d i n s e m c c a r r s o n dot com. And then and it’s Brooke with an E or you can find me on LinkedIn. Same place, Brookton, Zema, Kerrison.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:30] Well, Brooke, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Brooke Dinse McCarrison: [00:19:36] Thank you so much. It’s been such a pleasure getting to talk with you. And yeah, I really appreciate the time.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:42] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you next time on Coach the Coach Radio.