The Real Coaching Podcast

Growth can feel exciting, rewarding and empowering.
But it can also feel confusing, uncomfortable and surprisingly emotional.
In this episode of The Real Coaching Podcast, we’re joined by Kristina Marinovic, Chief Operating Officer at Duamentes, mentor to first-time female founders, and a coach who brings her experience of leadership, business and human development together in fascinating ways.
Kristina takes us inside the real coaching process  beyond neat goals, quick fixes and polished success stories.
We explore the difference between coaching and mentoring, how she uses both in her work, and what happens when coaching takes us into that uncomfortable space where we don’t yet have the answers.
We talk about the emotions that can surface, why confusion isn't necessarily a sign that something has gone wrong, and the rewards that can emerge when we're willing to stay curious and work through the discomfort.
It’s an honest, conversation and a reminder that transformation doesn't always feel like progress while we're in it.
🎧 If you've ever wondered what coaching actually feels like, rather than simply what it's supposed to achieve, this episode is for you.

Culture is simply the sum of our everyday experiences. If that's true, who creates culture,  and how do we change it?
In this episode, we’re joined by Samantha Uwadiae, Culture Transformation Director, Executive Coach and former nurse, for a conversation about what organisational culture really looks and feels like.
Samantha takes culture beyond strategies, values statements and initiatives, and brings it into the everyday: how leaders show up, whether people feel safe enough to speak, how conflict is handled, and the behaviours we choose to tolerate.
We explore the role coaching plays in shifting those everyday experiences,  helping teams work more effectively together, and organisations connect culture transformation with real performance.
And perhaps most importantly, Samantha challenges the idea that changing culture belongs only to those at the top. Organisational culture is something 
We experience and contribute to, and conversation by conversation, we can help change it.
🎧 A fascinating listen for leaders, coaches and anyone who has ever wondered why some workplaces help us thrive while others leave us depleted.

What if the most important meeting in a Prime Minister's diary wasn't with a minister, an adviser, or a foreign leader... but with a coach?
In this episode, Jennifer and Jill explore what coaching could offer someone carrying the weight of a nation's decisions. No politics here, just an honest look at leadership under pressure, the loneliness at the top, and why even the most capable leaders need space to think.
They dig into:🎯 Why leadership can be isolating, even at the highest levels🎯 What a confidential coaching conversation might really sound like🎯 The power of uninterrupted thinking time🎯 How coaching cuts through noise when every decision matters🎯 Why reflection isn't a luxury, it's essential
Behind every title is a human being trying to lead well.
Perhaps the greatest gift a leader can receive is not others opinions but the space to hear their own.
🎧 A conversation that might change how you think about leadership.

In this gentle and thought-provoking episode of The Real Coaching Podcast, we welcome mindfulness coach Priya Khan. Priya shares how mindfulness can help us re-connect with who we truly are.
She unpacks the relationship between identity, presence and balance, and why so many of us find ourselves living according to expectations rather than our own values. Priya shares how mindfulness isn't about escaping life or striving for constant calm—but  becoming self aware enough to name and notice what we are feeling and why. Priya shows us how we can then respond and support ourselves with greater clarity, intention and compassion.
Together we explore:
• Why so many of us lose sight of our authentic identity• How mindfulness helps us slow down and reconnect with ourselves• The link between presence, values and living in alignment• Finding balance in a world that constantly demands more• How coaching creates the space for lasting inner change.
This is a calm, reflective conversation for anyone who feels they've been rushing through life, juggling multiple roles, or wondering whether they've lost touch with what matters. 
Sometimes the greatest transformation doesn't begin with doing more, but with becoming still enough to hear yourself again.

What does it take to successfully lead  large teams across multiple countries and cultures for one of world's most recognised Luxury Brands?
In this episode of The Real Coaching Podcast, we sit down with Edoardo Tocco, President of Asia Pacific for Balenciaga. We explore his remarkable career journey and what leadership means to him. In addition he explains how becoming a coach further enhanced his leadership skills.
Edoardo shares why growth isn't something we achieve, but something we commit to for life.
Together we explore:
• Why great leaders act as anchors during uncertainty and change• How values become the foundation for authentic leadership• Why curiosity is one of a leader's greatest strengths• How coaching has transformed the way Edoardo leads more than 5,000 people across Asia.
This is a thoughtful and deeply reflective conversation about leadership, humility and the commitment to growth and learning, no matter how successful you've become.
Whether you're leading a global organisation, a small team, a family or simply yourself, you'll come away with a powerful reminder that the best leaders care, are curious are never finished growing.  Growth has no finish line.

What happens when the podcast host becomes the guest?In this special episode, co-host Jill DeMasi updates us on her coaching journey, the lessons she's learned through podcasting, and the person she's becoming along the way. Honest, reflective and full of insight, this conversation explores curiosity, confidence, growth and the power of listening deeply—to others and to ourselves.🎧 A heartfelt reminder that transformation isn't a destination; it's a journey we're all navigating in real time.

What does coaching actually do to a person?
In this special Series 3 opener, host Jill turns chats with co-host - Jennifer Layburn for an honest, unfiltered conversation about Jennifer's personal coaching journey. What's shifted? What's still shifting? And who is she becoming because of it?
Together, they explore growth, self-awareness, and the quiet courage it takes to do real inner work. This isn't a polished success story but a live, human account of what transformation actually looks and feels like from the inside.
If you've ever been curious about what coaching can genuinely change, in your confidence, your relationships, your sense of self,  this episode offers something rare: a practitioner willing to show you her own work.
🎙️ Reflective. Honest. and human. This one stays with you.

What if your life couldn’t be defined by a job title… and what happens when the life you once envisioned actually becomes your reality?
In this episode of The Real Coaching Podcast, our guest Annie Ueyama shares her remarkable journey across continents, careers, and life stages, from corporate roles to building a portfolio career shaped by curiosity, courage, and purpose. At the heart of her story is coaching.
This conversation explores how coaching supports us not just in moments of change, but across the evolving chapters of our lives.
And what makes this story even more powerful is what came next:the unexpected feeling of being successful, yet stuck, and the decision to seek support again in order to grow into the next version of herself.
We explore:
Moving beyond traditional career paths
The power of long-term vision and reflection
Reinvention across life stages
Why coaching is a tool for continuous growth, not just crisis
This is a conversation about designing a life that reflects who you truly are and the courage to keep evolving.

In this episode of The Real Coaching Podcast, we’re joined by Christina Theo, Coaching Psychologist, to explore a topic that so many are experiencing  yet few fully understand: Burnout and Nervous System Dysregulation.
Drawing on both her professional and personal experience, Christina helps us unpack what’s really going on beneath the surface when we feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or stuck in cycles we can’t seem to think our way out of.  We explore the difference between coaching and therapy, and how working with the body (somatics) can unlock deeper, more sustainable change. We dig into 
What burnout actually is beyond just being “tired”
How nervous system dysregulation shows up in everyday life
Why insight and awareness alone are often not enough for lasting change
This is a thoughtful, eye-opening conversation that moves beyond mindset and into the felt experience of being human, it offers a new lens on healing, growth, and what it really takes to create lasting change.
If you’ve ever felt like you “know what to do” but still can’t seem to shift, this episode will help you understand why  and what might help instead.
🎧 Listen now and discover a deeper way to support your wellbeing.

In Part 2 of our conversation with parenting coach Alex McKenzie Johnston, we move from awareness into application, exploring what parenting looks like in the everyday moments that truly shape our children.
Alex shares her experience of home-schooling and offers powerful analogies that invite us to gently examine how we show up as parents. We explore how children learn emotional regulation not through instruction, but through experience, and how empathy is taught not by demand, but by being modelled.
In this episode, we dive into:
• Helping children navigate big emotions without trying to fix or silence them• Why empathy must be experienced before it can be expressed• How our responses shape our children’s emotional literacy• Practical shifts that make parenting feel lighter and more connected
This is a light and compassionate continuation of a conversation that has already resonated deeply with our audience, offering reassurance, and real-life wisdom for anyone raising (or supporting) children. 
If Part 1 helped you exhale, Part 2 will help you reflect and embed insight into how we all behave the way we do and how we can show up differently.