Evoke Greatness Podcast

5 Questions to Unlock the Next Level of Your Potential

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🎧 Episode 178: Coaching Yourself – 5 Questions to Unlock the Next Level of Your Potential

In this solo episode, I share the five most powerful coaching questions you can ask yourself to move beyond your current limitations and step into the leader you’re meant to be.

If you’re a director aiming for VP, or a VP preparing to step into the C-Suite, these questions will help you break through self-imposed barriers, sharpen your mindset, and embody the presence required to lead at the next level.

I talk honestly about the stories that hold us back, why mediocrity creeps in so quietly, and the bold moves that too many leaders avoid. You’ll also hear neuroscience-backed insights on rewiring your thinking and practical reflection prompts you can use immediately.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re capable of more but don’t know what’s standing in your way, this conversation will give you clarity, courage, and a clear path forward.

We explore:

  • Why your greatest obstacle is usually yourself
  • How to rewrite the stories you’ve been telling yourself
  • The simple visualization technique that rewires your brain for the role you want
  • Where mediocrity hides in your leadership, and how to eliminate it
  • How to embody executive presence that attracts opportunity
  • Why bold moves and fear always travel together
  • A weekly framework to self-coach and accelerate your growth

🔑 Key takeaways:

  • Your thoughts shape your reality, challenge them before they limit you
  • Acting “as if” rewires your brain to lead from your future identity
  • What you tolerate, you endorse, raise your standards first in yourself
  • Opportunities are attracted to who you’re becoming, not just what you know
  • The bold move you’re avoiding is usually the breakthrough you need

đź’ˇ Quotes to remember:

  • “Your next level isn’t waiting for permission, it’s waiting for you to start asking better questions.”
  • “Growth and fear always travel together.”

đź“š Resources mentioned:

  • đź“• Download the free Listener Workbook Journal Prompts: Coaching Yourself Workbook PDF

A rising tide raises all ships, and I invite you along on this journey to Evoke Greatness!

Check out my website: www.evokegreatness.com

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Speaker 1:

Have you ever felt like you're capable of more, but you're not sure what's holding you back? In this episode, I'm going to give you five powerful coaching questions that will expose your blind spots, rewire your thinking and unlock the next level of your leadership. Whether you're eyeing that VPC or preparing for the C-suite, these questions will become your secret weapon for growth. Welcome to Evoke Greatness, the podcast for bold leaders and big dreamers who refuse to settle. I'm your host, sunny. I started in Scrubs over 20 years ago doing the gritty, unseen work and climbed my way to CEO. Every rung of that ladder taught me something worth passing on Lessons in leadership, resilience and what it really takes to rise. You'll hear raw conversations, unfiltered truths and the kind of wisdom that ignites something deeper in you your courage, your conviction, your calling. This show will help you think bigger, lead better and show up bolder in every part of your life. This is your place to grow. Let's rise together.

Speaker 1:

Welcome back to another episode of Evoke Greatness. Today, we're diving into a topic that can change the trajectory of your career and your life, and that is coaching yourself. Now you might be thinking hold on, sunny. Coaching is about someone else helping me see my blind spots Like how am I going to coach myself? Someone else helping me see my blind spots, like how am I going to coach myself? But here's the thing the most successful leaders, the ones who climb from mid-level to VP or from VP to the C-suite, they don't wait for someone else to challenge them. They build the skill of coaching themselves. And so today, I'm going to walk you through five coaching questions that, if you take them seriously, they can become your secret weapon for growth. So by the end of this episode, you'll not only know these questions, but you'll also know how to use them, how to reflect on them, how to act on them and how to unlock a version of yourself that you haven't even met yet.

Speaker 1:

Here's something I want you to sit with for a second. Your biggest obstacle is you. It's not your boss, it's not your board, it's not the industry or the market, it's you, friend. Most of the barriers holding you back they're not external. They're actually internal barriers. They're the stories that you've told yourself, the beliefs you've accepted to be fact and the ceilings you've built in your own mind. Neuroscience tells us that about 95% of our thoughts are subconscious, automatic loops that we don't even notice, which means unless you intentionally interrupt those loops, notice, which means, unless you intentionally interrupt those loops, you're just recycling yesterday's thinking into today's decisions. And if yesterday's thinking only got you this far, guess what? It's not going to take you any farther.

Speaker 1:

So here's what bold leaders do they shine a flashlight into their own shadows, they get curious and they're willing to look at themselves with honesty, even when it's uncomfortable. And let me say this getting into the C-suite is not about being the smartest person in the room, it's about being the most self-aware. So today, as I walk you through these five questions, I want you to pause. When I pause, reflect. When I ask you to reflect and imagine that we're just sitting across from one another. I'm not just talking at you, I'm actually asking you, because this isn't just information, this is opportunity for transformation if you lean into it.

Speaker 1:

So question number one what's the story I'm telling myself? Right now, we all tell ourselves stories, stories about why we're not ready, why our boss doesn't see our value, why we didn't get that promotion. And psychology proves this Our brains have something called confirmation bias. Once you tell yourself a story, your brain goes out of its way to get evidence to prove it right. So if your story is, I'm not as strategic as the leaders above me, your brain's gonna be like all right, what do we need to do? We're gonna pull everything we can to reinforce that belief.

Speaker 1:

Here's what I want you to do. I want you to grab a notebook and I want you to write down one story that you've been telling yourself about your career or leadership. Be brutally honest. Maybe it's I don't have enough executive presence, or I'm too young, or I'm too old. Now challenge that. Ask yourself what else could be true. Self, what else could be true. Write down three pieces of evidence that contradict your story. So, for example, if you think I'm not strategic, maybe you've already led projects that impacted multiple departments. Maybe peers already come to you for cross-functional advice. When you challenge the story, you create cognitive dissonance and that's the discomfort that your brain needs to start rewriting your narrative. So here's where I want you to pause. I want you to take a deep breath and I want you to ask yourself right now what is the story I'm telling myself and is it really true?

Speaker 1:

Question number two if I already had the title I want, how would I think, decide and act today? Visualization is one of the most powerful tools in neuroscience. Your brain doesn't know the difference between vividly imagining something and actually doing it. The same neural pathways fire either way. So here's the question If you already had the title you're chasing maybe it's VP, maybe it's EVP, maybe it's chief fill in the blank how would you think today? How would you decide today? How would you act today?

Speaker 1:

You see the leaders at the highest levels make decisions differently. They think big picture, they think about the enterprise, not just the department. They weigh out long-term implications. They don't just capture the short-term wins and they influence stakeholders instead of just managing tasks. So this week I want you to run a thought experiment. Take one decision you're facing and I want you to answer it twice First as your current title and second as the title you want. And then I want you to compare the two. Which one do you want to lead with? Which one serves you? My mom used to tell me when I was little she used to make lists for everything and she used to tell me okay, this decision that I want to do, this thing I want to do. I want you to go get a sheet of paper and, on one side, write the pros and on one side side write the cons, and that I brought into my leadership and to into being an adult in around decisions that I make. So here's, here's your next pause moment. I want you to think about a real decision on your plate right now. How would the next level version of you, the 2.0 version of you, how would they handle it differently?

Speaker 1:

Question three where am I tolerating mediocrity? In myself or in my team? Mediocrity is a sneaky beast. It doesn't announce, announce itself. It just creeps in through missed deadlines, sloppy communication or lowered standards. And then we tell ourselves it's not a big deal. But every time you tolerate mediocrity, you're reinforcing it. And here's the psychology behind this. Your brain normalizes whatever it repeats. That means the longer you let something slide, the harder it is to raise the bar later. So ask yourself, where am I tolerating mediocrity? Maybe it's in yourself, like not preparing for a meeting that you think you can wing it. Or maybe it's in your team, letting somebody continually deliver late because they're busy.

Speaker 1:

High performers who reach the C suite do not tolerate mediocrity. They set uncomfortable standards and they hold themselves to it. First. Here's the challenge Identify one area this week where you've been tolerating less than excellence, and I want you to raise the standard. Have the hard conversation, hold the line or elevate your own effort.

Speaker 1:

Okay, time to pause. What's the one thing that you've been tolerating? That if you raise the standard would immediately elevate performance? What's the one thing you've been tolerating? That if you raise the standard would immediately elevate performance? All right, moving on to question four, who do I need to become to attract the opportunities that I desire most? This is about identity. Opportunities aren't just handed out. They're attracted to who you are becoming, and research shows that people judge leaders more by their presence than by their words. Executive presence is less about talking more and more about radiating calm, confidence and clarity. So ask yourself who do I need to become to attract the opportunities that I most desire?

Speaker 1:

If you want the C-suite, are you showing up like someone who can carry the weight of the entire organization? Are you the voice of calm in chaos or do you get rattled really easily? Are you the voice of calm in chaos or do you get rattled really easily? Are you asking visionary questions or just tactical ones? Take this practical step.

Speaker 1:

I want you to ask three colleagues or mentors how you're currently perceived. Then compare that to how you want to be perceived the gap between these two answers. That's your growth plan, and I'll tell you ask people who you can trust to be honest, because oftentimes we're fed fluff, because people don't want to hurt our feelings or insult us. I went through an exercise about this very same thing and I asked people who I knew would be brutally honest. I wanted to grow. I knew that I had deltas and I wanted the light shown on that, and so I will tell you those three colleagues or mentors make sure they are people who you know will be brutally honest with you. That will serve you. People who you know will be brutally honest with you, that will serve you. That will help you grow. That's your growth plan. Okay, I want you to pause again and I want you to close your eyes for a second. I want you to picture the role that you want. What's the one trait that that leader embodies that you need to grow into? All right, we're on the home stretch.

Speaker 1:

Question number five what is the bold move that I'm avoiding? Every leader has one that bold conversation, that risk, that step into visibility that you've been putting off. Psychology calls it loss aversion. We are wired to avoid losing what we already have more than we are to risk gaining something new. Let me say that again, we are wired to avoid losing what we already have more than we are to risk gaining something new. But the bold move you're avoiding is probably the very thing that would catapult you forward. It might be asking for that promotion, giving that hard feedback, being decisive, pitching that idea to a senior leader. So I want you to name it, I want you to write it down and then ask what is the cost of not acting? What is the cost of not acting? Because inaction is a decision too, too, and if you don't step forward, friend someone else, will your growth and your fear always travel together. If you're not a little bit afraid, you're probably not stretching far enough. And so, last pause moment to reflect. But what is that bold move you've been avoiding? To reflect, but what is that bold move you've been avoiding and what would shift, what would change if you finally acted on it this week? What's the bold move you've been avoiding and what would shift if you finally acted on it this week? Okay, now let's pull all of this together.

Speaker 1:

The five questions are simple, but don't confuse simple with easy. What's the story I'm telling myself? If I already had the title. How would I act today? Where am I tolerating mediocrity? Who do I need to become and what bold move am I avoiding? Look, here's the bottom line. You already have the potential. What you need is the courage to hold up a mirror and ask the hard questions. And then do the work. Do the things that most people avoid.

Speaker 1:

So here's your challenge for this week. I want you to journal these five questions. I want you to reflect on them, take time and answer them honestly, and choose one action from your answers and execute on it. The truth is, you don't get to the next level by accident. You get there because you made a decision to stop recycling the old stories and start demanding better ones. And if you're listening to this, I know you're not satisfied with average, with mediocrity. You're hungry and you're ready.

Speaker 1:

So remember this your next level isn't waiting for permission. It isn't waiting for the market. It isn't waiting for someone to notice you. Your next level is waiting for you to start asking better questions. That's the work, that's the growth, and that that's how you evoke greatness. I wish you all an amazing week. Let's go get some stuff done. If today's episode challenged you, moved you or lit a fire in your soul. Don't keep it to yourself. Share it with somebody who's ready to rise. Could I ask you to take 30 seconds to leave a review? It's the best way to say thank you and help this show reach more bold leaders like you, because this isn't just a podcast, it's a movement. We're not here to play small. We're here to lead loud, one bold and unapologetic step at a time. Until next time, stay bold, stay grounded and make moves that make mediocre uncomfortable.

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Sonnie Linebarger

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