About Coach Mack

Mack has been coaching since 2001, and there is a long list of areas where his coaching has made a positive difference. He has helped people:

• Improve relationships, create business opportunities and solve problems, start a business, retire, get married, stay married, get divorced
• Find the perfect job, and/or thrive after being downsized, merged / acquired or outright fired
• Achieve goals, find peace, make peace, manage or resolve conflict, be loved
• Make more money, have more time, get unstuck, make hard choices, be heard, be understood
• Be more effective as leaders, communicate better and generally improve.​

Coach Mack with banjo jokes
​Q: How many banjo players does it take to screw in a light bulb?
​A: Three. One to hold the bulb, and two to turn the ladder.

Q: How do you keep a banjo player in suspense?
A: I’ll tell you tomorrow.

Life is like a banjo — what you get out of it depends on how you play it.

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​From the start he wanted to truly develop himself as a caring, effective professional. He was board-certified by the International Coach Federation as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) in 2007. This credential requires a great deal of coach-specific training and study, plus 40 hours of continuing education every three years. Some people like to see his list of other certifications and credentials:

• CoachU Teleclass Leader 2009–2019
• Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM), Toastmasters International for public speaking and leadership achievement, 2013
• International Coach Federation (ICF): Professional Certified Coach (PCC), 2007
• Coach University (CoachU) Certified Graduate (CUCG), 2007
• Certified in Axiological analysis, 2003
• Certified in Behavioral analysis, 2002
• Certified in Motivators analysis, 2002
• Certified Network Professional (CNP) through Business Network International (BNI), 2002
• Qualified to administer the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), 2001
• Graduate M. A. Degree in Interpersonal Communication, 1982
• Undergraduate B.A. in Psychology, 1979

He has been approved to serve as a spiritual coach to an Anglican Benedictine order. 
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In addition to coaching, Coach Mack provides assessment services for personal, employee and team development, and for career guidance and decisions, improving communication and for conflict resolution.

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Give Mack two choices,
and he'll pick the third.
—Joel

​Stories / Case Studies

1. Frank: I’m Already Successful, Why Do I Need a Coach? Frank was doing quite well as a senior member of a national business development team. “Getting a coach is a sign of weakness,” Frank thought to himself, “I am already successful and am being groomed for my next position. Why do I need a coach?”

This would be a challenging year for Frank. The company products were changing, territory lines were being re-drawn, accountabilities were shifting, and the economy tanked—and this was just the business side. Frank was wrestling with some personal and family issues too.

The Coaching
The company contracted Coach Mack for six-months of coaching the national team. The coaching was by phone, three times per month for each member of the team. The sessions were an hour each. Frank didn’t favor losing three hours a month he could put towards something he felt would be more productive. He had no idea that this would become a seven-year relationship that would touch every aspect of his life.

It took a couple of months for Frank to realize he could trust Coach Mack. The Coach did not tell him what to do, but became a thought partner and confidant in expediting Frank’s process with the big changes that kept coming faster. As they worked together Frank realized that the Coach was helping him see and clarify the rules of his own “game of life” and how he could adapt and contribute to win.

At the end of the six-month agreement, Frank continued the coaching relationship at his own expense. During this continued time, Frank was promoted and the Coach was extremely helpful in the transition. In coaching several of Frank’s direct reports he saved Frank innumerable headaches and hours of detail work with the team, and was credited with helping one team-member save a major account and another with hitting stretch goals for the territory.

Frank’s perspective on coaching had changed. He realized that he often performed below his potential. Like a golf pro or actor, he needed a coach to give him an honest, constructive perspective from the outside.

The Way He Wanted It
In the sixth year of the coaching relationship, Frank was diagnosed with a terminal illness. It was difficult for family and friends to talk about it. Throughout the next year, the Coach provided a safe place to vent the emotions and to deal honestly with the challenges he was facing. Some might think it kind of strange, but in their seven years, they had never met face to face. Frank never even sent the Coach a photo of himself. That’s how their relationship developed, that’s how Frank wanted it.

2. Dave: The Personal Turnaround Dave was a favored colleague on the management team when he was asked to develop and launch a new product. According to Dave, “I did all the right stuff, but just before the product launch, the company decided to go in a different direction. They pulled the plug on the project and wasted three years of my life. I was pretty angry about it and I said some things. I knew I had to fix my attitude or leave the company.”

Coach Mack was brought in to assist in regaining his effectiveness as a leader. They began with a short assessment battery that indicated areas where Dave needed to improve. They focused on life balance as well as executive development. Dave took control quickly and within six months was back on track.

Honorable Transition
It is important to note that this coaching agreement was with the company. It required confidentiality and trust between the coachee and the coach. Within the coaching agreement, the coach is dedicated to the success of the coachee—wherever this leads. Near the end of their coaching program, Dave was contacted by an executive search firm concerning a Vice President position at another company. Dave discussed the VP opportunity with his coach to gain additional clarity and perspective. Coach Mack supported him in taking the next step to discuss this with his boss. In the end, he left on good terms with his company and took the VP position.
Dave continued with the Coach into the new position. For the next six years, the Coach assisted with online assessments that reduced turnover and helped Dave get the right people into the right jobs. Dave and his team became recognized as valued, leading contributors to the success of the company.
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The Merger-Acquisition—Oops
The position with the new company worked great until the merger-acquisition. Dave and Coach Mack were discussing some changes in company personnel, and the Coach asked him about networking for his “safety net” in case his name was on “the list.” That question was a wake-up call. Dave realized his key position in the Senior Leadership Team might not be enough. In the coming weeks it was a good thing he re-energized his network. After he accepted his severance package… he was between positions just a few months before stepping into an equity position with one of his suppliers. 

3. Ellie: From Corporate to Owner Ellie had a great relationship with her CEO until the market slumped for their products and services. Tension grew in the company, and she was uncomfortable with the changing culture. She had met Coach Mack when he was presenting at a conference, and engaged him as her coach.

They considered her options and created opportunities for her to choose. A couple of small companies had contacted her about consulting with them. She liked the idea of becoming a consultant and contractor, but this would not replace her salary. How could she make the transition?

The Coach supported her in planning a meeting with her CEO with the idea of becoming a consultant and contractor. The CEO was open to the idea, and it turned out to be to their mutual advantage. It wasn’t long before Ellie launched her own consultancy and design firm. She worked with Coach Mack for a year while she developed her business and balanced her family life. By the end of that year she had made strategic alliances and created her own product line.

4. Mark: The Succession Plan Mark had been CEO of a manufacturing company for decades and needed to figure out how to retire. His family owned the controlling share of the business, and he was weighing the options of simply selling the business, bringing in a good CEO to take over, or promoting his son from VP to CEO to do the job.

Mark was a take-charge and get-it-done leader, and wasn’t completely sure his son would work out. He also had some personal challenges that worried him. Mark realized he needed someone outside his usual circle who could put some fresh eyes on both the business and family issues he was facing.

What started out as business coaching with Coach Mack quickly expanded to include personal concerns and family. Personality assessments revealed that his son was very creative and competent, but that their leadership styles were very different. In a three-way conversation between Mark, his son and Coach Mack, Mark realized that he needed to become more of a mentor. It came down to a moment of truth when Mark said to Coach Mack, “You’re basically telling me that I need to shut up and listen to him.” You could have heard a pin drop when the Coach said, “Basically, yes.”

In the two years of coaching with Mark and his son, Mark shifted his role to become much more of a mentor. He listened more as his son stepped up to diversify and run the business, increase their profitability and improve their visibility in the community. Bit by bit, Mark started taking more personal time away until he saw that his son could lead the business and that his retirement option was a reality.

5. Abby: “I just don’t have anything left to give,” she said flatly in the phone session. The only thing missing from her persona was the Super Sales Mom costume and cape, and she obviously was not having a good day. She had taken time out from her high-pressured sales job to talk with her life coach.

“What are some things you already do well?” asked Coach Mack.
“I am a good mom,” she began. “I keep a tidy home. I entertain well. I have some good hobbies. I am successful in my job. I like to have fun.”
“Sounds like you have a lot going on. Can you give me ten fun things that bring a good flavor to your life?”

“Oh that’s easy,” said she:

• Settling into a good book
• Being with my husband
• Big fires with great friends, conversation and debate
• Hot bubble baths with candle light
• Swimming
• Picnics and family time
• Dancing
• Gardening
• Parties and organizing them
• Cooking

“Wow,” said the coach, “I’m impressed that you listed all those things so quickly. When is the last time you did any of that?”
  Silence.
  Silence.
  Silence.
In a thoughtful and deliberate tone, Super Sales Mom replied, “I think I just figured out why I am so unhappy. I can’t remember the last time I did any of these things.”

“Sounds like an ‘Aha’ moment. I am hearing that you deeply need to put on your own oxygen mask first, and then you can help everyone else,” said the coach, "Did I get that right?"

“Ya think?” exclaimed Super Sales Mom, “I didn’t include the ‘fun at work’ list either.”

“How do you start putting on your own oxygen mask first?” asked coach.

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