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Living the Coach Mindset
78 Plays2 months ago
What does it mean to be a coach, not just do coaching? In this inspiring episode of PRIME SPACE, host Elias Scultori, MCC, sits down with Travis Gislason, ACC—Director of Field Coaching and Development at Breakthru Beverage Group—to explore how coaching principles show up in leadership, parenting, teamwork, and self-development.
From applying a coaching mindset at home to leading teams in corporate America, Travis shares how his experience at PRIME Coaching Academy transformed the way he works, connects, and lives. Together, they unpack the deeper layers of coach training, the importance of inclusion, and the often-overlooked self-care behind powerful coaching presence.
01:04 – The Role of Field Coaching
Travis explains how coaching shows up in leadership and learning development at Breakthru Beverage Group.
04:23 – Being a Coach vs. Doing Coaching
Exploring how a coaching mindset transforms both personal and professional life.
05:15 – The PRIME Coaching Experience
Travis reflects on his ACC journey and how PRIME Coaching Academy shaped his clarity, confidence, and presence.
06:43 – From Training to Transformation
The difference between training, consulting, and coaching—and why language matters in leadership.
09:21 – Coaching Results and Inclusion
Real-world impact: how inclusion and empowerment are emerging as core outcomes of coaching.
12:37 – Living Values and Self-Awareness
How identifying personal values and prioritizing self-care make coaching sustainable and effective.
15:37 – The Power of Reflection and Community
Elias and Travis discuss how cohort learning and community accelerate transformation.
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Transcript
Introduction to Prime Space
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to Prime Space, a Prime Coaching Academy podcast with your host, Elias Scultori. So my friends, i have another guest today. And today i have Travis Gislason.
00:00:21
Speaker
Travis is an ACC coach. Congratulations, Travis. You just earned your ACC not too long ago. And Travis is also ah graduate of Prime Coaching Academy Level 1. Travis, welcome to Prime Space.
00:00:38
Speaker
Thank you, Elias. It's a pleasure to be here. A huge pleasure to have this conversation with you. Travis, why don't you introduce ah yourself to our listeners here have today?
Travis Gislason's Role and Podcast
00:00:50
Speaker
I am ah the director of field coaching and development for the West Region for Breakthrough Beverage Group. We are ah a beverage alcohol wholesaler that's family owned and operated in North America.
00:01:04
Speaker
What does field coaching mean in your role? Yeah, it's ah it's a direct support of learning and development in the field in our markets, as we have many of them around North America. So I primarily support front and second line sales leaders to employ coach approaches in leadership and sales performance.
00:01:28
Speaker
And then I also do some work as a facilitator for the company for both leadership and sales programming. And I've run and host a sales ah podcast called Breakthrough Selling Podcast.
00:01:41
Speaker
And as an example of some of the other things I do, aside from direct support of coach approaches in the market. That's fabulous. Thank you so much. And thank you for... your commitment to the coaching profession. But before we dive into that, because that's the reason why I invited you to be a guest here at the podcast, I would love to know because there are certain things about you as a person that you were sharing with me before that are very beautiful and
Personal Insights and Parenting
00:02:09
Speaker
important to you. What are a couple of personal things that you would like to share with the the listeners here today about you, Travis?
00:02:18
Speaker
Well, my... ah To your point, I have a few jobs ah in my life, and and my favorite one is being a dad. I am a dad to two little humans, a 10 and 12-year-old, and I just enjoy every minute of raising them from every different aspect of their development, you know from a baby to to today, and and those things are very different now that I have essential essentially teenagers.
00:02:50
Speaker
um in my in my house, especially with Halloween this last weekend. um Yeah, so ah learnings every day. And then I also try and connect all with ah my coworkers and friends. So I'm a bandmate in a group we call the BBGBs or BBGB in Friends, which stands for the Breakthrough Beverage Group Band.
00:03:16
Speaker
And it's an incredible, has been an incredible experience for the last year ah to build this group using some of the principles of emotional intelligence, of team-based approaches. So we model some of the things that we want to see at work through this band.
00:03:33
Speaker
And it has been an incredibly creative and and connecting experience with with coworkers and like I said, friends.
Coaching Mindset in Life
00:03:41
Speaker
Wow. What I'm noticing in your answers here is how much you bring the coaching mindset to both of these roles, not only what you mentioned directly with the band, but also your coach approach to parenting being with your with your daughters and discovering and bringing curiosity and flexibility to the whole process of parenting these human beings. That's just inspiring.
00:04:11
Speaker
i I say this, I always like to get a little bit of the personal from my guests because it's there that we see the coach approach being alive in everything that you do. So thank you for that.
00:04:23
Speaker
Absolutely. and And I think this is this is a really important part of my approach, especially since the ACC certification and my coursework with the Prime Coaching Academy, is that this is one job.
00:04:38
Speaker
um And if we approach that, just being good humans, peer-to-peer and connecting, it doesn't matter what profession I have. That approach, that mindset is just there. And and that's the life I want to live.
00:04:54
Speaker
It's being a coach, not just doing coaching, right? So, Travis, to to ah go a little deeper in your specific role and your application of your training, what has been the impact of this coach training in your current role?
Impact of Coach Training on Professional Role
00:05:15
Speaker
I would say greater clarity. as well as additional skills to do what I have already done for a decade. And so I think that's really important is what changed was the additional learning and the practice. And I think that's what Prime Coaching Academy does so well.
00:05:36
Speaker
is not only teach the foundation and relate that content to real world, but then giving us a lot of practice and a lot of self analysis and peer work.
00:05:50
Speaker
As I've told you in the past, that as I've told you your business partner and and fellow coach Amy Donovan, that in doing that class, it models so much of the behavior of what should be seen in order to be a very effective coach and to live that one life. It's all modeled within the design of the course and it's absolutely brilliant.
00:06:18
Speaker
Thank you, thank you. It's a a joy to have you there. would When you think of the coach approach and the training, and you are a person that you mentioned several times that you are always pursuing new additional training, additional certifications.
00:06:34
Speaker
What happened with this particular training that was different ah from all the experiences that you had before? I think it's the intention of the coach approaches we use of actually living a coach's mindset.
00:06:53
Speaker
It's the transformational aspect of this coursework as well as the ICF certifications that really added an an additional layer. I think oftentimes In my role, I'm in corporate America, we look for return on investment. we We look for the profitability and we just always struggle with this. You know, what's the value of a water cooler is oftentimes the question that I ask.
00:07:22
Speaker
cant Can we put an an actual dollar amount on that, given how important it is when we're all around it and sharing and collaborating? And I feel that that's the space that we're in ah with coaching and learning and development oftentimes.
00:07:38
Speaker
With that said, we're still looking for that that dollar investment. And so oftentimes in the design of our programs, we start to stray a little bit into the teaching and training and most definitely into consulting.
00:07:58
Speaker
So much so the word is used ubiquitously for all three or four of those terms. And so I think what the ACC and Prime Coaching Academy has given me is one, a lot more words to articulate what coaching is and differentiate that from some of the others. And then just be very, very clear and intentional on when I'm training and when I'm coaching.
00:08:28
Speaker
And it's not just me stating it. It's understanding the tactics of how to do that before I enter a relationship. What I do to actually get into a relationship and tools to navigate some of those murky waters, given I'm working with people who are our managers and managers of business and managers of people.
00:08:51
Speaker
And then throughout that process, the coaching models that are given to promote self-discovery, to promote self-awareness and and involvement and empowerment of the individual to own their journey. You know, I think that might actually be verbatim for some of the things that are in the class.
00:09:11
Speaker
up I love that. What, you know, by using this approach, what has been the immediate results that you have noticed? I'm a lot more confident around the water cooler. I'll tell you that much.
00:09:26
Speaker
i think it's to be determined. And I say to be determined because i measure myself based off of the results that come through others. but My main job is to support frontline and second line leaders employ coach approaches to build their teams, to develop their teams, as well as to engage their teams to get that extra 9% of productivity that Gallup reports, you know, in some of their positive psychology.
00:09:58
Speaker
Don't quote me on that number, Elias, but I believe it's somewhere around there, right? Where we really want to get more out of our interactions and and get a greater output.
00:10:09
Speaker
So what has been the result? I'm seeing some of that energy. And most importantly, when I hear it, I can put my finger on it. So in the the podcast that I mentioned that that I host, I recently did a coaching episode with two frontline managers.
00:10:26
Speaker
And one of those frontline managers, when asked, you know, what is the special ingredient to building a coaching relationship with people who report to you on a team, they said inclusion. And I don't know. That is an uncommon, I think, if if I would ask other sales organizations or L&D professionals in sales organizations, I don't know if I would get that all the time. We hope that we get that. But it was reaffirming to me that we are on the right track for building a peer-to-peer and transformational approach into a sales performance coaching model.
00:11:07
Speaker
And it wasn't me telling this manager, what was the important elements. They identified inclusion, involvement to empower the person that they're working with, to give them choice and option and really own their development.
00:11:24
Speaker
And isn't that one of the tenants of what we're looking for in our profession? So, you know, I think it's maybe being able to spot when I hear those transformational elements of coaching relationships happening in organizations.
00:11:40
Speaker
I so appreciate this example because oftentimes when we think of results, we think of results in the long term, the big picture results. The results can be a different approach that we have or something that has changed within ourselves.
00:11:57
Speaker
And then it can also be a second level, can be the way this person noticed the importance of inclusion in this process. That is that is a big result. That is transformational.
00:12:10
Speaker
And little by little, these things cascade all the way till the big picture results that we are also expecting to have. So thank you for sharing that learning
Self-awareness and Values in Coaching
00:12:20
Speaker
here. The the final question I have for you is,
00:12:23
Speaker
What has been for you the most significant learning from this process of getting your coach training, going all the way to your ACC with the International Coaching Federation?
00:12:37
Speaker
How long do we have for this ah episode? A few more minutes. I mean, there are so many of them, and I'll mention a few of them and then get into to one or two that I think are important for for all coaches, at least.
00:12:52
Speaker
from my from my perspective, take it or leave it. One is living my values. I think the the the coursework allowed me to refocus on identifying those two core values and then employ them and weave them into really everything I've done since the coursework ended and and my certification.
00:13:14
Speaker
And we had talked about this a few times ah with how how impactful that was for me to recall in the coursework. Also was the work on complexities, working on myself in order to support others in their journey.
00:13:30
Speaker
And that intention to be a guide on the side, to be a person who ah really helps and supports someone do what they want to do in very positive ways that that have some progression to it.
00:13:47
Speaker
I realized how important sleep is in this job. And I say that because I'm not a person who requires a lot of sleep. I work long hours and always have. And I think it's something a little bit of hereditary and I can produce some really good work with very little sleep.
00:14:05
Speaker
But I can't be a great coach with very little sleep. In order for me to tap into the emotional intelligence, to be in the moment and be present, it requires a different level of concentration that i am better at it when ah when when I'm rested.
00:14:24
Speaker
I so appreciate this answer that you gave here because a lot of times when we go into coach training, there is, of course, a greater emphasis on skills, on the framework of the coaching conversation, on listening and questioning and sharing information or observations and the structure of the coaching conversation, the coaching mindset, which is imperative and foundational.
00:14:51
Speaker
However, you are bringing another part of what we emphasize in Prime Coaching Academy, which is the development and the self-awareness that we must have within ourselves as coaches.
00:15:04
Speaker
ah We do this through the personal integrity process that we have at Prime Coaching Academy. This idea of paying attention to ourselves. It's not just about skills, but it's paying attention to who we are, what values, what are the values that we carry, taking self-care, the importance of sleep. I i love this.
00:15:27
Speaker
ah How important it is for us to manage ourselves and be prepared for that coaching session. So thank you for putting the spotlight there. Yeah, and I think, you know, you' you're you've just articulating or clarifying my response remind me of my cohort and how beautiful it was to go along this journey with ah with a handful of others and how different we were when we started. And from a skill standpoint, there is something for everyone with an ICF certification and I speak about the ACC specifically, no matter what your background is, there are so many different elements to learn from skills as well as that self-awareness that this coursework, this certification really gave me. So it was wonderful to to develop that ah ah personally, as well as see the various developments with all of my peers and in in the group.
00:16:28
Speaker
Well, Travis, thank you so much. Thank you so much for your commitment to this work. And i can clearly see ah how excited you are about the training and bringing these concepts to your
Conclusion and Opportunities at Prime Coaching Academy
00:16:43
Speaker
role.
00:16:43
Speaker
It's a joy to work with you. And thank you so much for being guest at Prime Space. Any final words you have for the listeners here? Well, I'm going to put myself out there that I need to do a little bit more connecting with this group. And you have always, Elias, have given me great opportunities to do that.
00:17:04
Speaker
So I hope to see everybody um at one of our power or one of your power hours in the near future. Fabulous. Yes. And I mentioned to you earlier, are right there in Denver. ICF Colorado is a fabulous chapter of the ICF. So connect with people. I'm always trying to connect people, which is I think it's ah a wonderful thing.
00:17:27
Speaker
Travis, thank you so much. Everyone, there thank you so much for listening to Prime Space. Remember, we have open registration to our Level 1 and Level 2 program, and we are in the period, a short period of our Early Bird special with 25% of our tuition. So please be mindful of that.
00:17:49
Speaker
Don't forget to subscribe and share these episodes with others. And I will talk with you next time.