Spitfire Coach

“I don’t know.”

We say it like it’s a failure.

But what if it’s actually the beginning?

I was working with a client recently who kept repeating those three words.

Not because they lacked intelligence. Not because they weren’t capable. But because they felt pressure to have the right answer.

Here’s the truth:
“I don’t know” usually means one of a few things:
✨ You need more information.
✨ You’re afraid of being wrong.
✨ You’ve never given yourself permission to explore that question.
✨ You’re standing right at the edge of growth.

And that edge? It’s uncomfortable. We live in a world that rewards certainty. Quick answers. Strong opinions. Hot takes.

But real growth, real leadership happens in the pause.

When you slow down.

When you sit with uncertainty.

When you get curious instead of critical.

Instead of shutting down at “I don’t know,” try asking:
• What do I know?
• What am I assuming?
• What do I need to learn?
• What feels risky about answering this?

Not knowing isn’t weakness. It’s the doorway to clarity.
Stay curious. 🔥

Take a listen to the podcast here:

Episode 236: The Power of “I Don’t Know” We’ve been conditioned to believe that strong leaders always have the answers. But what if the most powerful words in the room are actually: “I don’t know.” In this episode, Lauren unpacks why “I don’t know” isn’t weakness — it’s the doorway to clarity, growth, innovation, and ps...

Oh 2016! What a year filled with hope, fear, excitement and adventure. I was fresh out of my divorce and cross-country move back to DC.

Months in I quit my job and threw myself fully into building my coaching business. I had no clients and saw my bank account trickle out every month.

There were days I couldn’t get out of bed - paralyzed by the fear. But thankfully my bulldog, Rico Suave, forced me to get up and out and connect with the world.

2016 was the hardest year to face, but it was sprinkled with clues on what I would do next. I’m thankful for the lessons and my own belief that this could become something amazing.

10 years later is sparking positive change with our clients, coaches and curious onlookers!

Waiting 12 months to tell someone they’re off-track (or killing it) is like checking your smoke alarm after the fire.

Your team needs more than a once-a-year report card.
They need real-time alignment, regular feedback, and ongoing support to grow — and stay engaged.

Because here’s what the data shows:

The cost of waiting is high:

🔹 65% of employees say they want more feedback — not less (Zenger & Folkman)
🔹 Employees who don’t receive regular feedback are 2.7x more likely to be actively disengaged and more likely to leave within 12 months (Gallup & Zenger/Folkman)
🔹 Teams that receive frequent feedback are 4x more likely to be engaged (Gallup)
🔹 Only 14% of employees strongly agree that their performance review inspires them to improve (Gallup)
🔹 Poor communication is the #1 reason employees feel disconnected and quit (Salesforce)

💡Great performance cultures aren’t built in a conference room once a year.
They’re built week by week, conversation by conversation.

🛠️ We help leaders create feedback-rich cultures where check-ins are consistent, expectations are clear, and coaching is ongoing — not an annual surprise.

📩 Ready to make feedback a leadership habit (not a calendar event)? Let’s talk. https://laurenlemunyan.as.me/15min

A few years ago, I sat in a meeting where leadership rolled out a “bold new direction.”

The room was quiet.
No pushback. No questions. Just nods.

You could almost hear the checkboxes being ticked:
✅ Strategy communicated
✅ Everyone aligned
✅ Move forward

Except...
I knew at least three people in that room had real concerns — about capacity, impact, and direction.

They didn’t speak up. Not because they agreed.
But because they didn’t think it would make a difference.

That’s not alignment. That’s disengagement.

Here’s what the research tells us:
🔹 Teams with high psychological safety are 76% more engaged (Google's Project Aristotle)
🔹 Employees who feel heard are 4.6x more likely to feel empowered to do their best work (Salesforce)
🔹 Disengaged employees cost U.S. companies $450–$550 billion per year in lost productivity (Gallup)

💡 Want more innovation, accountability, and healthy conflict on your team?
It starts with building a culture where people know their voice matters — and speaking up is safe.

📩 We help leaders and teams build trust, encourage dialogue, and replace silence with real signals.

Let’s connect: https://laurenlemunyan.as.me/15min

“Wait… what exactly do you do?”

Over the last few weeks, a few people I’ve known for years have asked me this question. These are people who’ve seen me speak at conferences, lead workshops, even sit in on a coaching session.

At first, it caught me off guard.

They weren’t asking about my title or function (coach, facilitator, speaker, advisor).

They were asking what problems I actually solve, and how I help people transform.

That question trips up even the most seasoned business owner.

So, for the bold and the curious, I want to offer a challenge...

Ask yourself and answer, clearly:

1) What problem(s) do I solve?
2) Who do I solve them for?
3) What’s the impact (after the problem has been solved) and on whom?
4) What does that impact actually look and feel like?
5) How do I do it?

At a time when clarity, relevance, and speed are more important than ever, we owe it to ourselves to do the work.

Are you game? Post your responses below : )

Managers: Stop Coaching Your Direct Reports. Here’s Why.

Just because you’ve been trained in coaching skills doesn’t mean you should start coaching your team.

Coaching skills like powerful questions, active listening, and clarifying are wonderful to use, but holding formal coaching sessions with your direct reports are an ethical minefield.

In the latest episode of Please Don’t Coach Me, I break down why this is a line you don’t want to cross. Drawing from the ICF Code of Ethics (Sections 24 and 28), I explain how coaching someone whose compensation, performance reviews, or career trajectory you directly impact creates an unsafe and biased dynamic, no matter how well-intentioned.

If you’re an internal coach or an eager leader, this is a conversation you need to be part of.

Listen to the episode here:

Why Your Manager Should Never Be Your Coach Welcome to Please Don’t Coach Me, the show that pulls back the curtain on the coaching industry. I’m your host, Lauren LeMunyan, Master Certified Coach with ...

In a world full of constant change and uncertainty, clarity and stability are rare.
But what if we could build a sturdier foundation for our teams and ourselves?

What if I told you Trust was that foundation?

When trust is high:
People move faster.
They share ideas.
They speak up.
They take smart risks.

When trust is low:
People overthink.
Stay quiet.
Play small.

The data speaks for itself:

🔹 Organizations with high trust see 50% higher productivity and 76% more engagement
🔹 Employees at high-trust companies report 74% less stress, 106% more energy, and 50% higher retention
🔹 Trust is the #1 driver of psychological safety, the foundation of high-performing teams (Google’s Project Aristotle)

(Source: PwC, Paul Zak, Google)

Here’s the truth:
Trust isn’t just a “nice to have.”
It’s the currency of strong leadership, resilient teams, and real performance.

Ready to rebuild or deepen trust on your team?
We help leaders design cultures where people feel seen, safe, and supported, where results follow.

Let’s talk: https://laurenlemunyan.as.me/15min

Early in my career, I had a manager who loved to "eagle-eye" my every move.
Every 1:1 felt like being sent to the principal's office.
Each schedule meeting on my calendar with them created anxiety filled nights wondering what I was going to get criticized about next.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t take feedback.
I just didn’t trust that it was for my growth or to help me.

Fast-forward to years later: I had a leader who said,

“If I give you feedback, it’s because I see your potential.”

And it wasn't just the words, there were actual steps I could take. There was care and consideration to who I was.

That changed everything. I showed up bigger. I took more risks. I got better — because I felt safe.

And that’s what strong feedback cultures do.

💡 Feedback should feel like an extended hand, not a slap on yours.

The research agrees:

🔹 65% of employees want more feedback — not less (Zenger & Folkman)
🔹 Teams with high psychological safety are 76% more engaged and 50% more productive (Google’s Project Aristotle)
🔹 Strengths-based feedback leads to a 36% improvement in performance (Gallup)

🛠️ Want to build a team where feedback fuels progress, not panic?

We help leaders create feedback cultures grounded in trust, clarity, and consistency, so people don’t just survive, they thrive.

Reach out! we’d love to support your team’s growth. www.spitfirecoach.com

🛑 It’s not the all-hands presentation.
It’s not the town halls.
Not the “bold vision” talk.
And it’s definitely not the pizza parties. 🍕

👀 What do people really notice?

✅ You followed up.
✅ You followed through.
✅ You did what you said you would do.

That’s what builds credibility.
And credibility? That’s the backbone of trust — especially on teams.

📊 The research backs it up:

🔹 Teams who trust their leaders are 260% more motivated and 41% less likely to burn out
🔹 Consistency builds trust more than charisma ever could
🔹 High-trust teams see:
👉 50% more productivity
👉 13% fewer sick days
👉 76% more engagement

(Source: Edelman, Harvard Business Review, PwC)

💡 Here’s the truth:
Small follow-throughs send big signals.
They tell your team: “You can count on me.”

✨ Want a culture where consistency, credibility, and accountability actually stick?

📩 DM us or reach out via [insert link or email] — let’s build that together.

For many people, feedback feels like something to fear, fix, or avoid altogether.

But what if we reframed it?

✨ Feedback is a gift.
A tool for growth, alignment, trust — and yes, transformation.

💡 When done right, feedback doesn’t tear down. It builds up.

The data backs it up:

🔹 65% of employees want more feedback than they’re currently getting (Zenger & Folkman)
🔹 Teams that receive weekly feedback are 4x more likely to be engaged (Gallup)
🔹 Frequent, high-quality feedback is linked to higher retention, trust, and performance

Here’s the catch: most leaders weren’t taught how to give feedback that’s direct and human.
And most employees were never shown how to receive feedback with curiosity instead of defensiveness.

That’s where we come in.

We help organizations rewire their feedback culture — from fear-based to future-focused.
So leaders can communicate clearly.
So teams can stay aligned.
And so everyone gets better, together.

💬 Ready to build a team where feedback flows and growth happens?

Let’s talk about how we can work together. www.spitfirecoach.com/contact

🚩 Coaches, beware of this new job scam trend on LinkedIn.

We’re seeing a rise in job listings that look like high-paying coaching roles — $300K+ offers that seem too good to be true. And guess what? They are.

What’s really happening:
👉 You apply
👉 You're "accepted" almost instantly
👉 Then comes the pitch: Pay $75K+ to join their certification program, license their material, and maybe get clients later — if you pay more fees

This isn’t a job. It’s a cleverly disguised sales funnel, and it's crowding out legitimate opportunities for real, qualified coaches.

🎙️ In the latest episode of Please Don’t Coach Me, I break down how these posts are slipping through LinkedIn’s filters, how to spot them, and why they’re so damaging to our industry.

🎥 Watch now: https://youtu.be/_r8FltXUMGo

If you're building a coaching career, hiring coaches, or navigating this space — this is a must-watch.

$300K Promises & Red Flags: LinkedIn Coaching Job Scams (Please Don't Coach Me, Episode 3) In this episode of Please Don’t Coach Me, we’re pulling back the curtain on a major coaching industry scam hiding in plain sight on LinkedIn. If you've ever ...