Coach Johnson, on demand

Asked I keep putting off the hard conversation with my manager. What's my first move?

Answered

Your first move: get specific about what you actually want out of the conversation, in one sentence, before you spend any time thinking about how to say it.…

Your first move: get specific about what you actually want out of the conversation, in one sentence, before you spend any time thinking about how to say it. Here's why this matters — avoided conversations tend to stay avoided because the goal underneath them is vague. "Things need to change" or "I need to say something" doesn't give you anything concrete to prepare for, so the conversation stays a fog you keep circling. But once you can complete the sentence "what I want from this conversation is…" — specifically, not vaguely — the wording usually follows on its own, and a lot of the dread around it drops. So before anything else: sit down and finish that sentence honestly. Not what you think you should want, not the diplomatic version — what you actually want out of it. If you get stuck there, that's often the real work, and it's worth spending time on before worrying about delivery. If you want to work through that in more depth, a chemistry call is free and would be a reasonable next step to see if coaching is the right fit for what you're dealing with.

Asked What does coaching cost?

Answered

Here's the fee structure: a chemistry call (the initial 30-minute conversation) is free. A single session runs $450. The six-session block, which most clients start with, is $2,400 total, working out to $400 per session, delivered fortnightly over three…

Here's the fee structure: a chemistry call (the initial 30-minute conversation) is free. A single session runs $450. The six-session block, which most clients start with, is $2,400 total, working out to $400 per session, delivered fortnightly over three months. The twelve-session block is $4,320 total ($360 per session), fortnightly over six months, suited to a bigger transition or sustained change. There's also a half-day team workshop at $3,500. A few practical notes: blocks can be paid up front or in two instalments. If you book a single session first and then decide to start a block within a month, that $450 gets credited toward the block. And many clients expense this to their employer — Marcus provides an invoice with whatever detail the employer needs, along with a scope description that doesn't disclose any session content. If coaching isn't working for you, you say so in session, and if it still isn't working after that, unused sessions get refunded — no forms required.

Asked How is this different from therapy?

Answered

Good question, and one worth being clear about upfront. Therapy works on understanding and healing, often looking backwards — processing what happened and why. Coaching works on action, looking forwards — figuring out what to do next.…

Good question, and one worth being clear about upfront. Therapy works on understanding and healing, often looking backwards — processing what happened and why. Coaching works on action, looking forwards — figuring out what to do next. Plenty of people do both at the same time, and that's fine. But if in a conversation it becomes clear that what's underneath the situation is something like depression, anxiety, trauma, or clinical burnout, Marcus will say so directly and point toward a therapist rather than trying to coach around it. That distinction gets made explicitly in the chemistry call too — about one in four of those calls ends with a recommendation to pursue something other than coaching, therapy included. If you're weighing whether your situation is more "what do I do next" or more "what's going on underneath this," that's worth naming plainly, and it's exactly the kind of thing the chemistry call is for.

Asked Will my employer know what I say?

Answered

No — confidentiality is absolute, and that includes from a sponsoring employer. If a company is paying for your coaching, all they receive is an invoice and confirmation of attendance.…

No — confidentiality is absolute, and that includes from a sponsoring employer. If a company is paying for your coaching, all they receive is an invoice and confirmation of attendance. Nothing about what you actually discuss in session is ever shared with them. That's non-negotiable in how this practice operates. If you'd like, Marcus can also provide a scope description on the invoice for your employer's records, but it won't touch on session content — just enough for expense purposes.

Asked How quickly will I see a difference?

Answered

Most clients report something concrete after just two or three sessions — a conversation finally had, a boundary set, or a decision that had been pending for a while finally made.…

Most clients report something concrete after just two or three sessions — a conversation finally had, a boundary set, or a decision that had been pending for a while finally made. The bigger shifts — the kind tied to a role transition or a sustained change in how you operate — tend to show up over the course of the full block rather than in the first few weeks. If you're weighing whether a six-session or twelve-session block makes more sense for what you're working on, happy to talk through that.

Asked What if it isn't working?

Answered

If coaching isn't working for you, the first step is simple: say so in session. Marcus wants that feedback directly rather than having a client quietly disengage.…

If coaching isn't working for you, the first step is simple: say so in session. Marcus wants that feedback directly rather than having a client quietly disengage. If you raise it and it still isn't working afterward, he refunds the unused sessions in the block — no forms, no hoops to jump through. This ties into how the practice is set up more broadly — coaching runs in defined blocks (six or twelve sessions, or a single session) rather than open-ended arrangements, so there's always a clear count of what's "unused" to refund. It also reflects the general approach: direct conversation first, before anything gets formal or bureaucratic. If you're weighing whether coaching is the right fit in the first place, that's exactly what the free chemistry call is for — a 30-minute conversation where Marcus gives an honest read on whether coaching is the right tool for your situation, or whether something else (therapy, an internal mentor, just making the decision you already know you need to make) would serve you better.