BP, British Petroleum, with Citigroup, with Coca-Cola, with Google, with HP, with Merck, McDonald's, Shell, Sony, UCLA, the UN, and UNICEF, Walmart, and to just mention a few, he has had quite a trajectory. Damian just launched his ninth book on coaching. It's called Lead with a Coaching Mindset, and it's a most read. We're gonna talk a little bit about it in our conversation.

Damian and I worked together at the marketing firm. And when I launched this podcast, I knew he was one of the first people I wanted to have in the podcast. So I welcome you to this episode and I hope that you enjoy it.

Hello Damian, welcome to the Business of Trust Podcast.

Great being here. Thank you for the invitation.

Of course, I couldn't think of a better person to join today than you. I mean, you have a long trajectory in the business of trust, in coaching and leadership development. If I remember correctly, you have been doing this for 30 years, is that right? Yeah, many years. It seems like you've always wanted to be a coach and you've followed that path through with such a long trajectory. Can you perhaps tell us a little bit about how you got into this line of business?

many years.

So I started as a psychologist. So I followed my parents. Most of my parents were clinical psychologists. So I studied psychology in Argentina. I became a licensed clinical psychologist before I moved to the United States. So I always wanted to work with people to help them to deal with challenges, mental health issues. And then when I moved to the United States, that was 35 years ago.

there's a common thread I can hear to help people and support people. Now when you do therapy and when you do coaching, the tools are very different, but there are similarities as well. And having both worlds coming together into one person, you, it gives you a lot of tools to, to draw from. Right.

Yeah, some of the skills are similar because you need first you are interested in supporting another person to go to the next level in mental health issues or in being more effective. So that's the main difference in between mental health when we're working in depression, anxiety, issues related to childhood, addictions, phobia. But in coaching, we work on personal effectiveness. We support people to be more effective, to have healthier work

environment, relationships, but some of the skills are similar because as a therapist, as a coach, you need to build a relationship, you need to build trust, you need to be present, you need to listen. So some of the skills that are required to be effective are similar. The goals are different. ⁓

Yeah, that makes sense. The goals are different,

But a lot of the skills are the same. Now, Damian, so after you transition into this job as a leadership trainer and coach in this organization, did you start to think at that time to open your own firm, Goldvarg Consulting? And how did that happen? How did you make that transition?

Well, I graduated with my PhD

in Los Angeles. I had a full-time job running support groups for families with children living with HIV and AIDS. I was a director of a Latino program, so that was my full-time job and I was going to school. So then between I finished my PhD and got my first full-time consulting job, it took two years for me to land a job that was

⁓ working internationally as an international management consultant it's interesting because my first day of work I was so excited, so happy that I got this job finally. It took me a couple of years to get it. An amazing job. And my first day of work one of my colleagues said, no, no, no, this job is just transitional for you.

with all of your skills and your training and learn as much as you can. And I said, what? know, like, And this is what I did.

I worked full time for that company and then two years after I decided to leave the company but I stayed as a cadre consultant where they call you when they need you And what's interesting,

I took a risk leaving and opening my company, but the risk really paid off because I ended up the same salary that I was making working full-time, so I was working one week as an external cadre consultant.

Wow.

Yeah.

So

Mmm.

Wow, but 30 years later, 25 years later, actually, we look at everything that has happened. And Damian, I want to zoom in a little bit in a couple of things. You mentioned that this person who was an inspiration for you since day one, he said, learn as much as you can. And that's what you did. What did you learn during that time that served you when you decided to open your own consulting firm?

Yes.

Well, I was very intentional okay, what can I learn?

that will help me to be a more effective consultant. So for example, what is expected in the company that every year you learn two programs and you're very effective teaching these two programs. And I said, no, I'm not going to do as many as I can learn. So by the end of the first year, I was able to deliver five different programs instead of two. By the end of the second year, I was able to deliver another five programs. So I really took a lot of initiative in learning, spending time

You

Mmm.

time, ⁓ extra hours of work. So I work hard. So I have to tell you, I have a great career. I think I'm very proud, but I always work very hard.

Right.

Loving what I am doing loving what I am doing but yeah,

And the reason... It's the only way to work.

but but with a lot of but a lot of discipline and at one point also with some Personal cost like for many years. I was traveling so much that I couldn't Develop relationships I was married to my job I think for for a few years till I finally I

I okay, that's enough. And I stopped, I stopped, I stopped traveling. No more traveling.

Much nicer.

It's nice that your job right now, I you were able to craft your life. It's a lifestyle business in a way you were able to make some decisions in your business to better serve your life. The reason why I ask about the skills that you learned during that time is because a lot of people work for this like big organizations, and you learn a lot of programs, but what they don't necessarily teach you is how to do business development. So that's something that when you open your own firm,

Exactly.

You have to face that reality. So I want to go to that moment when you landed that first account and when you opened that triggered the launch of Goldvarg Consulting. How did that happen?

So basically, first I was volunteering for the Center for Nonprofit Management in Los Angeles. So I think that ⁓ I knew that to be successful, you need to learn to network. So I would say that other than the discipline and the interest of learning, I was paying attention to how I can build a network.

So I, when I had my full-time job, I still started building a network, looking at places. And one of the places was the Center for Non-For-Profit Management because my heart was to help the non-for-profit organization. Not only the businesses that I was working with is big company.

Mm-hmm.

And so I was a volunteer doing also leadership training for the Center for Nonprofit Management and there were volunteer gigs and then there were job opportunities. So one of the company, one of the non-profits said we need a consultant to come to work with us. Who do you know? I was a volunteer there. They ⁓

invited me and something similar happened to me with locally with International Coach Federation when I opened my company I also joined the International Coach Federation even though I was a coach already for several years I got I took a class I got my credentials I started participating and eventually I became a member I started going to the meetings I got involved with the local chapter I became a volunteer in the the in the board of directors and then there was an opportunity to work globally so I applied for the board

Hmm.

to be a global member and I was accepted and it's interesting because most of the time is by recommendation so people recommend it to get there. In my case I just sent my email, I just took the initiative without recommendation, without knowing anybody. I sent my, out the form and they called me and they accepted me and I was the first Latino to be part of this global board of directors of the International Coaching Federation and eventually I was the first president.

Wow.

like for Latino president of the international coaching federation that at that time we're talking about 15 years ago, it was smaller. Now it's even much bigger. And that really opened my business and my consulting to the next level. Because as a result of that, I got offers to work in different countries in different projects. Just being the ICA global president gave me a lot of prestige and status and opportunities. But I work to get there. I work on

right.

I invested time and energy in, as I saying, like as I was networking for the Center for Nonprofit Management and volunteering and offering my services and being of service. It was not just showing up in meetings. It was about investing time in contributing. So it's about contribution. So when you contribute, people appreciate your contribution.

All right, working.

And then there are opportunities. for people who are interested in building their business, my advice would be look for opportunities to contribute. Like I train coaches as part of my job now and I tell coaches who want to get business and want to develop the coaching business, go and look for opportunities to coach. Now, the same thing, Hugo, that I adhere for actors in Los Angeles. There are a lot of actors in Los Angeles. So when I had coached them over the years, I would talk, OK, just look for opportunities

Hmm.

to act. So you practice, maybe somebody will meet you, see you there, an opportunity will show up. If you stay at home, it's going to be much more difficult, so you need to be out. So you need to look for opportunities to contribute and as a result of that you make connections, people get to know you and then you open doors to other opportunities.

Right.

Yes.

That's beautifully said and I have the same line of advice when I work with someone who is starting and I always say just start coaching five people.

Like even if it's for free, just like get out there and start working with people, volunteer at places so that you are actually becoming relevant to the conversation that is happening. Not only that's going to give you confidence and it's going to build up, but it's also going to build your network and give you feedback about what to do next and the next right action. And something that I hear very clearly from what you're saying is that in both the nonprofit organization and in the ICF, you started with ⁓

⁓ with an intention to contribute and being relevant in this context. And that eventually evolved into probably things you couldn't foresee at the moment when you started.

Exactly. ⁓

fast forward to today and you have written nine books. And the last one is this amazing book, Lead With A Coaching Mindset. Can you tell us a little bit about what inspired you to write that book? I love the title and I actually have read the book because we are not work together. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Yeah, well, I'm very proud of this book. I think it's the book that I have worked the most to publish it. It's a book that summarizes all of my experience working as a trainer for 30 years with leaders. Most of my books are around coaching and coaching topics and are for coaches. But this book is for leaders.

And book just came out. And it's a book about inspiring leaders to be more coach-like, to develop a mindset where they pay attention to people's development, growth, learning, how you create places where people feel respected, cared for, and they do their best, and they are engaged, and they are committed, and there is well-being, and they want to go to work because leaders invest time and energy in creating healthy work environment.

And if you, for our listeners who want to learn more about the book, they can go to the Amazon page and by the order the book there. But there's also a podcast with the same name, Live With A Coaching Mindset podcast, you speak to other leaders. We produce that podcast, Bold Disclosure. that's like, I think it's a great, you have great conversations with leaders where you apply.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Would you explore this concept supply in reality? ⁓ Damian, I want us to tell us, if you will indulge us with one last story. And I want us to tell us a story of an account, a very important account in your business. And ⁓ how did you land that account? How did that happen? What's the story behind it?

the biggest account I ever had I'm not going to disclose names for confidentiality issues, but that was through a colleague who introduced me to this organization. And together we provided training and it went really well.

And then eventually they invited me to do another training and it went really well. And then by the time that I had done two cycles and they had seen me working, they had the resources to train 200 leaders. I was lucky enough for them to hire us to do that job.

That was a really great opportunity. So what was key? I would say the person who introduced me to them. She was amazing. again, a contact that I built over the years, who thought of me to work with her to collaborate. And then when I the contract, I called her back to ask if she wanted to join me, but she was too busy, not available.

Mm-hmm.

wow.

but it's all about contacts, networking, but then doing great work I have already showed them my style of work, people have experience, me working with them. So they wanted me to do this.

a lot of our listeners are coaches and consultants who are in the business of trust. And I know that you support a lot of these individuals through your consulting firm. Can you tell us a little bit about how you support them? What kind of you offer? And where would you like to send them to get in contact?

Great, yes. So part of my job is to train coaches. So many people are already coaching, but they may not have gone through coaching training. So I provide coaching training so they can learn the International Coach Federation framework. And then they can get an accreditation which gives credibility, I think is important.

For coaches who already have done that, I train team coaches so they can be more effective at working with teams. I train coaching supervisors to support them, to support other coaches. And then I have, like we were talking about before, several books that can be a resource. In YouTube, I have 500 videos. Half of them are in Spanish for the bilingual people who are listening to us.

So there are a lot of resources and in my website I have the podcast that we have been working on. We already have eight episodes, two more coming up soon in October. So we will have ten by the end of October. So there are a lot of resources. They have the podcast, the books, the YouTube videos and if you go to my website you will find everything there. It's golbalconsulting.com

and also in social media, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook. You can also follow me there. We also have a newsletter, so if anybody wants to receive the newsletter with different programs every month, we have demonstrations, coaching demonstrations, supervision demonstrations, team coaching case presentations, and these are for free. So there are several opportunities there to join me.

Thank

I hear you and I just go back to what you said, like you've always been a hard worker. And I just think like, gosh, that's a lot of content that you put in out there. And that's awesome. You're a powerhouse of knowledge in leadership development, in coaching training. And Damian, it's such a pleasure to have had you in the podcast because I mean, I think of you as a super rock star of coaching. And I'm very honored that you took the time to share what you've learned and your journey with us.

I appreciate that very much and I know I am one of the first guests in the show so it's an honor to be invited by you as you know I really respect you very much and I appreciate all of the work that you do and I want to wish you good luck with this podcast I hope many people can benefit from it

Thank you, they mean have a great day. Bye for now.

Hey, before you go, I created this podcast to inspire you and to offer real help. Being an entrepreneur is not easy, and there's so much noise out there when it comes to marketing advice for coaching and consulting. So please visit the business of trust.com and subscribe to receive our new episodes that release every Friday. Thank you so much for listening. I'm your host, Hugo Sanchez.