The Bright Morning Podcast with Elena Aguilar – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, Elena tackles a challenge you're likely facing right now: the frantic race to complete year-end responsibilities while a crucial growth opportunity passes you by. Through an authentic coaching conversation, she shows you how to create an intentional summer learning plan when you're the one who always develops others. 

Notable moments: 

01:19 Context for coaching conversation

03:59 Start of coaching conversation 

07:06 Addressing Confidence and Cultural Competence

11:23 Feedback and Communication Skills

16:43 Creating a Summer Learning Plan

21:04 Conclusion and Resources

Keep learning: 

• Start your Coach Learning Library and PLC subscription – the Creating Your Summer Learning Plan Skill Session will help you find so much more fulfillment in your job (and life!) 
• Receive weekly wisdom and tools from Elena delivered to your inbox
• Watch the Bright Morning Podcast on YouTube and subscribe to our channel
• Become a Bright Morning Member 
• Follow Elena on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Follow Bright Morning on LinkedIn and Instagram

Support the show:

• Become a Friend of the Podcast  
• Rate and review us

Reflection questions: 

• What aspects of your coaching or leadership practice felt most challenging this past year? How might intentional summer learning help you address these challenges and return to school with renewed confidence?
• Consider your professional growth over the past few years. Where have you made progress, and what areas still feel like opportunities for development? What would meaningful growth in these areas look like?
• What conditions help you learn most effectively? Do you thrive in collaborative settings, prefer self-directed study, or benefit from structured courses? How might you design a summer learning plan that honors your unique learning preferences while stretching you in new ways?

Podcast Transcript and Use:

Bright Morning Consulting owns the copyright to all content and transcripts of The Bright Morning Podcast, with all rights reserved. You may not distribute or commercially exploit the content without our express written permission.

We welcome you to download and share the podcast with others for personal use; please acknowledge The Bright Morning Podcast as the source of the material.

Episode Transcript 

Elena reveals how those moments when you suddenly lose composure—whether from a colleague's comment or an unexpected email—aren't signs of weakness but powerful opportunities. Discover how understanding your emotional activation points can actually be the unexpected key to greater job satisfaction and professional effectiveness.

Notable moments: 

• 00:31 Exploring Emotional Triggers at Work
• 01:32 Understanding and Recognizing Triggers
• 04:22 Steps to Manage and Explore Triggers
• 09:29 Frameworks for Analyzing Triggers
• 11:07 Practical Examples and Applications
• 14:33 Conclusion and Further Resources

Keep learning: 

• Start your Coach Learning Library and PLC subscription – the Exploring Your Triggers Skill Session will help you find so much more fulfillment in your job (and life!) 
• Read Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching (Chapter 8 explores triggers) 
• Core Values (free tool)
• Core Human Needs (free tool) 
• Receive weekly wisdom and tools from Elena delivered to your inbox
• Watch the Bright Morning Podcast on YouTube and subscribe to our channel
• Become a Bright Morning Member 
• Follow Elena on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Follow Bright Morning on LinkedIn and Instagram

Support the show:

• Become a Friend of the Podcast  
• Rate and review us

Reflection questions: 

• Think about the last time you were emotionally triggered at work. What physical sensations did you notice in your body, and what emotions arose? How might recognizing these signals earlier help you respond differently in future triggering situations?
• Consider your pattern of triggers over time. Do you notice any common themes or situations that consistently activate you? What might these patterns reveal about your core values or unmet needs in your professional life?
• How do you typically treat yourself when you've been triggered? Do you tend toward self-criticism or self-compassion? What simple phrase of self-compassion could you develop to offer yourself in moments when you're emotionally activated?

Podcast Transcript and Use:

Bright Morning Consulting owns the copyright to all content and transcripts of The Bright Morning Podcast, with all rights reserved. You may not distribute or commercially exploit the content without our express written permission.

We welcome you to download and share the podcast

Coaching the problem, not the person, is the number one trap that coaches fall into. In this episode, Elena demonstrates how you can use expansive listening to unlock possibilities and empower your client. 

Notable moments: 

• 01:12 The Power of Expansive Listening 
• 02:49 Role Play Demonstration: Default Listening
• 11:10 Role Play Demonstration: Expansive Listening
• 22:09 Conclusion and Resources

Keep learning: 

• Join the Coaching Learning Library and PLC to access the Expansive Listening Skill Session (and 47 additional sessions + monthly live PLC!) 
• Listening to Your Listening (free tool) 
• Attend The Art of Transformational Coaching workshop 
• The First 10 Minutes 
• Receive weekly wisdom and tools from Elena delivered to your inbox
• Become a Bright Morning Member 
• Follow Elena on Instagram and LinkedIn
• Follow Bright Morning on LinkedIn and Instagram

Support the show:

• Become a Friend of the Podcast  
• Rate and review us

Reflection questions: 

• Which of the two demonstrations felt most similar to your current approach? 
• What underlying beliefs and ways of being contributed to the two different approaches? 
• What is one move Elena made that you would like to try on in an upcoming conversation? 

Podcast Transcript and Use:

Bright Morning Consulting owns the copyright to all content and transcripts of The Bright Morning Podcast, with all rights reserved. You may not distribute or commercially exploit the content without our express written permission.

We welcome you to download and share the podcast with others for personal use; please acknowledge The Bright Morning Podcast as the source of the material.

• Episode Transcript

In this first episode of a three-part series on designing and facilitating transformational PD, Elena “pulls back the curtain” and shares how she prepares to facilitate. Listen in for a detailed list of reflection questions that will help you feel confident and grounded as you walk into the next PD or team meeting you are facilitating. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Artful Design and Facilitation workshop
• Become a friend of the show 

Visit https://brightmorningteam.com/podcasts/ for links to everything we mention on the show. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Receive weekly wisdom and tools from Elena delivered to your inbox! Sign up at https://brightmorningteam.com/newsletter/ 

Support us

Have you ever led a team meeting that got derailed due to emotional flair-ups?

Elena shares the specific prompts she uses in these daunting facilitation moments, and what’s led to the Bright Morning Team no longer facing this common team challenge. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• The Art of Coaching Teams (retired July 2024 with the release of Arise: The Art of Transformational Coaching)
• The PD Book
• The Art of Coaching Teams workshop 

Visit https://brightmorningteam.com/podcasts/ for links to everything we mention on the show.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Receive weekly wisdom and tools from Elena delivered to your inbox! Sign up at https://brightmorningteam.com/newsletter/ 

Support us 

In the first of this two-part series, Elena pulls back the “Bright Morning curtain” to give you an insider’s look into how we use purpose to drive our team meetings. From 1:1 check-ins, to monthly presenter team meetings, you’ll get the inside scoop into what we do and why we do it. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• The Art of Coaching Teams workshop
• The PD Book 
• Coaching for Equity workshop 
• Become a Friend of the Podcast

Visit https://brightmorningteam.com/podcasts/ for links to everything we mention on the show. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Receive weekly wisdom and tools from Elena delivered to your inbox! Sign up at https://brightmorningteam.com/newsletter/ 

Support us 

In this final episode of our Hot Topics of Coaching for Equity mini-series Elena shares seven things you can do when you are in a toxic culture, one where there is contagious negativity. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Free Community Webinars
• Episode 68: Take a Confrontational Stance 
• Episode 43: The Spheres of Influence 

Visit https://brightmorningteam.com/podcasts/ for links to everything we mention on the show. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Receive weekly wisdom and tools from Elena delivered to your inbox! Sign up at https://brightmorningteam.com/newsletter/ 

Support us

“What do you do if you’re coaching in a place where your values are misaligned?” 

In this episode of our Hot Topics in Coaching for Equity mini-series, Elena takes a coaching stance to help unpack this question and support you in thinking through potential options for taking action. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Free Communinity Webinars 
• The Art of Coaching Teams 
• Coaching for Equity workshop

Visit https://brightmorningteam.com/podcasts/ for links to everything we mention on the show. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Receive weekly wisdom and tools from Elena delivered to your inbox! Sign up at https://brightmorningteam.com/newsletter/ 

Support us 

“Is there ever a time when we should consider that someone shouldn't be working with kids…and should we advise supervisors to let them go versus continuing to coach them?” 

Elena unpacks this question and provides four potential steps to take when you encounter this challenging reality in this episode of our new mini-series: Hot Topics in Coaching for Equity. 

Mentioned in this episode:

• Coaching for Equity
• Coaching for Equity workshop 
• Free community webinars 

Visit https://brightmorningteam.com/podcasts/ for links to everything we mention on the show. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Receive weekly wisdom and tools from Elena delivered to your inbox! Sign up at https://brightmorningteam.com/newsletter/ 

Support us

This is the first of a four-episode Hot Topics in Coaching for Equity mini-series. In this episode, Elena is joined by Bright Morning teammate, Nick Cains. The two discuss how you coach for equity, when even using the word “equity” is prohibited. Elena shares six steps you can take today. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Become a Friend of the Podcast 
• 1619 Project
• Other podcast episodes with Nick: 
  • Episode 9
  • Episode 143
  • Episode 148
• Coaching For Equity workshop 
• The Art of Coaching workshop (retired July 2024 and replaced by The Art of Transformational Coaching workshop)

Visit https://brightmorningteam.com/podcasts/ for links to everything we mention on the show. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Receive weekly wisdom and tools from Elena delivered to your inbox! Sign up at https://brightmorningteam.com/newsletter/ 

Support us