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C3 Production Playbook — Coaches Coaching Coaches

Estimated reading time: 8 min read

C3 Production Playbook #

Coaches Coaching Coaches · 52-Session Program Guide #

Updated: May 2026 · For use by Barry Morgan and Claude (Cowork)


PROGRAM ARCHITECTURE #

Stage Course Title Sessions Semesters Audience
Orientation Course Intro: Try for Free 1–4 (4 sessions) All Pathfinder Campus members
Part 1 Building the Foundation 5–28 (24 sessions) Semesters 1–4 Pathfinder Guild members
Part 2 Advanced Practice 29–52 (24 sessions) Semesters 5–8 Pathfinder Guild members

Terminology used throughout this program:
Session = one unit of learning (what learners complete each week)
Semester = a themed grouping of 6 sessions (one per part)
– Never use “lesson,” “week,” or “month” in member-facing content


HOW TO USE THIS PLAYBOOK #

Two commands run the entire production pipeline:

Command What it does
“Create Session N” Generates everything: 5 HTML files, PPTX slide deck, feature PNG — saved locally and published to FluentCommunity
“Update Session N https://youtu.be/XXXXX” Updates YouTube metadata, uploads thumbnail, replaces video placeholder in HTML, republishes to FluentCommunity

Barry’s total work per session: record the video, upload it, paste the URL. Claude handles everything else.


SESSION REGISTRY #

ORIENTATION — Sessions 1–4 #

Course: Coaches Coaching Coaches — Course Intro: Try for Free
Status: ✅ Complete

Session Title Core Concept
1 The Shift from Expert to Coach The identity change at the heart of coaching culture
2 What Is a Coaching Culture? The 4 pillars — what it looks like and why it matters
3 The Power of Listening Why most people aren’t really listening
4 The Cost of Helping Too Much The Advice Monster and the discipline of holding back

PART 1: BUILDING THE FOUNDATION — Sessions 5–28 #

Course: Coaches Coaching Coaches — Part 1: Building the Foundation
FluentCommunity course ID: 22


Semester 1: The Listening Leader (Sessions 5–10) #

Going beyond the introduction — mastering the mechanics and disciplines of listening at depth.

Session Title Core Concept
5 The Three Levels of Listening Level 1 (internal) → Level 2 (focused) → Level 3 (global/radical)
6 Tactical Silence & the 3-Second Buffer The pause that unlocks deeper conversation
7 Listening for What’s NOT Said Reading subtext, body language, and energy
8 Reflective Mirroring Naming the emotion beneath the content
9 Creating a Holding Space Full presence under pressure — supporting without rescuing
10 The Listening Audit Diagnosing your own defaults and designing a personal practice

Semester 2: The Power of Questions (Sessions 11–16) #

The art of inquiry — replacing the reflex to answer with the discipline of asking.

Session Title Core Concept
11 From “Why” to “What” and “How” Eliminating the defensiveness trigger in your questions
12 The Coaching Question Stack Layered questioning to move from surface to root
13 Socratic Leadership Questions that surface assumptions without confrontation
14 Scaling Questions Using 1–10 to create insight and movement
15 The “And What Else?” Discipline The three words that reach the real issue
16 Questions That Invite vs. Questions That Interrogate The tone beneath the technique

Semester 3: Emotional Intelligence in Action (Sessions 17–22) #

Understanding yourself first — the prerequisite to coaching others effectively.

Session Title Core Concept
17 Self-Awareness & Leadership Triggers Recognizing your reactive patterns before they run you
18 The Amygdala Hijack Leading effectively when your brain is in threat mode
19 Empathy vs. Sympathy The Brené Brown distinction — feeling with, not feeling for
20 Psychological Safety Building the conditions for honesty and risk-taking
21 Energy Management The leader as battery charger — or drain
22 Self-Compassion in Leadership The EQ skill that makes all the others sustainable

Semester 4: The Architecture of Conversation (Sessions 23–28) #

Structure and frameworks for conversations that consistently move people forward.

Session Title Core Concept
23 The GROW Model: Goal & Reality Setting direction and assessing the honest current state
24 The GROW Model: Options & Will From possibility to commitment and action
25 The 15-Minute Coaching Conversation Speed and depth — coaching without a formal session
26 Opening & Closing a Coaching Conversation The frames that signal this is a different kind of conversation
27 Coach, Mentor, or Manager? Reading the situation and choosing the right role
28 Coaching in the Moment Embedding coaching into daily interactions — not just 1-on-1s

PART 2: ADVANCED PRACTICE — Sessions 29–52 #

Course: Coaches Coaching Coaches — Part 2: Advanced Practice
FluentCommunity course ID: 23


Semester 5: Courageous Communication (Sessions 29–34) #

The harder conversations — feedback, conflict, accountability, and the language of leadership.

Session Title Core Concept
29 Feedback as a Gift The SBI Model (Situation–Behaviour–Impact) done well
30 The Art of Difficult Conversations Holding tension without damage — the structure that helps
31 Naming What’s Happening Labelling dynamics in the room to defuse and redirect them
32 Accountability Without Punishment Follow-through frameworks that motivate rather than threaten
33 Coaching Through Conflict Staying neutral and useful when it’s personal and messy
34 Storytelling for Leaders Using narrative to unlock thinking and inspire ownership

Semester 6: Trust, Boundaries & Relationships (Sessions 35–40) #

The relational infrastructure that makes coaching possible — and the limits that keep it safe.

Session Title Core Concept
35 Trust Architecture The Trust Equation — credibility, reliability, intimacy, self-orientation
36 Boundaries in Coaching Where coaching ends and counselling begins
37 The Reluctant Coachee Working with resistance without forcing or abandoning
38 Power Dynamics in Coaching Coaching across a hierarchy — when you’re the boss
39 Coaching Up Influencing your manager using coaching principles
40 Ethics & Confidentiality The obligations that protect the relationship and the person

Semester 7: Coaching Teams & Building Culture (Sessions 41–46) #

Scaling coaching beyond the 1-on-1 — into teams, meetings, and the culture itself.

Session Title Core Concept
41 Team Coaching vs. Facilitation Knowing which hat to wear and when to switch
42 Conflict as Data Reading group dynamics instead of managing group behaviour
43 Peer Coaching Systems How to build a culture where the team coaches each other
44 Coaching in the Meeting Room Shifting the culture of meetings — one question at a time
45 Measuring Coaching Culture The evidence conversation — how to show it’s working
46 Leading Culture Change From individual coach to cultural architect

Semester 8: Identity, Diversity & Legacy (Sessions 47–52) #

The inside work — who you are as a coaching leader, and what you leave behind.

Session Title Core Concept
47 Unconscious Bias in Coaching Seeing your blind spots before they shape the conversation
48 Cross-Cultural Coaching Adapting your style without performing or projecting
49 The Imposter Phenomenon Coaching from competence and earned experience — not fear
50 Authority vs. Power Influence without force — the difference and how to build it
51 Teaching Others to Coach The multiplier effect — building a community of coaching leaders
52 Your Coaching Legacy The full circle — annual review, recommitment, and what you’re leaving

CURRICULUM DESIGN NOTES #

Avoiding repetition with the Orientation:
The four Orientation sessions (1–4) introduce coaching culture at the surface level. Part 1 and Part 2 do not repeat those introductions. Where a concept appears in both (e.g., listening appears in S3 and Semester 1), the subsequent sessions go significantly deeper into technique, neuroscience, and practice rather than restating the concept.

Progressive architecture:
– Orientation: Why coaching culture matters and what stands in the way
– Semester 1–2: The two foundational skills (listening, questioning)
– Semester 3: The internal work that makes those skills sustainable
– Semester 4: Frameworks for structuring coaching conversations
– Semester 5–6: Advanced skills for harder situations and complex relationships
– Semester 7: Moving from individual coaching to cultural leadership
– Semester 8: Identity, diversity, and leaving a lasting imprint

Concepts intentionally excluded from the 48 sessions (covered in Orientation only):
– The basic definition of coaching culture
– The identity shift from expert to coach (introduced in S1, applied throughout — not re-stated)
– The Advice Monster as a concept (introduced in S4, referenced but not re-taught)


COMMAND 1 — “Create Session N” #

When Barry says “Create Session 5” (or any number 5–52), Claude:

Step 1 — Identify the session #

Look up the session number in the registry above. Extract: title, core concept, semester, semester title, part (1 or 2).

Step 2 — Generate 2 files per session #

Each session produces exactly 2 files:

File Description
C3_S{SS}_Session.html The single comprehensive session page (everything on one page)
C3_S{SS}_NotebookLM_Script.md The conversation script Barry uploads to NotebookLM to generate the audio discussion

Where {SS} = zero-padded session number (e.g., 05, 12, 28).

Session page layout (top to bottom — this exact order):
1. Session Header — badge with session number + semester, course label, session title
2. Video — placeholder div at the top (replaced with YouTube embed after Barry records)
3. Learning Objectives — 3–4 action-verb statements in a navy-tinted box: “After this session, you will be able to…”
4. Credible Research Summary — one subsection per learning objective; 200–300 words of evidence-based content per objective; inline citations [1][2] within text; numbered source list with live hyperlinks immediately after each subsection
5. NotebookLM Audio placeholder — gold-tinted dashed box (“Audio Discussion — Coming Soon”); collapsible “How This Was Created” note; copy-ready NotebookLM prompt telling the AI to use the uploaded script as its sole source
6. Case Study — two-panel side-by-side (Less Effective: Management Approach / More Effective: Coaching Approach); same scenario, same characters; 4–6 exchanges per panel; Socratic discovery callout below (questions only — never tell the learner what to notice)
7. Socratic Universal Prompt — standard copy-button prompt asking the AI to act as a Socratic thinking partner for this session’s core concept; paste-ready into Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini
8. Wednesday Zoom callout — gold-tinted box, links to Pathfinder Guild space
9. Reflection & Community Comment — one focused reflection question; note that the comment is shared with the Pathfinder Guild discussion and replies sync both ways; Complete Session button (gold, full-width)

NotebookLM script format (C3_S{SS}_NotebookLM_Script.md):
– Two hosts: Alex and Jordan
– Sections matching the session’s learning objectives
– One “Real Talk” moment where a host admits personal struggle with the concept
– Natural spoken-word phrasing, stage directions sparingly
– Target: 8–12 minutes of generated audio

Step 3 — Create the Wednesday Zoom event #

  • Find the next upcoming Wednesday from today
  • POST to /wp-json/wp/v2/mec-events with title “C3 Community Zoom: {Session Title}”
  • Set MEC date/time meta via database (6:00–7:00 PM PT, America/Vancouver)

Step 4 — Save to correct folder structure #

Part 1 - Building the Foundation/
└── Semester {N} - {Semester Title}/
    └── Session {NN} - {Title}/
        ├── C3_S{SS}_Session.html
        └── C3_S{SS}_NotebookLM_Script.md

Step 5 — Publish to FluentCommunity #

  • Create section “Session {N}: {Title}” via /wp-json/fluent-community/v2/admin/courses/{COURSE_ID}/sections
  • Create 1 lesson under it via POST with section_id, status: published, and the full HTML as the message
  • Lesson title: “Session {N}: {Title}” (same as section title)

Cross-posting setup (one-time, Session 5 only) #

The reflection comment at the bottom of each session page must simultaneously post to the Pathfinder Guild discussion space, and replies from the Guild must appear in the lesson comment thread. This requires a small WordPress hook — flag this to Barry before publishing Session 5 so it can be set up once.


STANDARD SESSION PAGE STRUCTURE #

Every session (5–52) is a single HTML page containing these sections in this exact order. This is the authoritative reference — the SKILL.md implements it, and every “Create Session N” command must follow it.

# Section Heading Shown to Learner Purpose
1 Session Header (badge + title) Orients the learner — session number, semester, course label, and session title
2 Video (no heading — sits directly under title) Placeholder until Barry records; replaced with a responsive YouTube iframe once the video is ready
3 Learning Objectives “What You’ll Be Able to Do” 3–4 action-verb statements: “After this session, you will be able to…” — sets expectations before the research
4 Credible Research Summary “The Research Behind This Session” One subsection per learning objective; 200–300 words each; inline citations [1][2]; numbered source list with live hyperlinks immediately after each subsection
5 NotebookLM Audio Discussion “Listen to the Discussion” Placeholder until audio is generated and uploaded; includes collapsible explainer and a copy-ready NotebookLM prompt
6 Case Study “In the Real World” Two-panel side-by-side: Less Effective (Management Approach) vs More Effective (Coaching Approach); same characters, same scenario; Socratic discovery questions below (no