Stop Marketing Harder. Become a Better Coach — and Connector.

What if becoming a better coach and connector, not just a better marketer, is the real path to sustainable growth? In this solo episode of Leading Below the Surface, LaTonya Wilkins gets honest about why so many coaches and leaders are stuck doing all the right activities and still not breaking through. She unpacks the difference between surface-level networking and below-the-surface connection, why the people who seem to "get ahead" often crash out, and what it actually means to differentiate yourself in an AI age, not with tools, but with identity.  🎥 Prefer to watch? This episode is also available on YouTube with chapters: https://www.youtube.com/@changecoaches/podcasts  Episode Chapters & Key Moments  [00:00] Welcome back & announcements from Change Coaches LaTonya returns with a solo deep dive: the first in a while. Updates on the newsletter, YouTube, and what's coming next  [03:00] Coaching Below the Surface™ — two cohorts coming September 2026. What the program is, who it's for, and why it exists. The link between the book Leading Below the Surface and this training  [06:00] Marketing & networking on the surface vs. connecting below it. Are these two things mutually exclusive? LaTonya says yes. Why below-the-surface connection is more sustainable, more grounded, and more aligned [09:00] Two coaches who felt like they weren't "real" coaches. The coach gets clients but unable to go deeper with them. The coach with an ACC who still didn't feel like a coach  [12:00] The leader who networks well but crashes out every time. Why the people who seem to get everything often don't last. What LaTonya has seen happen when values and skill aren't aligned  [15:00] Short term appearance vs. long term reality. The most important distinction in this episode. Why chasing short-term wins is a losing long game.  [18:00] Lizzo, AI, and why the leveling is already happening. What a flopped album has to do with your coaching business.  Why AI is a tool and not the differentiator everyone thinks it is  [21:00] Your differentiator isn't a tool, it's your identity as a leader. What LaTonya means by identity (and what she doesn't). The questions that most coaches and leaders never get around to asking  [24:00] What competent coaches and great leaders have in common. They don't chase clients  and they don't have unmanageable team issues. How staying ahead is a byproduct of going deeper  [27:00] What to do next. How to go deeper with Coaching Below the Surface™.Where to find LaTonya and stay connected  Learn More🔹 Send me an email: [email protected]🔹Join our Coaching Below the Surface Waitlist: https://changecoaches.io/coaching-below-the-surface-interest-form/🔹 Coaching Below the Surface™ (ICF-approved, September 2026 cohorts): https://changecoaches.io/coaching-below-the-surface/ 🔹 Leading Below the Surface newsletter (semi-monthly): https://change-coaches.kit.com/profile 🔹 Change Coaches on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@changecoaches/podcasts 🔹 Follow Change Coaches on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/change-coaches 🔹 Connect with LaTonya Wilkins on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/latonyawilkins/