Coach FEATURE: Meet Judy Micale

We continue to meet our fellow coaches, get inspired and build coach community with our "Meet the Coach" features! This month we meet Judy Micale, a Leadership & Team Coach from the USA.

Interview with Judy

About Judy

Lives In: USA

Company: Judy Micale LLC

Type of Coach: Leadership & Team Coach

Describe your coaching business in one sentence: I combine strategic thinking, storytelling, and positive psychology to unlock potential and inspire lasting transformation.

Meet Judy

For more than 15 years, Judy Micale has been empowering managers, leaders, and teams to pause, reflect, and grow. Based in the United States, she brings a deep background in behavioural health, training of trainers, and evidence-based practices into a holistic coaching approach that treats the whole person—because, as she says, “I’ve never met a piece of a pie.”

In a recent conversation with Dr Steve Jeffs and Erwin de Grave, Judy shared how two coaches changed her life, why she coaches leaders to slow down, and the practical tools and habits that turn reflection into action.

From Two Coaches to a Coaching Career

While caring for her mother and stepfather and juggling behavioural-health work, Judy hired a coach—and unexpectedly got two:

“They tag-teamed me on the calls—diving deep, asking powerful questions, and listening to the emotion behind my words.”

The breakthroughs were rapid. Curious, she enrolled with Mentor Coach, LLC and, when her job’s funding stream ended, stepped fully into coaching. 15 years, 2,800+ coaching hours, and 600+ clients later (individuals and teams, plus mentoring coaches), Judy still loves the unfolding journey.

Coaching the Whole Person

Judy is holistic in practice: personal and professional are inseparable. She works especially with managers and above and increasingly with teams. A Certified Mindful Mentor, she helps high-performing, type-A leaders use breath, awareness, and reflection to centre themselves and lead with intention.

The Power of PAUSE

Fresh from her journal, Judy’s model PAUSE invites leaders to slow down and think:

• P — Preparation
• A — Awareness
• U — Understanding
• S — Sensing / Searching / Seeking
• E — Exploring

“We’re so busy doing ‘busy work’ that we forget to think. The best leaders listen and reflect before they speak—they pause.”

Her mindfulness roots show up in simple practices: stop, breathe, notice what you’re carrying, release pressure, and reboot—supported by neuroscience and mentors who anchored her in the power of breath.

Challenging with Compassion

Judy balances empathy with edge: sometimes she asks permission to challenge; sometimes she simply challenges—a stance many leaders appreciate. She clearly distinguishes coaching, counselling, mentoring, and consulting, and often blends strategic facilitation with individual and team coaching to sustain change.

She also models structure leaders can steal: start sessions with a win, set the focus, and close with what you’ll take forward—a rhythm her clients now use in their meetings.

From Meetings to Meaning

Common blockers? The four-letter word “busy.” Judy helps leaders set boundaries, delegate (without robbing others of growth), and replace meeting fatigue with purposeful action. She often begins with weekly 30-minute touchpoints to build momentum, then widens the cadence once progress sticks.

Tools That Turn Insight into Action

Judy frequently uses resources from The Coaching Tools Company:

• Renew You (including the “star/bright” action focus)
• Three-month goal-setting and time-management worksheets
• Wheel of Life (and taking the next step into concrete action)

The emphasis is always the same: identify one action you’ll take now.

Books She Recommends

• The Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz)
• A Complaint-Free World (Will Bowen)

Both support reframing, responsibility, and everyday awareness.

In Conclusion: Pause, Reflect, Lead

For Judy, success starts by slowing down. Through mindfulness, reflection, and simple structures, she helps leaders and teams create the pause that powers progress.

LEARN MORE about Judy here: Visit Judy's Website here >> Follow Judy on Facebook >> Follow Judy on LinkedIn >>