In this deeply personal and practical conversation, John Marshall sits down with Coach Monique DeMonaco, founder of EQ Wize, internationally trained life, leadership, executive, and career coach, and emotional intelligence expert, to explore why self-awareness and soft skills have become essential for success in work and life. Monique shares her remarkable journey from growing up in an environment with little emotional intelligence, being told she would never attend college, and struggling with limiting beliefs, to earning an MBA and building a coaching practice that has helped people around the world. She explains why lasting behavior change begins with understanding what sits beneath the behavior, introduces her framework for the four core beliefs that contribute to human suffering, and shows how awareness can create greater compassion for ourselves and others. The conversation then turns to young professionals and the workplace, examining why technical qualifications alone are no longer enough, how parenting and societal shifts have influenced resilience and confidence, and what families and organizations can do to help the next generation become more prepared for adulthood and work. Filled with accessible tools, candid stories, and practical strategies, this episode offers a powerful reminder that the more aware we become, the more choice we have in who we become next.

Resources:
EQ Wize
Coach Monique Website
Failure to Launch Program

Connect with Coach Monique DeMonaco

Special Offer for The Present Professional Listeners:

Use promo code TPP when working with Coach Monique or EQ Wize.

Coaching - Coach Monique's coaching programs typically include eight sessions. The Present Professional listeners receive a ninth session at no additional cost.

EQ Wize - Receive 15% off an EQ Wize course using promo code TPP.

Takeaways

• Awareness is the starting point for meaningful change because it is difficult to change a behavior when you do not understand the thought, belief, expectation, or past experience driving it.
• What appears to be a problem behavior is often a coping mechanism or consequence of something deeper, which is why changing behavior alone may not create lasting results.
• Monique's four-part framework examines beliefs around not being enough, believing what you want is unavailable to you, fearing rejection, and needing connection as possible roots of recurring emotional and behavioral patterns.
• Separating behavior from identity creates room for growth because making a mistake or receiving difficult feedback does not mean there is something fundamentally wrong with who you are.
• Self-awareness can increase compassion for other people because understanding the beliefs underneath your own reactions makes it easier to become curious about what may be driving theirs.
• Resilience grows when people learn to see failure as an experience rather than evidence that they themselves are a failure.
• Parents can unintentionally reduce resilience when they repeatedly remove consequences, solve problems their children are capable of solving, or protect them from experiences that build independence and confidence.
• Standards are a vote of confidence because expecting a young adult to contribute, take responsibility, and solve appropriate problems communicates that you believe they are capable.
• Technical skills may help someone qualify for an opportunity, but emotional intelligence, communication, critical thinking, professionalism, and the ability to read a room can strongly influence what happens once they are in the interview or workplace.
• Organizations preparing the next generation of talent should clearly communicate how they invest in development, provide opportunities for growth, and give people the tools they need to become more capable professionals rather than treating development as punishment.

Visit The Present Professional webpage on humessence.com and learn more about how we support leadership development and culture enablement at growth-stage organizations.

Thank you for listening.

Coach John Marshall | Instagram | LinkedIn