High Performance in Coaching and Life: Insight from High Performance Coach Sara Centanni

As coaches, we often talk about guiding others through transformation, but it's rare to meet someone whose personal journey of growth embodies the very principles they teach.

In a recent conversation with Sara Centanni, a bestselling author, high performance coach, speaker, and CPA, we explored what it truly means to operate at the highest level of personal and professional development—and how the lessons she’s learned can help you do the same.

Climbing the Right Ladder

Sara’s journey began in the world of finance, where she rose to the position of Executive Director. But like many of us, she realized her ladder was leaning against the wrong building. Despite achieving significant career success, Sara found herself burned out and unfulfilled.

“I loved leading and helping others learn and grow more than I did the numbers,” she shared, reflecting on her decision to pivot from crunching numbers to helping others achieve peak performance.

Sara’s metaphor of “putting the ladder on the wrong building” resonated deeply with me. It’s a story so many of us can relate to—pouring time and energy into a path that doesn’t align with our true calling.

Sara didn’t let this realization paralyze her. Instead, she harnessed it, becoming a coach to help others make their own pivots and avoid the trap of burnout.

Building Habits That Serve You

One of Sara’s greatest insights during our chat was the idea that "your habits create your lifestyle." When she found herself at the peak of her career but struggling with the effects of burnout, she realized the habits she’d developed over time were unsustainable. “It was like a death of a thousand cuts,” she said, describing how those small, overlooked habits eventually led her to a health crisis.

What makes Sara’s approach to coaching so powerful is her belief that we have the ability to flip the script. Whether it’s physical habits, mental discipline, or emotional resilience, small changes can create ripple effects that dramatically alter the course of our lives.

It’s all about intentionality and commitment. By working on her habits and getting the right support system in place, Sara not only overcame burnout but also transformed her health and well-being.

The Importance of Support Systems

Speaking of support, Sara emphasized how critical it is to surround yourself with the right people. “If you made it to the top alone, you did something wrong,” she said.

This was a lesson Sara learned through her own trials, and it’s one that’s often easy to overlook. We might think that strength lies in doing everything on our own, but true high performers know that collaboration, mentorship, and support systems are key to lasting success.

Whether it’s family, friends, mentors, or a coach, Sara advocates for building a network that encourages growth and holds you accountable. As coaches, we must practice what we preach—having a solid support system isn’t just for our clients, it’s for us too.

Being Real and Raw

One of the standout moments of our conversation was when Sara spoke about the delicate balance between being a role model and being real. “You can be a leader wherever you are,” she said, “but it’s also important to be transparent and honest with people.”

For Sara, showing up as her best self doesn’t mean being perfect. It means acknowledging that she’s human, too—experiencing highs and lows like everyone else.

Authenticity is key. By sharing our struggles as coaches, we invite our clients to do the same, creating an environment where real transformation can happen.

Overcoming Setbacks and Embracing Wake-Up Calls

Like many high performers, Sara has had her share of wake-up calls. Whether it was a health scare or the challenges of building a new business, she learned that setbacks are often setups for future success.

“If you want your business to scale, you have to level up with it,” she said, comparing the growth journey to a video game where each challenge prepares you for the next.

Sara’s resilience and ability to turn obstacles into opportunities is something we can all learn from. She reminded me, and I hope it reminds you, that setbacks are not failures—they are stepping stones to our greatest achievements.

Leaning Into People Pleasing

One of the most intriguing parts of our chat was when we dove into the topic of people-pleasing. For many of us, especially as coaches, the desire to help others can sometimes border on codependency.

Sara, who describes herself as a lifelong people-pleaser, shared her journey of working through this. “Where did this come from?” she asked herself, noting that true freedom comes from digging deep and facing uncomfortable truths.

Sara’s advice? Examine your motives. “Are you helping people because it genuinely comes from a place of service, or because you’re seeking their approval?”

It’s a question that’s worth sitting with as we continue to develop not only as coaches but as individuals.

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Final Thoughts

My conversation with Sara Centanni was a powerful reminder of the importance of alignment, habits, and authenticity in both our personal and professional lives.

Whether you’re just starting out as a coach or you’ve been in the game for years, Sara’s wisdom can help you level up and lead with purpose.

If you want to connect with Sara you can find her on instagram @saracentannicoaching. She’s even offering a free productivity guide if you DM her the word "POWERFUL."

Here’s to making our ladders reach the right buildings, building habits that support our dreams, and showing up as the best versions of ourselves—flaws and all.

Show Highlights:

01:26 - Sara’s Journey: From Finance to Coaching

02:30 - “Climbing the Ladder on the Wrong Building”

03:06 - How Burnout Led to a Career Pivot

04:15 - The Power of Habits: How Small Actions Shape Your Life

07:02 - The Importance of Building the Right Support System

08:55 - Why Being Real and Authentic as a Coach Matters

11:08 - Turning Setbacks into Opportunities

13:00 - The Role of Wake-Up Calls in High-Performance Coaching

15:30 - How to Overcome People-Pleasing as a Coach

18:45 - Sara’s Personal Transformation: From Burnout to Thriving

21:10 - Key Tips to Achieve Balance and High Performance

23:30 - How Coaches Can Level Up Their Lives and Careers

26:20 - Where to Connect with Sara and Her Free Productivity Guide

Full Transcript

Interview with Sara Centanni on High Performance

AI Edits from Sara Centanni Podcast Interview

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[00:00:00] High performers. Don't let mistakes hold them back.

[00:00:03] Exactly.

[00:00:04] I love it. You mentioned a couple of things that I really loved. in particular, being responsible for the energy that you bring into the room.

[00:00:12] I've thought about getting a big neon sign that says be responsible for the energy that you bring into the room. I'm not into bypassing people's feelings or gaslighting the situation

[00:00:23] But at the same time, that leadership, that character of saying, [00:00:30] okay, right now I need to activate the best of who I am because it matters.

[00:00:34] Mhm.

[00:00:53] Hello and welcome back to the Amanda Kaufman show. I'm so excited to keep going with [00:01:00] this series on the coaches that don't suck. And we were talking about some of the qualities that really make an amazing coach amazing.

[00:01:09] Sarah, I'm so excited. Like I could go on and on about how awesome you are. You're best selling author. You're a high performance coach, a consultant, a speaker, a CPA. You've done a lot. You've been through a lot, welcome to the show, I'm so glad you're here.

[00:01:26] Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here, Amanda. I appreciate you sliding into my DM so we can make [00:01:30] this happen.

[00:01:30] Before we started the show, we were talking about how important connection really is for coaches and how it can be hard sometimes, and I was so glad that you were receptive to a conversation.

[00:01:41] Especially for another CHPC, anything.

[00:01:43] Sarah, just take 30 seconds and tell us what brought you to coaching. why this?

[00:01:49] Yeah it's an interesting story. I, set my ladder on the wrong building, maybe, or climb the wrong ladder. Like I, I went to school as a CPA and went from a bank teller to an executive [00:02:00] director of finance. I realized that after hitting burnout as that executive director of financeI loved leading and helping others learn and grow more than I did the numbers.

[00:02:09] So I stepped away from the calculators and computers behind my desk and started helping others lead and grow as I. sought a coach for myself, I saw how beneficial it was. And I shifted over to coaching and consulting and speaking and all of the things where I didn't think an accountant would ever go.

[00:02:26] That's amazing. That's so inspiring. I love that metaphor of, I [00:02:30] think I put my ladder on the wrong building. That resonates for me too. I had a similar realization about 10 years into my consulting career. And just like you, it turned out that I had this genius zone I was using at work, but I wanted it to become like that mean thing, not just the side thing.

[00:02:46] I'm so curious, when you're working with people, What do you hold true as the top three things that you bring to the table or that you show up as a coach that [00:03:00] differentiates, from just an average coach how do you make sure you're showing up with full power as a coach yourself?

[00:03:06] First of all, I appreciate that. I made it to the level where I am not a coach. Congratulations. We should have a certificate. I know it's like

[00:03:12] I think the biggest thing is what Brendan Burchard teaches us in CHPC and high performance coaching is that your habits create your lifestyle.

[00:03:20] I learned that firsthand from, burnout, which was a death of a thousand cuts, like all of these little habits that I had created or neglected and it created a lifestyle of burnout. [00:03:30] So I had to flip that script and be like, okay, if I want a better life, because the one I'm living right now is not sustainable.

[00:03:36] how can I recreate that same lifestyle? Practice but in a better way so that I can find the life that I want. Being coached by a high performance coach was incredible for me. Cause I realized that was something that I needed because I was always into personal fitness and still am.

[00:03:52] I got a personal trainer for my body. It's like, why can't I get one for my mind? So I realized that being able to work [00:04:00] on habits and also be disciplined with it can create the life that you want. I, Ended up in the ER with a migraine. That was so bad because I've had them for 30 plus years, but they weren't as bad as the one that I got when I was in burnout and lots of other issues during that time.

[00:04:15] realizing that your habits create your lifestyle. So that would be my first one. The second one is really being able to. Have a support system and that was something that I know for a lot of people. I know for myself, like it's hard to ask for help,

[00:04:29] If you [00:04:30] made it to the top alone, you did something wrong, How can we rely on others and whether that's friends, family, support groups other coaches, having a coach or mentor of your own therapy, whatever it is, like having that support and being able to give and receive it And then the third thing I would say is showing up as a role model. that's something I have learned throughout my life that it doesn't matter what title you have. You can be a leader wherever you are. people are always watching. I realized that when I was second director of finance, my staff knew exactly how the meeting I was just in went [00:05:00] by the way I walked through the door to my office.

[00:05:02] I need to be cognizant of the energy I'm bringing into the room and make sure that I am showing up At all times as my best self but ensuring that I'm also raw and real as well. And I'm not hiding things from them. It's yeah, these things are happening. These things are coming.

[00:05:16] And just being transparent and honest with people because otherwise stories start

[00:05:19] Oh, I love this Just for recapping, it was habits. It was the role model and the middle one was. Oh, [00:05:30] goodness.

[00:05:31] What was the middle?

[00:05:32] Yeah. When you have ADHD, just don't. I know. When you're interviewing people, don't recap live. Okay. So let's just move on then.

[00:05:40] Let's just move on. you can rewind.

[00:05:42] Yeah. You got a rewind button. It's a surprise.

[00:05:44] Go back and rewind.

[00:05:45] High performers. Don't let mistakes hold them back.

[00:05:48] Exactly.

[00:05:49] I love it. You mentioned a couple of things that I really loved. in particular, being responsible for the energy that you bring into the room.

[00:05:58] I've thought about getting a big neon [00:06:00] sign that says be responsible for the energy that you bring into the room. I'm not into bypassing people's feelings or gaslighting the situation

[00:06:09] But at the same time, that leadership, that character of saying, okay, right now I need to activate the best of who I am because it matters.

[00:06:20] Totally. And I know that we're all going to have our ups and downs, so we are not perfect human beings by any means. But if you can intentionally do that, it makes such a huge [00:06:30] difference.

[00:06:30] it can really set the tone for the day, the week, the hour just like it sets the tone and you can. You're responsible for that. inputs come in, you process it internally, and then you shove something out there to the world. shove something positive. If you can.

[00:06:42] Yeah, exactly. If you're going to be shoveling something, make a positive that brings me to the other piece which was around being real and raw, if there's a behavior I see a lot in the industry, it's this need to be super perfect before anyone sees you.

[00:06:57] It's almost like this compulsion to Step [00:07:00] out onto this huge red carpet instead of showing up to the work every day meeting yourself where you're at and growing wherever you want to. I know for me that held me back forever. Like you mentioned you were really into training and had a physical trainer.

[00:07:13] So then you were like of course I want to have a coach for my high performance and my mental health. I was like the opposite. I worked on my mental health and my, and worked with high performance coach and then that helped me feel permission to go work with a physical trainer. So that's really interesting.

[00:07:29] But talk to me [00:07:30] a little bit about how in your journey you've really figured out or maybe you still are figuring out how to be the right kind of real and raw for you as you're building your business.

[00:07:42] Yeah, that's a great question. that was actually number two have the right support system around you.

[00:07:46] It was support system. It's just doing the work and you will get there. Have it support system. Good. Love it.

[00:07:53] And role model. Yeah.

[00:07:54] So yeah, that's interesting because there is such a big connection. mine was physical first because I had so many physical [00:08:00] symptoms and I also have Scoliosis.

[00:08:01] when I was a teenager they found it, but I went to a spine surgeon and they're like, okay, your spine right now is at 25 degree curvature. Come see us when you're at 40 and we'll stick rods in your back. And I'm like, I don't want that. So I've been

[00:08:13] in

[00:08:14] physical therapy.

[00:08:15] For 20 years to keep my spine as straight and solid as possible so that my, whole body doesn't collapse. So I've been very much into my physical health. once I was in burnout, this is not how I'm supposed to be. this is detrimental, like I'm not going to make it to 50.

[00:08:28] So I needed to [00:08:30] shift things around. I need to prioritize my health. And then I also need to have a life. So I was thinking, what's the finish line that everyone wants to make it to? It's usually retirement. I don't feel like I'm going to make it there, so I started bringing moments that I wanted to do in retirement into my life now, there's that mortality motivation where I got to do things now, YOLO, whatever it is, but I realized YOLO.

[00:08:52] I missed out on so much of my life because I was sacrificing for others and for a job that I had to start thinking about myself it [00:09:00] might be a little selfish, but when I show up better for myself, I show up better for everyone. So why not work on me so that I can do great work for others?

[00:09:09] I love this so much.

[00:09:10] Oh my gosh, Sarah, how have we not spent way more time together? Couple of things came up for me there, which was around the role of wake up calls. I think this is another area that we as coaches, coaching really is a leadership position. And I love that the Certified High Performance Coaching Program teaches this, that it is a leadership [00:09:30] influencing role.

[00:09:30] even if you don't totally buy into that, hey, All leadership starts with self leadership. I'm honestly trying to think of a coach that I know well, who doesn't have some kind of a wake up call backstory where they used it. the great coaches, use those setbacks to be the setups for what they're going to do in the future.

[00:09:54] But what I noticed a lot of coaches will do is when they encounter the next setback, [00:10:00] they forget that they have all those tools. And they go, Oh, I should be so embarrassed and I should retreat from public life and just never mind. I don't have a right to coach anybody else. And it's Whoa, hang on.

[00:10:11] can you talk to us about the role of wake up calls for you? Maybe what led you to become a coach, but maybe even as if you're cool sharing, like maybe what's been a setback or two on the journey of building this business and then what'd you do about it?

[00:10:26] Oh, totally. There's been so many. when you have those [00:10:30] setbacks, we don't always realize that it's a setup for our future. But then also understanding that when you do overcome something like that, we don't integrate it as much. And Brennan talks about that integrating your wins to ensure that you are leveling up.

[00:10:41] I always think of video games, they start you out at the easy level and then they don't just start you out at the boss at the end of the video game. Like they're going to start you out easy and then they progress you all the way through the game. So I think about it that way.

[00:10:52] It's okay, I'm at the easy levels right now. I'm just trying to incorporate some wins, get some motivation. And as I level up, I strongly believe that if you want your [00:11:00] business to scale, you have to level up with it. Like it needs to be parallel, right? Like we need to be going at a parallel direction and we need to level up with our business.

[00:11:08] Otherwise we're going to be stuck One of my programs is called

[00:11:10] Level Up because of that very idea, yeah, and it is a game, but my gosh, it's so perfect.

[00:11:16] We do need to talk more. some of the biggest things that I didn't realize, I worked really hard for my career.

[00:11:21] I passed a CPA exam, I would work full time, go to college, and spend four hours a couple nights a week at a CPA exam prep class, I took the [00:11:30] test for a couple years so that I could work, and I, Road on a crew team competitively, like I was doing all the things and it's I did all of that hard stuff.

[00:11:38] Why am I having issues with going live on Instagram Why am I having an issue with this little thing when I've done these huge things? It's because I didn't remember those things that I actually did. So it's reflecting on those things. here's the things that I've done that are hard.

[00:11:53] But when you do come up on something new, you can't really be afraid to be. Starting small, [00:12:00] right? Yeah, it's hard

[00:12:02] to get good at it.

[00:12:03] we all start there I've worked, so many decades to be a CPA. I wasn't a CPA when I first started. I was just a bank teller.

[00:12:10] I worked my way up and I was okay to be a bank teller. I ran that drive through. I was good but being able to understand that it's okay. Like I shifted careers. It's okay for me to start at the bottom again. I'm not going to be a High level executive as a coach, right when I jump in so realizing that really helped me, but then something that I didn't [00:12:30] expect throughout the way is the fact that when you do start a new journey, it's very humbling.

[00:12:36] And we've talked about that. it's such a gift because as you help others, they're actually teaching you as much as you're teaching them.

[00:12:44] And I love that about coaching. It's such a mirror.

[00:12:47] Because you're supposed to be a mirror for them, That could be something that I'm working on too.

[00:12:51] Yeah, you're making like

[00:12:51] side notes in the margins of your

[00:12:53] Oh, that's a good book. Thank you for that recommendation. just realizing that it's a leveling up for everyone and you get to share that [00:13:00] as you are a mirror for your coaching clients you're practicing being a mirror and then you're starting to see the people that you've attracted into your life or that are around you.

[00:13:09] It's like, how are they a mirror for me? And then I just started, Oh, I'm lacking this, or I feel like I need this. So why is that? And this person represents that in my life or something like that. Does that ever happen for you?

[00:13:23] A thousand percent. The thing I was going to ask about next is actually around people [00:13:30] pleasing.

[00:13:30] When I think about. what compels a person to do something so heart led as being a coach for other people. I actually posted a reel about this the other day. I'm like, what if most coaches are dealing with this codependency thing, which is another way of saying people pleasing.

[00:13:46] What would be a top tip that you would have if someone suspects that they're either wrestling with people pleasing or they want to move past people pleasing what would be your top tip on that?

[00:13:58] It's very interesting because I've been a [00:14:00] lifelong people pleaser and it really starts to figuring out.

[00:14:04] One, first of all, being aware of it. And then it's like, where did this come from? Trying to dig to the root cause. over the last few years I've realized that I'm willing to do the hard work and figure out the root cause, no matter what truth I have to unearth out of my subconscious

[00:14:18] I'm okay with it because on the other side of that, whether it's fear or avoidance there's freedom and it doesn't hang you up anymore. You're carrying that baggage around for the rest of your life and I don't want that anymore.

[00:14:27] I want to face this and get rid of it. I'm more of a [00:14:30] close the loop type of person. If there's a outstanding issue, I just, I want it. Maybe that's part of the accountant in me I want it to balance. I need to figure out why it's not.

[00:14:38] Yeah. That's so good. I think my own journey with people pleasing, it's the same thing.

[00:14:42] you got to get to that root. And what I've learned along the way too, is I went through a bit of a pendulum swing the other direction where you did the same thing.

[00:14:51] Yes. I just realized one a month.

[00:14:53] I think it's easy to do, right? Because you realize, Oh, wow, this is bad.

[00:14:57] Let's just go to the extreme opposite And [00:15:00] it's I don't need people. I don't want to interact with people. I'm going to put a big wall up. And it's out of a protection reflex, but it's still driven by people pleasing. So until you really get to that route I heard it described really beautifully the other day as what's your motive when you're being nice, when you're being kind, when you're helping somebody else?

[00:15:17] Just check in on that motive. Are you doing it so that they will be happy so that you can be happy? Or is it coming from a higher place? And I really loved that [00:15:30] because I basically learned, I was like, I love seeing people pleased. I'm just not a people please er.

[00:15:36] No, I totally resonate with that.

[00:15:37] There's so many things where you think it would just be easier to just say yes to whatever they want. taking on the things where you're not really prioritizing your own needs versus others. And that's something that when going through burnout again, it was my biggest game changer in lifeI said yes to way too many things and I sacrificed myself for a job and I sacrificed all the other areas of my life because I was just laser focused on doing the best that I can at this [00:16:00] job. I realized that I had to leverage my ambition because I was very driven and focused, but I had to make sure that I had a well balanced life as well.

[00:16:06] I needed people in my life. I needed fun in my life because I stopped rowing when I was in burnout. I didn't do the things that make me a person and make me laugh and have fun and be a good human being. So realizing that, I had to realize that being laser focused on something is a gift and a curse for me, and I wanna leverage it in a way where it is more of, an asset for me and not a liability

[00:16:29] making sure [00:16:30] that I can actually leverage that ambition. I figured out the pendulum swing, which was like, why it is, when I was in burnout, I thought I was going to die in a few years It wasn't sustainable I was in the ER. I had a migraine that lasted five days

[00:16:42] I also had a miscarriage But I've cured all the migraines. I don't get migraines anymore. Knock on wood, like I've been able to figure it out and I've lost weight and gain muscle. Like I'm a completely different person but I had to do the internal work the pendulum swing I've realized is that my drive is mainly that mortality [00:17:00] motivation.

[00:17:00] I have a zest for life. I want to make sure that I'm living my life to the fullest because I sacrificed so many years and that's what's driving me.

[00:17:07] That's so good. I love it. Sarah, thank you so much for joining me today. we need to schedule a new one and it needs to be like four hours long because this is so much fun.

[00:17:15] But Sarah, if people wanted to connect with you, what's the best way to do that?

[00:17:19] I'm on most socials, but the best one would be Instagram. Sarah Santani coaching.

[00:17:23] Perfect. And you were talking about being powerful and everything. I heard you had maybe a little something that [00:17:30] people could ask for you if they see the word power.

[00:17:32] if you dm me powerful in my dms I will send you a productivity guide that I created. It's called pretty powerful.

[00:17:38] Pretty powerful. I love it. Amazing. Sarah, thank you so much. listener, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a five star rating. be sure to share this conversation with your friends.

[00:17:50] We really appreciate your support. We're looking to help as many coaches have amazing businesses and impact. thank you so much for joining.