executive coaching
Executive coaching for leaders who have run out of people to ask
The higher you go, the less honest feedback you get. Executive coaching buys back the one thing seniority takes away: somewhere to think out loud without it becoming a message.
Who this is for. Chief executives, founders, managing partners, and senior leaders buying for themselves or for someone on their team.
What usually brings someone here
Almost nobody arrives saying they want to work on their leadership. They arrive with a situation. A leadership team that will not disagree in the room and will not commit outside it. A promotion that has turned a brilliant operator into an uncertain manager. A pattern of losing good people from one part of the business and no explanation that survives scrutiny.
The other common arrival is quieter. Things are going well enough, and the leader can feel that the operating style which got them here has stopped scaling. Nobody has told them, because at that level nobody does.
What the work actually looks like
Sessions run on a fixed cadence, usually every two or three weeks, for six to twelve months. The agenda comes from the leader's real week: the conversation they are avoiding, the decision that keeps getting deferred, the relationship that is costing them.
Between sessions there is work. Sometimes that is a conversation to have, sometimes an experiment to run with a team, sometimes something to stop doing. Progress shows up in what other people notice, which is why the measure set at the start is usually behavioral and observed by someone other than the leader.
What this includes
A written read before any coaching
Interviews with the people around the leader, and where it fits, a validated assessment. You get the read in writing.
A signed frame
Two or three behaviors, who they affect, and the observable difference that counts as progress. Agreed before session one.
Fixed cadence sessions
Ninety minutes, every two to three weeks, by video or in person. Rescheduling is normal; drifting is not.
Access between sessions
Short calls when a live situation cannot wait three weeks. Included, not billed separately.
A close that reports honestly
A return to the measure agreed in Frame, including where the work did not move it.
Signs this is the right service
- You are the most senior person in your function and there is no one internal you can be uncertain in front of.
- You have had the same piece of feedback from three different people over two years and nothing has changed.
- A specific relationship at your level is stuck and it is affecting decisions well beyond the two of you.
- You have been promoted into a role where your technical excellence is now the smallest part of the job.
Questions people ask
Is what I say in a coaching session confidential?
Yes. Nothing you say reaches your employer, your board, or the person who is paying. Where an organization sponsors the coaching we agree at the outset exactly what they will and will not receive, which is normally attendance and progress against the agreed measure, never content.
How is coaching different from mentoring or consulting?
A mentor tells you what they did in your situation. A consultant tells you what to do. A coach works on how you are thinking about the situation, so the next one is easier too. In practice a good engagement borrows from all three, and the useful question is which mode a particular problem needs.
What if my organization is paying but I choose the goals?
That is the normal and healthier arrangement. The sponsor agrees the broad area, the leader owns the specific goals, and the frame document makes both explicit so nobody is surprised later.
How much does executive coaching cost?
It depends on engagement length, session frequency, and whether assessment and stakeholder interviews are included. You get a written figure before anything starts, and the engagement letter says what it covers. We do not bill by the hour.
What happens if it is not working?
We say so. There is a scheduled review partway through, and either side can end the engagement there. A coach who cannot tell you the work is not landing is not much use on anything else either.
Related services
- Leadership Development
Programs that build a bench, not a one off workshop.
- Leadership Team Effectiveness
Get a top team deciding and committing as one.
- Leadership Assessment
See clearly who you have before you bet on them.
- Organizational Development and Culture
Change the system, not just the people inside it.
See whether executive coaching is the right next step
Thirty minutes, confidential, no charge. You describe the situation, and we say honestly whether this is the right service.