Executive coaching is a partnership between the coach and the client with the goal of maximizing leadership and professional skills. This process drives short or long-term goals for the individual, as well as their organization/business. The approach is highly individualized and collaborative.
A coach’s role is to create an environment where clients engage in learning or refining skills, increase performance and effectiveness, and increase professional growth. Goals are developed, feedback is provided, and clients are guided to learn, and elicit solutions and strategies. A coachee is active and sets the agenda, is willing to be honest and open, an active listener, makes commitments to action, follows through and takes ownership.
Clients looking for coaching are looking to grow and further develop as professionals or leaders. Executive coaches often work with clients who are managers, executives, entrepreneurs and professionals (or with those who are working towards this).
Typical client objectives can include:
Executive coaching can be provided in person, over the phone, video chat platforms, or a combination of all of these, whichever is more convenient for the client.
Sometimes individuals seek out executive coaching for themselves, and sometimes organizations will seek out executive coaching for an employee. An initial discussion will take place to see if coaching is suitable and if so, arrive at an agreement. The process then officially begins.
Initially, there is an assessment period focusing on understanding the goals of the client, understanding strengths, and areas to build on. Depending on if the client’s company is initiating coaching, this may include collecting information from colleagues and/or management.
The executive coach will guide the client toward achieving goals, provide a supportive framework, feedback, education, and monitor progress. There will be opportunities to brainstorm, work on strategy, skill building and roll playing. Clients will be often given tasks to accomplish between appointments to help them meet their goals.
It depends on the client, their goals and contextual challenges. Many clients engage in executive coaching anywhere from 3-12 months. For more complicated issues and goals, the process may take up to a year or beyond. Once clients complete executive coaching, some clients may benefit from follow up on a regular basis and some may require little, or no follow up.
This refers to a client’s readiness to engage in the work of being coached. There are certain factors that can help a client get the most out of the process. Growth and development are fostered through a client’s comfort level and ability to examine themselves. Clients benefit from being reflective and observant of how they engage with others and various situations. An openness to challenging beliefs that may not be useful to their careers or organizations, and a willingness to learn new approaches is key.
Clients should expect to typically pay between to pay between $175 – $375 per individual session depending the type of engagement and length of session.