What to Expect from Executive Coaching

Executive coaching is not therapy, not mentoring, and not consulting. It sits in a category of its own: a structured, confidential relationship between a trained coach and a senior leader, focused on helping the leader think more clearly about a specific challenge or transition. If you are considering it for the first time, this page describes what actually happens.

The first conversation

Every engagement starts with a preliminary conversation. This is not a session; it is a mutual assessment. The coach is trying to understand what you are working on and whether coaching is the right intervention. You are trying to decide whether you trust this person enough to think out loud in front of them.

The conversation is typically 30 to 45 minutes and is always confidential. There is no fee and no obligation. If the fit is not right, a good coach will tell you so and often suggest a colleague who might be better suited. The worst outcome of a first conversation is 30 minutes of useful thinking time that does not lead anywhere.

How sessions work

Sessions are usually 60 to 90 minutes, held fortnightly or monthly, in person or by video. The leader sets the agenda. There is no curriculum, no workbook, and no homework unless the leader finds it useful. The coach's job is to listen, ask the questions you have been avoiding, and help you see the situation more clearly than you could on your own.

What a typical session covers varies enormously. One session might be about a difficult board conversation coming up next week. The next might be about a pattern of avoidance that has been quietly undermining your leadership for years. The range is deliberate. The work goes where the leader needs it to go.

How long it takes

Most executive coaching engagements run for six to twelve months. Three months is the minimum for meaningful change. Twelve months is typical for a major transition (a new role, a succession, a significant organisational change). Some leaders maintain an ongoing relationship with their coach for years, meeting quarterly rather than monthly, as a strategic sounding board.

There is no standard duration because there is no standard problem. The length of the engagement should be determined by the work, not by a package.

What outcomes to expect

Executive coaching does not produce outcomes in the way a training programme does. You will not receive a certificate, a score, or a before-and-after assessment. What you will notice, typically after four to six sessions, is:

• Greater clarity about what you actually want, as opposed to what you think you should want.
• Better quality decisions, made with less rumination and more confidence.
• Improved relationships with your direct reports, your board, or your partners, because you are communicating more deliberately.
• Reduced stress, not because the job has changed but because you are handling it differently.
• A sharper understanding of your own patterns: the habits that serve you and the ones that get in the way.

These outcomes are difficult to measure on a spreadsheet but immediately visible to the people around you. Most leaders hear the change reflected back to them by colleagues before they notice it themselves.

Finding the right coach

The coaching relationship depends on trust, and trust depends on fit. A few practical suggestions for choosing a coach:

• Check accreditation. Look for ICF (International Coaching Federation) or EMCC (European Mentoring and Coaching Council) accreditation. These are the two credible professional bodies. Unaccredited coaches are not necessarily bad, but accreditation provides a baseline of training and ethics.
• Ask about supervision. Good coaches are supervised by other coaches, just as therapists are supervised by other therapists. This keeps the work honest. Ask whether your prospective coach has regular supervision.
• Talk to more than one. Have preliminary conversations with two or three coaches. The right one will be obvious. It is the person with whom you find yourself thinking more honestly within the first fifteen minutes.
• Do not choose by price alone. Coaching fees vary from a few hundred to several thousand pounds per session. The most expensive coach is not always the best, but the cheapest coach often lacks the experience to handle complex senior-leader work.

Start a conversation

If you are a senior leader considering executive coaching and would like to talk it through, email [email protected]. The introductory call is confidential and free of charge.