What is executive coaching?

Executive coaching is a one-to-one relationship between a leader and a coach, focused on that specific person's goals, challenges and blind spots. Unlike training, which teaches a skill to a group, coaching is entirely personalised: the agenda is set by what the individual actually needs, not by a fixed curriculum.

Who it's for

Coaching tends to suit leaders navigating a specific challenge: stepping into a bigger role, working through a difficult team dynamic, or wanting an honest outside perspective they can't easily get from colleagues. It's not only for people who are struggling; plenty of strong leaders use coaching simply to sharpen further.

Coaching vs mentoring vs training

These three get used interchangeably, but they're not the same thing. A mentor is usually someone more senior sharing their own experience and advice. A trainer teaches a defined skill, often to a group. A coach asks questions and holds up a mirror, helping a leader work out their own answers rather than handing them one. Many leaders benefit from more than one of these at once.

What an engagement looks like

A typical coaching engagement runs over several months, with regular one-to-one sessions built around the leader's actual goals. Early sessions usually focus on working out what's really going on and what success looks like; later ones track progress and adjust as things change. Everything discussed is confidential between the coach and the leader.

What it costs

Cost varies widely depending on the coach's experience and the length of the engagement. We don't run a delivered coaching programme ourselves yet, which is exactly why the fastest way to find out what a fit would look like, and what it would cost, is a short conversation.

Get started

If you're weighing up coaching, book a short consultation and tell us what you're working on. We'll get back to you to talk it through, no obligation. If you'd rather start with something self-directed, our free 360 Review or a Learning Group session are both good places to begin.