Thinking about executive coaching? Here’s what you need to know.
Coaching isn’t therapy. And it’s not about fixing what’s broken.
Executive coaching is about taking someone who’s already good and helping them become great. It’s about unlocking potential you didn’t know you had.
I’ve worked with hundreds of leaders, and the ones who get the most from coaching share a few things in common. They’re curious. They’re willing to be uncomfortable. And they actually want to grow.
Here’s what makes coaching work:
It’s about you, not them. The best coaching focuses on your self-awareness: how your behavior impacts others and what you can control. Your coach doesn’t need to know your boss or your team. They need to know you. I recently spoke with a prospective client who wanted a coach who “knew all the players” in his organization. But here’s the truth: it doesn’t matter if your coach knows your manager. Real change doesn’t come from insider information. It comes from knowing yourself.
You have to do the work. Coaching isn’t magic. Between sessions, you’ll try new approaches, reflect on what happened, and adjust. The insights happen in our conversations. The growth happens in your daily work. Think of coaching like going to the gym. Your trainer guides you, but you’re the one doing the reps. And just like physical fitness, leadership development requires consistent practice.
Feedback is your friend. Great leaders seek feedback actively. They don’t wait for annual reviews. Coaching helps you get comfortable hearing hard truths and using them to improve. One of my clients used to get defensive whenever his team pushed back on his ideas. Through coaching, he learned to pause, listen, and ask “What am I missing?” That simple shift transformed how his team experienced him.
Small shifts create big results. You don’t need to overhaul your entire leadership style. Often, one or two behavior changes (like pausing before responding or asking better questions) can transform your effectiveness. I’ve seen leaders completely change their team dynamics by making tiny adjustments to how they show up in meetings or how they deliver feedback.
The relationship matters. You need to coach who challenges you, not one who tells you what you want to hear. Look for someone who combines insights with candor, someone you trust enough to be honest with. The best coaching relationship feel like a partnership where your growth is the shared mission.
Here’s what coaching isn’t: a quick fix, a substitute for real development work, or something you do because HR told you to.
Real coaching requires commitment. It takes time. And it can be uncomfortable. You’ll have to look at patterns you’ve been avoiding. You’ll need to try things that feel awkward at first. You’ll face feedback that stings a little.
But for leaders who are serious about their impact? It’s one of the best investments you can make.
The best part? When you grow as a leader, everyone around you benefits. Your team gets clearer direction. Your colleagues experience better collaboration. Your organization gets stronger results.
I’ve seen it happen again and again. A leader commits to coaching, does the work between sessions, applies what they’re learning, and within months their entire team dynamic shifts. Not because the team changed, but because the leader did.
So ask yourself: What’s one thing you’d change about your leadership if you could? What pattern keeps showing up that you wish you could shift? What feedback have you been avoiding or dismissing?
Those questions point to exactly where coaching can help.
Ready to explore what coaching could do for your leadership? Let’s talk.
What’s one leadership behavior you’d change if you could?
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