My Life, My Career: Executive Coaching Services to Succeed

Executive coaching has been around for decades. It started off as a sort of mentoring service for CEOs and top executives but has now evolved into a service that leaders and professionals at any level can benefit from.

So, before we dive into how executive coaching services can help you succeed, let’s clarify what an executive coach does. 

What is Executive Coaching?

There are many routes to go about improving yourself to succeed in your personal life and your career—going back to school, attending conferences and workshops, teaching yourself new skills, going to therapy. 

Executive coaching is one route of professional improvement. I will say this: it’s one of the more challenging routes because it involves a lot of time, energy, and dedication from both you and your coach.

Here at CoCaptain, we define executive coaching as:

“The partnership between a coach and a leader [in any capacity]. They engage in a stimulating, creative, and encouraging process that challenges them to amplify their professional and leadership potential.”

An experienced executive coach focuses on unlocking their client’s potential by maximizing their strengths, overcoming their weaknesses, and showing them the route towards success—while letting their clients take the wheel and do the steering.

Here’s How Executive Coaching Services for Different Stages in Your Career:

The Beginner With Big Dreams

So, you’re on the first step of the career ladder; maybe it’s your first job or your first stab at your dream business. You know your goals, but those first steps towards achieving those goals can be uncertain and terrifying.

Whether your big goal is to move up the ladder at your current company, get your dream job, turn your idea into a successful business—an executive coach is a person you want in your corner to help you make that happen.

Throughout your time together, an executive coach will uncover your driving force—what fuels you and drives your passion—and use that to motivate you towards your goal.

During your sessions, your coach will find out what you are capable of and what strategies you can carry out to the fullest.

Your coach will encourage your creative thinking within your sessions, creating an atmosphere conducive to charting your future, setting goals, overcoming obstacles, and strategizing how to put all of this into play.

When treading on new terrain and deciding what are the best steps forward—steps that will save you time and resources and give you the best shot at succeeding—why not have a trained professional on your side? A trained professional shining a light on the best course of action to get you where you want to be.

The Experienced Professional That Wants to Step Their Game Up

Whether you want a raise, more responsibilities at work, an executive position, a corner office, or simply being better at what you do—an executive coach will help you reach that goal.

A coach will work with you one-on-one and evaluate what is in your control to change within yourself and your surroundings to accomplish your goal and improve the areas that need polishing.

To get the job done properly, some coaches will shadow their clients at their job, maybe during an important presentation or regular work hours, to understand the client’s environment and how they fit into it and affect it.

With this objective bird’s eye view of your situation, a coach can give you highly effective feedback that will work into your strategy for improvement.

To get you closer to that goal, a coach will help you tangibly evaluate your contributions to your team, company, or workplace so that you are better equipped at proving your worth in any situation—leaving no doubt as to whether you deserve that promotion when the time comes.

The Burnt-Out Overachiever

If you’re feeling burnt-out, you’re more than likely, exhausted, frustrated, and lacking in motivation—which all result in slipping up at your job and feeling like you’re stuck.

If left unchecked, what could have been a temporary little slump could result in a prolonged period of burnout that could prove detrimental to your career and personal life.

Now, you’re probably aware you’re burnt out or where you may be falling short at your job, but you have no idea how to change that because you can’t even see the light at the end of the tunnel.

That’s where your executive coach comes in. The first thing they will employ to get you acting instead of reacting is to remind you of your motivations and reconsider them.

Maybe what used to motivate you at your job changed—your coach will help you assess the situation around you and help you decide what you have control over and whether that can get you unstuck (if not, then maybe a job change is overdue).

During your coaching process, your coach will ask the right questions to lead you to the answers that will reveal the bigger picture.

Maybe what you are putting into your job is no longer worth the returns? Maybe you are putting too much effort into an area that doesn’t need it while completely disregarding another area that desperately needs attention.

A thinking partner like your coach will help you reflect and consider the options, then help you strategize and act on your decisions.

Here’s Why You Should Employ Executive Coaching Services for Every Level of Your Organization:

Entry-Level Employees

It’s important to nourish support and advocate for employees from the ground up. Seeds planted with the right development and training will spur into the strong key players of your organization’s future.

Executive coaching services for the lower levels of an organization ensure a uniform alignment of values, goals, and motivations throughout the organization, promoting a more functioning workplace and a clearer path towards success.

Investing in executive coaching services for employees at all levels means you are nurturing talent within your own company.

This means that when you need a new leadership positions filled, you can pick someone from within your organization that is already well-versed in the culture and the ins-and-outs of your business and doesn’t have to be trained and groomed as a new recruit might have needed.

Moreover, talent in the lower ranks tends to want to stick around longer, put in more hours, more effort, and more dedication when they feel the company is looking out for their development—not just the higher-ups.

Not only will they feel more inclined to do a better job, but they will be trained on how to do a better job—it’s a win-win situation.

Mid-Level Management

A study done by Gallup and outlined by the Harvard Business Review states that one of the most important decisions that an organization makes is whom they hire to managerial positions—in fact, choosing bad managers can cost businesses billions every year.

Whether you want to maximize your current manager’s potential, increase their responsibilities, or get a new manager “role ready,” an executive coach is the best option to get them the one-on-one leadership coaching they need to increase employee engagement and improve your organization’s overall performance.

When managers raise their team’s and employee’s engagement and capacity, the effect ripples out across all units of business for consistent gains.

Furthermore, leadership coaching for managers increases your ability to retain the key players within your organization.

Turnover costs companies and businesses billions in the long run and can threaten to shut them down for good.

By developing and nurturing the capabilities of your managers, you reduce employee turnover; through coaching, you are indirectly recognizing and validating their work and facilitating their professional improvement and development.

Investing in your company's most valuable asset—your employees and the managers who guide them—will only move your business forward.

CEO/C-Level Leaders

On the other hand, we have the senior executives and CEOs who come with their own set of needs and areas of influence.

Whether you need one-on-one training with a particular leader or team training to facilitate productive communication and synchronicity—an executive coach is specialized in helping executives align their vision and engage productively with those around and under them.

Part of what makes an effective CEO is their ability to grow by growing and developing those in their organization—the problem is that most leaders are too busy with their daily tasks and personal goals, which takes their attention away from leading.

Being a CEO nowadays is more difficult than ever; in fact, in 2019 (before the pandemic), 1,300 CEOs of the largest US organizations left their positions.

CEOs and senior leaders are direly unprepared for the job of leading. That’s why executive coaches are more sought after than ever; they will step in to fill in all the fundamental leadership skills your leaders are struggling to conceptualize.

Leadership coaching will help leaders focus and clearly separate what their duties are as leaders and their duties as the top employee of your company.

Most importantly, executive coaching will develop leaders that know how to carry on various roles with effectiveness, that know how to plan in the long-term, keep themselves accountable, and reach their goals every week, month, quarter, and year—all while ensuring everyone else is performing at their best.

How Long Does an Executive Coaching Service Last?

Executive coaching relationships can last for as long as the client needs; some clients have short-term goals that they achieve within a couple of months, and after that, their coach is no longer needed.

While other times these coaching engagements can last years; some clients begin a professional journey with their coach that lasts years as they achieve milestones and goals and continue to use their coach’s guidance throughout the way.

12 months of intensive coaching sessions focusing on team building across all levels may be just what one company needs; but more sporadic, brief sessions for a few key players may be more doable for another organization.

Bottom Line

Still not sure how leadership coaching services could benefit you or your organization? For more information on pricing, structuring sessions, and tangible benefits, visit CoCaptain.

Check out the various price points and coaching programs that work with your budget and availability and will ensure you are connected with the best coach for your needs.