Any good coach should tell you that coaching of any kind has its benefits and drawbacks. And executive coaching is no different. It can lead to life-changing results for many people, whilst for others, it may not be right because of some of the reasons that I detail below.
Executive coaches aren’t counsellors, therapists, or individuals who focus specifically on the recovery of a client (or patient) following a physical or emotional trauma. It is true that some executive coaches will investigate these areas to get a better understanding of their client and any deep ‘damage’ that may need addressing, however, they will refer to specially trained professionals such as psychologists and therapists who are the experts in this field.
But before I explain why it may not be for you, I’ll outline the top proven benefits of executive coaching and the reasons why many famous people – from Steve Jobs of Apple to Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google – have relied on it.
The Top Four Benefits of Executive Coaching
1. Professional development
Most people turn to an executive coach when they want to develop their career’s further and maximise their potential in the workplace. In most cases, these individuals have already achieved great success at work and hold a senior role or are in fact the founder or CEO of their company.
But despite this success, they don’t feel they are fulfilling their full potential and know they could be doing more – or could be doing things differently – to reach the heights that they aspire to.
A professionally trained and experienced executive coach will understand the mindset of these leaders and will work with them to develop their effectiveness in the workplace by focusing on how they think and behave.
This often requires knowledge of techniques such as NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), as well as neuroscience, to help them change their thought processes and develop the inner confidence and belief to achieve whatever they want professionally.
And the results can be astonishing. Studies have found that individuals who had executive coaching have won promotions at work, achieved far greater professional success, gained self-belief and confidence, and significantly increased their levels of motivation, as well as greatly improved their leadership skills and abilities.
2. Overcome imposter syndrome
It may not look like it from the outside, but many seemingly successful people suffer from imposter syndrome – the feeling that their success isn’t due to their talents and abilities, but rather because of other factors outside of their control.
These factors could include the need for a company to quickly fill a role or being promoted to a position only because no one else wants it. The truth is of course that despite any external factors, individuals generally achieve what they do because of their talents, skills, and experiences, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time.
But this feeling of being a ‘fraud’ can lead to anxiety, a significant loss of self-confidence, constantly doubting and berating yourself, crippling fear, setting unrealistic expectations on yourself and others, or even striving to overachieve in everything you do.
Executive coaching has been proven to help individuals overcome imposter syndrome by focusing on the negative thoughts and self-sabotaging beliefs that prevent them from accepting (and celebrating) what they have achieved and their unique skills and capabilities.
The experienced professional coach will work with their client to change how they see themselves and their situation, restoring (or embedding for the first time) a deep sense of self-confidence and the belief that they are more than capable of excelling in their current role (and future roles too), if they are not already.
3. Clarity and direction
Another key benefit of executive coaching is that it provides clarity and direction. Many business leaders and senior executives often feel ‘stuck’ in their job or in their position in their company, and are confused about how to progress in the months and years to come.
Sometimes this includes being unclear about their professional (and personal) goals and what steps to take next to progress their career even further.
An executive coach with the right experience would have come across this problem many times before and will know the right techniques to use to help their clients gain the clarity and direction they desperately want.
Often this starts by not focusing immediately on the job they do or the role they perform, but instead by examining the things they enjoy and the things they would love to achieve. This helps clarify their goals and aspirations in the workplace (and/or in their personal life) and starts the discussion around how they can achieve these.
A next step is creating a clear pathway to achieve the goals identified that is practical and realistic, and builds on the individual’s talents and experiences, whilst also looking at new skills, qualifications, or abilities they need to gain or develop.
The best executive coaches will also develop the individual’s self-confidence and belief that they will achieve their aspirations during this process, knowing that having a positive mindset is key to achieving success.
4. Self-reflection
Executive coaching is also incredibly effective at helping business leaders and senior professionals reflect on their personal abilities and traits, as well as areas that they may need to develop.
Regardless of their profile or success, many of these individuals won’t have taken the time previously to really think through what’s truly important to them, how they think and act, or how they could improve or enhance certain aspects of how they do things.
An executive coach trained in how the brain really works will understand this and will provide a safe and trusting environment (either online or in-person) where these topics can be discussed and explored.
This self-reflection can prove to be incredibly useful and powerful for clients, and lead to tangible positive changes in their behaviour and thought processes.
And unsurprisingly, these positive changes make a significant difference on their performance and their relationships, both in the workplace and at home.
The Top Four Drawbacks of Executive Coaching
1. Cost
Depending on the coach you use, executive coaching can be expensive. As the name implies, it is aimed at business executives who expect a high-quality service that delivers meaningful and practical results. Due to this, it is usually only elite coaches with a strong track record of success and industry recognised accreditations and qualifications that choose to become an executive coach, sometimes charging more than other types of coaches such as life coaches or career coaches.
However, most executive coaching clients see the cost as an investment in their future, which will be repaid multiple times over in the years to come.
And many clients are able to offset the cost of coaching against the tax they pay or even have their company pay for it. Read my article ‘Is coaching tax deductible?’ to find out more about this.
Some larger companies have a culture of learning and development and have a budget set aside for coaching, particularly for staff in senior roles or those looking to move into one in the future.
But the cost the client (or the company) pays can vary widely depending on what is being provided and by whom (as well as a host of other factors that can be read about in the article ‘How much does coaching cost?’. Some executive coaches like me offer coaching programmes that have a fixed cost; my programmes come with the guarantee that you will achieve the outcomes you want regardless of how many coaching sessions that involves.
2. Accountability
It may seem obvious, but most types of coaching requires the client to be accountable and responsible for their own actions and thought processes. Coaching only ever proves effective when the client does this and accepts that the power to change is in their own hands.
If an individual is unable to do this, or not ready to do so, then coaching will be a waste of time and money for them.
But being held accountable and knowing that you have the ability to learn and change is a powerful factor in achieving success, whatever that may look like professionally or personally (or both).
If you see accepting the responsibility for changing your future as a drawback, then it’s likely coaching is not for you at this moment in time.
However, if you’re open to new ways of thinking and accept accountability and personal responsibility for making changes, then you’re ready to work with a coach and will find the process incredibly valuable.
3. Focus
No form of coaching will prove to be effective unless you know what areas you want to focus on.
Some people believe that coaches can help them overcome any or all issues or challenges in their life, but the truth is most coaches specialise in just one or two areas. So unless you’re clear about what areas of your personal and/or professional life that you want to focus on, you’re unlikely to be using a coach with the right skills and experience to effectively help you.
For example, some people confuse executive coaching with business coaching or career coaching, whilst others think it is the same as counselling or mentoring.
But each of these is a distinct speciality as can be read about in these two articles – ‘The difference between career, business, and executive coaching’ and ‘Is coaching the same thing as counselling or mentoring?’. If you think you’re not achieving the results you want from your coach, consider whether it’s because you’ve picked the wrong type of coach for you. Rather than believing that coaching doesn’t work or has major drawbacks, think again about the type of coach you use.
Just selecting any coach without really thinking through what you want to focus on can prove to be a costly and damaging mistake.
4. Commitment
It should come as no surprise to you that coaching requires you to be committed to it. For some people, this is a drawback because they don’t want to, or are unable to, commit the time required to explore and resolve the issues that may be holding them back.
But commitment is essential for coaching to work. As a client, you’ll be spending good money for the expertise and skills of a coach whose sole purpose is to help you achieve the outcomes you want, whether this is to gain a better work-life balance or maximise your potential in the workplace.
So it’s important you fully commit to the process and before hiring a coach consider how motivated you really are to make the changes you want.
Whilst some coaches may offer one-off coaching sessions, most will know that real change can take time, which is why they offer coaching programmes that can be tailored to your requirements.
But unsurprisingly these will only work for you if you are committed to attending each session and develop a strong trusted relationship with your coach.
Conclusion
Executive coaching has many benefits that can make a dramatic positive impact on your life, but you also need to be aware of the drawbacks and consider whether it is for you.
And if you decide it is, take the time to carefully select the coach you use as there is a great variation in the styles, skills, and experiences available.
