have more questions about executive coaching?

According to Andrew Neitlich, Director of the Center for Executive Coaching, experienced coach, consultant, graduate of Harvard Business School and one of my coaching instructors and mentors, “Coaching is an efficient, high-impact process of dialogue that helps highly performing people improve results in ways that are sustained over time.”

 While coaching can overlap with several other methodologies like consulting, therapy, and mentoring, coaching is distinct in its intentions and methodologies. 

Not Consulting: Coaching does not involve the intrusive exploration, analysis and reporting of consulting, nor is it directive in the way consulting can be. 

Not Therapy: Despite the extensive psychology education of many coaches, and their frequent use of Positive Psychology and/or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, coaching tends to be forward-leaning and growth-focused, whereas therapy is often backward glancing and pain-focused. For clients in need of therapy, coaches will make a referral, rather than delve into matters of mental health

Not Mentoring: Unlike a mentoring relationship, coaches and clients are on equal footing and the coach may have no or little experience in the field of their clients. Mentors may help mentees by expanding their networks by making introductions and providing advocacy; coaches might help coachees improve their networking, professional skills, strategies and ability to advocate for themselves. 

Coaches add value and impacts by first and foremost by respecting the client’s intentions and capacity to grow and thrive and then by partnering with them to facilitate that growth. Across a coaching engagement, coaches may incorporate aspects of some of all of the skills above, but will generally partner with clients to help them gain clarity, focus their intention and achieve their objectives. Executive coaches often use industry-standard assessments to accelerate these processes. 

 Executive coaching has been a fast-growing field, leveraged extensively by corporations and agencies to develop leadership talent, to ensure leaders are well-prepared to thrive in their executive roles and responsibilities. This “3’d party sponsorship” coaching methodology is popular with clients because their company is picking up the cost of coaching, investing in the coachee with implied expectations of sustained benefits to the company. In fact, companies’ willingness to pick up this tab is not remotely altruistic, corporate investment in coaching has proven Return on Investment, with estimates of 223-788% ROI on the cost of the sponsorship, in spite of the fact that SHRM reports that sponsored coaching can cost $200-$3000/coaching hour. (references: Executive Briefing: Case Study on Return on Investment of Executive Coaching, MetrixGlobal LLC. Merrill C. Anderson, PhD, November 2 2001 and Fortune, Executive Coaching – With Returns a CFO Could Love,” February 19, 2001).

If you don’t have corporate or agency sponsorship – there’s no reason that should halt your ability to vault past competitors. ExAgCo pricing structures are designed to make executive coaching accessible to individuals and those wanting to improve executive skills, even if they don’t currently benefit from an executive salary. Pricing incentives are offered for special populations (current and former federal employees and disabled veterans). Structured pre-packaged and group options can make ExAgCo pricing even more accessible, depending on your needs and objectives.