The Definitive Guide to
Working With
Your Executive Coach
Part Three of Four
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What should I expect when working with an executive coach?
While executive coaches are typically empathetic, people-oriented professionals, their role goes far beyond providing a sympathetic ear. A great coach maintains professional distance to oversee your development process, challenging you to discover your own solutions and resources for meeting goals. Ideally, your coach will focus on results through provocative questions and accountability rather than acting as a therapist or cheerleader.
Expect some discomfort in the coaching process; growth rarely happens in your comfort zone. Your coach will push you toward your established goals, potentially collaborating with colleagues and supervisors to assess progress. While the experience may be challenging, committing to the process can lead to significant personal and professional development.
Ready to get started on your coaching journey? Meet some of the talented Stewart Leadership coaches here, and then contact us to learn how we can help you meet your professional goals.
What will my Executive Coach expect from me?
A successful coaching engagement requires active participation and commitment on your part. Your coach will expect you to come to sessions prepared, much like you would for a medical appointment, with specific challenges and situations you want to discuss. This preparation helps maximize your time together and leads to more productive conversations.
Your coach will also look for two key qualities: humility and hunger.
Humility means being open to feedback and willing to examine your assumptions and behaviors honestly.
Hunger reflects your commitment to growth and willingness to put in the work required for meaningful change. This might involve completing assignments between sessions, trying new approaches, or stepping out of your comfort zone.
The most successful coaching relationships happen when you’re ready to engage fully in the process, take ownership of your development, and actively apply insights from your coaching conversations to real-world situations. Your coach will guide and support you, but the pace and depth of your growth ultimately depends on your level of engagement and follow-through.
How do I get the most out of executive coaching?
Experienced coaches say that 80% of a successful coaching engagement is the willing participation of the coachee. In other words, you have to be ready, willing, and able to pursue your desired outcomes and goals.
But what, exactly, does that mean? Here are four steps to make the most of your coaching experience.
- Establish metrics. Set clear baseline measurements and track your progress throughout the coaching engagement. Whether through assessments or other metrics, monitoring your development ensures you’re achieving desired results.
- Commit the time. Success requires more than just showing up to sessions. Dedicate time to pre-work, assignments, and implementing new approaches between meetings.
- Use your Individual Action Plan. Let your IAP guide your development journey, using it as a roadmap to track progress and align coaching conversations with your specific goals.
Be open with your coach.The coaching relationship thrives on mutual honesty. Be willing to receive direct feedback and share vulnerabilitiesto maximize your growth.
“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance. It’s helping them to learn rather than teaching them. “
– Tim Gallwey
What should I talk about with an executive coach?
While every coach will have a slightly different approach to a coaching session, these are the kinds of topics and questions coachees often discuss with an executive coach:
- Give an update on development work conducted since the last session.
- Discuss what helped accomplish and/or learn those things.
- List things that the leader intended to do, but did not complete.
- Talk about what got in the way of accomplishing more.
- Speculate on alternate behaviors that may have helped accomplish more.
- List items the leader is grateful for.
- Review items the leader is putting off and talk about why and how to stop procrastinating.
- Share things the leader is excited about.
- Talk about new or recurring challenges and problems.
- Share what the leader wants to focus on.
- Ask the coach to support targeted behaviors and changes in specific ways.
This list is not exhaustive, and every coaching relationship will look a bit different. You and your coach will work together to target the areas of most concern and figure out how to address those in a way that maximizes your growth and helps you sustain change.
Stewart Leadership coaches will work with you to tailor a development or coaching program that maximizes your growth and helps you sustain change for the long-term. To learn more, contact us!
What should I not talk about with an executive coach?
Executive coaching can address professional and personal challenges since they often intertwine – after all, you’re the same person at work and home. Your coach will help you explore how personal dynamics affect your leadership and vice versa.
However, executive coaching maintains a clear focus on your professional development and performance. While you might discuss how personal situations impact your work, your coach isn’t there to explore deep-seated psychological issues or childhood trauma. For those areas, a mental health professional would be more appropriate.
Think of it this way: if a personal topic directly affects your leadership effectiveness or career goals, it’s relevant for coaching. But if you find yourself wanting to delve deep into underlying emotional patterns or past trauma, that’s better suited for therapy. Your executive coach will help you recognize when certain challenges might benefit from additional professional support beyond the coaching relationship.
How should I prepare for each coaching session?
Here’s an approach structured around our LEAD NOW! Leadership Development modelwe suggest you use to prepare for your coaching sessions. This structure works well even if you are not using the LEAD NOW! Model in your leadership development.
Ask yourself these four questions:
- What business results do I need to achieve right now? Take stock of your current priorities, challenges, and objectives. Consider both immediate deliverables and longer-term strategic goals that need your attention.
- What people results do I need to achieve right now? Assess the state of your team—its engagement, development needs, and any interpersonal dynamics requiring attention. Think about both individual and collective performance.
- How effective are my 4 Critical Relationships right now? Evaluate your relationships with:
- Boss: Communication flow, alignment on priorities, support needs
- Peers: Collaboration effectiveness, mutual support, potential friction points
- Direct Reports: Leadership impact, team dynamics, development progress
- Customers: Satisfaction levels, relationship strength, areas for improvement
- How am I preparing myself for my next adventure? Consider your growth trajectory—what skills, experiences, or relationships are you building for future opportunities? What gaps need addressing?
Reflecting on these questions before each session ensures productive conversations focused on both immediate needs and long-term development.
How do I set goals and measure outcomes when working with a coach?
Your coach will walk you through the process of setting goals and help you decide what success looks like. It’s important to understand that the coach is a facilitator and guide; the coach will ask you the questions, but you are the one who identifies goals and outcomes. Coaches will help you define those goals, the actions necessary to reach them, and what success looks like so that you know when you’ve arrived. Recognize that youare doing the work; the coach can’t do it for you.
How Do I Develop a Good Action Plan?
A good action plan translates coaching insights into concrete steps for development.
Start by clearly defining your goals. What specific leadership capabilities or outcomes do you want to achieve? These should be measurable and aligned with both your personal aspirations and organizational needs.
Break down each goal into specific, actionable behaviors or skills you’ll develop. For example, rather than “improve communication,” specify “deliver clearer project updates in team meetings” or “provide more timely feedback to direct reports.” Include timelines and milestones to track your progress.
Your plan should identify potential obstacles and strategies to overcome them. Be realistic about challenges you might face and build in accountability measures. Consider what resources and support you’ll need, whether that’s additional training, colleague feedback, or practice opportunities.
Make your plan dynamic and reviewable. Schedule regular check-ins with your coach to assess progress and adjust strategies based on what’s working. The best action plans evolve as you grow, incorporating new insights and challenges while maintaining focus on your core development objectives.
How is an Action Plan Used During Coaching?
Your action plan serves as a living roadmap throughout your coaching journey. In each session, you and your coach will use it to track progress, identify challenges, and adjust strategies for your development goals. The plan helps keep conversations focused and purposeful rather than drifting into general discussion.
Between sessions, your plan guides implementation of new behaviors and skills. It provides clear direction for what to practice and observe in your day-to-day leadership moments. When you encounter obstacles or success, note them down; these experiences become valuable discussion points for your next coaching conversation.
Your coach will regularly refer back to the plan to ensure accountability and maintain momentum. They’ll help you recognize patterns, refine approaches, and celebrate progress. As you grow, you’ll likely update your plan to reflect new insights and emerging priorities while staying aligned with your core development objectives.
Think of your action plan as a bridge between coaching conversations and real-world application. It transforms insights into action and helps you measure the tangible impact of your development efforts.
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