You have reached that place in your career where you are ready to level up and take the next step. While you are inspired to advance your career and seek new opportunities, you may also have a lot of questions and doubts challenging your ambition. Perhaps your motivation is currently battling imposter syndrome, or maybe you don’t fully understand what the next level in your career looks like.
You aren’t alone, and these doubts don’t mean that you aren’t capable! Even professionals in the highest positions need help reaching their greatest potential in their careers.
The business landscape has become more competitive and complex, and more and more professionals and business leaders are turning to executive coaches. You are reading this article because you are an ambitious professional who is ready to grow and reach your full potential. An executive coach is the person to help you achieve those goals!
In this article, we will discuss:
- What an executive coach is.
- How an executive coach benefits your career growth.
- The key specializations of an executive coach.
- The cost of an executive coach and where to find one.
What is an Executive Coach?
Essentially, executive coaches help individuals improve their performance in the workplace and create actionable goals to achieve success. Seeking professional executive coaching is a powerful next step in your career.
An executive coach provides tools for professionals of all levels. Whether you are looking to assess gaps in your current performance or you are looking for support in your promoted leadership role, a business executive coach will help you navigate your goals.
Executive coaches help you pilot your development by offering strategies to optimize your performance while helping you identify how to balance your stress and wellness in the process.
What Does an Executive Coach Do?
When you first start working with an executive coach, they will likely begin by performing a personal assessment and mapping out a plan for your career development. These plans are tailored to your personal goals, strengths, and desired outcomes.
You and your executive performance coach will have an individualized partnership that balances both business and personal areas of growth. The main benefits you can expect when working with a certified professional coach include:
- Personalized development plans
- Objective feedback on areas for growth and development
- Action plans and accountability
- Confidentiality
Hiring an executive coach to support your growth is a valuable investment in yourself and your career development. Read on to better understand the areas of expertise that you may want in an executive performance coach to ensure that they are the right fit for you.
What Does an Executive Coach Specialize In?
Now that you’ve decided to improve your performance as a professional and work one-on-one with a coach, you are likely wondering if an executive coach will match your specific career needs and values. There are several key areas that professional coaches specialize in to help you become a more effective professional.
1. Leadership Development
Are you looking to improve your role as a business leader? Or perhaps you have just landed a new leadership role in your company.
One of the primary benefits of working with an executive business coach is the development of leadership skills. Leadership coaching helps professionals understand leadership dynamics within their current or newly acquired position. They help their clients enhance leadership skills, strategy, and communication to match the vision of their organization.
Coaches can also provide strategies for positive and constructive conflict resolution for clients in all professional roles.
2. Communication Skills
Effective communication is essential for any career, position, or leadership role. Executive coaches identify client strengths in communication and ways to tailor those skills to their audience and clientele. Communication skills include verbal and written development, listening to feedback, and nonverbal communication.
Executive coaches can also help clients who need support in their public speaking. Whether your position entails speaking to large audiences, small conference spaces, or even virtual groups, an executive coach will help clients hone their skills to best suit their audiences.
3. Strategic Thinking
Executive coaches dive into the fundamental details of business and growth by analyzing their client’s organization and helping the team to develop strategic thinking and approaches. An executive coach is skilled in understanding market trends and opportunities and will help clients develop strategic plans to achieve business goals.
Whether you need coaching in the fundamentals themselves or are looking for a new perspective on your existing understanding, having an executive business coach can significantly help you reach your business goals.
4. Objective Feedback
Getting feedback on your work as a professional can feel personal, especially when it is coming from a boss or higher-up. Executive coaches offer objective feedback and specialize in critique that is constructive and growth-based. There is a great benefit to executive coaches existing outside of your workplace. From an outside perspective, they are better able to identify personal and business-level blindspots and areas for improvement and growth.
Constructive feedback can be hard to come by in a busy workplace. Executive coaching offers this powerful tool to help motivate clients to develop their strengths, encourage innovation, and develop a culture of continuous learning.
5. Time Management and Personal Wellness
There are steep learning curves associated with career growth or position changes. Oftentimes, that comes with added stress and long work hours. Executive coaches help clients manage their time effectively to increase productivity during work hours and decrease overall work-related stress.
An executive coach helps clients achieve their career goals with tools for organization, task prioritization, and efficiency while offering guidelines and boundaries to avoid burnout. Not only does this coaching approach increase productivity, but it offers clients a foundation for long-term growth and work-life balance.
While improvement in professional performance and business growth is a personal endeavor, the main focus of executive coaching is to improve your career skills. If you find yourself looking for guidance in a broader range of areas such as relationships, spirituality, health, and personal growth, you may want to look into a life coach!
[Read: Here’s Your Answer to the Burning Question “What Is a Life Coach”?]
Is an Executive Coach Worth It?
Navigating the competitive nature of the business world alone can be overwhelming and even disorienting. You may need support to overcome your fear of failure or want guidance when navigating complex business decisions. Having a professional coach at your side is invaluable.
Executive coaches are well worth the cost for the significant benefits and positive impact on clients’ careers and personal lives. Clients often find that they get even more from an executive coaching relationship than the initial goal they identified. Receiving feedback from an objective coach can unlock areas for improvement that you may not have even been aware of before.
A published study found that 80% of those who use an executive coach experience an increase in self-confidence, and over 70% see marked improvement in their work performance, communication, and work relationships. The first step to this kind of personal growth is finding the right coach for you and
Keep in mind that you are investing in your growth, confidence, and long-term success, and that is worth far more than just the price tag. Consider the value you place on business success, career growth, and improvement in your own communication, leadership, and self-confidence.
What Does an Executive Coach Cost?
The cost of an executive coach varies and is often dependent on their experience, reputation, and the select services that they offer. Some coaches charge between $200-$500 per hour while others offer flat rate packages that start at a few thousand dollars. To see growth and tangible outcomes, clients generally work with executive coaches for six to twelve months.
[Read: Here’s Why Insurance Won’t Cover Your Life Coaching Sessions (and What Is Covered Instead)]
It is important to keep in mind that your session fee goes beyond the time that you work with your coach directly. Executive coaches spend hours behind the scenes researching your industry and gathering data to prepare for your session.
If you are a young entrepreneur or early in your career development, you may want to seek out a one-on-one coach who is open to developing a payment plan. Coaches for leaders in executive teams will likely cost more, depending on their experience and expertise.
If you work for an organization, ask your company leaders if they have the budget to invest in executive coaching. Businesses are aware of the benefits of growth investment and often factor the cost of coaching into their operating budgets.
Where to Hire an Executive Coach
When finding a career coach, it is important to identify one who specializes in your individualized goals or who understands your industry. While your budget is an important factor, low-cost executive coaches can cost you more in the long run. Your time is valuable, and so are your resources, so be sure that you find yourself a reputable executive coach.
Finding the right executive coach means asking the right questions and knowing how to find someone who matches your values and philosophies. If your company is paying for your coaching, they may have a list of preferred coaching professionals. Or, you can ask friends and colleagues for recommendations within your industry.
CoachCompare’s directory of coaches is another great place to start! Browse the free online directory to find professional, credible, and trustworthy coaches who fit your specific needs. Use the keyword finder to meet coaches with a diverse range of specializations.
Try CoachCompare now and take the next step toward your career goals!
