It has been an honor to return from a three-continent tour to train Executive Coaches from countries such as USA, Canada, Scotland, England, Ireland, Portugal, Indonesia, and Australia. There are so many seasoned professionals interested in and passionate about this terrific field!

Here are the five lessons that coaches worldwide seemed to take away from our trainings:

1. We are coaches, not mentors. Executives don’t need mentors. They are already seasoned professionals. Therefore, it is crucial to master coaching conversations, not mentoring conversations. This means asking truly powerful questions and listening. Top executive coaches listen 75% of the time and talk 25% of the time.

2. We are solution providers and trusted advisors before we are executive coaches. Our clients want solutions. Sometimes that means we serve as trainers, facilitators, and consultants. We need to be skilled in a variety of formats to get results, and should not be constrained by the classic executive coaching structure of brief meetings every week or so.

3. Get a niche. The most successful executive coaches are those who dominate a niche. A niche might include: an industry, a demographic group (e.g., women, African-Americans, Christian-owned businesses, family-owned businesses), and a particular job title (e.g., CIOs, CFOs). Start with focus and build from there.

4. Learn to collaborate with other professionals. The coaches who are billing over one million dollars per year are doing so by creating powerful collaborations with other professionals. Our program shows you how to do that.

5. Keep developing content. It is not enough — despite what other programs claim — to just ask questions and conduct an inquiry with clients. Not even close. Top coaches need content and tools to constantly engage and challenge their clients. The process never ends, or else the coach becoems stagnant. In our program, we even show you a tool to create more tools, so you are always fresh and bringing new content to your market.