NOTE: As of 2022 the Center for Executive Coaching is now accredited with the ICF as a Level 2 Coach Training Organization. The ICF has changed their language and replaced ACTP with Level 2. We were among the first group of coach training programs to receive this accreditation, after a rigorous review by the ICF.

The genesis of an executive coach

I remember working with the Chief Operating Officer of a large healthcare system. My team of three analysts had just spent three months and countless hours benchmarking the organization’s productivity to determine the opportunity to improve. We had developed reams of PowerPoint documents with charts comparing the system to dozens of other, similar healthcare systems nationwide. We had databases, Excel Spreadsheets, comments from the system’s management, hundreds of Medicare cost reports, and up-to-date input from a network of leading clinical managers from around the nation.

Our analysis was sound, complete, and better than any other consulting firm could have provided.

We discovered that the hospital had the opportunity to save about $12 million in costs without hurting quality.

The COO had just reviewed this material with me, and looked across the table at me.

“That’s about right,” he said. “I was guessing $10 to $15 million.”

This COO had just spent about $250,000 of his organization’s money to come up with a number he already knew. But we both already understood that he had to use an outside firm to justify his instincts to his Board and management team.

Then he surprised me. “I didn’t hire you for this analysis,” he said. “And I didn’t hire you to help us achieve our cost target, because my management team can do that without you. I hired you because I need someone to walk me through the pain that this change program is going to cause. I need someone I can trust, who will support me when the going gets tough.”

It was at that point that the power of Executive Coaching became clear to me. The executives I had been working with were competent, and usually knew what they had to do. But they needed someone who could serve as a sounding board, provide insights, and help them to stay focused and resilient in the face of enormous challenges and pressure.

Many of these executives perceived more value in a few 30-minute meetings with a trusted, supportive advisor than they did in a quarter million dollars worth of highly-educated analysts on a consulting team. They knew ahead of time what the analysts would find. What they needed was someone who could help them make tough decisions and do what it took to improve performance.

So I tried an experiment. I started focusing more on Executive Coaching, and less on analysis/consulting.

The results were excellent. I did less work, made more money, and had more fun — without the hassles of managing teams of consultants. My relationships with clients got stronger, and I could work with more executives than before. I worked on more interesting engagements, often by phone and without having to travel.

A wide variety of executives were looking for coaching, although they didn’t use the word “coaching” too often (and neither should you, as you will see when you sign up for our Certified Executive Coach program).

The problems they faced involved the following issues, among others:

  • Gain more influence in their organization.
  • Launch a new initiative.
  • Get commitment and build alignment among their executive team.
  • Improve their business relationship with their boss.
  • Implement difficult changes.
  • Grow their organization.
  • Improve their leadership skills as they ventured into new, unfamiliar areas.
  • Quickly gain knowledge about new functions (e.g., marketing, finance) where they lacked experience.
  • Make a transition to a new role or organization.
  • Avoid burn out and balance work, family, hobbies, and health.
  • Make decisions with incomplete information.
  • Get clarity about organizational strategy and direction.
  • Make improvements in response to negative feedback from colleagues.

Usually they had good instincts about what to do and needed someone like me to listen to their concerns, serve as a sounding board, debate with them, ask probing questions, and – when appropriate – to offer advice and insights.
I helped in other ways as well. I interviewed colleagues and constituents to gather input and advice in a safe, objective, and confidential way. I structured and facilitated short meetings with a Board of Directors or management team to gather ideas and develop consensus. Sometimes I led training sessions and workshops with management and up-and-coming managers about key management topics.

I would never go back to traditional consulting work. Executive Coaching is far too rewarding, in terms of both value to me and value to my clients.

What about you? Are your ready to jump in and startearning the income you deserve, without excessive travel, office expenses, or burdensome hours?

Then sign up today to get Certified as an Executive Coach.

Aflac

Amazon

Ancestry

Army Corp of Engineers

Ascension Health

AT&T

Bank of America

Bechtel

Best Buy

Booz Allen

Bose

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Brown University

Capital One

Caterpillar

Charles Schwab & Co.

Children’s Hospital Colorado

Cisco

Citrix

Coca-Cola

Deloitte

Dropbox

Duke Energy

Galveston Independent School District

General Atomics

General Electric

Google

Harvard Business School

Home Depot

Inland Steel

International Red Cross

Johnson and Johnson

Kaiser-Permanente

KPMG

Laser Spine Institute

Lexis Nexis

Liberty Mututal

L’Oreal

Macy’s

Mckinsey Consulting

Merck

Microsoft

MIT

NASA

National Basketball Association (NBA)

Nike

Nissan

Nvidia

Partners Healthcare

Philips

Procter & Gamble

Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC)

Ralph Lauren

Regeneron

Rice University

Ross Stores

Russell Reynolds Associates

Schneider Electric

Shell Oil

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Stryker

The Ohio State University

Tom’s Shoes

United Nations

University of Florida

Unum

UPS

US Air Force

US Army

US Army Medical Corps

US Marines

US Navy

USAID

Valassis

VMWare

Xerox

Zappos

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