The Joys Of Executive Coaching
Hello. My name is David McQueen and I am an executive coach.
“What does that even mean?” I hear you say.
I am glad you asked, but before I answer, let me share something.
As an executive coach, I work with senior executives of various organisations to get them to a specific destination. This could be around performance, strategy, presentation skills or leadership development of themselves or their direct reports.
The executives I coach include the CEO of a popular natural hair care subscription box, a managing partner of a leading law firm, the CEO of an energy company, and many in between. It is an amazing opportunity to get to work with so many varied and talented people. I get as much joy learning from my clients as I do from helping them navigate the challenges they have enlisted my services for.
What is an executive coach?
An executive coach works with executives or high-potential employees to help them gain self-awareness, clarify goals, achieve their development objectives and unlock their potential. Some of us are qualified or members of bodies like the International Coaching Federation (ICF), European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) or Association for Coaching (AC).
My work allows me to ask deep questions, challenge assumptions and point my clients in the direction to unlock their potential as communicators, strategists and developers of leaders themselves.
What is executive coaching?
The process involves exploring the ultimate outcomes this executive or high potential wants to attain. Executive coaching is not cheap - it is an investment of both time and money. It is the pursuit of tough targets. It is sitting in the discomfort of difficult conversations. It is facing up to the fact that you will have to make tough decisions.
We begin with a chemistry session to see if we will gel. The truth is, my approach to coaching, whilst empathetic and intending to protect my client’s wellbeing, is also very direct. I do not take any bullshit when it comes to getting my client to where they want to be. In most cases, we can tell quite early if we will get on. There has only been one case (touch wood) where, halfway through the process, I realised the client I was working with was not coachable - we were at an impasse. But that is all part of the learning, I guess.
The minimum coaching duration is six months, broken down into sixty to ninety-minute sessions, where we explore the pressing issues on the way to the client's ultimate destination. Sessions may involve assessments of their leadership competencies and communication skills. Sometimes they will also include external parties, such as 360 assessments or feedback on the client's performance to date.
In between sessions, the client is set challenges, from reading books or articles to watching videos or listening to podcasts on areas they are looking to improve on. We pick up on those in follow-up sessions.
There are also times where the client can call me in between for top-up sessions where they can run ideas past me or get immediate feedback on a problem or concern before the next session. It’s like Jason Waller says in his article Do You Need an Executive Coach, “Coaching isn’t about having your questions answered, it’s about having your answers questioned."
What I love about executive coaching
I love to learn and I learn something new from every coaching client. Each week is like going to a university lecture. I have learned about financial supply chains, front end development, scrum mastery, neuroscience, social housing, and so much more.
Sitting down with these varied, amazing brains also serves as a constant reminder for me to make my practice as inclusive as possible. My client list is a melting pot of different races, ethnicities, genders, abilities and classes. I need to be mindful of that fact.
The personal, intimate nature of executive coaching has meant many of my clients have become longtime friends. When coaching, you're spending time with a person as they work through personal challenges, as well as the pressing strategic and operational issues that their organisation may be facing. Of course, for a client to be this vulnerable requires a level of trust and transparency, which makes it even more satisfying.
Working with leaders in this way is a joyous and very rewarding part of my work. And I would not trade it for the world.
