COACHING EXECUTIVES

by Graham Richardson Horizons Unlimited Pty Ltd. Sydney Australia

Why do executives primarily want to hire a professional coach? What are they looking for?

There are a number of different reasons for hiring a professional coach and to address the critical things that they are looking for. In what follows I have distinguished different levels of executives and identified what they are looking for.

1. Senior Executive Development: Senior executives have reached a certain level in their careers and know this--- That what got them here, won’t get them there. That is, it is clear that they need to develop new skills--- skills that not so far available to them that will be needed to progress to greater levels of seniority, responsibility, and even to make a difference. They may not even be aware what is needed and they wish to explore with someone who can help them discover what this all means to them. Mostly, coaching at this level has to do with moving from management to leadership skills.