Perhaps you have an idea what an executive coach does, but it’s good to start with what they are NOT so you know what to expect. Here’s three things that executive coaches are NOT:
1. An Executive Coach is NOT a Consultant.
This is perhaps the most common misconception about coaching. Consultants use their specialized knowledge to assess a situation and make specific recommendations. They provide solutions to problems. Coaching is a partnership between equals. Coaches do not tell people what to do. Coaches are guides and catalysts — they use their expertise to help you assess and change desired behaviors and habits to achieve your goals.
2. An Executive Coach is NOT a Mentor.
A mentor’s expertise and experience outweighs that of their mentee. It is not a relationship between equals. Mentors often share “this is how I did it” stories and introduce mentees to their network of contacts. Mentors provide advice and counsel. Typically, mentors also have experience in the same industry or functional area as mentees — an up-and-coming high tech manager’s mentor is usually a senior high tech executive. Coaches are experts in the art and science of coaching. Coaching experience in “your industry” is actually not relevant. The coaching partnership relies on the interplay between the coach’s expertise and your own motivation, self-awareness, and commitment to change.
3. An Executive Coach is NOT a Counsellor or Therapist.
While coaches work with clients at a very personal level, therapy diagnoses, heals, addresses trauma, from the past and deals with personal psychology. Coaches work with executives who are fundamentally healthy, whole, and able to manage their own well-being throughout a rigorous process of self-assessment and change.
To learn more about the benefits of executive coaching and how it can help you, please get in touch - it’s more affordable than you think.
Credit: Arden Coaching
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