There’s a lot going on in business right now, and the leaders I work with are feeling it. The pace of change has accelerated. Transitions are constant. More and more often, leaders are running teams that don’t yet have all the capabilities the work demands, while also delivering on big mandates and navigating complex organizational dynamics.
In this environment, the traditional case for engaging an executive coach—a leader has specific skills to develop, a defined goal to reach or a bigger role to grow into—still applies. But it’s no longer the most pressing one. The bigger question for me now is what’s at stake for the leader and what kind of support the situation calls for. Both have changed.
Image by bertholdbrodersen from Pixabay
That’s why executive coaching has become one of the most valuable resources a leader or organization can turn to right now. The role I find myself playing for clients is a thought partner—someone outside the situation who can challenge your thinking, broaden your perspective and give you the kind of feedback that’s harder to come by the higher you climb.
In almost 20 years of doing this work, the situations leaders bring to me most often look like this:
Demonstrating readiness for the next level
Hitting the ground running fast after being promoted to a bigger role in a current or new organization.
Leading more strategically while developing a high-performing team to execute.
Delivering on high-stakes initiatives that often include messy organizational dynamics and a major transformation, cost-cutting, turnaround, merger or acquisition.
What these situations share is that they’re specific, consequential and tied to the leader’s particular blind spots – too specific for a general training program to address. They’re also the moments where I’ve seen coaching matter most, for the leader and for the organization counting on them. In today’s environment, they’re coming up more often, with more on the line.
What Executive Coaching Actually Is
With ICF International Coaching Week coming up May 11–17, it’s a good moment to talk about what executive coaching is, what it isn’t and how to make sure your investment pays off. My perspective is based on those nearly two decades of work and my Master Certified Coach credential from ICF, the highest designation in the profession.
Executive coaching is a structured, one-on-one partnership between a leader and a trained coach, designed to accelerate that leader’s performance and development. It’s all about raising self-awareness and turning that into insight and action. And, finally, taking action consistently enough to result in sustainable change.
An executive coach helps you find the right answers for you because one size doesn’t fit all. Ultimately, coaching builds your capacity to think more clearly, act more decisively and lead more effectively.
So what does executive coaching look like in practice? Most engagements run six to 12 months and involve biweekly sessions in which the coach and client work on specific goals tied to challenges the leader faces. But the real work happens between sessions, when leaders apply what they’re learning to the decisions, relationships and pressures they face every day.
It’s also worth clearing up an outdated perception. Some professionals still assume companies bring in a coach only when a leader is struggling. The truth is that the majority of coaching today focuses on leadership development for high-potential people—the ones organizations are counting on to lead through complexity, drive growth and navigate ambiguity. The market reflects that demand. The International Coaching Federation’s 2025 Global Coaching Study puts the number of coach practitioners worldwide at nearly 123,000, with total industry revenue exceeding $5.3 billion. More than 80% of CEOs now work with a coach, up significantly from just a few years ago.
But the field has gotten so crowded, so fast, that it’s becoming harder for leaders and organizations to tell the difference between coaching that transforms and coaching that simply takes up calendar space.
Why Executive Coaching Works
Organizations that invest in coaching report a return of six to eight times the initial cost. Leaders who have worked with coaches report meaningful improvements in self-confidence, communication and their relationships with peers and direct reports. And companies that offer coaching to their executives see significantly higher employee engagement and retention—better-equipped leaders create better working environments.
As a coach, I love seeing those numbers, of course. But what I love even more is seeing these positive changes firsthand. There’s a moment when leaders step out of what I call “stress leadership”—the micromanaging, the overdrive, the constant firefighting—and into something more strategic. They get clear on the actual problem they’re trying to solve. They protect time for the work that matters most. They start developing their people instead of carrying every burden themselves.
That shift comes from having dedicated, protected space to reflect with someone who knows how to help you see what you can’t see on your own, and who will tell you the truth when you need to hear it.
The Cost of Getting Coaching Wrong
This is important, so I’m going to be blunt.
The coaching profession has relatively few barriers to entry. Anyone can call themselves a coach. And as the industry has grown, the range of coach quality has widened dramatically. There are brilliant, deeply trained coaches doing transformative work. And there are people with a weekend certification and a website who are, frankly, in over their heads.
When the stakes are high—when you’re investing real money and trusting someone with a leader’s development at a critical juncture—the cost of choosing the wrong coach isn’t just financial. It’s a missed window. It’s a leader who doesn’t make the transition they needed to make. It’s an organization that doesn’t get the performance it was counting on.
How to Choose the Right Executive Coach
If you’re considering coaching—for yourself or for leaders in your organization—here are the things that actually matter.
Credentials and training. ICF certification isn’t the only marker of quality, but it’s the most established standard the profession has. There are three levels: Associate Certified Coach (ACC), Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Master Certified Coach (MCC). The difference between them reflects not just training hours but observed coaching competency and experience. An MCC, for instance, requires 2,500 hours of coaching experience and a rigorous performance evaluation. Ask about formal training from an ICF-accredited program, and take the credential level seriously.
Business experience. The most effective executive coaches I have worked with have led teams, mastered organizational politics and driven change themselves. This real-world expertise gives them a deeper understanding of their clients’ experiences, as well as a deeper well of proven strategies from which to draw.
A solid approach. What’s the coach’s style? Are they going to tell you what to do, or help you discover your own answers? Will they challenge you, or just validate whatever you’re already thinking? Coaching that makes a lasting difference strikes a balance: it’s deeply supportive and genuinely challenging at the same time. If a prospective coach can’t articulate their approach clearly, that’s a red flag.
Track record. Good coaches can speak specifically and concretely about the outcomes their clients achieve. What percentage of their clients have been promoted? How do they measure progress? What does a successful engagement look like from start to finish?
The right fit. This one is underrated. You will get far more from coaching when you feel you can be completely open with your coach about your fears, your blind spots, the things you’re not sure you’re handling well. If the chemistry isn’t right, the depth of the work will be limited no matter how impressive the coach’s resume is.
Will AI Replace Executive Coaching?
This is a question I hear more and more lately, and the answer is simple: no.
AI can synthesize information, generate frameworks, even simulate certain kinds of feedback. But coaching isn’t fundamentally about information. It’s about the relationship between a coach and a leader. It’s about trust, accountability, the ability to hear what someone isn’t saying and ask the question they didn’t know they needed to hear.
The best coaching requires presence, judgment and relational skill that AI cannot replicate. The 2025 ICF study reflects this reality: While coaches are adopting technology for scheduling and virtual sessions, the core of the work remains deeply human.
That said, technology is changing the delivery of coaching in meaningful ways. Virtual coaching has made the process more accessible and flexible. Digital platforms, like our award-winning New Lens®, can supplement the work between sessions. And smart coaches are using these tools to serve clients more effectively, not as a replacement for the relationship, but as an enhancement of it.
What Coaching Can Do for Your Organization Right Now
Every day, I see leaders who are in overdrive. They’re controlling instead of empowering. They’re focused on putting out fires instead of building something lasting. That’s a predictable response to sustained pressure. And it’s exactly the kind of pattern that good coaching helps leaders recognize and shift.
If you’re exploring coaching for yourself or your organization, let’s talk about your goals and whether coaching is the right tool to help you reach them. Good coaching is still, at its core, one human helping another human see more clearly. When you find the real thing, the difference is unmistakable.
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