How To Choose An Executive Coach: Finding The Right Partner For Your Leadership Journey
When you’re on the search for an executive coach to help your operations, whether it’s for a government department or a private corporate enterprise, chances are you’re looking for more than just a conversation or two over coffee. You’re likely looking to build a partnership with someone who will challenge and expand your ways of thinking.
Knowing that you need coaching services is one thing. Knowing how to choose an executive coach is another. Below are four practical steps to help you find the right fit, followed by the key qualities and questions worth asking to inform your decision.
Overview
How To Choose An Executive Coach
Follow these four simple steps to vet and interview potential executive coaches.
Build a shortlist from profiles and referrals. Scour websites, LinkedIn profiles and online case studies, and take note of their experience, qualifications and key focus areas.
Arrange a structured interview to explore their methodologies and experience levels. Keep the call to 30-45 minutes to gain a preliminary idea of whether they’ll be a good fit.
If you sense potential from the initial call, arrange a face-to-face trial coaching session.
Conduct reference checks by speaking with the coach’s past clients.
Each step in this process allows you to check for the following:
| Step | Purpose | What you’re looking for |
|---|---|---|
| Profile review | Background and relevance | Experience level, focus areas, credentials, types of clients |
| Structured interview | Approach and fit | Clear process, examples of outcomes, alignment with your goals |
| Trial session | Chemistry and technique | Safety, challenge, clarity, practical next steps |
| References | Results and professionalism | Real-world impact, reliability, ethics, ease of working together |
Whether you interview three executive coaches or 30, try to use the same questions with each. This will help you make a more consistent and defensible decision, particularly if you’re interviewing on behalf of a colleague.
Know What An Executive Coach Does
An executive coach is a trained leadership partner who works with business owners, managers and senior teams to improve performance, decision-making and confidence in complex roles. Unlike consultants, coaches don’t come in to “fix” your business for you — they help you think more clearly, challenge blind spots, and turn insights into consistent leadership habits.
Executive coaching typically supports leaders to:
lift performance and focus
close leadership capability gaps
build confidence and clarity under pressure
translate “lightbulb moments” into daily behaviours
The outcome is steadier, more effective leadership with less chaos and better stress management.
Use Strong Questions In Your Interview
Interviewing prospective executive coaches helps you gain insight into their experience and the way they approach their role. It’s important to ask the right questions to make an informed choice about their suitability. Helpful questions might include:
“How do you typically start a new coaching engagement?”
“What tools or frameworks do you use, and when?”
“How do you measure progress during an engagement?”
“How do you handle confidentiality when the organisation is funding the coaching?”
“What does a typical session with you look like?”
As they answer these questions, listen for specific examples (as opposed to vague generalisations), clear thinking and plain language, and a strong balance between support for the individual and alignment with organisational goals.
The Key Qualities And Characteristics Of A Strong Executive Coach
Great executive coaching professionals offer more than just qualified advice. They help leaders build greater self-awareness, which enables them to see themselves clearly, make better decisions and form long-lasting positive habits.
The best coaches approach their role with strong people skills, a well-structured and clear coaching process and a determined focus on practical outcomes.
The Important Qualities To Really Look For
Executive coaches who are committed to making a difference will listen with intent. They will ask powerful questions, hold you accountable when necessary and keep your business goals front and centre in your mind.
As you go through the process of choosing an executive coach, look for these qualities:
Emotional intelligence and empathy - A good coach knows how to read the room, can read between the lines and foster a safe space for honest conversations.
Active listening - Experienced executive coaches won’t just provide “the answer” from a stockpile of solutions that they’ve offered over the years. They will aim to help you come to your own conclusions by helping you untangle your own thinking and reframing challenges.
Structured, evidence-based methods - The right coach will apply clear frameworks, tools and feedback loops to promote lasting changes in behaviour.
Industry or area knowledge - That coach will also possess a strong understanding of the context that you work in, whether it’s a small business, government body, corporate enterprise or not-for-profit organisation.
Accountability and measurable outcomes - Like a personal trainer at the gym, an executive coach will help you with your goal setting and progress tracking, while also celebrating big and small victories throughout your journey.
Ethics, confidentiality and clear boundaries - With the right executive coach, you’ll feel safe and assured that the things you say in the room stay in the room.
In the long run, these qualities separate a genuine executive coaching partner from someone who merely looks good on paper.
How Executive Coaching Can Help You
Executive coaches are trained professionals who work closely with business owners, managers and department heads to:
Increase performance
Address and seal gaps in leadership
Build confidence and clarity
Transform those “lightbulb” moments into daily habits
The ideal outcome of working with an executive coach is leadership with a lot more clarity, a lot less chaos, improved stress management and greater confidence.
The Value Of Emotional Intelligence And Communication Skills
When you’re learning how to choose an executive coach, it’s virtually impossible to overstate the importance of emotional intelligence (EQ) and communication skills.
You’ll want an executive coach with these qualities in your corner when tough conversations, major decisions and competing priorities become necessary.
An executive coach with healthy emotional intelligence will:
Acknowledge your stress, frustrations and hesitations, even as you try to push through them.
Guide you through sitting safely with discomfort.
Reframe situations to help you discover options you may not have seen before.
Support you to act on feedback without becoming defensive.
If your coach possesses strong communication skills, they will present as:
Clear, using straightforward language, and free of jargon.
Having the ability to break down complex concepts into simpler ideas.
Turning major insights into smaller, practical actions.
The best way to determine whether your potential executive coach comes to you with these professional and personal qualities is to arrange a session or two with them. See whether you feel they’re a good fit for you and go from there.
Credentials And Qualifications: Do They Matter?
One of the first things most people would enquire about as they choose an executive coach is their qualifications and credentials. They might ask questions like:
Have you completed an executive coaching course?
Have you logged in a certain number of supervised hours of on-the-job training?
Do you comply with a particular code or ethical standards?
Yes, certifications and qualifications are important, and it’s worth seeking an executive coach with International Coaching Federation (ICF)-recognised credentials.
However, a certificate alone will not guarantee that the coach will be the right fit for you. Their level of experience, good chemistry, strong references, and professional and personal qualities will determine if they are suitable.
Additional Qualifications And Skills To Consider
Official qualifications aside, other helpful experience indicators to enquire about include whether they have a background in HR services themselves, if they have training in assessment tools, come with previous leadership experience, or offer expertise in other specialist areas like conflict resolution or mediation.
Emerging Trends In The Executive Coaching Space (And What They Mean For You)
The executive coaching landscape is evolving rapidly, with new trends redefining modern leadership development. Among those emerging trends and new practices are:
AI-supported tools - Many executive coaching professionals have adopted AI-supported tools as a way to assess leaders, maintain a journal and analyse communication. Though these tools can add valuable insight, you still need humans to interpret and act on them.
Increased focus on emotional intelligence and inclusive leadership - Businesses and business leaders are gravitating towards coaches who can help to build psychologically safe and inclusive environments that allow people to truly thrive.
Virtual and hybrid coaching - There has been a noticeable shift towards online coaching as it can enhance access and improve flexibility and consistency across teams.
Executive coaching specialisations - A growing number of executive coaches are specialising in coaching for specific industries or sectors, such as health or government, or niche themes like female leadership or burnout.
As you interview and vet potential candidates, consider asking questions about their use of AI and digital tools, their approach to integrating leadership and psychological safety into their work, and the types of organisations and leaders with whom they work the best.
Ready To Find Your Coaching Match?
Choosing an executive coach is a big deal - for you, your leaders and the culture you’re shaping every day. When you are clear on what you want to achieve, measure what matters and choose for fit and impact, not just credentials, you set yourself up to find a coach who feels like a true partner in your leadership journey.
If you’re ready to take the next step, let’s chat! We’d love to help you explore the right coaching options and find the kind of support that helps you and your people do your best work.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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A good executive coach will help you to lift performance, close gaps in leadership, and build confidence and clarity.
The best coaches will help you to achieve those goals by displaying strong people skills (e.g. warmth, curiosity and empathy), a clear and structured coaching process, and a focus on delivering real-world outcomes. As you go through the process of choosing an executive coach, look out for core qualities such as:
Emotional intelligence and empathy
Active listening
A structured approach based on quantifiable evidence
A clear understanding of your industry or domain
Accountability and measurable outcomes
Ethics, confidentiality, and clear boundaries
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The 70-30 principle of coaching is all about striking the right balance between supportive feedback and celebration of progress (which should account for roughly 70% of your coaching conversations) and leaving the remaining 30% to work through areas that require improvement and offer opportunities to grow.
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Popularised by Jun Medalla, the “7 C’s of executive presence” easily describes the qualities that make leaders steady, credible and easy to follow. These qualities are:
Composure
Connection
Charisma
Confidence
Credibility
Clarity
Conciseness
Luckily, these characteristics are skills you can learn through executive coaching rather than fixed traits. With effective coaching, you can develop each of the 7 C’s in real situations. A good executive coach will provide feedback, tools and accountability so your presence grows into a consistent, everyday leadership habit.