Latest / Executive Careers with Fexingo: VP, C-Suite, and Senior Leadership Career Strategy / How Senior Leaders Use External Coaches
Transcript
- Lucas: I want to talk today about something that a lot of senior leaders do but almost never talk about publicly. Hiring an external coach. Luna: It's funny you bring that up. I was just reading a 2025 study from the Center for Creative Leadership that found nearly 70 percent of Fortune 500 executives have worked with a coach at some point in their career. But you're right—it's almost never something they put in their LinkedIn bio. Lucas: Exactly. There's this lingering stigma that if you need a coach, you must be failing. But the data shows the opposite. The executives who hire coaches tend to be the ones who are already high-performing and want to get even better. They're not fixing a problem—they're sharpening an edge. Luna: So let's give listeners a concrete case. Who did you have in mind? Lucas: I'm thinking of a COO I'll call Sarah. She was at a Fortune 500 industrial company, recently promoted after a successful turnaround of a division. But then her company acquired a firm half its size, and she was asked to lead the integration. She had never done a post-merger integration before. She knew the operational playbook, but the cultural dynamics were entirely new. Luna: Right, and that's the kind of situation where even the best leader can feel out of their depth. So she hired a coach? Lucas: She did. And she told me later that the first thing the coach did was something she hadn't expected. He didn't give her a framework or a checklist. He asked her to map out the political landscape across both companies—who held informal power, where the resistance was likely to come from, whose buy-in she absolutely needed. Luna: That sounds less like operational advice and more like soft-power strategy. Which is exactly what most senior leaders need but rarely get from their internal team. Lucas: Bingo. Internal mentors can tell you about the company's history and unwritten rules. But an external coach has no agenda. They're not angling for your job, they're not protecting their own turf. They can ask the uncomfortable questions that no one else will. Luna: What kind of questions? Lucas: Things like: 'Why are you avoiding that conversation with the CEO?' Or 'What's the one thing you're not saying in the board meeting because you're afraid of looking weak?' Sarah's coach pushed her to confront the fact that she was hesitating to challenge the acquired company's founder on a key operational decision because she didn't want to seem like a bully. Luna: And was that the right call? To challenge him? Lucas: In her case, yes. She eventually did—and the founder actually respected her more for it. But the coach helped her see that her reluctance wasn't kindness, it was avoidance. That's the kind of blind spot a coach can illuminate. Luna: So when should a senior leader consider hiring a coach? Is it only for big transitions like an acquisition or a new role? Lucas: Those are the most common triggers, but not the only ones. I'd break it into three buckets. First, inflection points—like Sarah's integration, or a promotion, or a move to a new company. Second, skill gaps that are more about presence than technical ability—like executive presence, delegation, or influencing without authority. Luna: And the third? Lucas: Accountability. Some leaders use a coach as a thinking partner for high-stakes decisions. Not because they don't know what to do, but because they want someone to hold them to their own best intentions. I know a CEO who uses his coach as a pre-board-meeting sounding board. He sends his draft presentation, they talk through the likely pushback, and he adjusts accordingly. Luna: That's interesting. It's almost like a rehearsal. And it's different from a mentor because a mentor gives advice based on their own experience, while a coach helps you figure out your own answer. Lucas: Exactly. A mentor says, 'Here's what I did in your situation.' A coach says, 'What do you think is the right move, and what's stopping you from doing it?' That distinction matters. And it's also different from therapy, which is about healing past wounds. Coaching is forward-looking and action-oriented. Luna: Let's talk about the practical side. How do you actually find a good coach? Because the market is flooded with people calling themselves coaches, but the quality varies wildly. Lucas: It does. The best source is referral from a peer whose judgment you trust. But there are also credentialing bodies like the International Coach Federation that set standards. I'd also look for someone who has worked with executives at your level or above. You don't want a coach whose entire client base is mid-level managers if you're a VP or C-suite. Luna: And the fee? I've heard numbers ranging from two hundred dollars an hour to over a thousand. Lucas: That's accurate. For a top-tier executive coach with decades of experience, you're probably looking at five hundred to fifteen hundred dollars per hour. Most engagements are six to twelve sessions over three to six months. So total cost can be five to fifteen thousand dollars. Some companies will pay for it as part of leadership development, but many senior leaders pay out of pocket because they want complete confidentiality. Luna: Which brings up a good point. If your employer pays, does the coach report back to HR? Lucas: That's a critical question to clarify upfront. A good coach will establish a clear confidentiality agreement. If the company is paying, there's usually a broad progress update—'we're working on executive presence'—but not the specifics. If you want total privacy, pay for it yourself. Luna: I've also seen some executives use coaches in a very targeted way. Not a long engagement, but maybe three sessions to prepare for a specific event, like a board presentation or a negotiation. Lucas: Absolutely. That's becoming more common. I know a CFO who hired a coach for four sessions to rehearse his first earnings call after being promoted. He recorded the sessions, practiced his phrasing, and got feedback on his tone and pacing. That's a very efficient use of coaching. Luna: Let's come back to Sarah for a moment. What was the outcome of her coaching engagement? Lucas: She successfully integrated the acquisition within eighteen months, which was faster than the company's historical average. And she told me that the coaching was instrumental in helping her navigate the political dynamics. She also said the biggest personal change was that she stopped second-guessing herself in meetings. The coach helped her build a kind of internal confidence that stuck with her beyond the engagement. Luna: That's the ultimate goal, right? Not to become dependent on the coach, but to internalize the skills so you don't need them anymore. Lucas: Exactly. A good coach works themselves out of a job. They're a catalyst, not a crutch. Luna: You know, it occurs to me that this show itself is a bit like a coaching resource. We bring in perspectives and frameworks that help listeners think about their careers differently. And we do it without any ads or sponsors. Lucas: That's by design. We deliberately don't run ads because we want the content to be purely useful, not interrupted by commercial messages. If you find value in what we do and want to support that choice, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just an option for those who want to help keep this ad-free. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to say 'this matters to me' if it does. And we appreciate everyone who listens, whether you contribute or not. Lucas: Alright, back to coaching. One more thing I want to touch on: the difference between a coach and a sponsor. A sponsor is someone with power who advocates for you when you're not in the room. A coach helps you prepare to earn that advocacy. They're complementary but distinct. Luna: That's a helpful distinction. So if you're an executive thinking about hiring a coach, what's the first step you'd recommend? Lucas: I'd say start by defining the specific outcome you want. Not 'I want to be a better leader,' but 'I want to feel more confident in board meetings and get my ideas heard.' Then look for a coach who has demonstrable experience with that specific challenge. Interview two or three candidates. Ask for references. And trust your gut about chemistry. Luna: And if the chemistry isn't there, it's okay to move on. A coach-client relationship is intimate in its own way. You need to feel safe enough to be vulnerable. Lucas: Exactly. And one final thought: don't wait until you're in crisis. The best time to hire a coach is when things are going well and you want to sustain that trajectory. Prevention is easier than cure. Luna: Good advice. For our listeners thinking about their next career move, whether it's a promotion, a board seat, or just more impact in their current role, coaching might be the edge you didn't know you needed. Lucas: And if you have a story about working with a coach—good or bad—we'd love to hear it. You can reach us through the show's page. For now, thanks for listening.