Executive Coaching

There are some questions you should ask your potential coach. Ask them about their coaching qualifications and accreditation, their coaching style, there general business and sector experience and their past successes. It’s okay to ask for case studies, testimonials and referees, and any reputable coach will be happy to provide these. You can also try sharing a business problem and asking for their initial insight into how they might be able to help you.

Reputable executive coaches will hold coaching qualifications and will be accredited by one of the coaching accreditation bodies such as the Academy of Executive Coaching (AoEC), International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC).  Alan Aldridge, a top Executive Coach at Catalyst, has a successful 10-year career in management consulting with PwC, followed by a demonstrable track record in leading and growing businesses for over 20 years.  And as you would expect, he is also a qualified and accredited executive coach.

Choosing the right executive coach for you is critical for your ongoing success.  In selecting an independent coach you may find the cost to be slightly lower but as executive coaching is not a regulated industry (meaning anybody can call themselves an executive coach) the variation in quality can be high.  If you select a coach from a firm of coaches they are likely to have been vetted thoroughly and you will have the peace of mind to know that if for any reason you’re not getting on with your coach, the business will be able to provide a suitable alternative.

Whilst this will vary between coaches, sessions are typically held every 3 to 4 weeks.  However, at Catalyst we shape our executive coaching around a monthly program which includes a monthly executive coaching session complimented with a list of bespoke and focused activities for the following month, additional telephone or email support during the month as required (based on reasonable usage) and weekly Leadership and Management Insights, by email, to help continually develop our client’s thinking and opinions.

Many people are choosing to work with a coach remotely. It’s wonderful that we live in a world where we can be coached over the internet.  Whilst face-to-face coaching is often preferred by coaches, online coaching can be equally as impactful and beneficial to clients. At Catalyst, we use both face-to-face and video conference style coaching to best meet our client’s needs.

If you’re looking to unlock your personal potential, improve your business performance, discover new ways of thinking, find answers to pressing or challenging questions, and/or find solutions to business problems, then you will certainly benefit from working with a good coach.

Most executive coaches charge per session with sessions typically held every 3 to 4 weeks. You are often required to buy a package of 6 sessions, sometimes paying upfront.  At Catalyst we don’t believe that this is the best way for clients to price or buy coaching.  We charge on a monthly retainer which includes the executive coaching session, a list of focused activities coming from the session, further support during the month and weekly Leadership and Management Insights.  Our retainers are usually cancellable with one month written notice.

An excellent coach will help you to develop new business practices, implement new strategy or technology, and help you to solve business problems and unlock your own personal potential. Effective coaching will improve your sales performance, your customer service and your profitability.  100% of Catalyst’s clients have reported a definite improvement in business performance, so if you’re looking for business improvement and change management, business coaching is the way to go.

It’s possible to calculate this by looking at the costs that would apply if you didn’t hire an executive coach and allowed business problems to be unresolved. These savings can be added to the value of benefits that could be expected from working with a couch, including increased productivity, increased profits and improved business relationships. You need to deduct from this combined total the cost of the coaching and a result represents the net benefit or return on your investment.  100% of catalyst’s clients reported that coaching met or exceeded their expectations.