Executive Coaching: frequently asked questions

Sessions run for 75 minutes. The first ten minutes are a quick check-in: what has happened since we last spoke, which actions you completed, and what came up that you did not expect. The core of the session focuses on a specific leadership challenge you are facing right now. Your coach will ask questions, offer observations, and sometimes share a framework or a short reading. The final ten minutes are about next steps: one or two concrete actions you will take before the next session.

We do not use a fixed curriculum. The agenda is yours. Some clients spend three sessions on a single difficult stakeholder relationship. Others move through a different topic each time. Both approaches work.

A standard six-session one-to-one programme costs between £4,200 and £5,400 plus VAT. The range depends on the seniority and experience of the coach assigned to you. We match coaches to clients based on industry background and the kind of challenge you are working on, not just availability.

Leadership team intensives (the two-day off-site format) are quoted individually because group size, venue requirements and follow-up needs vary. As a rough guide, a programme for a team of eight typically falls between £9,000 and £14,000 plus VAT and venue costs.

We do not offer monthly retainers or open-ended engagements. Every programme has a defined number of sessions and a clear end point. If you want to continue after the initial programme, we agree a fresh scope.

Yes. Confidentiality is written into every coaching agreement we sign. Your coach will not share session content with your employer, your HR team, or anyone else unless you explicitly ask them to.

The only exception is if you disclose something that suggests a serious risk of harm to yourself or others. In that case we would discuss the situation with you before taking any action. This has never happened in our practice, but we mention it because it is part of our ethical framework.

If your organisation is paying for the coaching, we will agree upfront what information (if any) the sponsor receives. Typically this is limited to confirmation that sessions are taking place and a high-level summary of themes, written by you rather than by us.

Coaching works best when you already have a sense that something needs to change but you are not sure what, or you know what needs to change but you keep not doing it. If you are curious enough to read this page, that is usually a good sign.

It is not a good fit if you are looking for someone to tell you what to do. A coach asks questions and helps you think; a consultant gives recommendations. We are coaches, not consultants. If you need a strategy review or an operating model redesign, we can refer you to firms that do that well.

We offer a free 30-minute discovery call so you can test the fit before committing. There is no obligation and no sales pitch. You will speak with the coach who would work with you, not a business development person.

Yes. About 60 per cent of our sessions happen over video (Zoom or Teams, your choice). The quality of the conversation is just as good remotely, and it saves you travel time.

If you prefer in-person sessions, your coach can come to your office or we can arrange a neutral meeting space. In-person sessions work particularly well for the first meeting and for any session where you want to work through something on a whiteboard.

Team intensives are always in person. The dynamics of group work are harder to replicate on a screen, and the informal conversations over lunch and coffee are often where the real breakthroughs happen.

All our coaches hold an ICF (International Coaching Federation) credential at PCC or MCC level, which requires a minimum of 500 documented coaching hours and rigorous assessment. Beyond credentials, every coach on our team has at least 15 years of senior leadership experience in industry before moving into coaching full-time.

We believe the combination matters. A qualification ensures your coach follows ethical standards and uses evidence-based methods. Business experience means they understand the realities of budgets, boards and difficult personnel decisions.

We check in on progress at the midpoint of every programme. If you feel the coaching is not delivering value, we want to know. Sometimes the issue is that the goals need adjusting. Other times the chemistry between coach and client is not right.

If a change of coach would help, we will arrange it at no extra cost. If you want to stop altogether, we will refund the fee for any unused sessions. We have had to do this twice in six years. In both cases the client came back later with a different coach and had a productive engagement.

The standard one-to-one programme spans roughly three months: six fortnightly sessions. Transition coaching runs for four months with eight sessions. Team intensives are two days plus two follow-up calls over the next 60 days.

Some clients do a second programme six or twelve months later, often because they have moved into a new role or are facing a different kind of challenge. We treat each programme as a standalone engagement with its own goals.