What is Executive Coaching?
The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as:
Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.
This is further explained through the Core Competencies where certified coaches are held to a high standard of guiding principles.
At Ascend Professional Pathways, Thomas further adds to this definition with:
Coaching is a forward-driven conversation where the coach connects with the client through engaging and stimulating questions to promote self-discovery to lead them to solutions. Coaching is a client-centered process which drives them to their objective as they identify specific and obtainable goals and implement realistic action steps.
The coach's responsibility is to align with the client, improve clarity, and support their journey without judgement.
What are the benefits?
Any leadership role can be stressful, overwhelming, and full of distractions.
Having a creative space for a thought partner, strategist, or sounding board can help navigate you to solutions. Would you benefit from an unbiased perspective where you can speak your mind, vent, and work through issues without judgement?
Having difficulties prioritizing your priorities? Do you feel that you are sometimes standing in your own way?
Help draw out your own resolutions and help to release what is holding you back through our executive coaching sessions. Have a stimulating work partner to help strategize and discover answers to your current problems.
Could you benefit from simply having some uninterrupted time to think every so often?
What about a creative moment where you can discover strategies and insights and be reassured that you are on the right path? Having a trusted partner to support you, help you navigate the process, and keep you accountable can ensure your success and give you the relief you need.
Coaching is an uplifting and invigorating process where you peel back restrictions that are preventing you from performing at your best. Coaching helps you with forward thinking and overcoming being stuck, allowing you to work through problems and challenges to better navigate the issues that are delaying your progress.
My goal as the coach is to maintain a relationship of mutual respect and trust; to partner with you to promote a safe, supportive environment where you can share freely. I will create a space where you can be reflective, evoke awareness, and explore beyond your current thinking. I will be fully present with you by employing a style that is open, flexible, and grounded where we work to generate ideas on how to move forward. We then aim to put these insights into actions and design goals and accountability measures to keep you progressing.
Executive Coaching
Do you have relentless drive but are feeling stuck?
Are you held back by doubts or fears?
You have the vision but not sure where or how to start?
Read how my past clients found their success here!
The Ascend Clarity Process
This process is applied for both long-term initiatives and during sessions.
1. Establishing and solidifying one’s goals, vision, and purpose
a. Get as specific as possible for what you want to achieve
b. Identify why the goal is important
c. Establishing how to measure success
2. Identifying the obstacles and aligning your strengths to overcome them
a. Internal/external obstacles, self-inflicted, reactive/proactive?
b. Internal: Reframing limiting beliefs, doubts, assumptions, and fears etc.
c. External: Lack of clarity on strategy, execution, adoption, etc
d. Strengths: Identifying effective solutions to overcome these challenges
3. Identifying what actions will get you moving forward
a. Specific and immediate actions to make progress
b. Short-term actions to support long-term goals
c. What specific actions will overcome that challenge
d. Incorporate accountability and follow up
4. Reflecting on what worked and what didn’t
a. What mindsets, behaviors, and actions either helped or hindered
b. Lessons learned for next time
c. How to build habits that last
As ambitious professionals who are continuously pushing to grow beyond our current capacity and comfort zone, we are vulnerable to doubts, stress, and uncertainty. My approach to coaching empowers individuals to gain clarity on how to move forward and achieve success.
The International Coaching Federation provides research that highlights the Return On Investment and benefits of executive coaching, access the report here, as well as the ICF Global Study.
You can also read an article from Forbes on the ROI of Executive Coaching.
How the Ascend Professional Pathway's executive coaching process works:
The Inspiration: The WHY in starting this journey.
Identifying the specific challenges and any problems you are facing and envisioning the end goal you see yourself achieving. This first stage includes assessments and info gathering.
Key Activities:
Clarify goals, priorities, and ambitions
Leader’s Blueprint: Mission, Vision, Values
Standard assessment
360-degree verbal assessment
Defining success
The Trailhead: The essentials we need to pack.
We focus on designing the plan for alignment, refining the scope of the engagement, and all the details of what we’ll embark on together.
Key Activities:
Developing the process
Designing solutions
Strategic priorities
Leadership habits and behaviors
Specific situations
The Journey: The ongoing work and effort needed to make the climb.
This is the crux of the process as we execute the solutions and get closer to your goals.
Key Activities:
Engaging in routine coaching sessions
Implementing the strategies we previously identified
Working through priorities
Tracking behavioral change and specific performance goals
Additional assessments
The Summit: Celebrating, reflecting, and planning the next adventure.
Acknowledge the progress, results, and insights. Consider the next course of action.
Key Activities:
Reflection on initial goals and priorities
Reviewing key insights
Reinforcing changes made
Necessary next steps
Accountability & follow-up
Want to learn if Executive Coaching is right for you? Use this brief survey to discover custom solutions!
What an example of a full Executive Coaching engagement looks like:
Extended Engagement: 6-month period.
Scope: Weekly and/or bi-weekly meetings for the length of the engagement. Up to approx. 24 sessions.
Format: Longer term goals, various initiatives & multiple topics, complex ambitions. Includes customized frameworks & tools as needed; both a 360-degree assessment and standardized professional assessment; and a complimentary 1.5-hour review session following the end of the engagement. Group coaching can also be included.
Structure: Goals-Process-Execution-Review. Includes custom Coaching Plan & Schedule.
When leaders recognize that they are experiencing challenges that are not resolving with other means of intervention and the problems are getting too significant to ignore, you may feel like giving up.
Working with an executive coach provides guidance to discover the solutions that leaders need and couldn't find thus far. Throughout the coaching engagement, you'll experience real-time improvements such as feeling rejuvenated and invigorated, reconnecting with your initial vision and motivation on why you started your journey, and having more time and energy.
You are a determined professional seeking consistent development and want to keep improving your skills and abilities throughout your career.
Imagine the benefits you can achieve when you take time to intentionally focus on growth and development:
Gain clarity, increase effective leadership skills, inspire your teams and increase motivation, increase sales results, decrease turnover, increase emotional health, more staff support, and improve employee morale.
You have an ambitious goal, either professional or personal, and you can use guidance and support to get closer to achieving it.
You have a desire to:
Maximize your potential
Get to the next level in your career
Better control your time
Coaching can allow you to break through what is holding you back and be more prepared for challenges ahead.
Identify opportunities to help you along the way, preparing for obstacles that might derail your progress, leverage your network and improve your value to others, and planning effectively to ensure you complete your mission.
We don't force your growth; we simply aim to remove what is preventing you and leverage what is in your control.
We accommodate a wide range of programs, including:
Virtual 1:1
Company meetings
Executive retreats
Corporate events
In-person workshops for leadership teams
Mastermind & Executive Leaders groups
Keynote presentations
After identifying your exact goals and solutions, we meet routinely for focused virtual sessions where you work on the most pressing challenges and identify targeted solutions that you are seeking. We can also include specific topics listed below for long-term success, as well as assessments for further insight.
The scope and format of the engagement are set once we identify your goals and can be adjusted to accommodate your needs; we can always customize the approach however it works best.
Which of the following resonates most with you?
Having a trusted partner that promotes connection and support can have significant results on one's success. For company leaders, high-level managers, directors, and any professional looking to improve their executive function, a coaching session can give you the rejuvenation and clarity needed to better balance & harmonize your responsibilities.
Coaching creates an environment where you are guided to focus your attention to stimulate your thinking and gives you space to organize your thoughts and emotions. It’s a sharpening of your tools and allows you to dial in and become grounded; a time to decompress and reorganize your priorities.
The coach’s prime mission is to be an advocate for the client and help accompany them in growth and development. We go through a deliberate process to identify very specific goals and desired outcomes, navigating options and getting as nuanced as possible to influence the change that you desire.
The coach is walking alongside the client in their journey of self-discovery. Simply being present with the client, the coach is allowing a deep connection of trust and the space to materialize the internal dialogue one has within themselves. They then reflect deeply on their insights and identify solutions and keep them accountable.
Executive Coaching
Want to learn if Executive Coaching is right for you? Use this brief survey to discover custom solutions!