Executive Coaching Topics – What Topics Are People Coached?

Executive coaching topics deal with that stratum of executive psychology that helps in grooming the skills of executives and shaping them up in order to make them absolutely ready for a step up in the business that they are working for.

In this article, we are going to discuss some of the important topics that are generally covered as a part of the executive coaching program. So, what are the general topics that are common for most executive coaching programs?

Primarily there are three basic areas of professional development through executive coaching.

1. Early executives planning for a kick-starting career
   1. Coaching for early executives focuses on enabling them to cope with a corporate environment.
   2. The coaching goals at this stage may typically focus on planning & prioritizing, corporate etiquette, goal setting, stakeholder management, and personal branding.
   3. The coach at this stage needs to focus on sensitizing the coachee to the corporate environment and enable them to adapt to changes and excel in performance.
2. Mid executives for career development
   1. For executives at the mid-level, the focus can be on catapulting career growth.
   2. This is also the stage where most executives move to people management, in the early day people management can be extremely challenging.
   3. Coaching can focus on dealing with role change and learning the art of people management.
   4. Balancing task and people orientation can be a challenging aspect for most executives at this stage and should be addressed in coaching.
3. Senior Executives for leadership development
   1. At the senior executive level, the focus shifts from management to leadership.
   2. Many executives struggle with strategic thinking, risk-taking, building alignment, and ensuring the execution of the vision.
   3. The focus of leadership coaching then is to enable executives to display the right leadership behaviors and spearhead organizational growth.

Some other focus areas of executive coaching generally are:

• Change Management:
  • Change management is a critical focus area of executive coaching.
  • Change management is critical to success at any stage of the career.
  • Many coaching interventions are designed to enable executives to deal with change effectively.
• Be A better listener and a good speaker:
  • Communication skills are at the crux of professional success.
  • Two pillars of communication skills are being an active listener and a good communicator.
  • Both these aspects can be developed through executive coaching at any stage in the career of an individual.
• Being a good team player and supervisor:
  • An executive should be a good team player with a congenial attitude as well as a good supervisor whenever he is required to direct his team.
  • Teamwork is essential for success in the workplace.
  • Coaching can address teamwork by ensuring that people connect with each other well, are able to build rapport, and align to team goals rather than only working on individual goals.
• Balancing work life with family life:
  • This is of great importance both aspects are critical for any individual.
  • Lack of balance in this aspect is more likely to cause damage to either family or work life.
  • Since coaching takes a “whole-person” approach to development, personal goals need to be addressed in executive coaching as well.

Contact us if you are interested in a executive coaching training program that is tailored to the needs of your organization or team.