Is Executive Coaching Worth the Investment?

During a recent discovery call, a prospective client asked whether I could give her a formula or a series of steps we would follow during coaching.

Inside, I was desperate to say yes. I could picture the beautiful roadmap, everything neatly mapped out.

What I actually said was that as much as I’d love to, I didn’t yet know exactly what our work together would look like.

It was an honest answer, but it didn’t offer the certainty she was looking for.

I completely understood her request. She was considering investing her time, money and energy in a process. In me. Naturally, she wanted to understand what she would get in return and how we would get there.

I explained that we would agree goals and review progress, but I couldn’t prescribe the precise path we would follow. She said she understood and our conversation moved on.

Her question has stayed with me though. I guess because I share her desire for certainty. If I’m paying for something, I want to know what I’m buying.

Executive coaching can be worth the investment when it helps you make decisions or changes that matter to you. And we can agree meaningful goals and assess progress without being able to predict every outcome beforehand.

The appeal of a clear deliverable

My background is in accountancy and financial translation. I’m comfortable with analysis, clear agreements and tangible deliverables. 

Translation offered a particularly straightforward arrangement. A client sent me a document, we agreed a price and deadline and I delivered the translation. Both of us understood what they were buying and could assess whether I had fulfilled my side of the agreement.

Coaching is different. And the stakes can feel higher. The decisions we explore can affect someone’s livelihood, professional relationships and life beyond work.

Someone might come to me wanting to decide whether to change careers, become more effective in a bigger role or handle difficult conversations differently. We can agree what they want to work towards, but how we approach it will depend on what we discover together.

That is difficult to convey before the work has begun. I could understand why this prospective client wanted a roadmap: it would give her something concrete to assess. And me something easier to explain.

So why don’t I produce one?

Why my approach to coaching has evolved

When I first started coaching, I was actually more inclined to offer a structured programme with predetermined steps. It gave me a sense of control and seemed to resonate with clients too.

Looking back, when I prepared those roadmaps, I was making assumptions based on a 30-minute conversation without realising it. Experience has taught me how much can emerge once we begin working together. I’ve become more cautious about putting those early assumptions into a polished document that could give them more authority than they deserve.

With many clients, I’ve also seen our work move away from the direction I had anticipated. That has been entirely appropriate because something more relevant has emerged.

But if the original plan remains the measure of what we should cover, the client could reasonably feel that something is missing. Have we completed the work properly? Do they now need to pay for more sessions to cover the remaining items?

I don’t want a plan I created too early to leave someone feeling that useful work is somehow unfinished.

Another coach might offer a roadmap and that may suit their approach and their clients very well. My own preference has evolved towards agreeing an overall purpose, then shaping the work around the individual and what we learn together.

I prepare thoroughly for sessions. And I reflect on them in detail afterwards too. During sessions, I listen, think and make choices about what to ask, when to challenge and whether an exercise or practical rehearsal might help. Often, I set aside something I had prepared because the conversation reveals a more pressing concern.

Increasingly, I see my role as facilitating that exploration in real time. I bring skills, attention and judgement, without assuming I know what the right answer is for the client.

That is harder to demonstrate before someone has experienced a session. Yet it is the responsiveness I believe makes the work more personal and more valuable.

What can we agree at the outset?

There is still plenty we can establish before beginning.

We can discuss what you want to address, why it matters and what you hope will be different. We can agree practical arrangements, fees, confidentiality and how we will review progress.

I can explain how I work and what I bring: focused attention, thoughtful questions, challenge, support and practical ways to explore the issue. I’m responsible for keeping our work purposeful and discussing whether it is helping.

You bring your experience, judgement and willingness to engage. Your reflection, experiments and actions matter. You retain ownership of your decisions.

I cannot promise a particular career decision, promotion or response from someone else. I can commit to working with you towards your goals and paying attention to what is useful along the way.

How can you measure coaching outcomes?

The starting point is to make the goal specific enough to discuss meaningfully.

“Career clarity” may describe what you want, but what would having more clarity allow you to decide or do?

“Being more effective in my new role” is a useful starting point too. What would change in your working week if our work together proved successful?

For someone considering a career transition, progress might mean investigating realistic options and deciding which to pursue. For someone stepping into a bigger role, it might mean delegating more clearly and spending less time taking work back.

Other evidence could include having a conversation you had been avoiding, recognising a recurring pattern sooner or testing a different response to a difficult situation.

These are possible outcomes, rather than promises. What matters is agreeing what would be useful for you and looking at what is actually changing.

In my coaching, we usually revisit the overall goal roughly every three sessions. We consider what has changed, what remains difficult and what would be useful next. Sometimes we redefine the goal as the client’s thinking develops. We agree the revised focus together and continue reviewing progress.

I also now provide a written summary at the end of our work together. Depending on what we have explored, it might capture decisions made, values identified, different internal voices we have named or next steps the client has chosen, as well as areas left for further exploration.

It gives both of us a snapshot of the work and the client something to return to at a later date. It also captures something that is difficult to show beforehand: how the conversations connect and what the person takes from them.

How do you decide whether coaching is worth it?

Consider the importance of the issue and what a worthwhile change would look like for you.

An unresolved career decision may be taking up considerable attention. Difficulties with delegation may be affecting you and your team. You may have thought through the same options repeatedly without finding a useful way forward.

Then consider what kind of support you need. Specialist advice, technical training or mentoring may be more appropriate. Coaching is not the answer to every professional difficulty.

The cost matters, alongside the time and attention you can realistically give the work. So does your ability to speak openly with the coach, including saying when something isn’t helping. Responsibility for useful coaching cannot rest entirely with the client.

If you’re also considering who to work with, I’ve written separately about how to choose a coach. 

I don’t yet know whether the person who asked me for a formula will decide to work with me. Her question captured a tension I take seriously: giving someone enough information to make an informed choice, while leaving room for work that responds to them as an individual.

There is trust involved. I need to earn it by explaining my approach clearly, listening carefully and reviewing the work with the client. I cannot remove all the uncertainty, even if part of me would still love to produce that beautiful roadmap.

Working with me

I work with experienced professionals considering their next career move through Career Clarity & Transitions, and those developing how they work through Stepping into a Bigger Role.

My packages are six 60-minute sessions for €595 or twelve for €1,080, including IVA. We can meet online or in person in Madrid, in English, Spanish or a mix of both.

If you’re considering coaching, you’re welcome to book a discovery call. We can discuss what you want to work on, how I might support you and any questions you need answered before deciding.