Working most effectively with a coach

Coaching only works if you use it on purpose. Show up passive and you'll get a pleasant hour that changes nothing.

What a coach actually is, first: not a mentor handing you their playbook, not a consultant delivering answers. A coach's job is to ask the questions that get you to your own answer faster and more honestly than you'd get there alone. The account of your growth stays yours. The coach just makes sure you're not lying to yourself along the way.

How to get real value out of it

Bring the real problem, not the polished version. If you show up with the same story you'd tell your board, you'll get board-level help. The unpolished version, the one where you're not sure, or you're scared, or you already know the answer and don't want to hear it out loud, that's where the actual work happens.

Do the work between sessions. An hour every two weeks changes nothing on its own. What you do with what came up during the session is where it compounds.

Let the coach push. If every session feels comfortable, something's off. Growth has some friction in it.

Track what's actually changing, not just how you feel about the sessions. Whether decisions are getting faster, conversations are getting more honest, and results are showing up.

If you're deciding whether coaching is the right move right now, here's how I work with the founders and CEOs I coach.