What to expect, step by step.
The process is deliberately structured to respect a demanding calendar, while leaving enough time between conversations for reflection and application. It begins with orientation and preparation, continues through five working sessions, and concludes with two later conversations focused on independent application and closure.
Before the working sessions.
Orientation.
An initial conversation establishes whether the engagement is appropriate, clarifies practical expectations and confidentiality, and gives both parties an opportunity to decide whether they wish to work together.
Pre-Coaching Questionnaire
The questionnaire is completed before the first working session. It is not treated as a diagnosis or a score. Its purpose is to provide material for a thoughtful conversation about the executive’s working reality, relationships, assumptions, and present concerns.
360-Degree Survey – Self-Perception & External Perspective,
The 360-Degree Survey is especially useful for succession candidates preparing to move into a higher level of responsibility. It brings a rigorous self-assessment into conversation with the perspectives of selected people around the leader, making visible where self-perception and external perception align and where they diverge.
The findings do not determine fitness for promotion or prescribe a development programme. They provide additional material for reflection and can inform subsequent coaching as the leader makes the transition to greater responsibility. The survey can also be used by established leaders who want a structured external benchmark of how their leadership and performance are currently experienced.
Five working sessions.
Session 1 – Where the Conversation Begins.
We use the questionnaire and any agreed survey findings to identify where the conversation should begin. What initially appears to be the central issue may – or may not – remain so as the work develops.
Session 2 – Perception & Assumptions.
We examine how the client sees themselves, how they believe others may experience them, and which assumptions deserve closer scrutiny.
Session 3 – Observation in Practice.
We consider what the client has noticed since the earlier conversations, including situations in which a familiar reaction gave way to a more deliberate response. Observations from colleagues or family may sometimes provide another perspective.
Session 4 – What Holds in Ordinary Working Life.
After a longer interval, the conversation examines what remains useful under normal pressures, what has become clearer, and what still deserves another look.
Session 5 – Consolidation & Independent Application.
The final working session brings together the client’s observations and considers how the approach can be applied independently after the formal working phase ends.
Personality Profiler,
A Big Five Personality Profiler may provide an additional structured perspective for reflection. It is based on an established model of personality and is used as a reference for discussion, not as a diagnostic label or as evidence that coaching has changed the client’s personality.
Completion.
Where practical, I prefer the first two working sessions to take place face-to-face. Once the working relationship is established, the remaining sessions can be conducted virtually. Geography, travel, and the executive’s schedule may make virtual meetings appropriate earlier.
The working phase ends after Session 5. Two complimentary conversations follow at approximately 30-day intervals. They provide an opportunity to examine what the client has observed while applying the approach independently—and whether anything deserves another look. After that, the engagement is complete.