A guide for understanding executive coaching vs leadership coaching.

If you’re confused about different kinds of coaching for professional development — executive coaching vs leadership coaching vs other kinds — this blog is for you. There are so many variations on coaching available that it’s sometimes hard to know what each one describes. Learning the terminology can help you find the right coach for you.

I am also including some general information about the average price range of most types of coaching. These are rough estimates designed to give you a sense of what might be within your budget. In most of these specialties, there is a wide range of costs associated with coaching.

Business Coaching

To begin with, business coaching is a catchall term for coaching focused on improving performance in the workplace. This is as opposed to life coaching or other coaching specialties that focus on personal skills and relationships.

Within business coaching, there are many specialties and styles. Executive coaching vs leadership coaching are just two of many ways that coaches describe their work. For the purposes of this article, I’m going to focus on the most common types of business coaching.

Many business coaches specialize in a certain type of client, such as an entrepreneur, team manager, or corporate leader. Some specialize in an industry. As you look around, you’ll find many business coaches have achieved marked success in an area of business where they now help others do the same. This is why knowing a coach’s biography and background are important for choosing a coach. Most coaches are likely to help you develop the skillsets that made them successful.

Of course, there are many life coaching specialties too, which may be beneficial. Life coaching can sometimes improve business results.

Many people find that business coaching results in better personal relationships and well-being too. So no matter what kind of coach you get, the benefits may spill over into other areas of your life, which is a good thing!

Executive Coaching vs Leadership Coaching

Among business coaching specialties, executive and leadership coaching are probably the best known. When comparing executive coaching vs. leadership coaching, there are no rules to how coaches describe themselves. Executive coaches often do a lot of leadership development with their clients. Leadership coaches often work with executive clients. This is something to ask about when choosing a coach. Still, knowing the basic terms can help you choose the best coach for your situation.

If you are looking for the difference between coaching, teaching, and therapy, see: How to Find a Business Coach That’s Right for You.

Executive Coaching 

Executive coaches specialize in executive and C-suite clients. They generally address the many problems or challenges associated with those roles. Self-awareness is the number one predictor of leadership success. That’s why most executive coaches working with executives focus on self-reflection to help executives gain awareness. Executive coaching also helps executives identify obstacles and improve skills for managing teams. Simply having a confidential sounding board or objective observer can be a huge help to someone at the top of an organization.

High-priced executive coaches have usually come from the industries that they now coach in. They can charge more because they have extensive experience navigating the kind of leadership challenges that they now address with their clients.

If you’re comparing executive coaching vs leadership coaching, think about whether you want someone specializing in executives exclusively. If that appeals to you, that should help narrow your focus.

Cost range: $300 an hour to $3000 an hour, with some coaches charging $100,000 a year or more.  

Leadership Coaching

Leadership coaches focus on the skillsets necessary for effective leadership. This type of coaching helps leaders of a team or of multiple teams (including business owners and entrepreneurs) develop the skills needed to inspire and motivate teams. Often, leadership coaches serve a range of clients from first-time managers to executives.

Leadership coaching can also address the underlying causes of team errors to improve team accuracy and focus on common goals. Overall, leadership coaching helps leaders grow new skills and adapt to current challenges, sometimes offering solutions that work for others and techniques to improve effectiveness. Leadership coaches usually utilize their own experiences as well as research as the basis for their guidance.  

When constrasting executive coaching vs leadership coaching, think about whether you want someone with broad knowledge of skillsets that apply to various levels of your team, not just executives. Or you may want leadership skills that transfer to new roles as you position yourself for promotion. If so, a leadership coach might be the best way to go for you.

Cost range: $200 to $3000 an hour, depending on their experience and client base.

Other Common Business Coaching Specialties

Beyond executive coaching vs leadership coaching, there are a number of other coaching specialties. These sometimes focus on a certain phase in business or solve a particular business problem. Here are some of the most common types of specialty business coaches, with a little information about their focus and the range of costs associated with them.

  • Career Coaching helps individuals navigate moments of career change, i.e. getting a new job. Career coaches may help their clients identify career goals, write resumes, make informed career decisions, and sometimes advise clients when negotiating with employers. Many career coaches work closely with recruiters or are recruiters themselves. Cost range: $100 to $250 an hour.
  • Team Coaching helps teams unite around a common purpose, establish norms, and create shared commitments. Many so-called teams are really working groups, where people measure performance individually, not collectively (i.e. siloed). Especially at the top of organizations, real teams get better results. Real teams rely on each other for collective results more than individual results. Team coaching helps break down silos and encourages people to think about the team as a team. Cost range: $100 to $500 per person per hour or more. Many team coaching engagements include assessments, individual coaching, and defined time limits, all of which can affect pricing.
  • Succession Coaching prepares individuals for future leadership roles within a company. This is sometimes done through informal mentoring. Other times, a professional coach grooms someone for a role or helps build specific skills for advancement. Often a consultant leads a succession planning engagement. Cost range: $5000 to $10,000 a month for three to six months.
  • Performance Coaching focuses on employee performance in the ranks of an organization. Performance coaching works on skills proven to improve results and is sometimes closely related to leadership coaching. Sometimes, performance coaching is the name for a program devised for a low performer or toxic leader at risk of being fired. This can be a formality before firing the leader, whose fate may already be pre-determined. Or it may be a good faith effort to help someone who has valuable talents but is problematic in the workplace. The coach and the organization generally define specific goals and a timeline for desired outcomes. Cost range: $200 to $3000 an hour.
  • Coaching with proprietary models: There are a number of companies that have patented or copyrighted their own coaching models. These include Vistage Coaching, CRR Global, Gallup Strengths-Based Coaching, and some of the celebrity coaching models like Tony Robbins, Marshall Goldsmith, and others too numerous to mention. It also includes many large firms that offer coaching services like Korn Ferry or Harvard. Each of these has a niche that is perfect for a certain type of client. If you are looking for the skillset they offer, a proprietary model can be a great way to go. Note that most of these models focus on teaching you content rather than engaging in a process of self-refection and self-discovery. In this sense, they are more like a traditional academic course than a personalized coaching engagement. Cost: $3000 to $10,000+ per course.
  • Other types of business coaching include: Sales Coaching, Manager Coaching, ADHD Coaching, Fundraising Coaching, and Emotional Intelligence Coaching. All of these coaching specialties typically rely on a combination of experience and research to deliver measurable results for their clients.

There’s a lot to choose from when comparing executive coaching vs leadership coaching. My next article will help you focus on your needs and match your style with a coach whose style will work for you.

Further Reading about Executive Coaching vs Leadership Coaching

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