If what I’m seeing in Q1 is any indication, there is a pent-up demand for executive coaching.  If you’re looking, consider the following 9 criteria:

• Anyone who comes to me is told the same thing: The most important thing is that you find someone who resonates, who feels like they’re the person you want in your corner. Yes, you might find them on the first attempt, and wonderful if you do.  But if you don’t, keep looking.  I can’t emphasize this enough.
• Results, results, results. That’s number two.  Whomever you hire should have a track record.  What track record?  Whatever it is that you’re aspiring to.  You’re in a new, elevated role?  They should know that terrain and its pitfalls like the back of their hand.  You need to build a rockstar team that delivers so you can get out of the weeds?  They’ve worked that.  You want to enhance your executive brand and have far greater influence?  They have the map.  You get the idea.
• They should also work in your space. I don’t mean your industry, I mean your space, the executive world.  There are real pressures and a rigor to senior executive leadership, and your coach should understand that.
• This should go without saying, but say it, I will. Your executive coach should be paying attention.  To you.  To what’s important to you, to your goals, to what you want.  To you as a human being and whole person.  Cramming their agenda down your throat, by the way, is a sign that they’re not seasoned.
• Which is different from being able to challenge you with skill and compassion. A good coach should do this in service of getting you what you want.  And you should feel like you’re getting better for it, not diminished by it.
• They should also invite you to push back.  I always tell clients that they know themselves best, and if I’ve got it wrong, if I’m barking up the wrong tree, push back.  That’s what a partnership is.  I count on them to speak up if something doesn’t fit.  It’s helpful to us both.
• And in that partnership, it should feel like your coach is rooting for you, that they’re genuinely supportive of your aspirations, that they want your success. That they’ve got your back.
• I think it’s necessary that an executive coach be knowledgeable about the world of business. Some might disagree with this, but the significance of time, revenue, and results, and the impact of your work in that context is a big deal.  It’s the ballgame, really.  Ideally, your coach blends business acumen/experience with the human performance side of coaching and can toggle comfortably between them.
• This last one isn’t a requirement, by any means, but making relevant introductions for you to others in their network is an added bonus. Whenever I get the sense that two people should know one another, I connect them.  And I love doing it.

Although there are 9 criteria, the first is the foundation.

Start there.

How to Work with Me in 2021:

The 2021 Magnificent Leadership® Executive Forum is a vibrant, trusted community for select senior executives.  In this learning ecosystem, members let down their guards, have real conversations, and get real answers.  Behind closed doors.  It’s also where exceptional leaders like Brad Wilson, CEO Emeritus of BCBS of NC, and Glen Tullman entrepreneur extraordinaire, drop by for intimate conversations on business and leadership.  Members are saying it’s unlike any other senior executive peer group they’ve attended.  To schedule a brief application interview to ensure that this program is the right fit for you, email me: sarah@sarah-levitt.com  *Note: The Annual Membership fee for the Forum is 10K before April 1.  After April 1, the fee increases to 15K.  Invest in yourself and flourish in 2021, pandemic be darned.

Leveling up in 2021 or preparing to?  If you are moving into an elevated leadership role, I’ve identified the 6 domains for success during my work with senior execs just like you.  Shorten your learning curve and increase the speed and height of your trajectory in the first year.  My clients get promoted, increase their comp, gain greater influence, lead bigger initiatives, improve their visibility, and have giant wins.  Faster.  To inquire about working together or to request my paper on successfully leading in a new role, email me directly: sarah@sarah-levitt.com

The Magnificent Leadership® Ascension program is designed specifically for bold leaders who want to create a lasting imprint of meaningful contribution and are poised to invest in themselves and the future.  Comprehensive and confidential.  Concierge, highly customized.  Strategic and wholistic, personal and professional.   If you want your work and life to bear the signature of your talent, dedication, passion, and determination to make a positive difference in the world, let’s explore working together.  For CEOs and senior leaders.  Fees begin at $12,500/month, or 150K annually with a 10% discount.  I’m only taking 3 new clients into this program for all of 2021 due to my commitments with the Magnificent Leadership® Executive Forum.   Email me directly to schedule a mutually exploratory conversation:  sarah@sarah-levit.com