I’ve worked with many coaches throughout my corporate and athletic life — some brilliant, some forgettable. And after coaching senior leaders myself for many years, I’ve learned something simple:
A great executive coach isn’t the one with the flashiest methodology or the most polished elevator pitch. It’s the one who helps you see yourself clearly.
Because once you see yourself clearly — your patterns, assumptions, blind spots, strengths — everything else becomes easier.
Your decisions calm down.
Your thinking sharpens.
Your leadership becomes more consistent.
And that’s where executive coaching creates real change.
In this article, I want to break down the qualities that genuinely matter in a coach — not the textbook ones, not the Instagram-friendly ones — but the ones that actually help senior leaders grow.
These qualities come from three places:
- my 25+ years leading global sales organisations,
- my work coaching senior executives, and
- my experiences completing endurance events in some of the toughest environments on earth.
All three have taught me that effective coaching is not about clever tools — it’s about clarity, humanity, and honest reflection.
1. A Great Coach Listens More Than They Talk
It sounds obvious, but it’s surprisingly rare.
A good executive coach doesn’t rush to fill the silence. They don’t overlay your story with theirs. They don’t give advice for the sake of sounding smart.
They listen — properly.
Not listening-to-reply.
Listening-to-understand.
In Arctic races, silence becomes a companion. You hear your breath, your thoughts, the crunch of snow under your feet. And in that silence, clarity appears — perspective sharpens.
Great executive coaching creates a similar space.
A space leaders rarely get anywhere else.
What it sounds like in practice:
- “What’s the real issue underneath that?”
- “If you weren’t under pressure, how would you approach this?”
- “What’s the story you’re telling yourself about this situation?”
It’s not therapy. It’s not mentoring. It’s thoughtful inquiry.
Good coaches ask questions that shift your perspective. Great coaches ask questions you remember days later.
2. They Bring Real-World Experience (Not Just Theory)
There’s a place for academic coaches.
There’s also a place for lived experience.
But for senior leaders — especially in fast-moving organisations — experience matters.
I don’t coach from textbooks.
I coach from:
- decades running multinational sales teams,
- making decisions with people’s livelihoods attached,
- handling conflict,
- leading through restructuring,
- managing pressure,
- building high-performing teams,
- and learning humility — often the hard way.
A good coach understands the corporate landscape. A great coach understands the weight that comes with leadership.
And when they’ve lived it, they know the difference between a “nice idea” and a “practical solution”.
3. They Challenge You — Calmly, Directly and Without Ego
You don’t hire a coach to be agreed with.
You hire a coach to be challenged with care.
Some of the most important moments in my own coaching journey — whether in business or endurance sport — came when someone said something I didn’t want to hear.
A great coach can:
- challenge your assumptions,
- question your decisions,
- hold up a mirror,
- and do it in a way that feels supportive, not confrontational.
It’s a balance between truth and empathy. Push without pressure. Challenge without judgement.
When a coach challenges you well, you don’t feel attacked — you feel understood, and accountable.
4. They Help You Build Clarity (Not Just Confidence)
Many leaders think they need more confidence. Most actually need more clarity.
In endurance events, the toughest moments weren’t the cold or the distance — it was the moments of confusion:
“Why am I doing this?”
“What’s the next step?”
“What matters most right now?”
Leadership is the same.
The noise gets loud.
Perspective blurs.
Pressure clouds decision-making.
A great executive coach helps you remove the noise.
Clarity → reduces stress → improves decision-making → builds confidence.
Not the other way around.
Clarity gives you:
- better choices
- better conversations
- better boundaries
- better leadership habits
In coaching sessions, I often tell clients:
“Let’s slow this down so the right answer can catch up.”
Clarity opens the door to better action.
5. They Understand Pressure — And Don’t Judge It
Every senior leader carries pressure.
Targets.
Teams.
Shareholders.
Expectations.
Identity.
Most of that never gets said out loud.
A great coach creates a space where nothing needs to be hidden. A place where you can talk openly about fear, doubt, frustration and uncertainty — without it affecting how you’re perceived.
I’ve coached leaders through restructures, promotions, failures, conflicts, and personal crossroads. And almost all of them said some version of:
“This is the only place where I can say what I really feel.”
That is the value of a good coach.
Not perfection — permission.
6. They See the Human Behind the Role
Leadership can become a mask.
People expect you to have answers.
To stay composed.
To motivate.
To perform.
But leaders are humans first — with families, fears, ambitions, and insecurities.
A great coach doesn’t treat you like a job title.
They treat you like a person with a lot on your plate.
During the longest races I’ve run, the only way to keep moving was by being honest about how I felt — cold, tired, vulnerable. That honesty made the next step possible.
Good coaching helps you reconnect with that humanity — and brings it into your leadership.
7. They Hold You Accountable — Without Becoming the Driver
A coach shouldn’t run your agenda.
They help you build it — and stick to it.
Great coaches help leaders:
- build better habits,
- stay consistent,
- follow through on commitments,
- and become accountable to themselves, not the coach.
Discipline matters far more than motivation.
And accountability is the structure that makes discipline sustainable.
In ultra-endurance races, nobody checks if you keep moving — you hold yourself together mile by mile. Coaching builds similar resilience and discipline in leadership.
8. They Don’t Pretend to Have All the Answers
A coach’s role is not to be the expert on your life or business.
A great executive coach knows:
- when to advise,
- when to teach,
- when to listen,
- and when to say, “I don’t know, but let’s explore it.”
Leaders value honesty and humility.
A coach who thinks they know everything isn’t coaching — they’re projecting.
The best coaches walk beside their clients, not ahead of them.
9. They Help You Become a More Self-Aware Leader
Self-awareness is the foundation of all leadership.
It shapes:
- how you speak
- how you react
- how you make decisions
- how you build trust
- how your team responds to you
A good coach increases your awareness. A great coach helps you use that awareness.
Because knowing yourself is one thing. Leading yourself is another.
What Really Makes a Great Coach?
It’s not credentials. It’s not frameworks. It’s not methodologies.
It’s presence. It’s perspective. It’s experience. It’s humanity.
A great executive coach helps you think more clearly, lead more confidently, and act more intentionally. Not by telling you what to do — but by helping you understand who you are as a leader.
If you’re exploring coaching or want to understand how it could support you, I’d be happy to start with a conversation.
