Executive Coaching That Understands Board-Level Pressure

Executive coaching is a professional development process focused on helping senior leaders and executives enhance their leadership effectiveness, navigate complex challenges, and achieve their career goals. Unlike generic life coaching, executive coaching specifically addresses board-level and C-suite challenges with a focus on measurable leadership performance.

Executive coaching typically addresses: leadership effectiveness and executive presence, helping you show up with confidence and authority in high-stakes situations; strategic decision-making capability, developing the thinking skills required at board level; stakeholder relationship management, navigating complex organizational politics and board dynamics; career transitions, preparing for C-suite roles or NED positions; and leadership resilience, managing the intense pressure that comes with executive responsibility.

What makes Craig's executive coaching different is the combination of professional coaching methodology (EMCC accredited) with extensive board-level experience. He's not theorizing about executive pressure—he's lived it across NHS, financial services, technology, and manufacturing sectors. You get rigorous coaching combined with someone who understands the boardroom dynamics, stakeholder complexity, and strategic challenges you actually face.

The fundamental difference is in the approach and power dynamic. Coaching focuses on helping you find your own answers through structured exploration, powerful questions, and challenge. The coach doesn't provide answers—they help you discover your own insights and solutions. Mentoring is more directive: the mentor shares their experience, offers advice, and provides guidance based on what worked for them.

Executive coaching is about developing your capability, not just solving the immediate problem. A coach helps you build the thinking skills, self-awareness, and strategic perspective needed to navigate future challenges independently. Mentoring is about knowledge transfer—learning from someone who's been there before.

Craig's approach combines both when appropriate. He brings professional coaching methodology (EMCC accredited) but also has the board-level experience to share strategic insight when it serves your development. The coaching relationship determines when to coach (help you discover) versus when to mentor (share experience). Most of the time it's coaching, but board-level context matters—sometimes you need to know how boardrooms actually work.

The approach is tailored to what you need in the moment: sometimes that's being challenged on your thinking, sometimes it's learning from someone who's navigated similar challenges.

Executive coaching engagements typically range from 6 months to 18 months, depending on your development goals and the complexity of challenges you're addressing. Some focus on specific transitions (preparing for a C-suite role, navigating organizational change), while others are ongoing development relationships that evolve as your leadership challenges change.

Typical engagement patterns include: transition coaching (6-9 months) for preparing for new roles or navigating major leadership challenges; development coaching (12-18 months) for sustained leadership capability building and strategic thinking development; and ongoing advisory coaching (open-ended) where regular sessions continue as long as they deliver value, often with reduced frequency over time.

Session frequency usually follows this pattern: intensive early phase with bi-weekly or weekly sessions to build momentum; steady development phase with sessions every 2-3 weeks for sustained progress; and consolidation phase with monthly sessions to integrate learning and maintain accountability.

Progress is reviewed regularly. Every 3-4 months we assess progress against your original development goals, adjust the coaching approach if needed, and decide whether to continue. If the coaching isn't delivering value, we discuss it openly. If you've achieved what you set out to achieve, we wrap up. The focus is on outcomes, not artificially extending engagements.

The chemistry session helps clarify likely engagement duration based on your specific goals and situation.

Executive coaching sessions are confidential, challenging conversations about your real leadership challenges—the things keeping you up at night, the relationships that are difficult, the decisions where you're uncertain, the leadership patterns you want to change. Sessions are structured but flexible, typically lasting 60-90 minutes.

A typical session flow includes: Progress and reflection (10-15 minutes): What's happened since last session? What did you try? What worked? What didn't? Focus and exploration (30-40 minutes): Deep dive into the leadership challenge or development area you want to work on. This is where the real coaching happens—powerful questions, challenge, new perspectives, experimenting with different ways of thinking. Action and commitment (10-15 minutes): What will you do differently? What experiments will you run? How will you know if it's working?

It's action-focused, not theoretical. You're not talking about leadership in the abstract—you're working on specific challenges you're facing right now. Between sessions, you experiment with new approaches, test different ways of showing up, practice new behaviors. The next session starts with what you learned.

Coaching is challenging, not comfortable. Craig will question your assumptions, push back on your thinking, and hold you accountable. But it's always in service of your development—helping you see blind spots, explore options you haven't considered, and build the capability to handle future challenges independently.

Look for three things: professional coaching credentials, board-level experience, and track record with executives. The coaching industry is unregulated, so credentials matter. Professional accreditation from recognized bodies (ICF, EMCC, AC) indicates training, supervision, and adherence to ethical standards. Craig holds EMCC Professional Coach accreditation—a rigorous qualification requiring demonstrated competence.

Board-level experience is crucial for executive coaching. Many coaches have never sat in a boardroom, never carried fiduciary responsibility, never navigated the political complexity of executive leadership. Craig has extensive board-level experience—he's not theorizing about executive pressure, he's lived it. This means he understands the dynamics you're facing without needing lengthy explanations.

Fellowship-level credentials signal depth and commitment. Craig holds FCMI Fellowship (Chartered Management Institute) and FRSPH Fellowship (Royal Society for Public Health)—the highest professional achievements in management and wellbeing. This combination of coaching, governance expertise, and wellbeing insight is rare and particularly valuable for executive leaders managing both performance pressure and personal resilience.

Track record matters most. Ask for examples of executives they've coached and outcomes achieved. Not names (confidentiality matters), but context: What kinds of challenges? What transformations? What career progressions resulted? The chemistry session is your chance to assess whether this coach has the experience and approach that will serve your development.

Absolutely—confidentiality is foundational to effective coaching. What you discuss in coaching sessions remains confidential except in exceptional circumstances required by law (e.g., risk of harm). Craig is bound by the EMCC code of ethics, which has strict confidentiality protocols. Without trust and confidentiality, the deep, honest conversations required for real development simply cannot happen.

Many clients don't tell their organizations they're being coached—it's entirely your choice. Some executives fund coaching personally specifically to maintain total independence. Others have organizational sponsorship (where the organization pays for coaching as professional development), but even then, session content remains confidential. Craig will never discuss what's covered in sessions without your explicit permission.

If your organization sponsors coaching, boundaries are established upfront: the organization might receive progress updates on development goals (not session content), but you control what's shared and when. Craig never reports to your organization without your knowledge and agreement. The coaching relationship is with you, not your employer.

This confidentiality creates space for honesty. You can discuss doubts about your career, concerns about relationships with bosses or boards, challenges you're struggling with—all without fear it will be shared. That safety is what allows the deep reflection and honest self-assessment required for genuine leadership development.

Executive coaching is a professional development investment, not an expense. Fees depend on coaching frequency, engagement duration, and complexity of development goals. Following the initial chemistry session, Craig provides a clear proposal outlining session frequency, commitment period, and total investment.

Many organizations sponsor executive coaching for their senior leaders, recognizing it as high-leverage development. Leadership capability improvements compound—better decision-making, stronger stakeholder relationships, more effective teams. Organizations investing in executive coaching typically see returns through improved leadership performance, better succession readiness, and reduced executive derailment.

Some executives self-fund coaching to maintain independence or because it's a personal development investment. Career progression, board appointments, and leadership capability enhancements often result from coaching—making it one of the highest-ROI personal development investments available to executives.

Investment is discussed transparently during the chemistry session, ensuring alignment before any commitment. The focus is on value delivered (leadership capability developed, challenges navigated, career goals achieved), not just session hours. Most clients report significant returns on their coaching investment through promotions, successful transitions, or simply being more effective and less stressed in their current role.

Yes, Craig works with executive teams on collective leadership effectiveness. Team coaching addresses how the leadership team works together—decision-making processes, meeting effectiveness, strategic alignment, conflict resolution, and building psychological safety. This is different from 1:1 coaching but equally powerful for leadership team performance.

Executive team coaching typically addresses: improving board or leadership team effectiveness; resolving conflicts or dysfunctional team dynamics; aligning around strategic priorities and execution; building trust and psychological safety within the team; enhancing collective decision-making quality; and developing shared leadership practices and behaviors.

The approach combines team facilitation with coaching methodology—helping the team discover their own solutions while providing structure and challenge. Craig's board-level experience is particularly valuable here: he understands board and executive team dynamics from the inside, not just theory.

Team coaching engagements are typically structured as: initial team assessment (interviews, observation, team dynamics analysis); series of facilitated team sessions (usually monthly or quarterly); individual coaching for team members where valuable; and progress review and team effectiveness measurement.

If you're interested in team or group coaching, discuss this during the initial conversation to explore whether it's the right intervention for your team's challenges.

Craig brings both professional coaching methodology (EMCC accredited) and extensive board-level experience—a combination that's rare in executive coaching. Many executive coaches have solid coaching training but limited experience in actual boardrooms. Others have impressive executive careers but lack professional coaching accreditation and methodology. Craig combines both.

Board-level experience changes everything. Craig has extensive experience across multiple boards—NHS, technology, financial services, manufacturing. He's navigated stakeholder conflict, strategic uncertainty, governance challenges, leadership transitions, and organizational crises. When you're describing board dynamics or executive pressure, he doesn't need lengthy explanations—he's lived it. This creates a different kind of coaching conversation: less time explaining context, more time working on solutions.

Fellowship-level credentials add strategic depth. FCMI Fellowship (Chartered Management Institute) and FRSPH Fellowship (Royal Society for Public Health) represent the highest professional achievement in management and wellbeing. This means coaching that integrates strategic thinking, organizational dynamics understanding, and wellbeing insight—particularly valuable for executives managing both performance pressure and personal sustainability.

The approach is performance-focused, not therapeutic. While coaching may address personal patterns and mindset, the focus is always on leadership effectiveness and measurable outcomes. You're not here for life coaching or personal therapy—you're developing executive capability to handle the challenges you're facing and prepare for the ones coming next.

You'll know within the first 2-3 sessions whether coaching is valuable. Effective coaching produces noticeable shifts—new insights, different perspectives, actionable experiments that you're motivated to try. If you're not experiencing this early momentum, something isn't working, and we address it directly.

The chemistry session is designed to assess fit upfront. Not every coach works for every leader—coaching effectiveness depends heavily on trust, rapport, and communication style. The initial session helps both of you determine whether you can work together effectively. If it doesn't feel right, it's better to know before committing to a full engagement.

If the coaching relationship isn't working, we discuss it openly. Maybe the approach needs adjustment. Maybe you need a different kind of support (mentoring, advisory, therapy). Maybe it's just not the right time for coaching. Honest conversation about what's working and what isn't is part of professional coaching—Craig will raise concerns if he's not seeing progress, and you should too.

Success requires honest engagement from both sides. Coaching isn't passive—it requires showing up, being honest about struggles, experimenting between sessions, and genuinely wanting to develop. If you're going through the motions or avoiding the real challenges, coaching won't work. But if you're engaged and it still isn't delivering value, that's feedback about the coaching relationship, not about you.

The goal is impact, not just completing sessions. If that's not happening, we address it or conclude the engagement. No hard feelings—it's a professional development intervention, not a personal relationship.