Here’s an equation for you: Experience + Talent + University Courses = Executive Coaching. Not something you would find in algebra or Calculus class, but if you are looking to become a coach, it’s an equation worth considering.

Experience Matters With Executive Coaching

The first part of the equation, Experience + Talent + University Courses = Executive Coaching, in some ways should be the last part of the equation. After all, experience often comes last in a career – you go to a university, realize your have some talent ( or realize you have some talent and then go to a specific university based on that talent), and then you gain experience. However, before you even consider executive coaching, you should have years of experience.

Though there is normal formal training or work experience required to become an executive coach, would you wan to meet up with an executive to help him or her improve their careers or offer ways to improve their team’s performance? Executives are highly skilled, experienced leaders in the world of business – if you want to have the credibility, capability, and respect to work with them, you need experience.

Does Talent Matter to Become an Executive Coach?

Talent is the middle factor, and perhaps the most subjective factor in the equation, Experience + Talent + University Courses = Executive Coaching. Talents needed are the same ones that any coach needs:

• The ability to stay neutral. You have to begin each sessions with an unbiased view.
• The ability to actively listen – listen to the words, the phrasing, the tone, and the context, while also watching the body language.
• The ability to provide valuable feedback, and to also ask for feedback.
• The  capability for sympathy and empathy.
• High quality questioning skills.
• The ability to stay with a process – patience and perseverance.
• The ability to be flexible and agile – able to embrace change.
• A passion for and a commitment to learning.

If you possess most or all of these talents, you can become an executive coach. If you lack one or two, such as high quality questioning skills, these can be learned in a coaching program or by taking university courses. Now, you have two parts of the equation, Experience + Talent + University Courses = Executive Coaching.

University Courses Needed to Become an Executive Coach

There are no university requirements to become an executive coach. Not one university course = executive coaching. But, what types of college degrees help if you want to eventually become an executive coach?

• Business administration
• Marketing
• Communications
• Psychology
• Sociology

These and other similar degrees will provide a good educational foundation for any coach. Now you know why the equation, Experience + Talent + University Courses = Executive Coaching, matters. But, coaching programs should also be part of your education foundation. One that focuses on executive coaching is almost essential if you want to have a career as an executive coach.
Executive coaching is a very specialized and demanding profession. Start with this equation and add coaching training, and you should be on your way to a very satisfying and rewarding career.

Would you like an endless stream of new coaching clients? Simply fill out the form to the right with your first name and email and I’ll send you free videos with step-by-step blueprints for generating a massive income from high paying coaching clients.

Fred Philips
Business Coach
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