Executive career coaching is a business service that focuses on identifying and developing work goals for mainly senior level employees. It's a component of life coaching that helps senior executives or managers figure out where they want to take their careers next. Executive career coaches work with individuals to set goals and create the strategies needed to achieve them. Basically, executive career coaching is concerned with the quality and direction of senior workers' careers.
Upper level management or other senior personnel may seek executive career coaching on their own or through their workplace. Some corporations offer the service to their top executives as a part of each employee's career development program. The expectation of these career coaches is to work with each employee in meeting his or her advancement goals within the policies and structure of the specific corporation. By increasing the quality and job satisfaction levels of their top staff, companies hope to retain these workers.
Career coaching for executives who may be between jobs or looking to change their line of work is often centered on finding out what motivates and interests them. It could be a new type of work or a position related to what the person had already been doing. The economy and what kinds of executive or management jobs are in demand are considerations in executive career coaching done to help find the client employment.
For senior management level executives who want to change their career direction, a business coach is likely to give them aptitude and interest tests. Aptitude tests are designed to evaluate the skills and talent a person is likely to have toward a particular job. Interest evaluation tests show individual preferences for certain work tasks and situations over others. For example, some people enjoy working on their own more than others do.
Senior level workers are often in the need of executive career coaching if they've reached the top or close to it in their chosen field, yet still want to keep progressing. Identifying new areas in their field and the training or education required can usually be accomplished through career coaching. In helping their clients with further career direction, executive career coaches often examine what motivates each person. For example, one executive or manager may want even more control in a company; if he or she has already reached the highest position possible, then starting his or her own business may be something the coach would help the client set goals to achieve.
