Entry-Level Positions For Aspiring Executive Leadership Coaches
Entry-level roles for aspiring executive coaches include positions within companies employing coaches, allowing observation of "how they show up" and interaction with clients. Other suitable roles involve customer service, consulting, or troubleshooting, where developing "the art of asking open-ended questions" and a coaching mindset is possible through observation and experience.
Communication, Customer Service, Mentorship, Problem-Solving, Consulting
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Cheddy Matthews
Executive Leadership Coach
HED Space Coaching
NC State University 2000
UCLA EMBA 2024
Political Science, American Studies
Coaching, Speaking & Writing
Strategic Management and Executive
Disabled, Worked 20+ Hours in School, Veteran, Student Athlete, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Entry-level positions in a company that employs coaches can offer valuable experience. This could involve scheduling appointments, assisting with client acquisition, or participating in training sessions, allowing you to observe coaching styles and techniques.
2. Working in a consulting firm or a service-oriented industry can provide relevant skills. These roles often involve interacting with clients, troubleshooting problems, and thinking on your feet—all valuable aspects of coaching.
3. Seek mentorship from established coaches. Observe their methods, learn how they ask questions, and adopt a coaching mindset. This approach allows for practical learning and development of essential coaching skills.
Transcript
What entry-level positions are there as an executive coach that an undergraduate college student might consider?
This is an interesting question because most coaches work for themselves or for a coaching organization. The fees to get certified can be astronomical, extensive, expensive, and take a lot of time.
But do you need certification to be a coach? Absolutely not. Should you get some kind of certification? Yes. Do you need it? No.
What I would do is work in a company that has coaches. Hear the language, hear how they're spoken, and hear how they show up. Be the person that sets appointments for a coach, or be the person in the room when they're speaking, but not necessarily in the coaching engagement itself.
Sometimes they might do a training session or try to acquire new clients. Be around to hear those conversations, read the copy, and read what they're saying. Listen to the way they say certain things and process information, because coaches are always interacting with people. For example, they might say, "Tell me more about that," and then a coaching conversation just happens.
If you're in the space, you can see how easy it is for them to ask questions. Learn the art of asking open-ended questions.
Consider a consulting firm where you're helping people. Consulting and coaching are similar; you're two people offering to help. As a consultant, you're offering advice. You might say, "I'm going to advise you to do these things. These are things I'd recommend you do." So, you're outsourcing something to someone else, and they're going to give you advice or skill sets you may not have.
Mentorship is when I'm telling you to do things. "Do these three things, and these are the outcomes." But a coach is more about asking, "How can I help you? What are you thinking about? Why do you feel that way? What do you desire in life, and how are we going to get there?"
There are different ways to get there, but guess what? They all lead to a high level of performance or a higher result, whatever result you're looking for.
In a service-oriented industry, anywhere with people facing customers, customer service is a good one. Anytime you get to speak in front of people, anyone that has to do troubleshooting where you just interact and think on the fly – those are all good positions.
If you want to be a coach, you should align with a coach. You know, success leaves clues, and they'll leave clues. You start to change the way you think and develop that coaching mindset.