FAQs/Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about Executive Coaching
Some say that the Saguaro cactus of the American Southwest represent the spirits of our ancestors, and that they stand in the desert as watchful guardians.
What is executive coaching?
Executive coaching is a professional, rigorous and confidential process committed to presidential success, sustainability and well-being.
Executive coaching is a highly effective tool and resource to develop, renew and advance presidential and cabinet-level leadership.
Executive coaching is especially valuable during transitions, strategy development and execution, and to help solve difficult challenges facing presidents and their institutions.
What is the difference between executive coaching, consulting, mentoring, and therapy?
LaStorta in not a consulting firm. LaStorta is an Executive Coaching Practice committed to enhancing college and university presidents’ leadership and well-being. Executive Coaching is at once tactical, strategic and developmental in its approach. It focuses on forward, future leadership action. While the coach brings a deep background of experience in presidential leadership, the focus is the expertise and rigor in the coaching process.
I am new to executive coaching. What is the process?
The process depends on the needs and desires of the client. Typically, a coaching engagement is about 12-months, depending on the agenda of the client. Several assessments, including The Leadership Circle 360 Profile, will be administered to determine a client baseline. From the baseline, the client and coach will collaborate on crafting the client’s agenda for the coaching engagement, including outcomes. The client will have up to 20 hours, plus unlimited e-mails and check-in calls, over the course of the coaching engagement. On average, the coach and client meet, either by phone or in-person, one to two hours per month. The coach holds the client’s agenda front and center and serves as an accountability companion throughout the process.
While coaching is rigorous, the coaching process is simple and straightforward:
Context – agreement and baseline assessment
Experience – design and discovery - your background of experience
Coaching – reflection and action
Evaluation – results
Am I coachable?
Professional coaching is demanding and intense work. Presidents who are serious about their impact and the quality of their leadership, who are secure in who they are, who want the best for their institutions or organizations, will benefit most from executive coaching. Executive coaching is about helping leaders be more effective. If you don’t believe you can be more effective then you likely are not coachable and you’re likely less effective than you think.
Isn’t executive coaching for struggling leaders?
To the contrary, Executive Coaching is best for high potential and effective leaders. Building on presidents’ strengths provides the greatest return on the investment of executive coaching.
Is Executive Coaching regulated?
The primary and most widely recognized professional guild and regulatory body for coaching is the International Coach Federation (ICF). Coaches you hire should be members of the ICF and adhere to its ethical guidelines.
What is Spiritual Companioning?
Spiritual Companioning, or Spiritual Direction, ultimately is not about achieving results but about renewing spirit and deepening one’s relationship with God and the Holy in one’s life. Spiritual Companioning is a process of deep listening and gentle guiding. It is a sacred process where the Spirit directs and blesses the process, sometimes referred to as the Third Chair, and the spiritual director is simply a guide to hold the space for the directee or seeker to explore and engage their relationship with God.
What if my institution is sponsoring my executive coaching?
oLeaders have two primary options when engaging an executive coach. First, the leader can pursue the engagement on their own and self-fund the engagement. Under this scenario it is entirely the leader’s discretion to disclose the engagement to his/her institution.
Second, if the institution is sponsoring (funding) the executive coaching engagement, the appropriate institutional representative, e.g., board member for a president or president for a cabinet member, will most often be included in helping to shape the overall executive coaching agenda, or Executive Growth Plan. During the Engagement Phase, we will negotiate to what extent assessment results are shared, how or to what extent they are used, set sponsor expectations regarding accountability, and clarify confidentiality.
Is executive coaching confidential?
Yes. Confidentiality and trust are essential in the executive coaching partnership and process. Therefore, you are assured confidentiality in the executive coaching process. Though executive coaching does not enjoy the legal protections offered by attorney-client or doctor-patient relationships, LaStorta holds to the spirit of such privileges. Thus, the protection of confidentiality is claimed by you and you are free to disclose any and all aspects of the executive coaching engagement. Neither the executive coach nor LaStorta may disclose without your written permission that you are a client of LaStorta. The executive coach may not disclose the substance and content of your conversations, Executive Growth Plan, or any aspect of the coaching engagement. This applies to the sponsoring institution. The sponsor is entitled to know that the leader is showing up for sessions, is prepared, is engaged and making progress. The sponsor is not entitled to the substance of the content of executive coaching sessions.
Exceptions to confidentiality: Executive coaches may be legally compelled to report the commission of a crime, the credible intention to commit a crime, and when a client is harming him/herself, harming others, or currently being harmed by others.
How long is a typical executive coaching engagement?
A typical executive coaching engagement at the presidential, cabinet and dean levels is 12 months. However, all engagements are customized to meet the leader’s agenda. It is rare for an engagement to be less than six months.
How do coaching sessions work?
The global pandemic is influencing the way we all work. However, it is common for executive coaching to occur via telephone, Zoom/Google Meet/Microsoft Teams. Also, e-mails and texts ensures leader accessibility to his/her executive coach when and where it is needed.
Typically, a leader and executive coach will meet once or twice monthly for 60 minutes. The real work of executive coaching occurs between coaching sessions. The leader has access to his/her executive coach at all times. We craft a meeting schedule based on the needs and desires of the leader and the EGP.
What is the cost of executive coaching?
The professional fee is calculated based on the scope of the engagement and value being provided. LaStorta executive coaches do not work based on hourly rates, but based on professional engagement fee. Our professional fees consider the operational and endowment size of an institution if it is serving as a sponsor. This allows us to ensure that all leaders and institutions, regardless of size and resource base, have access to this critical and necessary resource.
How are executive coaches matched with leaders?
We begin the process by responding to inquiries for executive coaching. Once we determine a sense of scope, we identify up to three LaStorta Executive Coaches. We forward brief bios to the leader and schedule one-on-one conversations with the leader and the coaches whom he/she wishes to interview. The next step is for the leader to choose the coach with whom he/she prefers to work.
