What changes in an hour you give yourself?

An executive’s day is often spent answering other people’s questions. The team is waiting for a decision. Senior management has expectations. The time left for thinking between meetings keeps shrinking.

Executive coaching offers, within this flow, time that is set aside for you alone.

You don’t need to come to a session with a big problem. You can come with a decision that occupies your mind, a relationship you find difficult, or a situation you can’t yet put a name to.

For one hour, the agenda belongs to you.

Some of the sentences I have heard from executives during coaching describe this process very well, I think:

Thinking time set aside just for me.

Hours in which I can talk with myself.

Sessions in which I can look at myself as if I were someone else.

When you are inside an issue, it is easy to circle around the same thoughts. When you step back a little, you may see an option you hadn’t noticed before. Sometimes you also realise that the real issue is different from the one you wanted to talk about at the start.

Not every session needs to end with a big decision. A new question can also move your thinking forward.

Questions to ask yourself

• Is there a time when I truly listen to myself?
• Which issue have I been putting off for a long time?
• If I looked at my situation from the outside, what would I see?
• What question do I need to ask myself more openly?

Executive coaching sometimes does not begin with an answer. It begins with recognising the value of the time we give ourselves.

Related page: Executive coaching