Unveiling the Distinctions: Executive Coaching vs. Life Coaching & Other Roles - A Comprehensive Guide

Finally, let me address the difference between Life Coaching and Executive Coaching.

There are significant differences between these two:

◀️ Life coaching predominantly revolves around questioning techniques.

▶️ However, Executive Coaching encompasses a comprehensive skill set far beyond mere questioning, including:

🔷 Coaching skills & methodologies

🔷 Corporate expertise

🔷 Hands-on leadership experience (rooted in practice, not just theory)

🔷 Deep knowledge of Organizational Psychology

🔷 Deep understanding of Human Psychology & Behaviours

🔷 Research insights of Brain Science and Neuroscience

🔷 Philosophical perspectives

The difference between them serves a distinct purpose, and requires different skillsets:

1️⃣. Focus:

     Executive coaching is tailored to holistic development of

♥️ Personal development

♥️ Professional development

♥️ Leadership enhancement

within the corporate context.

whereas life coaching’s primarily involves asking questions to stimulate self-reflection and personal growth for personal goals & life transitions only.

1) . Personal Development 

What is Personal Development?

Personal development refers to the process of self-improvement, growth, and self-awareness aimed at enhancing one's quality of life, achieving personal goals, and maximizing potential. It encompasses various aspects of an individual's life, including their physical, emotional, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. Personal development involves continuous learning, self-reflection, and taking intentional actions to develop new skills, habits, and perspectives.

There are 6 areas of Personal Development:

• Self-awareness

Self-awareness encompasses both internal and external dimensions. Internal self-awareness involves understanding our own values, passions, aspirations, blind spots, personal barriers, unconscious biases, reactions (including thoughts, feelings, behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses), and impact on others. External self-awareness, on the other hand, refers to understanding how others perceive us across these same dimensions.

This is the area EVERY executive needs to work on.

I have heard CEOs say, 'I am beyond coaching,' 'I have been working in the industry for over 30 years,' or 'I am already a CEO, what help do you think I still need?'

However, there are a few key aspects of self-awareness that everybody, including CEOs, needs to work on:

a. Blind Spots

It's inherent in our nature as humans that we are unable to see the things on our own backs, which are our blind spots. 

We need someone who can identify these blind spots and point them out to us, then we can make intentional decisions critical to our work and lives.

I can humbly say that for nearly every CEO I have coached, I have pinpointed at least 1-2 significant things they were not aware of but were critical to their business, key high-potential 

talents, organizational culture, or decision-making. Some of the leaders even experienced the moment of cold sweats when I presented these blind spots to them because if they 

continued that way, the impact could significantly damage their people and, consequently, their business. 

The interesting thing is that in every scenario, we did not plan to identify blind spots. This means it’s not that we agreed in advance, “Ok, in today’s session we are going to identify your blind spots.” Coaching doesn’t work like that. Usually, when they have something in mind to speak about for each session, I listen to them, and while I am listening, I grasp something

that does’t seem right. And then I pinpoint the things to them. So, it is totally spontaneous to identify their blind spots.

b. Personal Barriers

You know many times, leaders logically and rationally understand the direction they and their organizations need to head in, and also know what actions they need to take; but, they’re just not moving forward. 

Why? It’s because their personal barriers are hindering them. They know what they need to do, but they are just not able to do it.

c. Unconscious Biases 

Unconscious biases are those we are not aware of, 

so we don’t even know they are existing in us. In fact, there are several types of biases. However, I’d like to share something about unconscious biases caused by our own brains. 

Google’s researches have found out that our brain receives 11 million bits of information every moment. However, our brain can only consciously process 40 bits.  

So it easily can see that our brain is hugely overloaded. Since the brain cannot process all the 11 million bits of information, but the brain has to deliver something to us because we are the master – our brain only serves us – so the poor brain has no choice but to make shortcuts in processing all the information. That’s also how unconscious biases are caused.

All these three aspects (Blind spots, Personal barriers and Unconscious biases) are not intentional decisions made by any CEO. They are simply part of human nature or occur unconsciously.

The reality is, even though we may not be aware of them, they continuously impact our decision-making processes.

Now, consider that CEOs are also subject to these influences. Therefore, from all three perspectives, as the coach, I would assist them with personal development to work around those blind spots, personal barriers, and unconscious biases.

• Mental

Through activities and practices aimed at enhancing cognitive abilities and overall mental well-being.

• Social

Encompasses activities and efforts aimed at improving one's relationships, communication skills, and interactions with others.

• Emotional

Involves understanding, managing, and harnessing one's emotions in order to cultivate emotional well-being, resilience, and healthy relationships. It encompasses various aspects of emotional intelligence and self-awareness.

• Spiritual

Explores and nurturing one's inner self, values, beliefs, and sense of purpose, as well as cultivating a connection to something greater than oneself.

• Physical

Pertains to activities and practices that enhance physical health, fitness, and overall well-being.

2). Professional Development

Professional Development refers to the continuous process of enhancing skills, knowledge, and competencies relevant to executives’ roles and responsibilities within an organization.

It aims to support executives in adapting to changes in your industries, staying abreast of emerging trends, and honing leadership abilities to drive organizational success. Professional development for executives typically includes skills such as:

• Strategic Thinking
• Organisation Development
• Effective Executive Communication
• Influential Skills
• Stakeholder Management
• Change Management
• Global Mindset
• Cultural Intelligence
• Innovative Thinking
• Public Relations and Reputation Management
• Team Building
• Strategic Planning and Execution Excellence
• Leverage Network

3). Leadership Development

In fact, Leadership development is part of professional development. However, leadership is a significantly broad topic, as it includes a few levels of leadership so Leadership Development absolutely should be a stand alone development area for executives.

There are 4 levels of leadership in total:

• Level I: Self-leadership

Self-leadership refers to the ability that you have to influence your own behavior and guide yourself toward achieving your goals and objectives. It involves taking responsibility for your own actions, thoughts, and emotions, and proactively managing yourself to maximize personal effectiveness and success.

• Level II: One-on-One Leadership

One-on-one leadership is about creating such side-by-side leadership relationships. It is a process for increasing the quality and quantity of conversations between managers and direct reports. These alignment conversations not only help people perform better, but they also help everyone involved feel better about themselves and each other.

• Level III: Team Leadership

A leader effectively guides and coordinates a group of individuals toward achieving common goals and objectives. Unlike one-on-one leadership, which focuses on leading one person at a time, team leadership involves leading a collective group with diverse skills, backgrounds, and perspectives.

• Level IV: Organisational Leadership

Organizational Leaders (CEOs, GMs, and Managing Directors) effectively build and lead a high-performing organisation. It involves establishing a clear vision, fostering a positive organizational culture, and creating structures and processes that enable individuals to work together toward common goals. Organizational leaders play a critical role in shaping the direction, culture, and performance of the organization.

2️⃣. Expertise:     

Executive coaches need a deep understanding of corporate dynamics, leadership principles, organizational psychology, and neuroscience to effectively guide executives through complex challenges and help them achieve professional goals.

3️⃣. Outcome Orientation:    

💎 Executive coaching not only focuses on achieving specific business objectives, enhancing leadership effectiveness, and driving organizational success, but also transform executives holistically.   

💎 Transform them from being ineffective to ultimately effective leaders; from effective to more effective:)    

💎 Executive coaching holistically unlocks their potential, transcending them to become much greater versions of themselves, capable of achieving extraordinary feats at work and in life.   

💎 The transformation goes beyond what they have previously imagined possible, empowering them to make profound impacts both professionally and personally.

Additionally, take note the difference between the following roles and Executive Coach:

• A Consultant isn’t an Executive Coach 

  Consultants provide solutions but they can’t facilitate personal development, due to lack of coaching skills & methodologies. 

• A Mentor isn’t an Executive Coach 

  Mentors and Advisors offer guidance based on their own job and professional experience but can’t facilitate personal development.  

Retired bosses, CEOs, & experienced managers aren’t Executive Coaches if they are not trained with coaching skills. They act as mentors, providing advice but can’t facilitate personal development nor professional development. Both domains are achieved through a systemic approach.

• A Life Coach isn’t an Executive Coach 

  Life Coaches focus on life coaching, life transition and  sometimes on personal development, but can’t provide professional and leadership development.

• Also, even if you have the highest level of coaching credentials, BUT don’t possess all the other qualities and skills in combination that Executive Coaching requires, such as  Corporate expertise,  Hands-on leadership experience (rooted in practice, not just theory), Deep knowledge of Organizational Psychology,  you still won’t be able to conduct executive coaching but a life coach.

(I’m now waiting for arrows…😌)

Recommend that organizations be clearly aware of these distinctions, and ensure to engage the right coaches with the appropriate expertise to support your leaders in achieving professional goals and driving organizational performance.

Catherine Li-Yunxia (Transforming leaders, Moving the world) is a Top Global CEO Coach & Executive Coach who works with CEOs, C-Suite Executives, and Board Members.

She utilizes Brain-Based Neuro-Transformation Coaching methodology in her holistic coaching programs to transform and transcend global leaders across industries and regions.

Catherine specializes in CEO Succession and CEO Transition.

She has received global recognition, including "LinkedIn Top Voice 2022", "LinkedIn Top Executive Coaching Voice 2023", and "Top 10 Most Effective Global CEO Coaches & Executive Coaches 2023".