People often ask me what happens in executive coaching. It is a fair question. If you have never sat in a session, coaching can seem like a bit of a mystery. Is it advice? Is it therapy? Is it someone cheering from the sidelines while you do all the work?
None of those, quite. So let me pull back the curtain.
First, what is executive coaching?
Executive coaching is a structured, confidential working relationship focused on your professional life. You bring the goals. I bring the process, the questions and the accountability. Together we work on how you lead, how you decide, how you handle pressure, and how you move from where you are to where you want to be.
It is not me telling you what I would do in your shoes. You are an expert on your organisation and your career. My job is to help you think more clearly than you can on your own, and then to hold you to what you decide.
Most engagements run across a series of sessions. Six is a common shape, though we tailor the number to you. Here is how those sessions tend to unfold.
The first conversation
Your initial session runs for 45 minutes. It is a confidential conversation about your role, what you want to achieve and what has been getting in the way.
Some people arrive with a crisp goal. They want a promotion. A team that is struggling. A leadership presence they want to build. Others arrive with something vaguer. A sense that they are working hard and standing still. Both are perfectly good starting points.
By the end of this conversation we know whether coaching is the right fit, and roughly what we are working towards.
Session one: mapping the territory
The first full session is about getting honest about the present. Where are you now? What is working? What keeps repeating? We look at your role, your relationships at work, your habits under pressure, and the gap between how you want to lead and how things currently play out.
Then we turn all of that into two or three clear goals. Not ten. Real change needs focus, and vague goals produce vague results.
Sessions two and three: the real work
This is where coaching earns its keep. Each session takes a live situation from your working week and works it properly. A board paper you are avoiding. A conversation you keep postponing. A decision you have been circling for a month.
I will ask questions that slow your thinking down. What outcome do you actually want here? What are you assuming? What would you tell a colleague to do in your position? People are often surprised by how much they already know once someone makes them sit with the question.
You leave each session with something specific to do before the next one. That part matters more than most people expect.
Sessions four and five: practice and honest review
By now you are trying new things between sessions, and some of them will not go to plan. Good. This is where we look at what happened without flinching. What worked, what wobbled, and what the wobble tells us.
This middle stretch is also where old patterns push back. The diary fills up. The familiar habits feel easier. Part of my role is simply to hold the line with you while the new way of operating becomes normal.
Session six: review and what comes next
In the final session we go back to the goals from session one and measure honestly. What shifted? What did you learn about how you operate? What will you keep doing without me in the room?
Some people finish here. Others move to occasional sessions, monthly or quarterly, as a standing space to think. There is no right answer. The point of good coaching is that you need it less over time, not more.
| Session | What we focus on | What you leave with |
|---|---|---|
| Initial conversation (45 minutes) | Your role, your goals, and whether coaching is the right fit | A clear decision on whether and how to proceed |
| Session one | An honest stock take of where you are now | Two or three clear, focused goals |
| Sessions two and three | Working live situations from your week, properly | A specific action to take before the next session |
| Sessions four and five | Practice, honest review and holding the line | Adjusted strategies grounded in real results |
| Session six | Measuring progress against your original goals | A clear picture of what you will keep doing on your own |
Between sessions is where the change happens
I want to be straight with you about this. The sessions are scaffolding. The building happens in between, in the meetings you run differently, the conversations you stop avoiding, the boundaries you finally hold. If you are willing to do that part, coaching works. If you are hoping the sessions alone will do it, save your money.
Frequently asked questions
How many sessions of executive coaching will I need?
Most people see meaningful change across around six sessions, usually held fortnightly or monthly. Some finish there, and others continue with occasional sessions as a standing space to think. We agree with the shape of the engagement together at the start and adjust it as we go.
How is executive coaching different from therapy?
Therapy tends to focus on healing, mental health and your inner world, often looking back at where things began. Coaching focuses on your professional goals and moves forward from the present. Many senior people use both at different times. If something arises in coaching that needs therapeutic support, I will say so and help you find it.
Is what I say in coaching confidential?
Yes. What you discuss stays between you and your coach. Where an organisation engages coaching for its people, the scope of any reporting is agreed openly with everyone at the outset, and the content of individual sessions remains confidential.
Can my employer pay for executive coaching?
Yes. Organisations regularly engage coaching for individual leaders or teams. Contact us and we will set up the engagement in a way that works for you and your workplace.
Do I need to be an executive to benefit from coaching?
No. I work with executives, managers, emerging leaders, business owners and professionals preparing for their next role. If your goals sit in your working life and you want structured, confidential support to reach them, coaching is for you.
Can executive coaching sessions be held online?
Yes. I offer secure online executive coaching across Australia, with the same structure and support you would receive in person in Canberra.
Ready to see for yourself?
The easiest way to understand coaching is to sit in that first 45-minute conversation. You can learn more on our executive coaching page, book an appointment online, or call the practice on (02) 6198 3423. Bring a goal, or bring the vague sense that something needs to shift. Both are enough to begin.
Structured, confidential coaching for your working life
Dr Darleen Barton (hc) established DIPAC in 2009 with a vision of creating compassionate, professional, and practical support services for individuals, couples, families, and organisations navigating life’s more complex challenges.
Over many years Darleen has supported countless individuals, couples, and families through emotionally challenging periods, helping them build greater understanding, cooperation, healing, and meaningful long term change.