Elevating Your Coaching Quality While Building Your Business
You didn't climb the corporate ladder by delivering mediocre results. So, why would you build a coaching practice any differently?
For executives entering the coaching world, the real challenge isn't choosing between quality and profitability; it's discovering how exceptional coaching can become your most powerful business strategy. While in my experience, much attention is given to business aspects—marketing, client acquisition and revenue generation—the fundamental quality of coaching services is paramount to sustainable success.
Today, I'd like to explore the critical elements that ensure excellence in coaching practice, creating a foundation upon which a thriving coaching enterprise can be built.
The Often Overlooked Foundation: Coaching Excellence
In the excitement of launching a coaching business, many new coaches focus primarily on business strategies, neglecting the very service they're selling. This oversight creates significant risk, both to client outcomes and to business sustainability. High coaching quality isn't merely an ethical imperative; it's a business necessity. Clients who experience transformative coaching become your most powerful marketing assets through referrals and testimonials.
The clients who have become my most important sources of referrals are those who experienced transformational coaching that resulted in breakthroughs—big wins with their teams or promotions at work. Those transformational experiences occurred because I focused on becoming an exceptional coach and continuing to grow my expertise.
4 Essential Elements Of Coaching Excellence
Coach certification through an accredited coaching school isn't optional in today's professional coaching landscape. This requirement serves dual purposes.
First, certification programs provide structured skill development. Coaching is a precise discipline requiring specific competencies that must be learned, practiced and refined. These programs offer systematic training in foundational coaching methodologies, ethical frameworks and client-centered approaches that transform well-meaning conversations into powerful catalytic experiences.
Second, certification provides essential market credibility. Organizations investing in executive coaching are increasingly demanding certified coaches. HR departments and procurement teams often list certification as a minimum requirement when selecting coaching providers. For those building a coaching business, this credibility opens doors to corporate clients.
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) offers progressive certification levels—ACC, PCC and MCC—that reflect a coach's experience and demonstrated competency. While the initial investment may seem substantial, it represents the entry point to the professional coaching community and is a prerequisite for sustainable growth.
Self-reflection represents the difference between coaches who plateau and those who continuously evolve. Implementing a structured reflection process after each coaching session creates a feedback loop that accelerates professional development.
Effective reflection includes examining key moments in coaching conversations, identifying missed opportunities for powerful questions, recognizing when assumptions may have influenced your approach and evaluating the overall impact of your interventions.
For me, this means proactively scheduling time after each coaching session to reflect and make notes to support both the client's growth and my own. When I do this regularly, I become more aligned and can provide the best coaching experience for my clients.
This reflective cycle transforms every client interaction into a learning opportunity, allowing coaches to refine their approach continually and prevent falling into comfortable patterns that may limit effectiveness.
The coaching profession continues to evolve rapidly. Maintaining relevance and maximizing impact requires commitment to lifelong learning through steps like:
• Advanced assessment certifications (Hogan, Birkman, DISC) that provide objective data to enrich coaching conversations. My certifications in Birkman and Hogan have opened doors to client opportunities while building my expertise.
• Specialized coaching certificates focused on specific contexts such as team coaching or leadership transitions. My team coaching diploma gave me deep understanding and expertise to support teams and grow that area of my practice.
• Ongoing study of emerging research relevant to human development and behavioral change.
The most successful coaches view education as an ongoing investment rather than a one-time achievement, allocating both time and financial resources to expanding their capabilities.
I believe coach supervision is one of the most underutilized resources to build coaching excellence. Unlike many therapeutic disciplines where supervision is mandated, coaching supervision is optional—but it offers tremendous value.
Supervision provides a structured relationship with a certified supervisor who helps examine your coaching practice, identifying blind spots, processing difficult client situations, maintaining appropriate boundaries and integrating business considerations without compromising coaching quality.
Beyond developmental benefits, supervision connects coaches to a community of practice, reducing the isolation that independent coaches often experience. My experience with both group and individual supervision has led to rich awareness, deep relationships with other coaches and expanded business opportunities, making the investment well worth it.
Integrating Excellence And Business Success
Certification, reflection, continuing education and supervision constitute the foundation of coaching excellence. Far from distracting from business development, these practices enhance success by creating genuine differentiation in a crowded marketplace. When you can articulate your value proposition with authentic confidence, you generate consistent, remarkable client experiences that drive referrals and allow you to command premium rates based on demonstrable expertise.
The most successful coaches recognize that business development and professional excellence are complementary rather than competing priorities. By maintaining an unwavering commitment to coaching quality while implementing sound business strategies, you create sustainable practices that deliver both financial rewards and profound client impact. In an industry where reputation is currency, investing in coaching excellence may be the most strategic business decision you can make.
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Why Michael Saylor Calls Strategy's STRC Preferred Stock His Firm's 'iPhone Moment'
Strategy (MSTR), the bitcoin-focused corporate entity formerly known as MicroStrategy, launched its Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (STRC) late last month — an offering Executive Chairman Michael Saylor has described as the company's 'iPhone moment.' The STRC preferred stock has already raised $2.5 billion, and a newly opened $4.2 billion at-the-market (ATM) program could extend its scale even further — offering high-yield dividends backed by bitcoin and designed to appeal to yield-seeking investors. What is STRC, and how does it work? STRC (marketed as 'Stretch') is a variable-rate, perpetual preferred stock designed to deliver stable pricing, strong yield, and easy access for income-focused investors seeking indirect bitcoin exposure. The shares pay a monthly dividend—initially set at 9% annualized—based on a $100 par value. Strategy may adjust that dividend monthly, within rules meant to keep STRC trading close to its $100 target price. Each share of STRC is overcollateralized with bitcoin at a ratio of roughly 5-to-1, meaning that for every dollar of STRC issued, Strategy holds approximately five dollars' worth of BTC. The security sits senior to other preferred stocks like STRD, STRK, and the firm's common equity, but remains junior to debt and the STRF preferred series. Dividends are cumulative and compound if unpaid. Importantly, if any month's payment is missed, a dividend 'stopper' activates — preventing payouts to junior securities until STRC is made whole. The stock can be redeemed at the issuer's option once listed on Nasdaq (which it now is), and it includes a fundamental change put right at liquidation value plus any accrued dividends. The security is engineered to function like a high-yield savings instrument with bitcoin backing — without the volatility of direct crypto holdings or the duration risk of traditional preferreds. Strategy raises $2.5 billion in STRC IPO The company's IPO of STRC raised approximately $2.5 billion through the issuance of 28 million shares priced at $90 each. The offering was announced on July 21 and closed on July 29. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including further bitcoin purchases and working capital. The board of directors declared an initial monthly dividend of $0.80 per share, with payment scheduled for Aug. 31, 2025, to shareholders of record as of August 15. Saylor described STRC as a clean, scalable instrument that solves the constraints of previous capital tools like convertible bonds and complex long-duration preferred shares. The product was designed to appeal not only to institutional allocators but also to yield-seeking retail investors. Inside the $4.2 billion ATM program On July 31, Strategy announced a new sales agreement allowing the company to issue up to $4.2 billion worth of STRC shares through an at-the-market (ATM) offering. This gives Strategy the ability to tap liquidity gradually, adjusting issuance based on market conditions and pricing. Internal guidance suggests that Strategy intends to keep issuance within a narrow band — avoiding sales below $99 or above $101 (before fees), consistent with its target of maintaining a stable $100 trading price. The firm explicitly stated it does not plan to apply this discipline to its other preferred equity programs, reinforcing STRC's unique positioning. The ATM program allows Strategy to meet capital needs flexibly, support its dividend policy, and scale BTC acquisitions further while preserving shareholder alignment. Why Saylor calls STRC his 'iPhone moment' Michael Saylor sees STRC not just as another capital-raising tool — but as a turning point in corporate finance. During Strategy's Q2 2025 earnings call on July 31, he called the product his firm's 'iPhone moment,' comparing its potential to the kind of consumer breakthrough that redefined an entire industry. At the heart of Saylor's vision is STRC's accessibility. Unlike Strategy's earlier instruments — such as STRK, STRF, and STRD — which he praised as innovative but too complex or volatile for mass adoption, STRC is designed to function more like a yield-enhanced savings account. 'If I walk down the street and you ask a hundred people, 'Do you want a high-yield bank account?' 99 out of 100 say yes,' he said, underscoring the simplicity of the pitch. He believes STRC solves two core problems: it strips away long-term volatility by targeting short duration and low price fluctuation, and it offers a consistent premium over typical bank yields. 'We've stripped down to a one-month duration and it pays 500 basis points above your bank account,' he said, describing the instrument's 9% variable monthly dividend. Importantly, STRC is engineered to trade near par ($100), giving investors peace of mind — especially those sensitive to price swings. Saylor emphasized that previous products lost retail traction when their principal value fluctuated by 5–10%. In contrast, STRC's goal is to hold close to par even as bitcoin prices move, thanks to its heavy overcollateralization with BTC. 'If Stretch actually hits its par and it trades with low volatility, then you could, in theory, sell a hundred billion dollars of it, two hundred billion dollars of it,' he told analysts. That, he argued, would enable Strategy to massively scale its bitcoin holdings without selling any BTC — effectively using its treasury as collateral to monetize liquidity at retail scale. In Saylor's view, this combination — simplicity, stability, and yield — is what makes STRC transformational. Just as the iPhone reimagined how users interacted with mobile computing, STRC could redefine how companies tap capital markets in a bitcoin-native way. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
CX Is Changing—And If You Don't Like Change, You're Going To Hate Extinction
Depending on which studies and articles you read, customer service and customer experience (CX) are getting better … or they're getting worse. Our customer service and CX research found that 60% of consumers had better customer service experiences than last year, and in general, 82% are happy with the customer service they receive from the companies and brands with which they do business. Yet, some studies claim customer service is worse than ever. Regardless, more companies than ever are investing in improving CX. Some nail it, but even with an investment, some still struggle. Another telling stat is the growing number of companies attending CX conferences. Last month, more than 5,000 people representing 1,382 companies attended and participated in Contact Center Week (CCW), the world's largest conference dedicated to customer service and customer experience. This was the largest attendance to date, representing a 25% growth over last year. Many recognized brands and CX leaders attended and shared their wisdom from the main stage and breakout rooms. The expo hall featured demonstrations of the latest and greatest solutions to create more effective customer support experiences. The primary reason I attend conferences like CCW is to stay current with the latest advancements and solutions in CX and to gain insight into how industry leaders think. AI took center stage for most of the presentations. No doubt, it continues to improve and gain acceptance. With that in mind, here are some of my favorite takeaways with my commentary from the sessions I attended: AI for Training Becky Ploeger, global head of reservations and customer care at Hilton, uses AI to create micro-lessons for employee training. Hilton is using Centrical's platform to take various topics and turn them into coaching modules. Employees participate in simulations that replicate customer issues. Can We Trust AI? As excited as Ploeger is about AI (and agentic AI), there is still trepidation. CX leaders must recognize that AI is not yet perfect and will occasionally provide inaccurate information. Ploeger said, 'We have years and years of experience with agents. We only have six months of experience with agentic AI.' Wrong Information from AI Costs a Company Money—or Does it? Gadi Shamia, CEO of Replicant, an AI voice technology company, commented about the mistakes AI makes. In general, CX leaders are complaining that going digital is costing the company money because of the bad information customers receive. Shamia asks, 'How much are you losing?' While bad information can cause a customer to defect to a competitor, so does a bad experience with a live customer service rep. So, how often does AI provide incorrect information? How many of those customers leave versus trying to connect with an agent? The metrics you choose to define success with a digital self-service experience need to include more than measuring bad experiences. Mark Killick, SVP of experiential operations at Shipt, weighed in on this topic, saying, 'If we don't fix the problems of providing bad information, we'll just deliver bad information faster.' Making the Case to Invest in AI Mariano Tan, president and CEO of Prosodica says, 'Nothing gets funded without a clear business case.' The person in charge of the budget for customer service and CX initiatives (typically the CFO in larger companies) won't 'open the wallet' without proof that the expenditure will yield a return on investment (ROI). People in charge of budgets like numbers, so when you create your 'clear business case,' be sure to include the numbers that make a compelling reason to invest in CX. Simply saying, 'We'll reduce churn,' isn't enough. How much churn—that's a number. How much does it mean to the bottom line—another number. Numbers sell! Final Words: Love Change, or Else Neil Gibson, SVP of CX at FedEx, was part of a panel and shared a quote that is the perfect way to end the article. AI is rapidly changing the way we do business. We must keep up, or else. Gibson quoted Fred Smith, the first CEO and founder of FedEx, who said, 'If you don't like change, you're going to hate extinction.' In other words, keep up or watch your competition blow past you.
Wall Street Journal
6 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
Microsoft Is an AI Darling, but Its Core Businesses Are Booming Too
Microsoft's MSFT -1.76%decrease; red down pointing triangle blockbuster earnings last week cemented its status as one of the biggest winners of the artificial-intelligence boom. Investors should draw additional comfort from what is happening with less fanfare elsewhere in its business. Outside the AI race, Microsoft is minting money from corporate customers spending on regular technology—long a sweet spot for the company.
