Executive coaching is a structured one-to-one partnership between a senior leader and a professional coach, focused on two or three specific leadership goals. Each engagement starts from 360-degree feedback and assessment data agreed with the leader and sponsor. Bodhih recommends six months of coaching, with a 60 to 90 minute session every 2 to 3 weeks.
- Recommended: 6 months, with a 60–90 minute session every 2–3 weeks (10–12 sessions)
- Level: Advanced · In person · Live virtual · Blended
- Designed with the ADDIE model and customised to your context
- Offered by Bodhih since 2008 to 2,000+ organisations across 7 regions
Also known as: executive coaching in India, leadership coaching, executive coach, 1:1 leadership coaching
Where and how: executive coaching training as an in-person workshop in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Jaipur; as a live online course; or delivered overseas in Dubai, Singapore and across the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Last reviewed by Siddharthan VGJ, Founder · Bodhih Training, Bengaluru
Why organisations invest in executive coaching
Senior leaders rarely get honest, structured feedback, and group programs cannot address the specific patterns that hold one leader back. Coaching works on those patterns directly, in the context of the leader's own role, team and stakeholders.
It is most useful at moments of change: a promotion, a new mandate, a merger, or a gap that 360° feedback has made visible. Because sessions run alongside real work, new behaviours are tried, reviewed and refined over months rather than discussed once.
The 2025 ICF Global Coaching Study counts about 123,000 coach practitioners worldwide, 15% more than in 2023.
In the same study, 54% of coaches said leadership and executive coaching is their specialisation.
What participants will be able to do
Clear, agreed goals
Leave the first month with two or three development goals that the leader, their manager and HR all agree on.
Self-awareness grounded in data
Understand how others experience their leadership, using 360° feedback and a behavioural assessment rather than opinion.
Better stakeholder influence
Map key stakeholders and plan conversations that build trust with peers, boards and senior clients.
Sharper decisions under pressure
Use simple reflection routines to slow down high-stakes decisions and separate facts, assumptions and emotions.
A stronger leadership team
Delegate more strategically and hold coaching conversations with direct reports, so capability grows below the leader.
Change others can see
Show progress on observable behaviours in a follow-up 360° pulse at the end of the engagement.
Who should attend
- Newly promoted business heads and directors in their first year
- CXOs and senior leaders taking on a larger or changed mandate
- High-potential leaders being prepared for succession
- Leaders whose 360° feedback shows a specific gap to close
- GCC and India-site leaders managing global stakeholders
- Founders and family-business leaders professionalising their leadership
Program outline
Recommended design, customised to your context after a short needs analysis.
01Chemistry and contractingModule 1 · Weeks 1–2+
- A no-obligation chemistry conversation to check fit between leader and coach
- Three-way contracting with the leader, their manager and HR
- Confidentiality agreed in writing: what is shared with the sponsor, and what is not
- Logistics: session rhythm, format and review points
02Discovery and baselineModule 2 · Weeks 2–4+
- 360° feedback from manager, peers and direct reports on AssessAll
- A behavioural or psychometric assessment, such as Harrison Assessments
- Stakeholder interviews where useful
- Debrief and selection of two or three development goals
03Development planModule 3 · Week 4+
- Goals written as observable behaviours, not traits
- Practice opportunities chosen from real upcoming work
- Success measures agreed with the sponsor
- A short written plan the leader owns
04Coaching sessionsModule 4 · Months 2–5+
- 60–90 minute sessions every two to three weeks, in person or live virtual
- Each session reviews experiments since the last one and plans the next
- Tools as needed: stakeholder mapping, feedback scripts, decision journals
- Short between-session support on request
05Mid-point reviewModule 5 · Month 3+
- Three-way check-in with the manager on visible progress
- Adjust goals if the role or context has changed
- Agree what evidence will show success at the end
06Close and sustainModule 6 · Month 6+
- A follow-up 360° pulse on the chosen behaviours
- Final three-way review of progress against the plan
- A personal sustainability plan for the next 6–12 months
- Recommendations for the leader's next development step
Sample workshop plan: 2 workshop days, hands-on
Executive coaching works one-to-one on the patterns that hold a senior leader back, in the context of their real role. This plan shows the two half-day intensives that anchor a six-month engagement. The first turns 360-degree feedback and assessment data into two or three observable goals the leader, their manager and HR agree on. The second, at month three, reviews experiments from real work, rehearses a high-stakes conversation with the coach and resets goals with the sponsor.
The leader leaves with an agreed development plan of two or three behavioural goals, practice opportunities and success measures.
- 09:30–10:00Where I am, where I am goingReflection
- 10:00–10:50Reading the 360Diagnostic
- 11:05–11:45Patterns under pressureCase clinic
- 11:45–12:20Writing the goalsBuild sprint
- 12:20–13:00Three-way agreementAction planning
The leader has evidence of progress, a rehearsed approach to a high-stakes situation and adjusted goals agreed with the sponsor.
- 09:30–10:10Experiment reviewReflection
- 10:10–10:50Stakeholder map, version twoDiagnostic
- 11:05–11:50Rehearsing the hard conversationReal-play
- 11:50–12:20Growing the team belowSkill drill
- 12:20–13:00Mid-point three-way checkAction planning
Every session’s activity, timings, outputs and materials, plus pre-work, a 90-day reinforcement plan and how impact is measured. Free, emailed to you instantly.
Recommended: a 6-month engagement with 10–12 sessions of 60–90 minutes every two to three weeks, anchored by two half-day in-person intensives (09:30–13:00): a discovery and goal-setting intensive in month 1 and a mid-point intensive in month 3. A sample design: every Bodhih program is customised after a short needs analysis.
How long is executive coaching?
The recommended engagement is six months, with 10 to 12 sessions of 60 to 90 minutes every two to three weeks, anchored by half-day intensives in months one and three. Sessions run in person or live virtual. Shorter engagements suit a single, focused goal.
What activities are included in executive coaching?
The leader works through their 360-degree feedback and behavioural assessment, replays recent situations to find repeating triggers, writes observable goals agreed three-way with their manager and HR, rehearses real high-stakes conversations with the coach and tracks experiments in a decision journal.
How we deliver it
Data before advice
Every engagement starts from 360° feedback and assessment evidence, so goals address what colleagues actually experience.
Three-way contracting
The leader, their manager and HR agree the goals and success measures, while session content stays confidential.
Work on real situations
Sessions focus on the leader's live challenges, and each ends with a specific experiment to try before the next meeting.
Coach matching
Leaders meet a proposed coach before committing, and we match on sector, seniority and style.
Tailored versions
Leadership transition coaching
For leaders in their first 100 days in a new or larger role, focused on early priorities, stakeholder relationships and building the team.
High-potential coaching
Shorter engagements for succession candidates, linked to a leadership assessment and a development plan the organisation supports.
Team coaching
Coaching for a leadership team as a unit, working on how the team decides, disagrees and holds itself accountable.
Coaching alongside a leadership program
One-to-one sessions added to a group leadership program, so each participant turns the program into personal action.
How we measure impact
We follow the Evaluate stage of the ADDIE model. A baseline 360° on AssessAll, Bodhih's AI assessment platform, is repeated as a focused pulse on the chosen behaviours at the end of the engagement. The sponsor rates progress at the mid-point and final reviews against the goals agreed at the start. Where relevant, we also track agreed business indicators such as team engagement or retention of key people.
Pair this program with AssessAll, Bodhih’s AI assessment platform, for pre- and post-program skill measurement.
Frequently asked questions
What is executive coaching?
Executive coaching is a confidential, one-to-one partnership in which a professional coach helps a senior leader work on specific goals, such as influence, delegation or leading through change. It uses structured questions, feedback data and practice between sessions. Unlike training, it is built entirely around one leader's role, context and development needs.
How long does executive coaching take?
We recommend six months, with a 60 to 90 minute session every two to three weeks, which is usually 10 to 12 sessions. Lasting behaviour change needs time to try new approaches at work and review them. Shorter engagements can work for a narrow goal, such as preparing for a new role.
How is executive coaching different from mentoring?
A mentor shares their own experience and advice, usually from the same field. A coach helps the leader examine their own thinking and behaviour through questions, feedback and experiments, and does not need to have done the leader's job. Many organisations use both, for different purposes.
How do you measure the results of executive coaching?
We agree two or three observable goals at the start with the leader and their manager. Progress is reviewed at the mid-point and at the end, and a focused 360° pulse on AssessAll shows whether colleagues see the change. Agreed business indicators, such as team engagement, can be tracked too.
Is executive coaching confidential?
Yes. What the leader discusses in sessions stays between the leader and the coach. The sponsor sees the agreed goals, the progress reviews and the summary results of the 360° pulse. These boundaries are written into the coaching agreement before the first session.
Who is executive coaching for?
It suits senior managers, business heads and CXOs, especially at transition points such as a promotion or a new mandate. It also suits high-potential leaders preparing for bigger roles, and leaders whose feedback shows a specific gap. It works best when the leader wants to change, rather than being sent to be fixed.
Can executive coaching be done online?
Yes. Sessions can run live virtual, in person in Bengaluru or at your location, or in a blended mix. Many leaders in India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia prefer virtual sessions for regular meetings, with an in-person start and close.