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50 TOP EXECUTIVE COACHES
THOUGHT LEADERS
Richard J. Leider
The Inherent Dilemmas of
Career/Life Coaching
Richard J. Leider is the Founder and Partner of The In-
venture Group, a training firm in Minneapolis, Min-
nesota. He is the author of the international best-sellers
Repacking Your Bags, Whistle While You Work and The
Power of Purpose. Richard is a speaker, writer, and
coach, and is a nationally recognized leader in the career
development field. He can be reached by e-mail at
RJLPurpose@aol.com.
ertrude Stein once wrote that “a rose is a rose is a rose.” For most exec-
utives, the poem might read, “a coach is a coach is a coach.” Many as-
sume that coaching is a generic activity for which any good coach will do.
Executives who think that w ay fail to ask the question “Why do I need a
coach?” and tend to focus on “How do I get a good one?” Although both
questions are important, answering the first is a prerequisite to getting the
right answer for the second.
Executive coaching runs a continuum of approaches ranging from working
with individual leaders on their personal effectiveness to helping senior
teams drive large-scale organizational change. Career/life coaching has as-
pects that straddle that spectrum. Although it has implications and benefits
to the organization, it focuses primarily on the needs of the individual. The
career/life coach is not an advice giver or a therapist. Instead, the coach is
someone who establishes a long-term trusting relationship with a person who
wants to make a change in their life or career, or, as is often the case, their
life and career.
Why do successful people hire career/life coaches? They know that if they
want to get extraordinary results, they must take the risks to grow. A good
coach can help them do that by giving them objective assessments of where
they stand, a clear perspective on the best way forward, and the tools and
discipline to get there.
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