Executive coaching sits in an unusual category — part strategic advising, part accountability partner, part sounding board — and its value depends heavily on matching the right coach to the right stage of a leader's career. Early-stage managers often benefit most from coaching focused on foundational leadership skills, like delegation and difficult conversations, while senior executives tend to get more value from coaching centred on strategic thinking and organisational influence. Ask a prospective coach about their specific methodology, since some lean heavily on structured frameworks while others take a more conversational, exploratory approach, and fit matters for whether sessions feel genuinely useful. Measurable goals should be set at the outset of any coaching relationship, even if some outcomes are inherently qualitative, since vague engagements without defined objectives tend to fade in perceived value over time. It's also worth asking a coach directly for references from past clients in similar roles, since generic testimonials reveal less than a direct conversation about specific outcomes achieved. A coaching relationship that never challenges existing thinking is unlikely to be delivering real value beyond pleasant conversation.