What are career coaches and how do you find one?

Learn how coaching works and how to access it.

Before You Start

Goal: Clarify the role coaches play in career development and learn how to make the most of a career coach.

Article: Coming soon from LeanIn.Org. See below for key takeaways.

Meeting Agenda · Approx. 60 mins

  • Member Updates · 10 mins
  • Icebreaker · 10 mins
  • Key Takeaways · 5 mins
  • Discussion Questions · 20 mins
  • Write It Down · 2 mins
  • One Action · 10 mins
  • Wrap-Up · 5 mins

👋 Member Updates · 10 mins

Go around your Circle and share personal updates. Keep them brief and focused on significant changes or important decisions since the last time you met. It's OK not to have one every month. If you have a One Action update from last time, share that too.

🧊 Icebreaker · 10 mins

Invite everyone in the group to share. Keep answers to one or two minutes per person.

Have you ever had a career coach? Would you like one?

💡 Key Takeaways · 5 mins

  • Coaches are an investment in yourself. Whereas mentors and sponsors help you for free, coaches are paid for, either by you or your employer.
  • Coaches help you build specific skills. They give expert advice, provide feedback, and help you close gaps in your knowledge and expertise. They can be especially helpful for building your leadership presence and brand.
  • Women can miss out. Men are more likely to have coaching paid for by employers, while women are more likely to pay for it themselves. 22% of men have had coaching through their employer, versus only 16% of women. But 58% of people who pay for coaching themselves are women, versus 42% who are men.

💬 Discussion Questions · 20 mins

Move through the questions at the pace that suits your Circle. You don't need to cover every one. Pick the prompts that resonate most.

  1. If you've ever had a coach, what was the impact on your career?
  2. If you haven't had a coach, have you ever considered getting a coach? What stopped you: cost, not knowing where to start, or not feeling "senior enough" to need one?
  3. If you searched for a career coach today, what would you want help with: a career pivot, executive presence, or something else?
  4. How would you make the case to your manager for the company to pay for a coach? (For example, you could tie the request to business impact, come with a plan already scoped (a number of sessions, a rough budget), or point to precedent at your company.)
  5. If coaching isn't in your budget, or your company's, how could you gain coaching elsewhere? For example, could you work with your Circle to gain the skill you'd like to be coached on?

✍️ Write It Down · 2 mins

Take a few minutes to connect the discussion to your own life.

Note down any next steps you want to take, based on today's discussion. One of these can become your One Action.

🎯 One Action · 10 mins

Commit to one concrete action — big or small — you'll take before next meeting. Go around the Circle and share (1 minute or less per member). Vocalizing it helps hold each other accountable.

Take one step toward finding a coach — or find 2-3 resources your Circle can use to build the skill you'd want coaching on..

📅 Wrap-Up · 5 mins

Before you break, plan your next meeting and close on an energetic note. Go around your Circle one by one and finish the sentence:

Now I am feeling… (choose one word).

  • Set the day, time, and location
  • Choose the next topic or resource
  • Confirm who's leading the discussion
  • Decide how you'll stay in touch in between