Marilyn Fettner holds four nationally accredited credentials, two master’s degrees, and 25 years of licensed clinical practice in Illinois.

Executive coaching produces its highest return when leadership has become isolating — when a senior professional needs a confidential thought partner trained in both the human and organizational dimensions of high-stakes leadership.

→ Schedule a free 30-minute consultation — no commitment required.

Why Do Senior Leaders Seek Executive Coaching?

High-performing leaders who engage executive coaching before a crisis — before a damaging 360-degree review, a missed promotion, or a personal breaking point — spend coaching sessions building capability. 

Leaders who wait until circumstances force the conversation spend those same sessions in recovery. The difference in outcome is measurable and consistent across Marilyn Fettner’s 25-year practice.

Executives who benefit most from coaching are not failing. They are delivering results — but carrying a feedback pattern they cannot break, a personal life that has quietly become unsustainable, or a role that no longer fits the professional they have become. 

Sustainable high performance requires the candid, confidential outside perspective that no direct report, board member, peer, or family member is structurally positioned to provide.

What Changes When a Senior Executive Has a Coach?

Senior executives who work with Marilyn Fettner report four consistent changes: clearer strategic priorities, more effective communication with senior stakeholders, reduced professional isolation, and documented improvement in leadership performance metrics — including 360-degree feedback scores, team performance outcomes, and career advancement pace.

The mechanism behind these changes is not motivational coaching. 

Marilyn Fettner uses validated clinical assessment instruments to establish a behavioral baseline, identify the specific patterns limiting each leader’s effectiveness, and build a measurable action plan — so changes are grounded in data rather than self-perception.

Why Do High-Performing VPs and Senior Leaders Stall or Fail Without Coaching?

Most senior leadership failures are not caused by technical incompetence. They are caused by unaddressed interpersonal patterns, poor political navigation, communication authority gaps, and the psychological weight of sustained high-stakes performance pressure — including executive burnout — none of which standard leadership training programs are designed to address.

A newly promoted Vice President who succeeded as an individual contributor or mid-level manager faces a fundamentally different challenge in the senior role: the work is less about personal execution and more about political navigation, stakeholder influence, and strategic decision-making under uncertainty. 

Without a confidential, expert thought partner, most leaders navigate this transition by trial and error at high personal and professional cost. Marilyn Fettner’s leadership development coaching addresses this transition directly.

What ROI Can a Senior Leader Expect from Executive Coaching?

The return on executive coaching is measured in three categories: career advancement pace, leadership effectiveness scores, and personal sustainability. 

Executives who complete a coaching engagement with Marilyn Fettner report faster movement toward target roles, improved feedback from direct reports and peers, and a measurable reduction in burnout risk — documented through structured progress evaluations at defined intervals.

The financial ROI of executive coaching is most visible in avoided career derailment. A Vice President who stalls or exits a role due to an unaddressed leadership gap loses not only current compensation but also accumulated career capital that takes years to rebuild. 

Executive coaching with a clinically trained coach is an investment in preventing that outcome, not a remediation after it occurs.

Work privately with Marilyn Fettner on leadership growth, executive pressure, and career transition strategy. Start with a free 30-minute consultation and see what support fits best.

Who Does Marilyn Fettner Work With in Executive Coaching?

Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching serves senior leaders who are performing at a high level but facing the political, interpersonal, and psychological dimensions of leadership that standard professional development programs do not address. 

Read the Insider’s Guide to Executive Coaching for a complete framework for evaluating coaches.

What Does Executive Coaching Address? Six Core Areas.

Marilyn Fettner’s executive coaching practice addresses six areas of leadership development and career performance. 

Each engagement is built around one-on-one sessions, six validated assessment instruments, and a customized plan. Full assessment details are on the career assessments page.

What Does Leadership Development Coaching Do for Senior Executives?

Leadership development coaching identifies each executive’s verified strengths, documents their blind spots through validated instruments, and builds a behavioral development plan grounded in data rather than self-perception. 

Marilyn Fettner uses the CPI-260, the Highlands Ability Battery, the FIRO-B, and the Leadership Effectiveness Analysis 360 Suite to establish a baseline and track measurable growth.

Most leaders who seek leadership development coaching are not failing — they are high-performing executives who have hit a ceiling that technical skill alone cannot break through. The ceiling is almost always interpersonal, political, or self-awareness-related.

What Does Executive Communication Coaching Fix?

Executive communication coaching closes the gap between a leader’s ideas and the authority they command in the room. Marilyn Fettner addresses verbal clarity, executive presence, non-verbal influence, and the capacity to deliver difficult messages without eroding trust or relationships.

Communication coaching is most effective for leaders whose ideas are not receiving the organizational weight they warrant — a pattern that often signals a presence or delivery gap rather than a credibility gap. 

Marilyn Fettner uses MBTI and CPI 260 results to identify the specific communication behaviors driving the pattern.

How Does Career Advancement Coaching Help Executives Move Up?

Career advancement coaching produces a personalized strategic roadmap for executives targeting C-Suite entry, organizational transition, role negotiation, or long-term career realignment. 

Marilyn Fettner combines validated career and leadership assessments with competitive positioning strategy to move each client toward their next role with clarity and evidence — not guesswork.

Executives who stall at the VP or Director level frequently lack not the capability for the next role but the positioning, visibility, and strategic narrative required to earn it. Career advancement coaching addresses those gaps directly.

What Does Executive Performance Coaching Address?

Executive performance coaching closes the gap between a leader’s current output and full professional potential — whether that gap was surfaced in a formal performance review, identified through 360-degree feedback, or felt internally as diminished engagement or momentum.

Each performance coaching engagement begins with an honest, assessment-grounded baseline. Marilyn Fettner then builds a measurable action plan with defined milestones — so progress is documented rather than assumed. 

Leaders who enter performance coaching typically exit with both improved metrics and a restored sense of professional confidence.

How Does Executive Coaching Improve Decision-Making Under Pressure?

Astute decision-making coaching trains senior leaders to surface and correct blind spots, weigh stakeholder implications with precision, and act decisively in high-pressure environments with incomplete information. 

Senior leaders who work with Marilyn Fettner on decision-making consistently report improved confidence and reduced decision fatigue in high-stakes strategic choices.

Decision-making under pressure degrades when leaders operate in isolation, carry unexamined assumptions, or manage cognitive load beyond sustainable capacity. Executive coaching addresses all three simultaneously.

What Is Executive Life Coaching and Who Needs It?

Executive life coaching serves leaders whose professional performance is strong but whose personal life — relationships, health, sense of purpose, or work-life integration — has become unsustainable under the demands of senior leadership. Executive life coaching is not therapy. 

It addresses the whole professional, so leaders can perform at peak capacity professionally while reclaiming a personal life that is sustainable.

Most executives seeking executive life coaching are not in a personal crisis. They are high performers who have gradually traded personal sustainability for professional achievement — and who recognize, often prompted by a relationship under strain or a health signal they can no longer ignore, that the trade is no longer acceptable.

Marilyn Fettner also provides public speaking coaching for executives preparing for board presentations, keynote addresses, and media appearances.

Step into your next role with more clarity, stronger judgment, and better communication. Schedule a free consultation to explore whether executive coaching is the right fit.

Executive Coaching vs. Onboarding Programs: What’s the Difference?

Corporate onboarding delivers standardized processes — org charts, HR policies, compliance training, and a defined ramp period.

Executive coaching delivers something fundamentally different: a confidential, individualized relationship with a clinically trained expert who works exclusively for the leader, with no organizational reporting obligations. 

Onboarding tells a new leader what the organization needs from them. Executive coaching helps a leader figure out who they need to become to succeed in the role.

Executive Coaching vs. Generic Leadership Coaching: What’s the Difference?

Generic leadership coaching applies standardized frameworks across a broad population of professionals at varying career stages. Executive coaching for senior leaders addresses the specific psychological, political, and interpersonal complexity of C-Suite and senior leadership roles that generic coaching programs are not designed to reach.

When Is Executive Coaching Not the Right Fit?

Marilyn Fettner assesses coaching fit in the free 30-minute discovery consultation and will tell you directly if a different resource would serve your situation better.

How Does Executive Coaching with Marilyn Fettner Work?

Marilyn Fettner’s executive coaching methodology is individualized and assessment-grounded. Full methodology details are on the executive coaching approach page.

What Do Executive Coaching Clients Say About Working with Marilyn Fettner?

D.S. — C-Suite Executive, Chicago, Illinois — Leadership and Communication Coaching 

Outcome: broke into the C-Suite leadership circle, rebuilt organizational authority, and credits Marilyn Fettner as an indispensable ongoing resource for executive career growth.

“Managing the political landscape in my new role was overwhelming. Breaking into the leadership circle and being seen as a credible authority felt impossible. Marilyn helped me understand the big picture of the political system and take my communication skills to a higher level to effectively manage the complex interpersonal dynamics. Most importantly, she helped me recognize and leverage my areas of strength and power. I’m now much more comfortable and feel validated as a member of the C-Suite. I consider her an indispensable resource for my career growth.” — D.S., C-Suite Executive, Chicago, Illinois.

J.P. — C-Suite Executive, Hinsdale, Illinois — Executive Life Coaching 

Outcome: restored work-life integration and personal relationships — including a marriage at risk of dissolution — without compromising an active C-Suite career trajectory.

“Although I was at the top of my career — promoted to a C-Suite role with a sizeable raise and bonus — my personal life was slipping through my fingers. My spouse was threatening divorce, and I hadn’t been in touch with my friends for most of the past year. Working with Marilyn, I clarified my priorities and adopted a new mindset, gradually making changes that helped me reclaim my personal life. I no longer feel as isolated, my relationship with my spouse is better, and I’ve reconnected with friends. And my career is still going strong.” — J.P., C-Suite Executive, Hinsdale, Illinois.

R.M. — Senior Leader, Lake Forest, Illinois — Performance and Stress Management Coaching 

Outcome: restored team productivity during simultaneous organizational upheaval and averted a documented trajectory toward burnout.

“Work was in constant flux — new initiatives, new technologies, and with mergers happening, I had oversight of new, more diverse employee teams with varying expectations and motivations. I was feeling weighed down by the tumult and worried I was heading toward burnout. Marilyn helped me take a few steps back to see the big picture. From there, I could see more clearly the most important next actions. I reconnected with my strengths, let go of some things, delegated more, and set a plan to rebuild the culture with the new team demographics in mind. The new teams are finally producing deliverables effectively.” — R.M., Senior Leader, Lake Forest, Illinois.

Frequently Asked Questions 

What is executive coaching? 

Executive coaching is a confidential, one-on-one process in which a credentialed coach works with a senior leader to improve leadership effectiveness, communication, decision-making, and career performance. At Fettner, Marilyn Fettner, LCPC, delivers coaching using six validated clinical assessment instruments.

My company offers an executive coach through HR. Why would I hire my own?

 A company-sponsored coach carries reporting obligations to HR and works within the organization’s agenda. An independent executive coach works exclusively for you — with complete confidentiality and zero organizational reporting obligations — including on situations you cannot discuss internally.

Is executive coaching better than internal mentoring? 

Mentoring tells you what worked for someone else in your organization. Executive coaching identifies what will work for you — based on validated assessment data, your specific cognitive abilities, and interpersonal patterns — with complete confidentiality and no organizational stake in the outcome.

Can my employer find out I retained an executive coach? 

No. All engagements with Marilyn Fettner are fully confidential. No session content, goals, or identifying information is disclosed to your employer, HR, or any third party. Confidentiality is governed by the ethical standards of licensed clinical professionals under Illinois law.

How does executive coaching differ from therapy? 

Executive coaching is forward-focused and outcome-directed — addressing performance, leadership development, and career goals. It does not diagnose or treat mental health conditions. Marilyn Fettner’s LCPC licensure allows her to recognize when psychological factors are limiting performance and address them within a coaching framework.

How much does executive coaching with Marilyn Fettner cost? 

Fees vary based on session frequency, engagement length, and assessment scope. All six validated assessment instruments — MBTI, Highlands Ability Battery, CPI 260, FIRO-B, TKI, and LEA 360 — are included in the session fee. Call 847-322-8292 for current rates.

How often should a senior executive meet with a coach? 

Most engagements begin with sessions every two to three weeks during the assessment and early development phase. As the client builds independent capability, frequency reduces to monthly check-ins with between-session accountability support. Cadence adjusts to each client’s goals and pace.

What should I look for in an executive coach for a VP or C-Suite transition? 

Five criteria matter: verified clinical credentials, validated assessments with certified administration, documented senior leadership experience, a confidentiality structure independent of your organization, and a measurable behavioral baseline process. Marilyn Fettner satisfies all five. The Insider’s Guide to Executive Coaching provides a full evaluation framework.

What does executive coaching do for a new VP in the first 90 days? 

A new VP faces three simultaneous demands: building credibility, navigating unfamiliar politics, and delivering early results — before organizational relationships exist to support any of them. Executive coaching provides a confidential space to process those demands in real time and establish authority quickly.

How does executive coaching specifically help leaders with ADHD? 

Senior leadership requires managing simultaneous strategic priorities, complex political relationships, and long planning horizons — all of which are directly affected by ADHD executive function patterns. Marilyn Fettner uses an ADHD-informed clinical framework to build organizational systems, communication strategies, and delegation structures tailored to each leader’s cognitive profile.

How long does an executive coaching engagement typically last? 

Leaders working on a focused challenge typically engage for over three to four months. Leaders navigating a full career transition, a sustained leadership development program, or an executive life coaching program typically work with Marilyn Fettner over six to twelve months. Many clients return as new challenges arise.

Which assessments are used, and are they included in the session fee? 

Marilyn Fettner is a certified administrator of six validated instruments: the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the Highlands Ability Battery, the CPI 260, the FIRO-B, the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, and the Leadership Effectiveness Analysis 360 Suite.

Is executive coaching available virtually?

Yes. Marilyn Fettner delivers all executive coaching through confidential virtual sessions via phone or video to clients in all 50 U.S. states. Virtual delivery eliminates geographic restriction and provides scheduling flexibility unavailable in in-person formats — critical for senior leaders managing unpredictable professional calendars.

Executive Coaching Nationwide — Northbrook, Illinois

Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching delivers executive coaching to senior professionals in all 50 U.S. states through confidential virtual sessions. Marilyn Fettner maintains an established client base throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.

Call or Text: 847-322-8292 Schedule Online: Free 30-Minute Consultation Location: Northbrook, IL · Virtual Coaching available nationwide