What Does an Executive Coach Actually Do in a Session?
An executive coach conducts structured one-on-one sessions that diagnose leadership performance gaps, interpret validated psychometric assessment data, build targeted behavioral change plans, and support senior leaders through high-stakes decisions.
At Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching in Northbrook, Illinois, Marilyn Fettner, LCPC, CCC, NCC, CPVC, delivers confidential virtual sessions across four phases: Initial Assessment, Customized Coaching Plan, Ongoing Support, and Performance Evaluation.
Key Takeaways
- Executive coaching sessions at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching follow four phases: Initial Assessment, Customized Coaching Plan, Ongoing Support, and Performance Evaluation.
- Marilyn Fettner uses five validated assessment instruments — CPI 260, MBTI, FIRO-B, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, and Highlands Ability Battery — to ground every session in objective psychometric data rather than self-report impressions.
- Session content spans six service areas: Leadership Development, Communication Skills, Career Advancement, Performance Coaching, Astute Decision-Making, and Executive Life Coaching.
- All sessions are fully confidential, delivered virtually via phone or video, and available to senior professionals in all 50 U.S. states.
What Happens Before the First Executive Coaching Session?
The executive coaching process at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching begins with a free 15-minute fact-finding session.
Marilyn Fettner uses the fact-finding session to understand the prospective client’s situation, explain the coaching process, and determine whether executive coaching is a good fit for the presenting challenge. Professionals whose challenges fall outside the scope of executive coaching receive a direct referral rather than enrollment.
Clients who confirm an engagement enter the Initial Assessment phase — the first of four phases in Marilyn Fettner’s coaching methodology.
The Initial Assessment uncovers the client’s professional goals, identifies the specific challenges standing in the way of those goals, and surfaces the development areas that will govern the engagement.
Marilyn Fettner selects instruments from five validated tools — CPI 260, MBTI, FIRO-B, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, and Highlands Ability Battery — based on each client’s presenting leadership challenges, making the assessment selection diagnostic rather than standardized.
Completing the Initial Assessment before formal sessions begin allows Marilyn Fettner to open the engagement with objective psychometric data rather than anecdotal self-report, so you can begin building a targeted change plan from a verified behavioral baseline on day one.
What Happens in the First Executive Coaching Session?
The first formal session at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching transitions from the Initial Assessment into the Customized Coaching Plan phase.
Marilyn Fettner reviews completed assessment results with the client, translates psychometric findings into specific actionable language, and builds a coaching plan calibrated to the client’s documented goals and leadership context.
The Customized Coaching Plan is not a static document — the plan adjusts to the client’s evolving priorities and organizational landscape. The first session also establishes the confidentiality framework that governs every subsequent session.
Marilyn Fettner shares nothing discussed in sessions with the client’s employer, board, or any third party.
Confidentiality afforded by organizational reporting obligations enables clients to disclose leadership challenges — interpersonal friction, performance pressure, team dysfunction, and identity disruption during role transitions — that organizational channels cannot safely accommodate.
The American Psychological Association identifies confidentiality as a foundational requirement of effective executive coaching relationships.
Review the full executive coaching service overview for details on how Marilyn Fettner structures engagement phases.
What Does an Executive Coach Do During Active Coaching Sessions?
Active coaching sessions — delivered through the Ongoing Support phase of the engagement — address the specific leadership performance challenges identified in the Initial Assessment.
Marilyn Fettner structures each session around a focused agenda tied to the client’s goals rather than an open-ended conversation with no defined outcome.
Session content at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching covers six service areas.
| Session Focus Area | What Marilyn Fettner Addresses | Outcome for the Client |
| Leadership Development | Leadership assessment results, blind spot identification, and development plan execution | Elevated leadership presence, stronger self-awareness, sustained team trust |
| Communication Skills | Verbal articulation, non-verbal cue reading, messaging to power brokers, and direct reports | More authoritative communication in high-visibility organizational contexts |
| Career Advancement | Personalized roadmap development, strength leverage, networking, and positioning strategy | Confident navigation of advancement opportunities aligned to individual goals |
| Performance Coaching | Performance objective definition, customized action plan, ongoing feedback, and obstacle resolution | Documented improvement against measurable performance targets |
| Astute Decision-Making | Blind spot broadening, stakeholder implication analysis, and complex business environment navigation | Faster, higher-confidence decision execution with reduced reactive risk |
| Executive Life Coaching | Work-life balance restoration, stress and burnout reduction, customized life compass development | Sustained professional performance alongside meaningful personal life engagement |
Leadership development at the senior level requires a coach qualified to address both the strategic and psychological dimensions of executive performance.
Marilyn Fettner’s licensure as an LCPC — Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor — covers the clinical dimensions of executive performance that a coach without clinical training is not licensed to address.
Schedule a free 15-minute fact-finding session with Marilyn Fettner at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching. Contact Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching to book your session today.
How Does an Executive Coach Use Assessment Data in Sessions?
Marilyn Fettner holds professional certification in five validated psychometric instruments and applies assessment data throughout the engagement — not only in the Initial Assessment review.
Assessment data re-enters active sessions when a client reports a recurring leadership challenge that maps to a measured behavioral pattern identified at intake, so intervention targets the verified root cause rather than surface symptoms.
The five instruments Marilyn Fettner administers serve distinct diagnostic purposes across the engagement.
The CPI 260 measures leadership effectiveness, interpersonal style, and professional orientation. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator identifies personality style, communication preferences, and conflict-handling tendencies.
The FIRO-B measures interpersonal needs across inclusion, control, and affection — the dimensions that most directly surface in executive relationship challenges. The Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument identifies the client’s default conflict-handling style across five modes.
The Highlands Ability Battery measures natural abilities relevant to leadership role fit and career direction.
Career and personality assessments at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching are administered under Marilyn Fettner’s professional certification — not self-scored online tools — so you can build a behavioral change plan on psychometrically validated data with verified expert interpretation.
What Does an Executive Coach Do Differently Than a Mentor or Manager?
Executive coaching is a distinct professional development service that differs structurally and functionally from mentoring, management feedback, and standardized leadership training programs.
A mentor shares personal career experience and informal guidance drawn from their professional path. A manager provides performance feedback within an organizational reporting hierarchy.
A leadership training program delivers standardized content to a group. An executive coach provides none of these functions — and provides something each of them structurally cannot.
| Function | Executive Coach | Mentor | Manager | Leadership Training |
| Confidentiality | Full — zero organizational reporting | Variable — no formal protection | None — reports to organizational hierarchy | None |
| Individualization | Complete — coaching plan adjusted to client goals | Moderate — experience-based guidance | Low — role-defined feedback | None — standardized group content |
| Clinical depth | LCPC-licensed at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching | None required | None | None |
| Assessment grounding | 5 validated instruments with certified administration | None | Annual performance review data only | Self-report surveys, if any |
| Engagement structure | 4 phases from intake through performance evaluation | Ongoing, informal | Continuous, role-based | Fixed program length |
| Accountability structure | Client-owned goals, facilitated by Marilyn Fettner | Advice-based, no formal accountability | Organizational KPIs | Program completion only |
Performance coaching for professionals at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching fills the structural gap that mentors, managers, and training programs cannot — a confidential, clinically grounded, assessment-based process owned entirely by the client and accountable to no organizational authority except the client’s own goals.
What Does an Executive Coaching Session Look Like Near the End of an Engagement?
Late-stage executive coaching sessions enter the Performance Evaluation phase — the fourth and final phase of the Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching engagement model.
Marilyn Fettner uses the Performance Evaluation phase to measure the tangible changes in the client’s leadership skills and career trajectory against the goals established at intake, assess the effectiveness of the coaching approach, and refine strategy where progress requires adjustment.
The Performance Evaluation phase is a structured diagnostic review that ensures the engagement has produced meaningful, measurable change in the client’s professional life.
Clients preparing for a C-suite transition, board appointment, or major organizational change during the Performance Evaluation phase receive focused, astute decision-making work on the specific high-stakes choices the transition will require, so the engagement ends with actionable preparation rather than a generalized sense of development.
The Society for Human Resource Management identifies structured performance evaluation as a defining feature of high-impact professional coaching engagements.
Preparing for a C-suite transition or a high-stakes leadership decision? Marilyn Fettner structures late-stage sessions around the specific decisions your transition requires.
How Marilyn Fettner Structures Executive Coaching at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching
Marilyn Fettner is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, Career Development Facilitator, and Certified Professional Vocational Counselor with 25+ years of practice and more than 3,000 individual clients coached.
Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching in Northbrook, Illinois, delivers executive and leadership coaching through confidential one-on-one virtual sessions — via phone or video — available to senior professionals in all 50 U.S. states.
Every engagement at the practice is individualized from the Initial Assessment through the final Performance Evaluation session.
The practice offers no group programs, no packaged courses, and no standardized curriculum — because the performance challenges of C-suite executives and senior vice presidents require individual, precision-targeted work rather than a template.
Review Marilyn Fettner’s full credentials, certifications, and background on the About Marilyn Fettner page.
Marilyn Fettner evaluates fit directly in a free 15-minute fact-finding session — and identifies clearly when a different resource would serve you better. Schedule your free fact-finding session at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an executive coach actually do in a session?
An executive coach conducts structured one-on-one sessions that review psychometric assessment data, target active leadership challenges, build behavioral change plans, and prepare clients for high-stakes decisions. At Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching, each session follows a confidential, individualized agenda across four engagement phases.
How long is a typical executive coaching session?
Executive coaching sessions at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching are delivered virtually via phone or video, one-on-one, and scheduled to fit each client’s organizational calendar. Session frequency and pacing are individualized to the client’s engagement goals and documented progress across the four-phase coaching model.
What do executive coaches talk about in sessions?
Executive coaches at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching address leadership challenges identified in the Initial Assessment — including leadership development, communication skills, career advancement, performance improvement, and decision-making under pressure. Session content advances through four phases as the client progresses toward documented behavioral goals.
Does an executive coach give advice or just ask questions?
Marilyn Fettner delivers both structured coaching and direct clinical guidance — not a facilitation-only model. When assessment data identifies a behavioral pattern driving a leadership challenge, Marilyn Fettner interprets that data directly and recommends targeted behavioral changes, so clients receive evidence-based direction rather than open-ended reflection exercises.
Is what I say in executive coaching sessions confidential?
Executive coaching sessions at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching are fully confidential. Marilyn Fettner shares nothing discussed in sessions with the client’s employer, board, organization, or any third party. Confidentiality, as a requirement of organizational reporting obligations, is a non-negotiable requirement of the coaching relationship.
How is an executive coaching session different from therapy?
Executive coaching is a goal-directed professional development process focused on leadership performance, career advancement, and behavioral change — not on diagnosing or treating mental health conditions. Marilyn Fettner’s licensure as an LCPC allows her to recognize clinical issues that arise during coaching and provide appropriate professional referrals, but executive coaching sessions target professional performance outcomes rather than psychological treatment.
What should I bring to my first executive coaching session?
Clients who have completed their assigned psychometric intake instruments arrive at the first session ready to review results with Marilyn Fettner. No additional preparation is required — the structured Initial Assessment phase ensures the first session opens with objective behavioral data rather than an unstructured conversation about general professional goals.
How do I know if executive coaching sessions are working?
Progress in executive coaching at Fettner Executive & Professional Career Coaching appears in three forms: behavioral pattern changes verified against Initial Assessment baselines, leadership skill improvements reviewed during the Performance Evaluation phase, and demonstrated ability to navigate conflict, pressure, and team challenges with greater competence than at engagement intake.