Top executive coaching tools to try in 2024

Executive coaching stands out as one of the most lucrative professions. Picture this: a whopping 788% ROI, which includes boosts in productivity and client retention. 

Now, what's the key to achieving such remarkable results? Well, solid experience and a personalized approach are essential. However, don't overlook the importance of executive coaching tools that enable you to help your clients effectively. 

If you're on the lookout for proven executive coaching tools and techniques to try in 2024, this comprehensive list can be your go-to resource. So, grab a cup of coffee and relish the read!

Executive Coaching Tools: Productivity

Growing executive coaching businesses often grapple with a significant challenge – a lack of productivity. Juggling multiple clients simultaneously is manageable, but what if the spectrum of people needing your assistance is too broad to handle? In such a scenario, a choice must be made between operational changes and the risk of burnout. And, when it comes to the former, technology and techniques step in to the rescue.

Here are the top three executive coaching tools that you and your team can leverage to boost productivity:

Stay focused: Incorporate time management techniques like Flowtime to streamline your schedule and eliminate multitasking. Your primary focus should be on your core executive coaching mission – helping others. The first step toward achieving this is to ditch the rush and use your time efficiently.

Manage your calendar: Find a user-friendly calendar to control your schedule, ensure smooth communication and effectively plan your days, weeks, and months. This approach not only allows you to assess your time and capacity but also positively impacts your clients' experience. Provide them with a transparent process, enabling them to schedule sessions with you effortlessly – demonstrating your respect for both your time and theirs.

Put everything under one roof: While routine is integral to your executive coaching craft, wouldn't it be wonderful to take a break from toggling between numerous tabs and using multiple point solutions? Enter an end-to-end executive coaching platform, like Profi. It acts as a one-stop solution, allowing you to consolidate all processes conveniently. By saving time and organizing backend processes, Profi helps prevent burnout and enables you to guide your clientele toward impressive results.

Intrigued? Book a personalized demo with one of our experts or, if you're flying Solo, take advantage of our Free Trial option! Discover how Profi can enhance your executive coaching practice right from day one.

Executive Coaching Assessment Tools

You can choose between dozens of efficient executive coaching tools and techniques to assess results your clients show and create a best-fit roadmap for them. How about trying at least one of the approaches defined below?

Personality tests

Picture this: your client walks in, and you're armed with a personality test. It's not just about learning their favorite color or zodiac sign; it goes way deeper. These tests give you a roadmap to understand their strengths, weaknesses, and, most importantly, how they tick.

Need a useful personality test? We offer four! 

• Tilt 365: This proven service offers personality strengths assessments to help clients build an agile culture. Enable them to learn four specific agilities that produce significant shifts in behavior, making your clients idea-driven, results-oriented, data-informed, and people-focused.
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): This classic breaks down personalities into 16 types, shedding light on communication styles, decision-making processes, and even how they recharge. It's like having a manual on your client.
• DiSC Assessment: If you're into simplicity and effectiveness, DiSC is your buddy. It categorizes personalities into four main styles - Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness. It's a quick way to grasp how your client approaches tasks, relationships, and challenges.
• CliftonStrengths Assessment (former StrengthsFinder): Who doesn't want to know their strengths? This test pinpoints your client's top strengths out of 34 possibilities. It's fantastic for honing in on what makes them stand out and how to leverage those strengths for success.
• 16Personalities Test: This widely popular test offers a comprehensive breakdown of personality types, similar to the MBTI, but with added depth and nuance. It helps clients understand their traits, behaviors, and how they interact with the world around them.

Here's the magic: these tests help you understand your client better and empower them with self-awareness. Win-win!  

360-degree feedback

What's the buzz about 360-degree feedback? Well, think of it as a turbocharged performance review. It's not just you, the executive coach, sharing insights – it's a full-circle experience. Your client gets feedback from their peers, subordinates, and even the higher-ups. It's like having a panoramic view of their professional landscape.

The beauty of this tool lies in its efficiency. Here's how it works wonders:

• Holistic Insight: Instead of relying solely on your perspective, 360-degree feedback provides a 360-degree view of your client's strengths, blind spots, and areas for growth. It's like getting insights from every angle, creating a comprehensive picture.
• Objective Assessment: The feedback isn't filtered through a single lens. It comes straight from the people your client interacts with daily. This makes it a goldmine of unbiased, objective information.
• Targeted Development: Armed with this comprehensive feedback, you can tailor your coaching strategies to address specific areas. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach; it's a personalized roadmap for their professional development journey.

It's like having a backstage pass to your client's work life. When they see the real, unfiltered feedback, the growth opportunities become crystal clear.

Emotional intelligence (EI) tests

Emotional intelligence tests go beyond the typical IQ measures. They tap into the emotional side of things, giving you a roadmap to understand how your clients handle stress, navigate relationships, and make decisions under the influence of emotions. Picture this as a supercharged mirror. These tests help your clients see themselves in a new light, unveiling strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth. It's self-awareness on steroids.

We have three EI tests in our treasury - the choice is yours.

• Emotional Intelligence Appraisal: Co-created by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, this one breaks down EI into four skills: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management. It's user-friendly and packs a punch.
• Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT): This is like the granddaddy of EI assessments. Developed by the pioneers of emotional intelligence, it dives deep into how individuals perceive, understand, manage, and utilize emotions.
• Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment (SEI): For a more holistic approach, the SEI covers eight key competencies of emotional intelligence. It's great for pinpointing specific areas for growth and development.

Cognitive ability tests

Think of these tests as a mental workout. They flex those cognitive muscles, helping your clients enhance their problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and decision-making prowess. Unlike other assessments, cognitive tests provide a clear, objective benchmark of your client's intellectual capabilities. Armed with insights from cognitive tests, you can tailor your coaching strategies to align with your client's unique cognitive strengths and areas for improvement. It's personalized coaching on a whole new level.

Try one of these cognitive ability tests to check out their efficiency.

• Wonderlic Personnel Test: This one's a classic, used widely to assess general cognitive ability. It's like a sneak peek into your client's ability to learn, adapt, and solve problems.
• Raven's Progressive Matrices: If you want to tap into abstract reasoning and non-verbal problem-solving skills, Raven's Matrices is your go-to. It's a bit like decoding puzzles, but with a purpose.
• Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal: For honing in on critical thinking skills, this assessment is a winner. It dissects your client's ability to analyze situations, interpret data, and draw reasoned conclusions.

Executive coaching tools for planning

Establishing trust with your client is the foundation for crafting ultimate goals. Once achieved, contemplate a plan for our shared journey, setting up milestones shoulder-to-shoulder with your client. This collaborative approach empowers you to propose a clear, step-by-step process, ensuring your clients comprehend how each action contributes to their desired results.

And here's the kicker – you've got access to a set of absolutely free executive coaching tools. Test them out and witness how they aid your client in setting measurable, achievable, and relevant goals.

Start Small, Aim Big. People often shrink back from ambitious goals, grappling with the daunting question of "How?" Your role is to break down bold goals into smaller, manageable chunks, making the path clearer, and somewhat easier. Sure, you can use various task management tools to monitor what’s on your client’s plate, but opt for software that not only helps you track their progress but also provides valuable data on this transformative journey.

Set up priorities. "Chasing two rabbits and catching none." —  Convey this wisdom to your client and collaboratively determine which tasks and actions take precedence. This approach fosters focus, allowing clients to witness progress in a relatively short term.

Don't forget about teams. In executive coaching, individuals are never isolated; they're integral to their environment. Encourage collaboration among team members, establish shared goals that promote a common ground, and drive productivity. After all, success is a team sport!

Executive coaching exercises 

You can also apply another tool to enhance your client experience and help people look insight themselves. Coaching exercises allow you to show your clients a bigger picture of their behavior, mindset, and turn this knowledge into results they want to achieve.

So, what executive coaching exercises to focus on? Make your choice considering the core challenges your clientele faces. Any suggestions? Let’s take a look at:

• Slow decision-making
• Linear thinking
• Lack of stress resistance

Here's how you can respond:

Slow decision-making: As decision-making impacts literally the entire business growth, it's a skill that can be honed and polished daily.

You can use the GROW model to guide your client through Goal setting, exploring the current Reality, considering their Options, and pinning down a solid Way forward. Apply SWOT analysis to encourage your client to dive into their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats concerning a decision at hand.

Explore other options, considering the needs of each client and their level of emotional maturity.

Linear thinking: To cultivate creative approaches to solving issues, help clients get rid of their boundaries. It’s not a piece of cake, as to upgrade creativity, people should reevaluate their beliefs and get ready to combine seemingly unrelated things. This is exactly what Estanislao Bachrach advises in their book "The Agile Mind." This approach can be the first exercise to wake up creativity. Ask your client to combine an elephant and a train and create new categories and phenomena based on associations they have in mind.

Or how about the "The Worst Idea Ever" challenge? Encourage your clients to intentionally generate the worst possible ideas related to the specific problem they have. It injects a dose of humor and leads to surprisingly creative solutions as they work backward from the "worst."

Lack of stress resistance: Last but not least. The absence of stress resistance is something we all face sooner or later. Emotional intelligence, just like fast decision-making and creative thinking, is another skill requiring daily practice regardless of the environment.

To help clients keep peace of mind, you can advise them to catch the moment at least 5 times a day. Let them use this practice to feel how “here and now” look like, pay attention to what surrounds them, and make sure that the tiny percentage of challenges is worth their worry.

Another practice is a "Stress Diary Dive." Ask your clients to write down a couple of sentences on stressful situations they have experienced. What reactions did they have? What outcomes did those reactions bring? This approach brings awareness to stress triggers and opens the door for proactive problem-solving and coping strategies.

Summary

Still contemplating which executive coaching tools to try in 2024? Use our list of proven options!

• Personality tests offer valuable insights, and 360-degree feedback provides a panoramic view for holistic growth. 
• Emotional intelligence and cognitive tests act as mirrors reflecting emotions and mental fitness.
• Strategic planning and the establishment of measurable goals are crucial. Assist your clients in effective prioritization, starting small, aiming big, and recognizing success as a collaborative effort.
• Coaching exercises allow clients to steer through their challenges. Begin addressing time-consuming decision-making, linear thinking, and a lack of stress resistance.

And remember: armed with experience and best practices, you are a navigator of transformation in every executive coaching session you host.