(And some answers that may surprise you)
This is one of the most common questions we get. The truth is, 100% of our clients come to us to improve their financial situation—whether it's growing a business, advancing in a career, or maximizing their earning potential. At the same time, 100% of our clients talk about their personal lives, because the two are deeply connected.
As business owners or employees, it's impossible to leave behind the challenges you face at work, whether it’s a tough day with the boss or friction with a team member. Similarly, as spouses, parents, siblings, or caregivers to aging parents, you carry your family experiences into the workplace.
Attempting to keep these parts of your life separate is when you feel out of alignment, and ultimately, unfulfilled. True success, comes from recognizing these areas intersect and working to bring them into balance.
Ironically, we’ve never been asked this question during an interview, but since it often appears in search results for "Questions to ask an executive coach," we thought it would be useful to address it.
At LMT, we focus on results coaching. This approach is all about helping you clarify your goals, develop actionable strategies for success, and holding you accountable to ensure you achieve what you say you want. We're so committed to our mission that we guarantee it!*
*Our Guarantee: If you aren’t making noticeable progress toward your goals in the first 30 days, we’ll cancel your contract and refund your money—no questions asked. Beyond that, if you attend any session and don’t feel you’ve reached a tangible result, we’ll offer you an additional session at no extra cost.
This is a fair question. If you search online, you'll find that coaching fees can vary widely, with rates ranging between $200 and $800 per hour, depending on the coach and their niche. At LMT, our fee structure is positioned on the higher end for personal coaching but falls within the lower range of business coaching.
Our pricing strategy is designed to attract our ideal client: business professionals who are serious about reaching the next level in their careers. While the investment may feel like a stretch at first, it’s intentional. Everything we do is meant to encourage you to push beyond your comfort zone—without overreaching—because that’s what it takes to achieve your most ambitious goals and live the life of your dreams.
Let's be honest, coaching my not help you.. However, it's important to understand the difference between coaching and therapy to determine what will work best for you.
Coaching, particularly executive coaching, focuses on where you are today, where you want to be in the future and how to close the gap between the two. It’s forward-looking and action-oriented.
Therapy, on the other hand, is conducted by a licensed professional and often focuses on exploring your past to help you make sense of it, heal, and grow.
Some people benefit from both approaches simultaneously. Some people aren't ready for either. Only you know what is best for you.
Although there are lots of benefits to hiring a coach, it is equally important to understand the disadvantages and pitfalls of working with one.
First, coaching is a significant financial investment and requires dedicated time. If you're currently struggling with finances or aren't able to devote the necessary effort, wait until you can make a full commitment to coaching.
Second, the quality of the coaching you receive is heavily dependent on the coach’s skill level. In most cases, coaching doesn’t come with guaranteed results, so it’s critical that you do your homework before hiring a coach. Ask about their experience, expertise, and success rate during the interview process to ensure you're working with someone who can deliver what you need.
Lastly, be mindful of hiring a coach who is "nice" and may lack the ability to challenge you. While it's important to feel comfortable with your coach, you don’t want someone who’s afraid to give you objective, sometimes uncomfortable feedback. Growth requires tough conversations. A good coach isn't there to be your friend—they’re there to help you reach your goals.
While some coaching companies offer flexible scheduling options, at LMT Consulting, we require weekly one-hour sessions. As results-based coaches, our mission is to help you reach your goals as quickly as possible, and through experience we know that happens when you're fully committed to the process.
Think of it like weight lifting at the gym. You wouldn’t expect to become a bodybuilder by working out once a month or every other week. Similarly, sporadic coaching won’t give you the momentum you need to make meaningful progress. Consistent, weekly sessions allow you to build your mindset muscle and tackle the challenges that arise in real-time, accelerating your progress to reach your goals faster.
Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Sometimes a client isn't ready to fully commit to their goals, or they have competing demands on their time that make it impossible to focus on the coaching process. In those instances, it's best to pause coaching until the client is ready to give 100%.
In other cases, clients may be looking for a quick-fix or a magic bullet solution. After coaching thousands of people, we know that long-term growth and lasting success require ongoing commitment and hard work. When we realize that we’re not a match, together we make the decision to part ways.
We do use assessments, but they are not traditional personality assessments. Every LMT client begins their coaching journey by taking the DISC and Driving Forces Assessments.
The DISC assessment measures observable human behavior, providing insight into how your actions impact your thinking and communication with others. The Driving Forces Assessment reveals what motivates your decisions—essentially, why you do what you do.
Together, these powerful tools give us a deeper understanding of how you operate and what drives you. We use this information to tailor your coaching sessions, ensuring we help you reach your goals faster.
You’re not alone—many clients come to LMT Consulting knowing they want something different, bigger, or better, but they’re unclear on exactly what that looks like. This is when coaching can be most valuable.
Our coaches are skilled in helping you work through the mental blocks that may be keeping you stuck. We use proven tools and ask targeted questions to help you uncover what’s truly important to you. Together, we’ll clarify your vision and create a concrete plan for what’s next, ensuring you can move forward with confidence and direction.
First, let’s be clear—no coach is qualified to tell you how to run your business. That’s not what we’re here for. What a skilled coach is qualified to do is ask the tough, insightful questions that help you identify what’s not working in your business.
Whether you're overlooking something because you're too close to the situation or dodging an issue because it’s uncomfortable, a coach can help you step back, gain a new perspective, and discover potential solutions you may not have considered.
Ultimately, you’re the expert in your business, and you get to decide how you use the insights we uncover together.
It’s important to speak up if you don’t agree with a recommendation or the direction a session is going. Coaching is a collaborative process, and open communication is key. A coach’s job isn’t to give you one-size-fits-all advice or steer you toward a single solution. Instead, their role is to broaden your thinking and help you explore multiple possibilities.
If something during the session feels off-track, let your coach know. They can adjust the conversation, ask different questions, and work with you to explore alternative solutions. Ultimately, coaching is about finding the right path for you, not following a prescribed formula.
This is a question we came across on a discussion board about coaching, and we thought it was worth addressing because people do wonder about it. Yes, there are coaches who make a "bazillion bucks" as CEOs of massive coaching companies, but at LMT, our approach has always been quality over quantity. We’re a small, boutique coaching company that’s selective about who we take on as clients to ensure we can help you get the results you deserve.
Regardless of our size, our approach is similar to Bob Bowman, the legendary coach behind Michael Phelps. We prefer to stay behind the scenes, developing strategies, perfecting form, and cheering you on as you reach the highest level of success in your life life and career.
Unfortunately, in most cases, the answer is no. Having someone else suggest you get a coach is a bit like someone suggesting you lose weight—it might be beneficial, but the results are unlikely to be long-lasting if the motivation isn’t your own.
Coaching is most effective when it comes from a place of intrinsic motivation, not external obligation. When coaching is required by a boss or manager, it tends to take on a corrective tone and can feel like another item on your "to-do" list. Effective coaching is a deeply personal journey that centers around self-awareness, growth, and abundance. For it to truly work, you need to own the decision to work with a coach and be 100% committed to the process.
First, it’s important to define what "value" means to you in a coaching relationship and share that with your coach. Most disappointments come from unmet expectations, but if you don’t clearly communicate those expectations, your coach has no way of meeting them.
Coaching is a significant investment of both time and money, and you should see progress toward your goals during each session. To make that happen, you need to be upfront about what you want from the experience. If you’ve been clear about your expectations and still don’t feel you’re getting value then it might be time to find a new coach.
A coach can actually be more helpful because they’re not directly connected to the organization. This distance allows them to offer an unbiased, fresh perspective. When you’re deeply involved in the history and day-to-day operations, it can be difficult to see the problem clearly or think objectively about potential solutions.
In some cases, a coach may ask to speak with other members of your organization for context, but this isn’t always necessary. Most challenges stem from the mindset surrounding the problem. By focusing on your thinking and approach, a coach can help you shift perspectives, identify solutions, and lead your team more effectively.
The first step to overcoming any organizational issue starts with you—the individual.
Of course, family, friends, and mentors can be excellent sources of advice. It is important to realize, their advice is based on their experiences, successes, behavioral tendencies, failures, and fears. If their advice works for you, then there’s no need to hire a coach.
That said, it’s important to understand that a coach doesn’t give advice. The job of a coach is to ask neutral, thought-provoking questions to help you gain clarity about what you want. Their questions come with no obligation or judgment if you choose to follow your own path. Coaching is all about discovering your way.
If the advice from those around you hasn’t been helping, despite how much you love and respect them, it might be time to consider hiring a coach.
No, at LMT Consulting, our focus is on energy management, so we don’t frame things in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Talking about strengths and weaknesses often leads to negative self-judgment, which isn’t productive.
Let’s be honest: you can be and do anything you want—if you’re willing to put in the energy required to achieve it. Through the use of assessments, we help you understand what comes naturally to you and what might require more effort based on your behavioral style. Armed with that knowledge, you get to decide how and where to invest your time and energy.
There are coaches with industry-specific experience, and if that’s important to your coaching experience, you should absolutely seek out someone from your industry. However, the professionals we tend to work with already have the skills and industry knowledge they need to succeed—they’re just missing the mindset required to reach the next level in their business or career.
At LMT, we specialize in offering tools and techniques to help you break through the mental blocks and limiting beliefs that are holding you back. Our role isn’t to teach you how to do your job—it’s to help you unlock the mindset that allows you to close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be.
Many of today’s top leaders feel exactly the same way. Can you figure it out alone? Probably. However, being at the top can be a lonely experience, and having an outside perspective can be helpful.
A coach can be invaluable, especially when dealing with confidential situations, helping you process your thoughts and gain clarity. When you’re caught up in the day-to-day, it can be difficult to see beyond it. A coach helps you zoom out, ask challenging questions, and hold you accountable for achieving what you say you want. The combination has proven to increase profits and improve overall quality of life.
Simply put, a coach asks while a consultant tells. The role of a coach is to ask questions that help you gain clarity around your thoughts, guiding you to create your own plan and take action. A coach helps you uncover solutions from within.
On the other hand, a consultant assesses the situation and presents a prescription for what you should do, often based on their own expertise and experience. While both roles can be valuable, coaching empowers you to create and own your solutions.
This is a real struggle for successful people. There’s a saying: "If it’s important to you, you’ll find a way; if it’s not, you’ll find an excuse." When getting support becomes a priority you will make the time.
It may be helpful to know, the biggest benefit of coaching is that it is one hour per week dedicated entirely to you. During your session, there’s no one else competing for attention—it’s all about your challenges, your goals, and your success. As a leader, taking this time is critical to showing up as your best self.
If you’re serious about making changes in your life or business, committing one hour each week will help you prioritize what matters most. However, if you're not 100% committed to the process, coaching is not worth your time or money right now.
Great question. The best way to know if coaching is working is to be crystal clear on the results you want to achieve. Then, during your sessions, you and your coach will need decide how to monitor and measure your progress. Whether it’s hitting specific milestones or feeling a shift in mindset, you’ll know coaching is working when you see tangible progress toward your goals. Clear expectations and regular status check-ins are essential to ensuring you're on the right track.
Yes, a coach will ask you a lot of questions, but only you can decide if that will aggravate you or help you. If you're looking for ready-made solutions, then hiring a consultant might be a better fit for you. A quality coach won’t pretend to have the answers. The job of a coach is to guide you toward uncovering your own path to success through humble inquiry—which often involves asking questions to get you to think deeply and gain clarity. It's about empowering you to find solutions that help you reach your goals faster.
While some coaching firms offer pre-designed "coaching plans," that’s not how we operate at LMT Consulting. We believe your needs and challenges are unique, so a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t the most efficient way to help you achieve long-term success. Instead, we tailor each session to your specific goals, using a library of tools and techniques to help you gain clarity and work through challenges. Our goal is to create a personalized plan that addresses your unique situation.
This is a tough question. In our experience, coaching tends to be most successful for individuals who need to find a job within the next 3-6 months. If you're in a situation where you have a financial cushion, such as a severance package or support from a family member, it can be harder to fully commit to the process. Without a sense of urgency, coaching tends to be less impactful. If you’re ready and driven to make a change quickly, though, coaching can be a powerful investment in securing your next opportunity.