Why a board should support coaching for its CEO
The chief executive is the board’s single most important decision and usually its only direct employee. Directors invest heavily in selecting a CEO and comparatively little in developing one. Coaching addresses that imbalance:
- The CEO has no internal peer. A coach provides the candid sounding board the role otherwise lacks.
- The job keeps growing. A CEO who was right for the institution five years ago needs to keep developing as it changes.
- It supports succession. Coaching helps the CEO build a bench and, in time, hand over well. See Credit union succession planning.
- It signals a healthy culture. When the chief executive is visibly developing, development becomes normal for everyone.
Coaching is not remediation
Directors sometimes hear “the CEO has a coach” as “the CEO has a problem.” In well-run organizations the opposite is true: coaching is concentrated on the most valuable leaders. If the board does have performance concerns, it should state them directly to the CEO. Coaching may then be part of the response, but it never replaces the board’s own candid feedback.
How to set it up
- Make it part of the CEO development plan. Agree annually on one or two development goals alongside performance goals.
- Fund it explicitly, in the budget or the employment agreement.
- Let the CEO choose the coach, from options the board is comfortable with. See How to choose an executive coach.
- Hold a goal-alignment conversation among the chair, the CEO, and the coach at the outset.
- Agree what the board will hear. See below.
- Review at the end and decide whether to continue.
What the board should and should not see
| The board can expect | The board should not expect |
|---|---|
| To know coaching is under way and what it costs | Reports on what is said in sessions |
| To agree on the development goals | The CEO’s detailed 360 report |
| To take part as raters if a 360 is used | The coach’s opinion on whether to retain the CEO |
| Progress updates from the CEO | Use of coaching content in the CEO’s evaluation |
See Confidentiality in executive coaching.
Coaching and the CEO evaluation
Keep the two separate. The evaluation is the board’s judgment of performance. Coaching is the CEO’s private development work. They connect only through goals: the board may set a development expectation, and later judge for itself whether it sees change.
Coaching and board development
Boards can also invest in their own effectiveness, through facilitated self-assessment, chair coaching, and structured work on the board-CEO relationship. A board that develops itself has more standing to ask the CEO to do the same. See The credit union board and CEO relationship.
Questions directors can ask
- Does our CEO have a current development plan?
- Who does our CEO confide in and get candid feedback from?
- Are our potential successors receiving deliberate development?
- When did we last assess our own performance as a board?
Frequently asked questions
Should the board pay for the CEO’s executive coach?
Yes, in most cases. The credit union benefits from a more effective chief executive, and coaching is a modest cost relative to the consequences of CEO underperformance or a failed transition.
Should directors meet the CEO’s coach?
Typically the chair or a committee chair meets the coach at the start for goal alignment. Ongoing contact between the coach and directors is limited, to protect confidentiality.
What if the board wants coaching for the CEO but the CEO does not?
Explore why. The board can set expectations for development, but coaching requires a willing participant. Forcing it wastes the investment.
Can a volunteer board member receive coaching?
Yes. Chair coaching and board development are growing practices, particularly for new chairs and during CEO transitions.
This page is educational and general in nature. It is not legal, regulatory, or clinical advice. Questions or corrections: coaching@syntrinaleadership.com.