Now, it’s easy to be cynical when it comes to the question of what makes the difference between Executive and Life Coaching. What would the cynics say? Some would talk of the greed of Executive Coaches, whose fees can be 10 times or more the fees charged by life coaches. Equally, some would talk of these fee levels as a sign that client egos are standing in the way of rational judgment. And some courageous coaches would admit that setting their fee levels in line with the corporate market can help them to create the presence they seek in the marketplace even whilst feeling uncertain and anxious about selling their services. All of these things may be true – though not always. It seems unlikely that the corporate marketplace is universally naive or that coaches are generally greedy. So in what ways are Executive and Life Coaching different and how does this justify the significant difference in fees?

A key difference – which is nonetheless easily overlooked – is in who buys and for what purpose. In Executive Coaching, the buyer is the organisation and the purpose is typically to benefit the organisation. Executive Coaching has as its primary emphasis the individual in the context of the business. In Life Coaching, the buyer is the person seeking coaching and any emphasis on the individual’s work is in the context of the individual’s life and/or career. Executive Coaching is holistic, working with the whole person. At the same time it has as its primary area of focus the individual in the context of the business or organisation. Life Coaching, like Executive Coaching, is holistic, working with the whole person. Unlike Executive Coaching, however, Life Coaching is about the person’s whole life, as well as about the whole person.

In practical terms, the differences arising from the question of who buys can be subtle: after all, the ground covered by an Executive Coach and a Life Coach with the same client may be the same along with the outcomes. The high flying executive may use coaching to identify his or her next career move, for example, and this may or may not be with the same organisation, even when coaching is funded by the individual’s employer. And whether coaching is funded by the business on behalf of an individual or by the individual him- or herself, the client is always the individual concerned. It is to this person that the coach has a primary duty.

At the same time, there are important financial distinctions between Life and Executive Coaching – and not just the difference between the funds each buyer can command. These are also distinctions in the value to each buyer of the outcomes of coaching. Improvements in a senior executive’s performance, for example, translate into results (including bottom line results) that affect the whole organisation. Often, these bottom line results come via changes in the senior executive’s behaviour and this in turn may come from changes in his or her way of being. The driven executive may learn to engage staff and harness their motivation rather than to leave them two steps behind. The passionate and brilliant executive may learn that good ideas still need to be sold (and how). Over time, the return on investment can make the investment in coaching seem modest.

So far I have spoken in terms of the buyer and the value to each buyer of Life and Executive Coaching and this could suggest that there is no difference between the two. At the same time, many coaches have struggled to succeed as Executive Coaches whilst some Executive Coaches make poor other-than-business coaches. So what does it take to succeed in each discipline? If you’re interested to explore this question you might want to read “Executive” and “Life” Coaching: what does each require of the coach?