There are lots of leadership coaching services out there, and choosing the right one can be complicated. We’ve created this list of recommendations to help you with your research.
Whether you're looking for a leadership coach to help you apply or transition into a leadership role, executive coaching to sharpen your decision-making skills or a program for your organization’s current and future leaders, you’ll find this guide useful.
We’ve listed the best leadership coaching services and programs based on different specialties, leadership levels, and needs:
- Best individual leadership coaching services
- Best leadership coaching programs
- Best leadership coaching for companies
- Best leadership coaching for first-time managers
- Best leadership coaching for experienced managers
- Best executive leadership coaching
- Best engineering leadership coaching
- Best product leadership coaching
Before we get into our top picks, let’s first look at leadership coaching, how it works, and whether it's a worthwhile investment.
1. What is leadership coaching? ↑
Leadership coaching is a coaching methodology focused on helping you develop or strengthen your leadership skills and identify your own leadership style. It's mainly used by managers but individual contributors can also use it to work through work challenges and create an action plan to achieve their goals.
Leadership coaching often focuses on various aspects of what it takes to be an effective leader: emotional intelligence, excellent communication and delegation skills, conflict resolution, strategic decision-making, and building and developing teams, among many other skills.
Unlike a career coach or a career mentor, a leadership coach doesn’t just focus on helping you achieve your career goals or clarify your career path. A leadership coach will touch on those aspects, but will primarily focus on your role as a leader and how you can be the most effective you can be.
2. How does leadership coaching work? ↑
Leadership coaching is a collaborative process between you and your leadership coach.
Coming into a leadership coaching session, you may already have an idea about what you need to work on as a leader. You might be having a hard time transitioning to your senior leadership role; you’re stressed about handling your biggest project to date; or you have a specific vision for your organization and you need a sounding board for your ideas.
Your leadership coach can work with you through these specific needs. They will start by helping you gain a better understanding of your leadership style, the challenges you’re facing as a leader, and why you might be experiencing them.
Guided by this information, you and your coach can then work together on an action plan to help you achieve your goals or address your areas for improvement.
2.1 Skills taught↑
These are a few skills your leadership coach can help you develop in your sessions:
Communication and listening skills
To develop both skills, you and your coach can do workshops where you can simulate scenarios such as giving constructive criticism to an employee, making a big pitch at a board meeting, or mediating in a conflict.
Self-awareness
Leaders can get stuck in their ways and may not be aware of how their actions affect others. With a coach, you can get unbiased and constructive feedback, actionable steps to address them, and support and accountability to help you sustain your improvement.
Emotional intelligence
Working in a high-stakes and fast-paced industry, you know that emotions tend to run high. it’s part of your responsibility as a leader to know how to manage emotions–yours and your entire team. A leadership coach can equip you with tools to develop emotional intelligence and empathy to deal with such situations.
Leveraging, coaching, and motivating talent
As a leader, you have to know when to ‘show the way’ and ‘get out of the way’. A leadership coach can help you learn how to achieve this balance. They can give you pointers and techniques on how to coach, leverage, and motivate talent.
By fostering a collaborative and supportive atmosphere at work, you can create an environment where people are empowered, find value in what they do, and feel valued for their contributions as well.
Decision-making
As a leader, your decisions impact not just your own career but people’s livelihoods, communities, and more. With a leadership coach, you’ll learn tools and techniques for making practical well-informed decisions swiftly, and take full accountability for any consequences of your decisions.
Growth mindset
If you’re having trouble adapting your leadership style to industry changes, your leadership coach can teach you how to develop a growth mindset. With a growth mindset, you’ll become better at adapting to the changing needs of your company, your team, and your industry, using them as opportunities to learn and grow.
2.2 Benefits ↑
Why do you need to pay for advice from a professional leadership coach when experienced colleagues or friends could give it out for free? Well, here are a few reasons:
A leadership coach has a fresher and unbiased perspective
With a leadership coach’s professional and more objective opinion, you’ll be able to see your leadership style and challenges in a different light. They’ll help you get to the root of your problems, identify where you need to improve, and give you honest, objective, and actionable feedback.
A leadership coach can hold you accountable to your goals
If you’ve always been too busy to stick to your development goals, a leadership coach can work with you to find solutions that work for your demanding role.
Together, you and your coach can develop a strategy that includes setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals and a structure for regular check-ins and celebrating milestones.
A leadership coach can help boost your work-life balance and performance
If you feel that being in a leadership role is hindering your work-life balance, a leadership coach can help you work your way through it. They may coach you through learning how to say no and set boundaries at work, or help you gain confidence to block off times in your calendar for personal priorities.
A better work-life balance can improve your health and happiness at work, allowing you to perform and lead at your best.
3. Best leadership coaching services 2024↑
To generate this list, we analyzed the customer reviews, prices and packages, ease of booking, the roster of leadership coaches, and the types of programs offered by each company. Of course, it’s not an exhaustive one. We’re sure there are some more excellent leadership coaching services that we haven’t been able to include.
Nevertheless, if you want to save time doing your own research for a reputable leadership coaching service or program, this list will give you some great options for online services.
Let’s take a look.
3.1 Best individual leadership coaching services↑
If you’re independently seeking leadership coaching, whether you're an executive or a first-time manager, here are a few excellent options. You can start with a single session and from there, decide to expand your program, depending on your need and your coach’s recommendation.
IGotAnOffer
IGotAnOffer’s roster of over a hundred leadership coaches come from various industries including tech, consulting, or finance. You’ll find experts from Google, Meta, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, and other top companies. Filter your options based on your role or specialty level so you can find a leadership coach who can give you excellent and relevant coaching.
Click on a coach’s profile and you can instantly see their hourly availability and book your online session in just a few clicks, something that can take longer on similar platforms. Prices are clearly displayed before you book.
With an average rating of 4.96, we’re confident you’ll find your leadership coaching useful, but if not, you can get a full refund.
Mentorcruise
If you’re looking for a long-term leadership mentor, we've heard good things about MentorCruise. They offer a range of long-term packages, ranging from $40 to $500 per month. Other more experienced mentors will charge a bit higher, as well as those from more prestigious companies.
Not all mentors will offer the same package. Some mentors will offer 3 x 45-minute calls per month, while others will provide 4 or more.
This type of structure might work for some people, but if you’re still unsure, you can do the 20-minute introductory call for $39, to learn whether a long-term leadership mentoring program is right for you. They have a 7-day free trial to help you assess whether a specific mentor is a good match.
The Muse
The Muse is a highly-rated career coaching website with a roster of high-quality coaches offering leadership coaching. They offer two tiers to suit different budgets: Coach and Master Coach, though their hourly rates are significantly higher for this service compared to their regular career and interview coaching.
Before your session, you’ll be asked to fill out an assessment form. We recommend taking your time with this so your coach can come into your session fully informed about your needs. After your session, your coach will then send you a follow-up email with further advice, and from there you can decide whether you want to continue with this coach or not.
3.2 Best leadership coaching programs↑
Below are three highly-rated leadership courses you can take online. You can take any of the three on its own or as a supplement to 1:1 leadership coaching sessions.
Center for Creative Leadership- Leadership Development Program
Center for Creative Leadership is a world-renowned provider of leadership programs with over 100,000 alumni worldwide. They offer a range of solutions for both individuals looking to develop their leadership skills and for organizations that have specific goals for their leaders.
Their signature offering is the Leadership Development Program. It’s the longest-running of its kind and is geared towards experienced mid-to senior-level leaders. Based on what we’ve seen on the website, it looks like a highly intensive program with several weeks of prep, 5 days of intensive workshops, and a 12-week follow-up.
If you’re in HR and are looking for a program for your managers and executives, CCL can customize a program for you, taking into account your company’s unique context and needs. We think this is a great way to align your team’s leadership strategies with your company’s goals. It is quite an expensive program, but if you or your company have the budget allocation for it, you should look into it.
HarvardX: Exercising Leadership-Foundational Principles
We’ve read consistently great reviews on HarvardX’s Exercising Leadership, the asynchronous version of Harvard’s introductory leadership program. Not just for its relevant and insightful content, but also for its instructor, Ronald Heifetz, the founder of the Center for Public Leadership and senior lecturer in Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School.
Previous students have noted how inspiring and engaging Heifetz is. It’s a tricky thing to achieve especially on self-paced on-demand courses. Many have also lauded the practical action items in the course, which they say are actually very easy to apply to your day-to-day.
The course is free to audit, but if you want to get the certificate and unlimited access to the course materials, you’ll have to pay $209. A bargain considering you’re getting the same program Harvard students get.
HEC Paris-Building Your Leadership Skills
Along with HarvardX, this is another highly sought-after online leadership course by a top business school that we keep seeing being recommended online. Like Exercising Leadership, it’s a self-paced introductory course on leadership. It’s taught by Valérie Gauthier, a multi-awarded associate professor at HEC Paris.
What makes this course stand out is that you can learn the Savoir-Relier approach to leadership, a methodology taught to HEC’s MBA students and top executives. So taking this course, you can get elite-level teaching and insights for a small price and time investment.
The course is highly rated, though it has also drawn not-so-good reviews. Some students feel that the topic does not translate well to the MOOC format and thus ends up feeling superficial and impractical.
3.3 Best leadership coaching for companies↑
If you’re an HR officer looking for a leadership program for your leaders and executives, here are a couple of excellent coaching companies you can partner with online. These companies can help tailor a program customized to both individual and organizational needs.
BetterUp
BetterUp offers 360-degree leadership coaching programs in partnership with companies, tailoring your program based on the needs of your leaders and organization as a whole. The coaching company’s technique is based on behavioral science, and it takes coaching customization even further with AI and analytics. While enrolled in the program, leaders will have 1:1 coaching and access to specialists who can work through their various challenges.
As part of its leadership coaching program package for companies, BetterUp offers reports and ROI reviews backed by data to show the impact of coaching on your team.
That said, you’ll have to request a demo to get an idea of how much their program costs and other practical considerations like the duration and level of commitment required.
FranklinCovey Executive Coaching
FranklinCovey is a world-renowned coaching company represented in 160-plus countries. If you’ve read Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you’ll most likely be familiar with some of the principles taught in the leadership program. It’s a time-tested brand, with many great reviews and testimonials online.
The company offers a range of coaching services, including executive coaching which is meant to help executives at various levels perform at their best. The very first stage of this coaching program will include a meeting between the leader, coach, and sponsor to align objectives and metrics. This is to ensure that the coaching is targeted toward both the individual’s and the organization’s needs.
Again, like the BetterUp program, you’ll have to book a demo to find out exactly how much the program will cost, along with the duration and other practical details.
3.4 Best leadership coaching for first-time managers↑
If you’ve recently been promoted to a management role, here are some great leadership coaching services you can tap. When working with a leadership coach as a first-time manager, hire one with experience in your industry so you can get best practices relevant to your role that you can apply at once. Also, be open about your challenges transitioning into your role to maximize your session.
IGotAnOffer
IGotAnOffer’s roster of over a hundred leadership coaches includes experts from various industries including tech, consulting, and finance. You’ll find leaders from Google, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, and other top companies, many of whom have successfully coached first-time managers like you.
With IGotAnOffer, you can filter your options based on your role or specialty level. To schedule a session, click on a coach’s profile, instantly see their hourly availability, and book your online session in just a few clicks. Prices are clearly displayed before you book. If you’re not satisfied with your session, you get a full refund.
Boldly First-Time Managers Program
Boldly’s First-Time Managers Program is a 6-month program that consists of leadership development workshops, optional 1:1 coaching, peer mentoring facilitated by a coach, and on-the-job projects to apply learnings from the program. From the case study on the website, it looks like an in-depth program tailored to the specific challenges and requirements of the organization.
Boldly is a global coach marketplace that partners directly with HR and L&D leaders, so if you want to undergo the First-Time Managers Program, you’ll have to approach your HR about it.
3.5 Best leadership coaching for experienced managers↑
Here are a few excellent leadership coaching services for experienced managers. To maximize your coaching experience, open your mind to new ways of thinking. Ask for tips on how to break outdated habits or develop leadership best practices, etc.
IGotAnOffer
IGotAnOffer has over a hundred leadership coaches from a wide range of industries including tech, consulting, and finance. You’ll find experts from Meta, Bain, JP Morgan, and other top companies on our roster. Many of them will be experienced leaders themselves in your field. Therefore they have firsthand knowledge of what you’re going through and will be more than equipped to give you actionable insights.
To book your leadership coach, filter your options based on your industry or specialty level. Click on a coach’s profile to see their credentials and hourly availability. Once you find a good match, you can instantly book your online session in a few clicks, something that can take longer on similar platforms. You can see how much your sessions will cost before you book.
Center for Creative Leadership-Integrated coaching
CCL’s Integrated Coaching program combines its signature leadership development program ( discussed above) and flexible 1:1 coaching. The goal is to reinforce the learnings from the leadership course, based on a personalized plan. It includes individual assessment, 360-degree feedback, program reflections, and goal-setting, along with 1:1 coaching that can be delivered virtually.
The website contains testimonials and case studies that you can review if you want to learn more about their services. We recommend taking a deep dive into its Insights & Research section, if you want to read more on the latest leadership studies in the workplace.
3.6 Best executive leadership coaching↑
If you’re transitioning to an executive leadership role, or looking to elevate your leadership, here are some great options online. Before deciding on a coach, ask for their case studies and success stories to learn more about their coaching style and expertise.
IGotAnOffer Executive Leadership Coaching
IGotAnOffer’s leadership coaches have extensive experience in various industries including tech, consulting, and finance. They have worked in leadership positions at Google, Amazon, BCG, Morgan Stanley, and other top companies.
To quickly find an executive leadership coach on IGotAnOffer, filter your options based on your industry or leadership level. When you click on a coach’s profile, you can immediately see their hourly availability and book your online session in a few clicks. Prices are clearly displayed before you book. If you’re not satisfied with your session, you can get a full refund.
CoachHub-Executive Coaching
CoachHub is a digital coaching platform with a roster of over 3,000 coaches from all over the world. What we find interesting about it is its platform, which organizations can integrate into their workflow. HR leaders running various coaching programs can easily keep track of progress in the platform, while coachees can use it to access learning modules inbetween sessions.
The coaches in its Executive Coaching program are held to different criteria in order to conduct executive coaching. They must at last have over 10 years in corporate leadership and extensive training in coaching to qualify.
Like BetterUp and Boldly, CoachHub partners directly with organizations to tailor their leadership coaching to organizational needs as a whole. If you’re in HR and looking into executive coaching for your leaders, you can use CoachHub’s Calculator to estimate the ROI.
3.7 Best engineering leadership coaching↑
If you’re a high-performing engineer transitioning into a managerial role with little to no management background, a leadership coach with engineering management experience will help you come up with solutions to your challenges, whether that’s dealing with a burned-out team, fluctuating performance, or adapting to your company’s fast growth.
Here are some good coaching options for you.
IGotAnOffer Engineering Leadership Coaching
IGotAnOffer’s engineering leadership coaches have experience working and leading at FAANG and other top tech companies. You’ll likely find a leadership coach here who has made the same transition as you. With their experience and guidance, they’ll help you anticipate the challenges that come with your new role, identify where you need to improve in terms of your leadership style, how to foster a productive and motivated team, etc.
To find your leadership coach, filter your options based on your role, company, or specialty level. Click on a coach’s profile and see their hourly availability at once. You can book your online session as soon as you need one. Prices are clearly displayed before you book. And if you’re not happy with your session, you can ask for a full refund.
Engineering Seeking FIRE
Engineering Seeking FIRE is primarily a blog which aims to help professionals in tech achieve FIRE (Financial Independence and Retire Early). It’s run by an engineer who has worked as an SWE, PM, and TPM at Amazon and Microsoft, and has an MBA from Kellogg School of Management. More importantly, he has grown his career and personal finance to achieve FIRE at the age of 40, so he definitely knows what he’s talking about.
His blog is a great resource if you’re looking to learn more about personal finance and other career-related advice. But if you’re eager to learn directly from the man himself, specifically how to level up your engineering career and retire as early as he did, you can book him for a personalized coaching session.
His rates are not disclosed on the website, but he’s easy to reach online on his various social media platforms and email.
People Storming-Engineering Leadership Coaching
People Storming offers various team-building and transformation solutions, including virtual workshops, retreat hosting, and coaching services. For now, it seems their targeted coaching is geared toward the tech industry, in particular engineering leadership and product management.
We think what makes People Storming a good option if you’re looking into Engineering Leadership coaching is that their expertise clearly lies in tech. Its co-founder is a former Director of Engineering at Facebook and LinkedIn who had his start as a software developer. So as a coach, he’ll be able to offer actionable tips based on his actual personal experience.
3.8 Best product leadership coaching↑
If you’re looking for a product leadership coach, check out some of the best options online below. To take full advantage of your leadership coaching session, tell your coach your specific challenge areas: whether you need a sounding board for a new strategy, a coach to help you develop your analytical skills or stakeholder management techniques, etc.
IGotAnOffer Product Leadership Coaching
IGotAnOffer’s product leadership coaches have succeeded as product leaders in a variety of industries and come from top tech companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, Netflix, etc. Many of them will likely have gone through a similar career path to yours, climbing up the product management ladder. They’ll be more than qualified to give you product leadership best practices.
To match with the right product leadership coach, filter your options based on your role, industry, or leadership level. Click on a coach’s profile to see their hourly availability and book your online session as soon as you need it. You’ll immediately see the prices of the sessions before you book. If you’re not 100% happy with your coaching session, we’ll give you a full refund.
Bring the Donuts-Product Leadership Coaching
Ken Norton is a well-known figure in the product leadership sphere, with his blog Bring the Donuts one of the most consistently cited in product management. He also offers executive coaching for product leaders, drawing on his years of product leadership at Google, where he launched some of the company’s most successful products, including Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Mobile Maps, and more.
Based on the information on his website, he requires a minimum of 6-month commitment for his coaching, during which you’ll have 2 monthly sessions and unlimited async messaging in between sessions, among other activities. The rate, however, is not disclosed.
By the way, there’s no guarantee that Norton will take you on as a coachee. You’ll have to apply and answer a few questions, and based on your answers, Norton may schedule a free call to see if the two of you are a fit. If not, he will recommend a coach.
The Product Refinery-Individual Product Coaching
What we find interesting about The Product Refinery is that it’s focused on providing development and coaching services for product people. Its small roster of coaches has worked in startups, scale-ups, and big enterprises in a variety of industries so you can easily find a coach who shares your background or interest.
The website offers three ways to engage with a coach. If you’re working through a single challenge, they recommend a package with a set number of sessions with a coach. If you want a longer-term coaching relationship (and have the budget for it), you can go for the retainer package. They also offer a one-off session.
Click here to read more about product management coaching and the options available.
4. Are leadership coaches worth it? ↑
The range of prices for leadership coaching in 2024 can vary greatly, just as the range of services and packages offered can differ. Here are some of the published price ranges for the leadership coaching services we’ve recommended:
You can see that there is a real range of pricing available. We recommend that you consider your budget in relation to the long-term benefits you expect to get from the investment, and then make your choice - just make sure that you read the coach's reviews first!
Book Leadership Coaching Sessions with IGotAnOffer
We hope you found our recommendations useful! We’ve made sure to include a range of good leadership coaching platforms and programs fit for different situations, but we believe IGotAnOffer is an excellent all-around option with a wider range of high-quality coaches than anywhere else.
So if you want to check out our leadership coaching services, browse our platform’s over 140 coaches with experience at many top companies. Search by industry, role, or company to get the right match for you. You can see the coaches' hourly availability and book your online session in a couple of clicks.
