Christian Executive Leadership Coaching

My Christian executive leadership coaching clients carry major responsibilities locally, nationally and internationally. They own, lead or manage general-market and faith-based organizations and initiatives.

The Majority of My Clients are Christian Executives - At any given time, 80 - 90% of my clients are Christian leaders and executives who want to work with a mature Christian executive coach who can understand where they are coming from, the stresses they are under, and what they want to achieve. I can.

Leaders and Executives Across Many Sectors - To see a short list of positions I've coached, and some of the organizations in which I've served individual professionals, click here. I work as comfortably with a Christian leader in a secular setting as in a more faith-oriented setting. I coach executives, leaders, and senior-level professionals every working day of the week. 

A Few Distinctives

Our Reference Point - We may not talk about spiritual things each and every time we are together. This is a not a Bible study or a discipleship program. But, we always have that Christ-centered reference point in mind no matter what we coach around.

• Like any other business or organizational leader, you want something to be different. You are intent on addressing personal, professional or organizational concerns. You might even find yourself at a critical crossroads that caused you to consider coaching.

• You want to work with a seasoned professional Coach who, in addition to assisting you with business or ministry goals, shares a common Lord, spiritual understanding, and ultimate life purpose. You want someone who can relate to you and where you are at.

Work, Professional, and Leadership Issues - Often in the course of conversation a reference to a Biblical character, account or passage will come up. These reflections can give us fresh insight or perspective on the situation at hand. They can help us think about how we might handle a situation. 

How We Talk about Work Life Balance - For most of my clients, work-life balance is incredibly important. God doesn't burn leaders out, so what's going on? Burnout happens for different reasons. I assure you, your availability and vitality for the long term IS of vital interest to God.  

We Discuss Anything that is Important to You - I discuss and coach around almost anything to do with work, leadership, and life. It seems there isn't much I haven't heard or been talking about with clients. Christians experience the same "stuff" as everyone else. But we process it through the lens of a relationship with God.  

What I Don't Discuss - I will NOT cater my coaching to any type of extremism or hyper-political partisanship in a leader. If you wish "coaching" around any such views, I am not the right person for you.  

A Sample Week of Coaching

I help clients see themselves and their situation clearly and know what to do next. No week's coaching is ever the same. Here’s what my clients brought to the table for discussion during two recent weeks of coaching:

WEEK # 1

• Making progress on dealing with burnout
• Thinking through implications around the purchase of a new business
• Creating a plan for hiring a key team contributor after a valued one exits
• Overseeing the transfer of critical public infrastructure
• How to raise that one team out of their lethargic performance
• Seeking to understand what God might be up to in a personal situation
• Working on next strategic steps of a global initiative with multiple stakeholders
• Raising my contribution and impact in senior leadership team meetings 
• Improving confidence as a newer member of the executive team
• Dealing with the results of a major failure

You can see that the coaching conversations covered a lot of ground. Most often clients limit the actual coaching call to one topic, sometimes two. All of the above were separate Christian executive leadership coaching clients.

I am often used as a sounding board for thinking through complex situations prior to the client having broader discussion with other leaders or board members.

WEEK # 2

• Review of growth over last two years of new position
• Processing whether to leave or stay in this senior role
• Not letting this really intense quarter turn into burnout
• Trusting the systems and people put in place to take pressure off
• Taking true down time during upcoming holidays
• Getting prepared to assume a more senior position in a few days
• Spiritual well-being of my spouse
• Infilling critical senior role in light of no quality job applicants
• Incentivizing performance to attract quality contributors
• Needs and care for aging parents who are moving to be closer

Here are some other things clients have worked on. 

Please initiate a conversation with me. We can explore in what way you think I might be able to be of assistance to you. It would be an honor to speak with you. Send me a message here.

The Types of Discussions We'll Have

I understand how to coach to the rigors of everyday leadership and the long-term aspirations of the individual. During our coaching time, in a general way, we'll probably have four types of discussion. I've included some examples from the two sample weeks of coaching for each. 

1. Real-Time Situations and Concerns - Planning, troubleshooting, decision-making, interpersonal situations that you are dealing with today or this week.

• Getting prepared to assume a senior position in a few days
• Not letting this really intense quarter turn into burnout
• Dealing with the results of a major failure 

2. Growth Goals that Take More Time - Dealing with overload, burnout or burn-on, Increasing daily productivity and effectiveness, changing possible career limiting behaviours. You can't simply snap your fingers, and ... bingo, got that solved in an hour. 

• How to raise that one team out of their lethargic performance
• Raising my contribution and impact in senior leadership team meetings
• Improving confidence as a newer member of the executive team

3. Stretch Discussions Around Common Challenges - Avoiding responsibility, micromanaging, lack of awareness, poor communication culture, team dynamics. Some things require longer, exhilarating but challenging conversation that get to the heart of blind spots or tightly held behaviors, or persistent and disturbing organizational cultures. These are the "you really pushed me and made me think," conversations. (More like we really challenged each other to deeper observation and reflection.) 

• Trusting the systems and people put in place to take pressure off
• Taking true down time during upcoming holidays
• Incentivizing performance to attract quality contributors

4. Long-game - Business expansion nationally or globally, establishing a new company or ministry, having 100% of a key staffing area developed and promoted from within, fostering multinational action on some important initiative. These initiatives span months or years. Execution and adjustment continues on over time, and in coaching comes up again and again as a next step or a new phase of the same initiative or topic. 

• Overseeing the transfer of critical public infrastructure
• Working on next strategic steps of a global initiative with multiple stakeholders
• Processing whether to leave or stay in this senior role

Hundreds of executives and leaders have taken advantage of one-to-one Christian executive leadership coaching to advance projects and programs with greater focus and less stress, even while they were decreasing those things that lead to overload and burnout.

If you are looking for a seasoned, Christian Leadership Coach, Phone my office at 705.687.2711 or send a message on the contact form.

Support Through Overload and Burnout

We as a society need your contribution to continue from a position of strength.

I've put a special emphasis on coaching for avoiding burnout, and dealing with burnout, for many years. I support executives through burnout.

You understand that I am not a physician, therapist, or a researcher. I am an executive coach, a seasoned Christian who has depth of experience and knows how to provide understanding, professional, and live (not something AI generated,) coaching SUPPORT. 

I work with YOU, YOUR situation and YOUR context, so you can beat burnout and regain effectiveness. Sometimes I put it this way, "I help you see yourself and your situation clearly, and know what to do next."

Bottom line - We need YOU. I'd welcome the opportunity to be of help.

Here's some real time encouragement. If you are having a rough time right now with the intensity of your situation, try reading these encouraging words of Scripture. Remember, David "strengthened himself in the Lord."

Shifts You Can Look Forward To

Through our one-to-one Christian executive leadership coaching work you can:

• Move from a loss of energy to an increase of energy 

• Move from a loss of effectiveness to increasing effectiveness 

• Move from a pull back of involvement to being engaged again

• Move from a loss of health and a sense of well-being closer to optimum health and positive attitude 

• Move from feeling a loss of control to a sense of control 

Coaching Always Lifts a Willing Leader

After 25 years of Christian executive leadership coaching, two things are apparent to me.

• Coaching always lifts a willing leader and improves their leadership.  Everyday realities continue to shift in a world of evolving complexity. Like the men of Issachar, who “understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” (1 Ch 12:32) wise leaders avoid operating alone and in a vacuum. They sought God, and counselled together. We should too.

When that happens with the men and women I serve, they work with greater clarity, less stress, increased momentum, more satisfaction, and often better results. That’s it. Good coaching, by God's enabling, results in better leadership.

• Retaining a coach is not a commodity decision, like buying a car. You are making an investment in you (or your team,) and by extension all God allows you to influence and impact. Coaching pays back in multiple ways. And that's why clients continue to retain coaching services for a significant amount of time. (Average time spent coaching with me is currently 14 months.) It isn't about the cost. It's about investing in what's possible. 

No matter your company or organization, secular or Christian, our work together will have practical application that lasts a lifetime across all of your life, work and leadership. That's the goal and the prayer. 

For Christian Executive Leadership Coaching, I Invite You to Contact Me

I welcome the opportunity to assist you, or coach a member of your leadership team. Contact me to explore how I might be of assistance and how soon an opening might be available.

Don't hesitate. Contact me now. There is no charge for a conversation to explore your situation and see how I might be able to be of some assistance. 

Christian Executive Leadership Coaching with Gary Wood.