Executive Coaching
Supporting leaders through critical challenges in leadership, performance and transition
A confidential and demanding space for CEOs, founders and senior executives to step back, strengthen their leadership and act with greater clarity when the stakes are high.
Leadership often means making difficult decisions under pressure, carrying responsibility alone and remaining a source of direction for others despite uncertainty.
Executive coaching provides a confidential and business-focused environment to clarify a situation, identify behaviours that limit impact, strengthen decision-making and turn intentions into concrete action.
WINGMIND supports CEOs, founders, senior executives and executive committee members during onboarding, growth, transformation, underperformance and leadership transition.
When does executive coaching create the most value?
Coaching is particularly valuable when a leader must evolve the way they decide, communicate or mobilise others in order to succeed in a critical phase.
- Understand the role quickly
- Clarify the mandate and expectations
- Build key relationships
- Handle early decisions effectively
- Delegate more effectively
- Evolve the leadership role
- Strengthen the executive team
- Move from control to leadership
- Understand what is blocking progress
- Restore confidence
- Change ineffective behaviours
- Build a recovery plan
- Lead sensitive change
- Manage resistance
- Preserve energy and impact
- Prepare for a change in role
The most common leadership challenges
Executive coaching is always anchored in a real business situation and clearly defined outcomes.
- Making better decisions in a complex environment
- Increasing impact with the Board, shareholders or executive committee
- Reducing the isolation that often comes with leadership
- Managing tension with a co-founder, executive or investor
- Evolving a leadership style that has become limiting
- Recovering energy, confidence or motivation
- Delegating without losing control
- Improving communication and relationships
- Developing assertiveness and managerial courage
- Prioritising and using time more effectively
- Leading a reorganisation or transformation
- Preparing a transition, succession or new professional chapter
What executive coaching can achieve
The objective is not simply greater self-awareness, but a concrete evolution in the way the leader operates.
Understand the situation, priorities, options and decisions that matter most.
Adapt leadership, communication and behaviour to mobilise others more effectively.
Turn decisions into action, maintain focus and follow through on commitments.
Preserve energy, manage pressure more effectively and strengthen the ability to recover.
Five dimensions of leadership development
The work is tailored to the leader’s priorities and may combine several complementary dimensions.
- Understand personal patterns
- Manage emotions and pressure
- Identify automatic reactions
- Strengthen self-confidence
- Clarify objectives
- Explore options
- Make difficult decisions
- Align personal choices with business priorities
- Prioritise
- Move into action
- Solve problems
- Create effective leadership routines
- Communicate with greater impact
- Develop assertiveness
- Manage conflict
- Build trust-based relationships
- Delegate and empower
- Drive performance
- Develop people
- Lead an executive team
Our approach
A pragmatic, confidential and tailored process.
Framing
- Understand the context
- Clarify expectations
- Define objectives
- Agree on confidentiality and working arrangements
Initial diagnosis
- In-depth interviews
- Review of critical situations
- Identification of strengths and risks
- Assessment tools where useful
Coaching
- Individual sessions
- Work on real business situations
- Experiments between sessions
- Follow-up on decisions and commitments
Review
- Assess progress
- Consolidate learning
- Define priorities for the next phase
- Three-way review when coaching is sponsored
Assessment, 360 feedback and coaching
Coaching can be enriched by assessment tools when they help accelerate insight and development.
HOGAN tools can help identify strengths, behaviours under pressure, motivations and potential derailers.
Feedback from managers, peers and direct reports helps compare the leader’s self-perception with their actual impact.
Career history, past decisions and critical experiences reveal patterns of success and areas of risk.
Self-sponsored or company-sponsored coaching
The framework differs depending on whether the leader initiates the coaching personally or whether it is sponsored by the company, Board or investor.
Self-sponsored coaching
The leader chooses the objectives and retains full control over the content of the discussions. The engagement may focus on an immediate business challenge, a role transition or a broader reflection on how they lead.
Company-sponsored coaching
The leader, coach and sponsor jointly define the objectives and success indicators. The content of the sessions remains confidential; only agreed objectives, overall progress and commitments may be shared.
Why WINGMIND
Executive coaching that connects leadership development with business, governance and organisational realities.
A practical understanding of shareholder, Board and private equity expectations.
First-hand experience of building, leading, growing and selling a company.
More than 100 engagements across 10 countries with leaders, executive teams, investors and Boards.
About David Chouraqui
Executive Coach and Operating Advisor to leaders, executive teams, investors and Boards.
A former private equity investor and entrepreneur, David Chouraqui has supported CEOs, founders and executive committee members for more than a decade through leadership, performance and transition challenges.
- HEC Paris graduate
- Former private equity investor
- Entrepreneur who built and sold a company
- Trained in ORSC systemic coaching
- Certified in HOGAN Leadership Assessments
- More than 100 engagements across 10 countries
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about executive coaching.
Who is executive coaching for?
CEOs, managing directors, founders, executive committee members and business unit leaders facing a challenge in leadership, performance, growth, onboarding or transition.
How long does an executive coaching engagement last?
The duration depends on the objectives and context. An engagement usually includes several sessions over a number of months, allowing time for experimentation and sustainable change.
Is executive coaching confidential?
Yes. The content of the sessions remains confidential. When a sponsor funds the coaching, the information-sharing rules are agreed with the leader at the outset.
Can coaching include an assessment or 360 feedback?
Yes, where useful. HOGAN tools, 360 feedback, interviews or career analysis can complement the coaching process.
Do you work with leaders who are struggling?
Yes. Coaching can help clarify the causes of difficulty, restore the leader’s ability to act and build a recovery plan. It does not replace medical or psychological care when that is required.
Can coaching be commissioned by a Board or investor?
Yes. The engagement is then framed with both the sponsor and the leader, with clear objectives and strict confidentiality rules.
Related approaches
Depending on the situation, executive coaching can be combined with assessment or work with the executive team.
Discuss an executive coaching engagement
Are you facing a new role, sustained pressure, a leadership challenge or a critical transition? An initial conversation can clarify the situation and determine whether coaching is the right response.
Email: contact@wingmind.co
LinkedIn: David Chouraqui
Book a conversation: Schedule a confidential discussion