Mentor Quotes That Will Motivate You On Your Way

You don’t need permission to chase your dream. You need someone who gets it.

Leading a creative life doesn’t come with a map. 

There’s no manual, and the roads you’re on will come with a few unexpected twists and turns. 

We see it every day: creative leaders trying to navigate tough decisions, feeling alone and a bit lost, not sure what to do next.

And that’s where a good chat with a trusted sounding board comes in.

Mentorship fuels transformation, and it’s a vital element for professional growth and career development.

But a mentor isn’t a GPS. They’re more like a taxi driver who has traveled the roads before you, picked up some bruises, and is willing to share what they’ve learned, traffic dependent. The best ones don’t just give you directions. They help you learn how to think, trust your gut, and navigate the journey on your own to reach your full potential. 

The essence of mentorship is helping a good leader become a great leader by developing valuable skills through their own exploration and personal growth.

The right mentor is someone who believes in you even when you've forgotten how. They don’t drive for you, but they're ready to ride, even if it’s just for a little while. That’s also why the wisdom they offer usually doesn’t come in the form of a long lecture. Instead it’s often packed in simple mantras, quotes, and questions that could live on a street sign. Yet these words can stick with you for years, quietly guiding your decisions at a crossroads. 

For your career path, a helpful gut check can make all the difference. Let's check in with some of the best mentor quotes from real-life legends (and one unforgettable film character).

"When you learn, teach. When you get, give." – Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou's words are a clear call to action: if you've learned something valuable, you have a responsibility to share it. Like many things, mentoring relationship is a two-way street, and the best way to say thank you to someone who helped you grow is to help someone else. Being a mentor doesn’t mean having all the answers, it just means being generous with what you do know. And that is a core part of building the kind of creative community we want to ride in.

"Do or do not. There is no try." – Yoda

Yoda, the tiny green zen master, might be a fictional character, but truth is truth. Damn perfection, hail progress. When you say "I'll try," you’re already leaving room for doubt. But when you say "I will," you’re taking the wheel and finding your right direction. True mentors push you to step out of your comfort zone and start doing. While that looks different for everyone and is a delicate balance, it’s a key way to develop a new skill. No one is great at something the first time, and what if greatness in that area isn't even the right goal?

"A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself." – Oprah Winfrey

Oprah has mentored countless people and knows the right person doesn’t give you hope, they help you find your own. This quote reminds us that mentors aren't here to impress you. They’re here to hold up a mirror until you finally see your own potential. They help you remember what you’re capable of, even when you've forgotten. And that’s just one of the reason someone with the true spirit of a mentor can have a profound impact on our lives.

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." – Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was many things to a lot of people, but one part of his legacy that stands the test of time is as a visionary. This quote is powerful because it reminds us we don’t need permission to dream our big future into existence. Great mentors don’t just pat you on the back, they challenge you to believe in what’s right on the other side of hard work, and maybe even the impossible. They help you see that what feels like a crazy idea today might just be a genius move tomorrow. They give you the confidence to trust your gut and lean into the wild, winding road.

"It always seems impossible until it’s done." – Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela knew more than anyone what it meant to face impossible odds. After decades in prison, he still came out with hope and the strength to lead. His powerful words stand like a lighthouse for when you’re tired, overwhelmed, or facing difficult times. A mentor doesn’t always have answers. Sometimes, they just give you the simple strength to keep going – to stay on the road until the goal is in the rearview.

"The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team." – Phil Jackson

As the legendary coach behind the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson mentored some of the greatest basketball players of all time, and he knew that the essence of guidance isn't always one-on-one. A great team moves together, each person building on the strengths of those around by learning from your peers and those you’re guiding. The best creative journeys are driven by a strong crew; those who show up ready to co-mentor get a seat.

"Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change." – Brené Brown

Brené Brown has become a modern mentor for anyone stepping into a leadership role with fear or self-doubt. Her work reminds us that being open, honest, and vulnerable isn't a weakness, it’s right where all the good fuel is!! Embrace your weird. The new ideas, fresh perspectives, and genuine connection lives in the parts of yourself you know you should lean into. Shift from surviving to driving when you lead vulnerably.

"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." – Isaac Newton

Poeticism aside, this quote holds a deep truth about guidance. Even someone as brilliant as Isaac Newton knew he didn’t get there alone. He built on the wisdom of those who came before him, and that’s exactly what greatest mentors and role models do. They give us a wider view of what’s possible. They lift us up so we can see farther, dream bigger, and get a better view of bumps and potholes in the road ahead. They challenge us and propel us into a future we maybe didn’t even realize was possible.

🚏 Your Next Turn

The fun thing about these kinds of phrases is that they tend to sneak up on you.

You hear these words at just the right time, and suddenly it becomes something you carry with you for life. Whether it’s Yoda’s tough love or Maya Angelou’s quiet wisdom, the words of a studied mentor can be a good teacher: they can shape how you think, grow, and show up in the world. 

Leaders sharing through their wins and losses serve a pivotal role in helping us become our own best version.

A single sentence isn’t a magic spell, but it can be a clear road sign. It can ground you when you’re unsure, and it can give you momentum when you when you’re stuck. In that way, it helps you find your own way.

Ready to find your way? Hail Creative Taxi.

Creative Taxi Values

You’ve made it here because you know emotional awareness is your leadership superpower. We see that as your opportunity to shine. 

We don’t coach you to dominate, we coach you to discern.

To know your impact. To understand your team. To make space without losing speed.

Creative leadership is made sustainable by more than strategy. It requires vision anchored in truth and action in motion.

The path forward isn’t downloaded, it’s discovered.

And when you’re building something real, you need someone who knows when to push, when to pause, and when to just ride with you. 

Creative Taxi Values

Protect the Spark

Your creative power isn’t a resource to burn, it’s the spark we protect. The world needs your X-factor, not a radio-safe cut. We keep you lit while you chase what matters.

Co-Create the Map

We don’t hand you a GPS, we ride together. We keep the playlists fresh, the engine tuned, and the potholes in the rearview. You pick the location and we’ll get you there, vision intact.

Fuel the Weird

Your quirks aren’t flaws, they’re the path. What sets you apart keeps you ahead. So we double your boldest ideas and wildest details. No copying frameworks, no dimming your light – just making your mark.

Spark Group Creativity With This Guided Meditation Script

We’ve all gone into a creative team meeting feeling flustered, half-distracted, and nowhere near ready to brainstorm.

As you grow in your creative leadership journey, one thing you’ll realize is that leadership is pressure: constant decisions, multiple streams of communication, and the weight of each choice landing on your desk. 

What gets overlooked by many creative leaders is a completely free tool that helps you show up sharper, calmer, and more effective: meditation.

Relaxation exercises like mindfulness meditation can actively support your mental well-being, and contribute to making anywhere you are a happy place to be. 

For a moment, think back to your last chaotic meeting experience.

Now imagine the opposite: one where your team begins calm, focused, and feeling fully present as their authentic self. A shared pause, a little stillness, and suddenly, ideas start flowing with ease.

Starting with a short group meditation isn’t just for yoga studios – it can be used for showing up in boardrooms, 1:1 sessions, and workshops with more intention and focus.

Whether you lead a design team, a marketing squad, or a writer’s room, this mindfulness at work practice helps clear mental clutter and gets everyone into creative ride together.

Need to convince the boss? Read on for benefits of meditating before a creative meeting and full 5-minute guided meditation for creativity you can use right now.

Why Meditate Before a Meeting?

Have you ever seen inner peace spill out from the bosses coffee cup?? ☕

Imagine that.

Meetings thrive when people are tuned in, relaxed, and ready to contribute. The reality? Most of us show up with a hundred tabs open in our computers, phones, and minds.

A short mindfulness practice for teams helps us all close a few tabs and focus on the right things for the next 30–60 minutes.

Clear Mental Clutter

Before you can think big, your brain needs breathing room.

A brief meditation works like housekeeping – sweeping away any lingering thoughts or feelings. The cold sweats from your last meeting? That text you just read? The breakfast you didn’t finish? Does it benefit you to carry those thoughts into your next meeting? 

Once the clutter is gone, you can focus on ideas that matter. Leave the trash at the door.

Reduce Stress + Anxiety

Deadlines, feedback loops, and performance pressure add a quiet undercurrent of stress, something we often call manufactured corporate stress.

Truth is, it happens everywhere. A few slow breaths help calm the nervous system, slow the heart rate, and relax the entire body.

This shift is one of the most overlooked workplace meditation benefits. 

A calm brain is a creative brain.

Boost Your Focus + Attention

It’s possible to be physically in a meeting but mentally elsewhere. Meditation for focus and productivity trains the mind to return to the present moment. Your brain is just like any other muscle, and if you don’t train it, you can struggle to use it effectively.

A body scan, deep breathing, and other relaxation techniques can help if your mind wanders a lot.

When everyone’s an active listener and able to stay engaged, collaboration and ideation improve.

Enhance Team Collaboration

When your team is grounded, they’re able to be more open and less reactive.

As a leader, you have an opportunity to create a safe environment where teammates of all experience levels are encouraged to share thoughtful feedback, practice emotional regulation (and own it when mistakes happen), and develop stronger connections between people and concepts to lift teams to their full potential.

Set a Culture of Calm Confidence

When the team pauses together for a group meditation, there’s an unspoken sense of unity. That collective presence shapes the meeting’s energy and makes space for more honest, brave, and innovative exchanges.

Mindfulness exercises set a tone that carries through in the everyday lives of the team members.

Keys for Good Group Meditation

Even we’ll admit group meditation feels awkward when done poorly. 

But moments of stillness together builds trust and aligns the group for better collaboration. A few principles on what makes it work – especially in creative team environments:

1. Brief: 3–7 minutes is enough to reset, not enough to lose attention. You want to create a feeling of relaxation, not yawning.

2. Inviting: There’s no “right” way to meditate. Everyone should feel welcome to join in a way that feels safe and is a comfortable experience.

3. Guided: A calm voice offering simple cues keeps everyone engaged, and helps wandering minds redirect back to a peaceful state.

4. Grounded: Gently shift focus to breath and body to anchor attention in the present.

Set the Vibe

Small adjustments create the right atmosphere for team building through mindfulness:

1. Pick a quiet moment. Try it during the first five minutes of the meeting to ease the transition.

2. Silence notifications. Pings and buzzes break focus; ask everyone to pause them.

3. If remote, cameras are cool but optional. It fosters presence but should be optional for privacy and accessibility.

4. Crank the tunes – softly. Soft ambient sounds can enhance relaxation. Need a rec?

5. No pressure. Participation is personal. The goal is invitation, not expectation.

Group Meditation Script for Your Creative Team

Here’s a simple guided meditation you can adapt for your next creative meeting (in about five minutes):

Sit in a relaxed position in your chair.

Let your hands rest on your lap or the table, palms of your hands facing up. 

If you're comfortable, close your eyes, or let them rest in a gentle gaze. (You can look towards the tip of your nose.)

Take a deep breath in… and slowly exhale. 

Feel yourself connected to your seat or touching the ground. Feel the soles of your feet. 

Another deep breath in through the nose… out through the mouth. 

Continue at your pace.

Allow your shoulders to drop, your jaw to loosen, your hands to relax.

Notice how you feel. Don’t judge. Acknowledge. 
If thoughts arise, that's expected. There's a lot of traffic.

Could you imagine them contained in a moving car? 

Now let that car drive past. Return to your breath. At your pace.

Feel your body supported by the chair or the earth. Feel the rise and fall of your breath.

If you notice tension, breathe into it. Hold it. Let it soften as you exhale.

Now, set an intention for the next 30–60 minutes. 

Make it personal to you, so you can leave feeling good. Is your intention to feel energized? Accomplished? Restored? Connected?

Choose a lane that feels right to you.

Take one final deep breath – together. Exhale slowly.

Let your breath return to its natural rhythm. 

When you’re ready, return your attention to the room.

Wiggle your fingers, toes, eyebrows.

Roll your shoulders and open your eyes.

Give a few moments of quiet before jumping into the agenda, allowing folks to wiggle out any remaining tension.

You might say:

Welcome back. Thanks for taking that moment together. Let’s carry this feeling of calm, creative energy forward.

This small transition bridges mindfulness at work with action, ensuring the right vibes keep rolling.

🔑 Keys for You

Creative meetings don’t have to start with weather chatter or slides. They can be a place where you learn and practice new skills together. 

Sometimes, the best ideas begin in a moment of peace. 

A short group meditation for teams clears the mind, strengthens connection, and sparks collaboration. It’s a simple, free ritual that takes less than five minutes and can make a big impact – one breath, and idea, at a time.

How to Explain Your Career Lane Change

Career changes are rarely about one thing.

You might be eager for a new challenge and ready to leave a bad manager. Competing factors can make your next move seem impossible.

Rest assured, change is always possible.

When you hit that interview circuit:

Hiring managers will ask, “Why are you changing jobs?”

Your answer sets the tone for what comes next.

With practice, a clear, confident answer will signal you’re intentional and future-focused. 

This cheat sheet is built for job seekers who want an answer that resonates. You’ll find common reasons for career changes, how to frame them in an interview response, and ideas to keep your tone confident.

Whether you're chasing career advancement, craving better work-life harmony, or itching for adventure, we’ve got your back – read on for smart, simple ways to explain your job change so you can land a position you love.

What’s the Best Reason for a Career Change?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. It’s up to you to answer this with confidence. Your answer should be:

• Honest

• Positive

• Forward-looking

A solid answer aligns your personal motivations with your professional goals. 

It should show your potential employer you’ve done the hard work of reflecting on your personal and career goals, and you have an idea of where you’re headed next.

Your answer should reflect what excites you about the new role – it’s not a vent sesh about your last job. 

This mindset shift sets the stage for a powerful connection with a potential teammate.

Interview-Ready Reasons for Career Change 

Good leaders understand everyone’s needs vary – it’s understood that most people experience a mix of motivations, from the practical needs like job security, pay, or a mix of professional and personal desires like more vacation time and a remote work policy.

What matters is how you frame your reasoning, and how you ended up in the interview seat. 

A few ideas on how to talk about why you’re shifting lanes – without making the interviewer want to hop out early:

Career Growth or Advancement

You may have taken on more, led new initiatives, and shouldered major responsibility across departments, clearly proving your value over time.

Still, you may feel stuck if there’s simply nowhere else to go in the organization. If you’ve hit a ceiling in your current position, few hiring managers will blame you.

When opportunities for career growth or promotions are limited, switching industries, transitioning into a new role in your field, or continuing your education might feel like the next best route.

Framing this as a move toward leadership opportunities, larger projects, or new challenges keeps the focus on your future-looking career goals and the positive impact you still aim to achieve.

Bosses love that.

Better Benefits, More Money

When you’re underpaid and under supported, you feel it. 

Sometimes it’s not just about the paycheck – especially for workers with transferable skills. Better compensation might also include performance bonuses, equity options, health insurance, retirement contributions, or additional perks that improve your long-term financial stability.

If your current job pays below industry standards, or you haven’t seen a raise in years, it’s natural to start eye new opportunities more aligned with your worth in today’s job market.

If you mention benefits as a motivator, be mindful, and pair it with the bigger picture: you’re seeking a role fully aligned with your skills and worth, and this is it!

Then move forward. 

Lack of Job Satisfaction

If your strengths aren’t put to use, or external factors have impacted your ability to do  your best work, own your path forward. You bring value to your employer and it’s natural to want that supported and occasionally stretched.

Have confidence in your skills and lean on them in your answer. You want to impact your future employer by flexing your muscles, not sitting on the bench. 

Work-Life Harmony

More professionals are moving to a world where work-life balance may better be considered work-life harmony, especially after major life events like becoming a parent, facing health challenges, or simply recognizing the toll of chronic manufactured corporate stress.

When a job consistently demands long hours, frequent travel, or high-pressure deadlines, it erodes your mental health and personal relationships. Boundaries exist – to an extent. When work is unreasonable, it can lead to panic attacks in your off-time. There’s no balance there, even if you’re “off the clock.”

If you’re seeking a shift, frame it as wanting to be in an environment where you can do your best work and be supported as a whole human being.

High performance comes at a cost – even elite athletes practice proper rest and recovery to maintain championship-level performance over a career. What if you considered rest integral to your work?

Job Security

When an employer lacks long-term direction or shows signs of financial distress, it’s natural to be concerned.

Choosing to change careers proactively shows that you’re thinking strategically about your future. Could you align a career goal with the growth of the team? You could have a recipe for a great icebreaker.

Change in Goals or Interests

Passions and career goals change. The interests you had at the beginning of your career may no longer reflect who you are today. Sometimes, those old beliefs can even be what’s holding you back.

For instance, a project manager in marketing might discover a love for data science and begin learning coding in their spare time. Realizing how they could use their combined skills to make a positive impact in their community, they’re ready to shift gears. 

As professionals grow personally and professionally, goals evolve along with them. What lit you up then may not light you up now, and that’s OK. 

If you’re seeking more purpose-driven work, career transitions allow for realignment between your values and how you earn a living. Keeping your focus on future impact, consider framing your skills and passion as a value- and culture-add for the employer. 

You are the total package, after all. Sometimes it takes a new room to see your light.

Seeking New Opportunities, New Skills

Feeling stagnant is a red flag for anyone ambitious, especially a creative worker. 

When you’ve stopped learning, it’s time to find an environment where you can. Employers respect candidates who want to grow and challenge themselves while being a positive contributor to a new team. How might you show your ability to make an impact immediately while also prioritizing a role or field where you have something to learn?

Company Culture

Sometimes the job’s fine, it’s the environment. A mismatched or toxic company culture can be one of the most hidden yet most pressing reasons for a career change.

Communication breakdowns, misaligned values, or unethical behavior are all legitimate reasons to leave.

What’s best for you, in the interview seat, is to focus on the opportunities in front of you. Focus on what elements of company culture matter most to you, what kind of feedback you’re seeking in your next role, or what work environment you thrive in. How could you express your views in a way that gives the hiring manager an opportunity to align with you?

Relocation or Personal Reasons

Moves happen, whether it’s to support a partner, be closer to aging family members, or pursue a lifestyle better aligned with who you are today. 

If you’ve taken time off for caregiving, recovering from burnout, or reentering the workforce after a break, you may also be ready to talk about a reset. 

Big changes can open the door to new career opportunities – when intentional. They provide an opportunity to redefine your professional identity and make thoughtful choices about your new role and future aspirations.

How to Answer in a Job Interview

Connect to the mission. When it’s something you really believe in, share how the mission connects to your career goals and personal pursuits. 

Show your track record. Own your achievements and speak with confidence about what you’ve created in your career.

Be positive. No matter how bad your last job was, an interview isn’t the place to vent. Save it for the cab ride home.

Be concise. Practice a short-and-sweet response out loud until it flows naturally.

Try remixing this script:

I’m proud of the work I’ve delivered, leading global campaigns, elevating our design standards, and collaborating closely with cross-functional teams. Now I’m ready for a role where I can have a broader creative and strategic impact: shaping the vision earlier, mentoring a team of designers, and driving impactful design that pushes the craft and business forward.

What to Say in Your Cover Letter

Don’t ignore the reason for a career change, talk about it! 

Briefly acknowledge the transition and explain your motivation for seeking a new role. Remix this:

I’m looking to bring my 10 years of experience leading high-impact design projects into a role with greater creative scope, team leadership, and strategic influence.

Focusing on alignment while highlighting transferable skills shows recruiters how your past experience connects to this role. Skills like leadership, communication, project management, or data analysis translate across industries, and are worth more than a passing mention.

If there’s a gap between roles, mention steps you’ve taken to stay sharp: did you complete courses, certifications, or industry-specific training? Did you launch a side project?

It all counts! Frame your career progression around the total picture of what makes you uniquely positioned to solve problems for the employer with your entrepreneurial spirit and DIY attitude. 

🔑 Keys For You

A career change doesn’t have to be scary, and it doesn’t have to be about running away. 

Moving to a new job can be the smartest move you make, especially when your current role no longer recognizes your value, or the organization makes changes that conflict with your career goals. 

Show hiring managers you are proactive and driving towards the work that fits you best. When you’re intentional and prepared with a thoughtful response, you flip the question from a potential red flag into a selling point.

Whether your reason is better pay, more on-the-job satisfaction, work-life harmony, or a total pivot, you now have the language to own your answer – confidently, concisely, and on your terms.

What is Leadership Coaching?

Leadership coaching: You’ve seen it on LinkedIn. Heard it at conferences. Maybe even nodded along in a meeting about the new company initiative.

Is leadership coaching worth your time and money? Or is it another place where you’ll hear endless talk about "synergy"?

Leadership coaching is a structured, personalized process that helps leaders, or those folks on their way, improve communication, emotional awareness, decision-making, and overall team impact.

Leadership coaching isn’t a fad. It’s how well-intentioned but human managers stop winging it and start really leading.

And yes! It’s worth whatever you make of it. For folks in leadership positions – managers, team leaders, senior executives – developing critical leadership skills while refining their personal leadership style is a must-have.

Think of leadership coaches like personal trainers – not for your body, but your brain.

After all, some of the skills you're building on as a leader include emotional awareness, resilience, and the ability to inspire others – without losing your mind.

With corporate bosses expecting more from less, professionals today find themselves turning to coaching to better understand and communicate the impact of their work. 

Whether you're leading a skunkworks project or heading an entire department, working with a trusted, external partner like a coach can be the difference between spinning in circles and becoming a leader who drives the company forward.

What Leadership Coaching Actually Is

Leadership coaching is not therapy, mentoring, or consulting. It’s its own thing. 

Leadership coaching helps you become a more effective leader by unlocking what’s already there, focusing on the next most impactful step, and reminding you of your potential all along the ride.

There are many different approaches and leadership coaching strategies, but it should never be seen as a fix. 

A coach doesn't tell you what to do.

Instead, a good coach helps you clarify your goals, recognize your strengths, see potential roadblocks before they happen, push back on assumptions, and build habits that align with the kind of person you say you want to become – in other words, a good coach brings true partnership, accountability, and high standards.

Why Invest in Leadership Coaching

When done right, coaching goes far beyond performance reviews and quarterly targets. 

Coaches work with clients to truly understand their personal goals, responsibilities, challenges, and ultimately what drives them. This can look like intake forms, discovery chats, and assessments, but varies for each client-coach relationship. 

A good leadership coach asks powerful questions, guides strategic thinking, and holds you accountable throughout the coaching process.

The more honest, vulnerable, and committed you are, the more likely you’ll have success. 

Working with a coach can completely transform how you lead, think, and collaborate. It can unlock promotions, higher salaries, and career shifts that bring exactly the energy you crave.

Benefits of Leadership Coaching

After alignment, your coach will suggest an action plan that fits your specific needs and goals.

Staying committed between coaching sessions makes all the difference, otherwise progress will stall out. 

Let’s say you’re aiming to build communication skills or boost emotional intelligence. If your coach shares tools, exercises, or specific workshops, showing up is just the start: You'll only gain the experience from implementing what you’re learning as you go.

By working with a coach who holds you accountable, over time, you’ll unpack what elements make up strong leadership. Understanding your values and motivations, how to build stronger, healthier relationships, and how to manage challenging conversations with clarity and empathy are all key elements you should be ready to explore.

Coaching pushes you toward leadership potential, supporting you as you align your personal values, professional actions, and unique strengths.

It can also be a space where you learn how to better recognize how emotions may be impacting your work, and when others may be responding emotionally in real-time. This is a key aspect for handling high-pressure situations and conflict more gracefully.

What to Expect During the Coaching Process

Leadership coaching is not a one-time conversation or a feel-good pep talk. While there are plenty of good vibes, it’s a strategic, personalized process that unfolds in stages.

It requires a two-way commitment of active listening, honest dialogue, and candid feedback received with positive intent. Sometimes it’s challenging, as anything worthwhile is.

Each phase is designed to provide leaders like you with the tools needed to develop new skills and lead with a confidence that feels authentic.

Initial Assessment

Before getting into the work, the coach will conduct a comprehensive assessment. 

This step seeks to gain insights into your strengths, opportunities, and current approach. Depending on the engagement, you might go through 360-degree feedback, personality assessments (like DiSC or MBTI), or interviews to evaluate your leadership style, communication skills, and more.

It’s also when you clarify your personal goals, career goals, and any specific workplace or team challenges you need to actively support.

Coaching Sessions

Think of coaching as a relationship built over time. 

Once your goals are clear, you and your coach will meet regularly for focused, confidential sessions, usually 30-60 minutes at a time. 

These discussions are meant to help you explore your challenges in a brave space, reflect on your behavior and challenges, and explore new ways to lead more effectively.

Each session might center around a specific topic, such as handling conflict, delegating responsibilities, or leading through organizational change, but it’s up to you to steer the conversation and bring talking points for your coach to respond to.

The coach acts as a sounding board, offering fresh perspectives, strategic insight, and honest, constructive questions to guide and clarify your thinking.

Unlike async management training, this is about real-world application.

You’ll often bring current situations to the table, such as difficult conversations with team members, high-stakes presentations, or leadership dilemmas and get practical support to navigate them in return.

Progress Updates

No growth plan is perfect from the start, so regular check-ins and progress updates help you stay on track. These touchpoints are designed to share quick updates, get help about a specific challenge in the moment, make adjustments, and celebrate wins. 

Staying connected to the coaching process between sessions means the coaching work stays aligned with your priorities as they change, especially if you’re juggling multiple roles or shifting into a leadership position with more responsibility.

These can be tracked asynchronously, and can also be audio notes, allowing freeform, messy thoughts to develop between sessions in a trusted space.

Staying in sync helps you generate more momentum and accountability, so your coach can do a better job keeping your eyes on your destination and avoiding burnout. 

Action Plans

Applying what you learn is how the impact becomes real.

A coach will work with you to co-create personalized action plans, sometimes built using frameworks like the GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, Will).

How it works in practice:

1. Define a clear goal 

2. Assess your current reality 

3. Explore your options 

4. Commit the willpower to act 

A coach will encourage you to try new approaches, be willing to make mistakes, and reflect on the results of what you’re learning in real-time, so you can become a more effective leader through practice, not just theory.

Coaching Tools

Depending on the coaching provider or the coach’s methodology, you may also use:

• Leadership journals to document insights and decisions

• Communication logs to track interactions, thoughts, and ideas

• Emotional intelligence assessments to track growth in self-awareness, empathy, and regulation

• Templates for constructive feedback, performance reviews, or onboarding new roles

All of this reinforces the belief that coaching is a process, not an event. It's about integrating leadership into your daily actions, so you show up consistently as your best self, whether in boardrooms, Zooms, or 1:1s.

Types of Leadership Coaching

Executive Coaching 

Executive coaching is designed for high-level leaders. Think: folks who face intense pressure, conflicting priorities, and the need to align people, processes, and performance within short timelines. CEOs, directors, VPs, and senior execs responsible for complex decisions and leading at scale all benefit from the right coaching relationship.

In executive coaching, the focus goes beyond basic leadership skills, into strategic thinking, vision planning, organizational alignment, and legacy-building. 

Coaches help leaders refine executive communication skills, increase self-awareness, and develop tools for leading with positive impact. There should also an emphasis on business acumen, helping smart execs bring a profits-and-people approach.

Performance Coaching 

Performance coaching focuses on developing emerging leaders and high-potential employees on the rise. These individuals are eager to learn, often actively asking for feedback, and ready to stretch their leadership capabilities. This type of coaching aims to close specific performance gaps or prepare individuals for new roles within an organization. 

Team Coaching 

Unlike individual coaching, team coaching is about supporting groups as they collaborate. 

Whether it’s a leadership team, department, or project-based crew, this style of coaching focuses on aligning the group, agreeing to shared principles, and collaborating responsibly.

In team coaching, a leadership coach works with the whole group to spot friction points, encourage constructive dialogue, and co-create a space where effective team management practices can be implemented by the manager. 

The coach may observe meetings, facilitate workshops, or hold group coaching sessions to tackle communication gaps, role clarity, or breakdowns in the team workflow.

Strategic Coaching 

Perfect for senior leaders and professionals who are in roles demanding transformational change – heads of innovation, founders, senior project managers, or government officials leading systemic reform – strategic coaching focuses on vision, long-term planning, and consistency in the face of uncertainty.

By elevating a leader’s ability to think and lead, strategic coaches support leaders while they refine their vision, clarify long-term goals, and align teams around changing or mission-driven priorities.

Transition Coaching

Transition coaching supports professionals who are stepping into new roles. Maybe they’ve just been promoted, joined a new organization, or shifted industries entirely. 

What should be an exciting moment can also feel extremely overwhelming, especially if there’s pressure to perform right away. (Recipe for burnout??)

A coach, in this context, acts as a trusted support during the transition period, helping the leader adapt quickly, build confidence, and establish credibility with team members and peers. They may also focus on a specific issue or challenge perceived to be holding back the employee from success in their new role, if that’s what the client identifies. 

Developmental Coaching 

Developmental coaching emphasizes building foundational leadership capabilities over time. 

It’s often tied to a leadership program, one great example being the Small Giants Leadership Academy offered by the Small Giants Community, or integrated within larger coaching programs offered by corporations, non-profits, or even federal governments.

This type of coaching helps leaders grow in alignment with their personal values, vision, and long-term aspirations.

It’s ideal for two types of leaders:

1. Founders, CEOs, and execs currently building and leading purpose-driven businesses.

2. Ambitious emerging leaders who’ve got the drive and commitment to get to great places and are ready for growth.

It’s also common for leaders undergoing professional coaching for certification, such as becoming a professional certified coach themselves, to go through developmental coaching. These may be cohort based programs, lasting six to 12 months or longer.

These experiences include goal setting, regular feedback, peer collaboration, and a focus on lifelong learning in a shared environment.

How to Choose an Effective Leadership Coach

With so many focus areas and a-million-and-one coaches on social media, how do you pick the right leadership coach? 

It’s an art, not a science. A few criteria to help you decide:

1. Credentials: What level of certification matters to you? You might consider looking for International Coaching Federation (ICF) certified coaches, a coach with a track record of results and verifiable testimonials, or coaches with affiliations with trusted schools, businesses, and community organizations.

2. Alignment: Coaching is a personal experience. You should feel both comfortable and challenged by your coach. The right coach should understand your career goals, values, and vision for the future.

3. Approach: Find someone who works with your pace, preferred learning style, and day-to-day challenges. For example, ADHD certified coaches may be able to help more effectively with ADHD-related work challenges like time management and focus, and will have a better understanding of what approaches may or may not work best for a client with ADHD.

While specific credentials aren’t always required, coaches working in corporate settings typically must be ICF-certified. Beyond that, it’s as much about approach, style, and overall fit. You can even find useful career coaching resources provided for free by Goodwill.

If you’re not sure what type of coach might be right for you, try a few discovery chats.

Most coaches are more than happy to a no-pressure chat, as it helps them make sure it’s a good fit just like you.

🔑 Keys For You

Leadership isn’t a title, it’s how you act.

Great leadership is built through acts of intention, reflection, and trial-and-error. You have to be willing to make mistakes, fail, and try again, all while owning responsibility for the outcome.

It can be a lot for anyone to carry, especially the first time.

With a coach by your side, you’ll know you’ve got someone in your corner who keeps showing up for you, as you keep your commitment to growing thoughtfully. 

When leaders grow, so do the people around them, their companies, and their communities. We ride with those folks.