Spent $400 on a premium executive coach only to get boilerplate advice
I paid $400 for a six-session executive coaching package from a guy in Dallas who claimed he worked with Fortune 500 leaders. Every session felt like I was reading a self-help book from 2015 - he never asked about my actual daily workflow or team challenges. Has anyone else dropped cash on a coach that just recycled generic tips instead of giving real, tailored help?
That's exactly what happened to me with a coach I hired last year. She was super polished, had all these fancy certificates on her wall, but every session was the same: read a quote from some leadership book, then ask me how I felt about it. I kept thinking, lady, I need help with my team not finishing projects on time, not a pep talk about being resilient. It's like they take one weekend course and suddenly they're experts on everyone's specific situation. The good ones will actually ask you to send them a recording of a team meeting or look at your actual calendar to see where you're wasting time.