How do you Exec Coach? / Leah Feuer
Learning from Executive Coaches.
Good morning! This is the sequel of my “How do you CEO” series.
I’ve been working for an Executive Coach for 3+ years - he will be the final interview of this series. I love the way we can unpack big problems and work on strengths. So, naturally, I had to understand how that magic works to become a better manager and coach myself.
~ Batko, CEO @ Startmate, Founder @ Puddle Pod
Do you have an Executive Coach?
If you do and can recommend him/her - please leave their detail here (1 min).
I have yet to find a good place to find reliable Exec Coaches
👉 so here is the list of the above recommendations.
#3 Leah Feuer
How did you become an executive coach?
When I was Head of Product at Tinybop, an educational kids app company, I learned some coaching tools to help me grow as a leader and manager. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was the beginning of a new career. I enjoyed coaching so much that I made it central to my next role, advising founders and leaders at a blockchain incubator. When I started my own practice, I decided to focus on leaders because of the ripple effect transforming an individual can have on the whole company - making it healthier, more joyful, equitable, and impactful.
How do you Exec Coach?
I coach the whole person. We focus on the “soul” line, not just the “goal” line.
Making sure we are working towards your deepest dreams and highest self. My process blends my creative and coaching practices with my experience scaling startup teams and building over 40 products.
It’s somewhere between a personal product manager (keeping you on track towards your north star) and work therapy (getting to “breakthroughs” that transform how you show up). There’s no judgment, but also no bull shit.
In addition to coach, I call myself a mind organizer, because I have a knack for creating clarity out of a messy situation or mind. I love taking chaos and getting to the core of what's going on, and what’s needed to move forward.
How do you build trust quickly?
It's very intuitive. I’m open-minded and my style is casual, so it’s easy to connect. At the same time, my process is quite rigorous and organized, so people feel confident in it. I listen deeply, with care and without judgment. Trust builds as clients see that I get what they are saying, and experience powerful perspective shifts through our work.
I'm also pretty vulnerable myself.
I’m open to sharing my personal experiences or opinions.
I want each relationship to feel almost like a best friend, who's also really good at coaching.
What did you mean when you said you’re dream-oriented rather than goal-oriented?
Dreams are all about the feel, impact, and vision. It's less about the how and more about the why. I’m looking for the dreams that give you goosebumps and make you well up a little bit. The stuff that keeps you motivated because it’s connected to your deepest desire.
When clients have a goal like, “making 10 million for my business,” I’m looking for what's underneath that makes your heart expand? It's best to have your eyes on that big north star, and iterate on the goals because we often don’t know exactly what goals will get us to our dreams.
What do your clients ask you the most?
All of my clients have found some sort of success and realized there’s more that they’re looking for. They sense untapped potential and are asking for help getting there with more clarity, confidence, and ease.
There are three areas I work on most often.
One is, that no matter how experienced you are, running your own business (or team/project) can shake you. Having a solid foundation of confidence and the ability to shut out the noise is important. People often ask me for help with prioritization, decision-making, and communication, but I’m rarely giving them a specific answer. Instead, I’m helping them find (and validate) what feels aligned and authentic to them.
Another common theme is well-being and performance. People want to know how to build sustainable, fulfilling wok-lives. This often shows up as questions about burnout, navigating a career change, or shifting their role to be more aligned and energizing.
The third bucket is about creativity and personal expression. People regularly ask for permission and space to invest in their creative dreams.
What should your clients ask you more often?
People often come into coaching thinking about their personal pains and success. It can skew very individualistic. I’m most excited by folks who are asking questions about their journey in a broader context, not just personal benefit.
How do you balance asking questions vs telling your clients the answer?
I tell clients that I can wear a lot of different hats.
I can be your CPO, friend, cheerleader or boot camp instructor.
So I ask, how do you want me to show up right now?
A lot of it is intuitive as I get to know people and what they need in those moments. And I generally veer towards question-asking.
If I have a strong opinion, and think it will serve you to share it, I will say it. That said, I don’t expect you to do what I say - it serves more as something to react to. You know your business best. It’s your journey, you're in the driver's seat.
What tools do you use to get to know your clients?
Before our first session, clients fill out a questionnaire that helps me get to know them, how to collaborate, and what they hope to get out of the coaching process.
My first question is probably the most revealing -
What is your deepest dream or desire and what ar e your biggest blockers in getting there?
I’m not attached to specific personality tests, but ask clients to share any they’ve done and what has resonated (or not!). Depending on what we are working on, I may ask folks to do assessments (ex to uncover values or strengths) or get feedback from colleagues or loved ones to expand our understanding.
What frameworks or mental models do you use most often?
Relentless curiosity. That's not a framework, but it’s what I rely on it the most.
Prioritization - getting people to identify what’s most important (and cutting out the rest).
When I first started coaching, SOON was the model I used most often.
Success, Options, Obstacles, Next Steps.
I use a lot of trauma-informed somatic practices as well.
How do you think about asking good questions?
I think of it as mining - trying to dig beneath the surface and shift what’s visible. Clarifying questions, open-ended questions and poking around the topic (sifting in the dirt) are important because often neither of you know exactly where the gold is. 5x Why’s is a powerful framework, but people often can’t answer why directly, so prompts that add more colour can help (who, what, where, when). “Can you tell me about a time when you experienced that?” “What about that was challenging?”
Sometimes going deeper doesn’t require an explicit question, silence, or reflecting back what someone said is a powerful way to get them to share more or clarify what they meant.
“Sounds like you are saying XYZ” or
“when you said that, this is what I felt.”
Sometimes you can ask head-on, “okay, but what's really going on here?” That'll dig up something else entirely.
When should someone get an executive coach?
I feel like everyone should have one all the time. Joking! (Mostly). Obviously, I’m biased. I don't actually think you need one all the time, but most leaders could use an outside perspective and space to step back, reflect, process, and be intentional.
It doesn't have to be with a coach. It could be through a mix of community, personal reflection, and other guides/healers. Coaching is just a unique flavour of it, designed to hold you accountable to your highest self and catch blind spots. Despite what I said earlier, I encourage my clients to take coaching breaks and have time to integrate on their own.
A coach is a big investment of time and money, so you need some level of conviction and commitment to personal growth to make it worth it. You get out what you put in.
How can someone find an executive coach?
It’s tough. I don't have a great answer. Most great coaches are found through word of mouth and referrals. I've tried several different matching platforms and have not been in love with any of them.
Any last nugget of gold I haven’t asked about?
Going back to vision and dream versus goals.
I've seen a lot of people who think they need help with the execution, tactics, or goals. And really what's missing is the mindset and the vision. You need both to get where you're trying to go.