Transitioning from Corporate Leadership to Executive Coaching | Lance Tanaka

Leveraging your personal experience to become a successful coach.

An interview with Lance Tanaka about self-discovery, shifting from the c-suite to coaching, and the areas where many coaches struggle.

Many believe that being a great leader in the business world means you’re automatically going to be a great leadership coach. If you can do it, you can teach it, right?

Wrong! Teaching is a difficult skill, one that must be learned and developed like any other. Many brilliant leaders fail to achieve success as a coach simply because they don’t prepare for “Teacherhood.” They face difficulties translating their insights, as well as discussing premium fees, or maintaining networks. So how do you make the leap?

For our answer, we turn to Lance Tanaka, Founder and Managing Director of the Lance Tanaka Group, an organization focusing on coaching the best of the best around the world.

Lance shares how he went from the general manager of Pepsi Tokyo to being a renowned executive coach, accumulating over 17,000 hours helping executives around the world since the Lance Tanaka Group’s inception in 2001. He expresses the importance of self-discovery as an aid in coaching, and explains why more CEOs need to take time out for their own self-reflection.

We examine the three things Lance looks at when hiring coaches to work at his company, and ways that new coaches can avoid falling prey to common problems. He explains why it’s critical to keep an updated and relevant network, secure referrals, and be steadfast in your fees – and how many new coaches struggle with these issues. Lance lists the critical strengths a coach needs to bring to the table – and specific industry knowledge isn’t at the top of the list!

If you are starting to think about your future moving from the corporate space into coaching, or have struggled as a new coach, this is a great episode for you!

Three Key Takeaways:

• Thought Leaders seeking to coach need a passion for helping people change, and a strong ability to connect and empathize with their clients.
• It is imperative that Thought Leaders keep in touch with their network as their career path evolves, to ensure your connections know about your current offerings.
• When it comes to fees for Thought Leadership, don’t be afraid to stand your ground. Offer smaller scope for a limited budget instead of discounts on your rates.

If you need a strategy to bring your thought leadership to market, Thought Leadership Leverage can assist you! Contact us for more information. In addition, we can help you implement marketing, research, and sales. Let us help you so you can devote yourself to what you do best.