Frequently Asked Questions

The Preston Associates (TPA) is a global executive coaching firm whose coaches combine senior business leadership experience with professional coaching expertise. Many of our coaches have held senior executive and leadership roles themselves, giving them first-hand understanding of the commercial, organisational and personal challenges leaders face.

Our approach is highly bespoke. Rather than assigning coaches from a standard pool, we carefully match each client with coaches based on their role, objectives, experience, sector, organisational context and personal preferences.

TPA works with senior leaders, C-suite executives, Board members, high-potential talent and leadership teams in organisations around the world. Our executive coaching is particularly valuable during periods of leadership transition, promotion, organisational change, business transformation, growth or increased responsibility. We also work with established senior leaders who want to strengthen their leadership effectiveness, broaden their impact or prepare for future roles.

Yes. In addition to one-to-one executive coaching, TPA provides team coaching, group coaching, leadership development programmes and bespoke leadership research and insights.

We work with individual executives, intact leadership teams and wider groups of leaders, designing programmes around the organisation’s specific challenges and objectives. Our work can support leadership transitions, team effectiveness, organisational transformation, succession and broader leadership development.

Yes. The Preston Associates provides executive coaching and leadership development internationally through a global network of experienced coaches across Europe, the Americas and Asia.

We deliver executive and team coaching both virtually and in person and can support multinational organisations with global coaching programmes across multiple countries and regions.

Our international approach combines consistency in coaching quality and programme design with sensitivity to local cultures, markets and organisational contexts.

We begin by understanding the leader’s objectives, background, business context, development priorities and preferences.

Based on this information, TPA recommends a carefully selected shortlist of executive coaches whose experience and coaching style are well suited to the individual. The leader then meets the shortlisted coaches in confidential chemistry meetings before choosing the coach with whom they feel the strongest connection.

This process helps ensure both relevant experience and strong personal chemistry between the coach and coachee.

Every TPA executive coaching journey is tailored to the individual leader and their organisational context.

A typical executive coaching programme may include an initial briefing and goal-setting process, coach chemistry meetings, confidential one-to-one coaching sessions over six to twelve months, reflection and action planning, and a final review.

Where appropriate, the coaching journey can also incorporate stakeholder interviews, 360-degree feedback, psychometric assessments or other leadership assessment tools to provide additional insight and support measurable development.

Yes. Executive coaching conversations between a TPA coach and coachee are confidential.

At the beginning of the coaching engagement, we agree clear expectations around confidentiality, coaching objectives and any appropriate communication with the sponsoring organisation. This allows organisations to maintain alignment around the purpose of the coaching while protecting the confidential relationship between the coach and the individual leader.

A typical TPA executive coaching journey takes place over six to twelve months, giving the leader time to reflect, experiment with new approaches and embed sustainable behavioural change.

The exact structure depends on the individual and their objectives. A journey may include an initial business briefing, coach chemistry meetings, confidential coaching sessions, stakeholder insights, optional psychometric assessments, a mid-coaching review, action planning and final reflection.

TPA’s most common individual coaching journey includes coaching delivered across a six-to-twelve-month period, either virtually, face-to-face or through a combination of both. For leadership teams, coaching is similarly designed around the organisation’s needs and may involve a series of team sessions supported by diagnostic interviews, regular check-ins and targeted individual coaching.

The cost of executive coaching with The Preston Associates (TPA) depends on the seniority of the leader, the length and scope of the coaching journey, the region, and whether additional elements such as stakeholder insights, psychometric assessments or team coaching are included. Because every engagement is tailored to the individual leader and organisation, we recommend contacting TPA directly to discuss your requirements. We can then provide our credentials, relevant case studies and current fee information for your region and programme. To discuss your requirements and receive our credentials and fee information, please contact us via the Request a proposal page.

Executive coaching can be particularly valuable when a leader is facing a significant transition, increased complexity or a moment when their individual effectiveness has a wider impact on the organisation. TPA commonly supports leaders who are:

• stepping into a new or more senior leadership role;
• joining or leading a new executive team;
• navigating organisational transformation or post-merger integration;
• taking on greater strategic, commercial or people responsibility;
• developing stronger stakeholder relationships and influence;
• preparing for future leadership roles or succession;
• leading through periods of rapid growth or change; or
• looking to improve the performance, alignment and effectiveness of their leadership team.

For leaders moving into a new role, TPA can also use confidential stakeholder insights to help them understand team dynamics, strategic priorities, cultural expectations, critical relationships, potential risks and opportunities for early impact. TPA’s case studies show this approach being used in contexts ranging from newly formed C-suite teams and leadership succession to major transformation, post-merger integration and ambitious business growth.

Executive coaching can deliver measurable benefits for both individual leaders and the organisations they lead. TPA’s own data, gathered over more than 20 years, shows strong estimated returns from coaching, with historical benchmarks of 10x+ for 1:1 coaching, 15x+ for team coaching and 20x+ for combined journeys. These returns are reflected in the wider impact of stronger leadership: better decisions, improved team effectiveness, stronger stakeholder relationships and greater retention. TPA’s client data also shows consistently high levels of satisfaction, including an NPS of +98 for recommending their coach, +97 for recommending TPA, and an average team coaching feedback score of 9.8/10. External research supports these findings, with studies showing positive effects of coaching on leadership behaviour, performance, self-efficacy and resilience (de Haan & Nilsson, 2023; Cannon-Bowers et al., 2023).