How is leadership coaching different from executive coaching?

The terms overlap heavily and are frequently used interchangeably, including by buyers.

Where a distinction is drawn:

• Executive coaching usually refers to work with senior leaders, C-suite and boards, often involving stakeholder complexity, organizational politics and decisions with enterprise-level consequences.
• Leadership coaching spans a wider range, including emerging leaders, first-time managers and mid-level leaders, and often focuses on the transition into or between levels of responsibility.

The practical differences are in pricing, buyer and process rather than in method. Executive engagements typically price higher, more often involve assessment and stakeholder interviews, and are commissioned at a more senior level.

For marketing purposes, use the term your buyer uses. An HR team running a first-time manager program is not searching for executive coaching. A board commissioning support for a new chief executive is not searching for leadership coaching.

Rather than defending a definition, be specific about the level and situation you serve. That communicates more than either label and avoids competing against a category you are not actually in.