Younger and Older Executives Need Different Things from Coaching

Because organizations are increasingly focusing on early talent development to attract and retain young talent, it’s important to understand the best way to accelerate their growth as leaders. Research explores how executives in their 30s differ from older executives when receiving the specialized attention of executive coaching. A study of 72 executive-coaching engagements found that executives in their 30s had lower ratings on self-reflection, and their level of change was less dramatic than that of executives in their 40s and 50s. It also found that the younger executives tended to respond to concrete recommendations and specific rules or guidelines to follow, but often did not show interest in understanding why they did the things they did. Alternatively, older executives were more curious about the reasons for their behavior – they wanted insight, as opposed to rules, to drive behavior change. Two approaches to helping younger executives reach their full potential include exposing them to a difficult moment of truth and offering feedback in the form of if-then scenarios.