So, you’ve signed up to work with an executive function skills coach (or EFS coach) but you don’t really know what to expect. You may even be wondering What is an executive function skills coach?
EFS coaching is a type of personal or life-skills coaching aimed to help you improve your executive function skills (like organization, planning, and emotional regulation). People working with EFS coaches have personal goals in mind, but may need support figuring out how to make progress on those goals. While we use the word “coach” it’s important to note that EFS coaches are the opposite of the stereotypical sports coach. EFS coaches don’t set agendas and then yell at you to perform. They provide you the structure to set your own goals and support you as your work on those goals–more like a personal trainer than a sports coach.
Executive function skills coaches fall into the broad category of support professionals that include therapists, special education professionals, and case managers. You might work with any of these professionals at times when you need extra support. While these roles can sometimes overlap or even collaborate, each profession approaches support differently, with distinct goals and methods.
This distinction matters because understanding how EFS coaching works will help you approach coaching with realistic expectations and get the most out of the process. This article is designed to clarify what you can expect from EFS coaching and how it differs from other types of support.
Let’s start by looking at services provided by a few other helping professionals.
- A THERAPIST is a licensed mental health professional who works with clients on concerns such as anxiety, trauma, phobias, and mood disorders. Therapy often focuses on understanding why patterns exist, drawing on past experiences, relationships, and biological factors that influence emotions and behavior, and may include assessment or diagnosis of mental health conditions. While therapists may help clients identify and work toward goals, their primary focus is treating emotional distress and supporting psychological well-being.
- A SPECIAL EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL works within a school setting to ensure that students with disabilities can access appropriate educational supports and services. They may act as intermediaries between students and teachers, help implement or monitor accommodations, and coordinate services outlined in formal education plans. While special education professionals support student growth and task completion, their work is largely guided by academic requirements and institutional goals tied to classroom performance.
- A CASE MANAGER works to ensure clients can access and coordinate services related to employment, training, and disability supports. Case managers often assess eligibility, help clients navigate formal systems, and connect them to resources such as job placement services, benefits, or accommodations. While case managers may support a client’s broader goals, their primary role is to manage services, coordinate providers, and ensure required steps are completed so clients can access and maintain needed supports.
EFS coaching differs from these professions in both focus and approach. Coaching is not a form of therapy, academic instruction, or service coordination. Instead, EFS coaching centers on helping clients learn how to manage tasks, responsibilities, and routines more effectively. The emphasis is on skill development rather than treatment, remediation, or oversight. It can be effective to work with these other service providers in conjunction with coaching, if you need support that falls outside the parameters of coaching.
An EFS coach will not complete tasks for you, simplify assignments, or remove challenges altogether. Coaching is not designed to make things easy in the short term. Rather, it focuses on building practical skills related to planning, organization, time management, task initiation, and follow-through—skills that can be used across settings such as school, work, and daily life. The goal of coaching is to help you increase your independence and confidence over time.
One way to better understand what you can expect from coaching is to look at the coaching model itself. While there are many effective coaching models, those used by life coaches, academic coaches, and EFS coaches share a common focus on supporting clients’ priorities while building independence and confidence.
Diane Lennard (2010) professor in the Leonard N. Stern School of Business highlights that coaching is about developing new skills. She defines coaching as, “a dynamic interaction that facilitates the learning, development, and performance of the person being coached” (p. 15).
John Whitmore (2010), a business coaching professional, reminds us that coaching focuses on the priorities of the client rather than the agenda of the coach. He writes, “effective coaching maximizes people’s performance by helping them learn–as opposed to demanding compliance with the dictates of an external authority” (Lennard, 2010, p. 20).
Finally, Peg Dawson and Richard Guare (2023) explain that EFS coaches help clients take responsibility for their own growth. They state that “the goal of our coaching model is [client] self-determination.” They go on to quote researchers Naar-King and Suarez, who write that the job of a coach is “not to take responsibility for change, but rather to support and guide while seeking to elicit the [client’s] own ideas for change” (as quoted in Dawson & Guare, 2023, p.
11).
Because the goal of coaching is growth and autonomy, coaches work to help clients help themselves. This can be slow and sometimes frustrating work, but your goals in working with a coach should not be to just get tasks done; rather, coaching is a process that helps you build systems and capacity for long-term change. This distinction matters, because when you define success as just task completion, you may miss the critical steps needed to ensure you learn how to do those tasks yourself. A helping professional who steps in to make a call, write a to-do list, or schedule an appointment for you, may solve a short-term problem while undermining your long-term independence.
Effective coaching keeps an eye on the end goal: self-sufficiency. If you are struggling with organization, a coach’s work is to help you develop organizational systems that you can manage yourself. If you are struggling to find employment, a coach’s job is to help you decide how you want to tackle the problem. While EFS coaching emphasizes personal choice and independence, it is still an active and supportive process. Clients are not expected to figure things out on their own. Coaches provide structure, accountability, and guided practice.
EFS coaches have a specific focus to improve executive function skills, but even in this you will lead the way. Some clients working with EFS coaches are open to working on EF skills directly, other clients will be more interested in setting specific goals and then discussing and working through executive skills challenges as they come up. As a coaching client you should feel empowered to direct coaching sessions in a way that best supports your goals and priorities.
EFS coaching works best when clients are actively engaged in the process. Learning new executive function skills takes time, effort, and practice, and change rarely happens automatically. Coaches can teach strategies, model approaches, and provide guidance during sessions, but improvement depends on you trying these strategies outside of the coaching sessions. Progress comes from consistent practice, reflection, and willingness to adjust—even when it feels uncomfortable or challenging at first. The more effort you put into applying what you learn between sessions, the more meaningful and lasting the results of coaching are likely to be.
So what should you expect as you start the coaching process? In the early stages of coaching, sessions often focus on understanding your routines, challenges, and goals. Together, you and your coach will identify specific skills to work on and begin practicing strategies during sessions, with support and feedback. Progress may feel gradual at first, as executive function skills develop over time. As you continue to work with your coach, you will build tools and habits you can use independently to make clear progress on your goals.
References
Dawson, P., & Guare, R. (2023). Coaching students with executive skills challenges (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Lennard, D. (2010). Coaching models : a cultural perspective : a guide to model development for practitioners and students of coaching (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203876350
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