Executive coaching with Dr Gary Crotaz, PhD
As an experienced executive and strengths coach specialised in working with senior leaders and high-potential future leaders, I support clients at C-suite and top talent with executive coaching for peak performance. I have worked with clients in over 20 countries. I have particular experience of executive coaching and next generation development within UHNW families.
My executive coaching approach is focused on helping you to identify opportunities to maximise performance and build on your strengths, helping you to grow in role, extend to the next level and find happiness and fulfilment at work and at home.
Given the international nature of my work, I usually coach over video call and at a time convenient to you. I am an accredited coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and hold a Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching from Henley Business School here in the UK. I am also a member of the Forbes Coaches Council. I am certified to use the Gallup CliftonStrengths® assessment and also the following Hogan assessments: the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI)™, the Hogan Development Survey (HDS)™ and the Motives, Values and Preferences Inventory (MVPI)™.
Listen to this episode of The Unlock Moment to learn more about my personal journey and how it’s shaped my coaching practice.
Testimonials
“I’ve had many coaches in the past, but Gary and his IDEA Programme moved the dial for me. His practical, methodical approach resonated with me like no other, allowing me to spend quality time focusing on my strengths and understanding the why behind my purpose and values, both at work and in my personal life.”
Nick Loveday, Chief Trading Officer, MATCHESFASHION and former Executive Commercial Director, ASOS
“Gary has a transformative ability to pinpoint and focus you on what really matters and what will enable you to succeed with your own unique profile. What he brings is laser focus on you and your strengths to optimise them with questions that supercharge your ability to think with clarity and a focused mindset. The difference that he has made by this totally unique
way of coaching has given me the tools to unlock greater successes.”
Raine Peake, Digital Director (ExCo), Jigsaw Fashion
“The IDEA Programme provides an unusually useful combination of insight and action. The diagnostic tools and the worksheets combine to both free and focus one’s thinking about where to go and how to get there.”
Vicki Sato, retired Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School and former Senior NED, Bristol Myers Squibb
“Gary is a highly energising and inspiring strengths coach. Who better to show you how to change your future working life than the one who has developed himself from a doctor to a consultant, dancer, business leader and coach?”
Viola Werner, Head of Global Next Generation and Families, Credit Suisse
“I can’t understate how transformative this IDEA programme has been for me. I have a clear view of who I am and where I want to go, with a practical and insightful view on how to achieve this. I really like how this program isn’t about being someone else, but emphasises how I can use my unique strengths to develop my own unique leadership style.”
Craig Strong, Global Practice Leader, Amazon Web Services
In this short podcast extract you can hear me in conversation with my coaching mentor Claire Pedrick MCC, a conversation which gives a feel for the space I create in coaching.
About coaching
Coaching is a particular type of interaction where the coach (me) partners with the coachee (you) to provide you with the space, the time and some provocative and probing questions to help you to become more self-reflective and self-aware, shaping your future path and taking ownership of evolving your thinking, decisions and actions.
My role is in service of you, not to teach you things. As a coach I’m not acting as a mentor, as a consultant or as a counsellor. From time to time I may share my own opinion or introduce you to new books, resources and tools, but it’s up to you what you choose to do with that input. The value in coaching comes from evoking awareness and progress in the mindset of the coachee (you), not about the coach (me) furnishing you with new facts you didn’t have before.
My particular style of coaching is high support, high challenge. Have a look at this video from Ian Day, co-author of the book “Challenging Coaching”, on the Support Challenge Matrix in coaching:
A programme of coaching with me typically comprises 6-8 sessions of 1-2 hours in duration, completed over the course of 3 to 12 months. My coaching style is high-support, high-challenge, designed to help you achieve clarity in your thinking, decisions and actions, and to deliver significant and lasting change.
Ethics
We agree objectives up front and check in regularly to make sure you are happy with the progress you’re seeing. The content of the sessions is confidential between the two of us, with the (very rare) exception of where a potential legal or safeguarding issue arises in the coaching conversation. If you would find it helpful then we may also gather input from stakeholders such as a line manager or sponsor on the focus and objectives of coaching. Click here to find out more about the Code of Ethics I adhere to as an accreditated coach with the International Coaching Federation.
The IDEA Programme
If you’re at a point of transition and looking to complete a holistic programme to evaluate your needs, figure out the path ahead, design and activate a plan of action, then you’re a prime candidate for The IDEA Programme. This is a structured personal development and change journey of 9 coaching sessions, split into 5 sessions from Foundations to forming your Action Plan and a further 4 optional sessions to set you up for success physically, mentally and emotionally. A simplified version of this programme is the basis of my book, The IDEA Mindset, awarded Coaching Book of the Year by Henley Business School in 2022.
The IDEA Programme focuses on empowering you to shape your Identity and Direction for a future with Engagement and Authenticity – together I-D-E-A. Each step in the Programme is a series of self-reflective exercises, bringing together the best coaching and personal development tools and techniques with some of the strategic tools I’ve used with individuals and organisations over the years to develop their vision, mission and plan.
Pricing
I operate a sliding scale of fees to reflect the increased benefit of coaching to the more senior individual and their employer. This approach enables me to broaden access to coaching. I aim to deliver 10-20% of my coaching time pro-bono and also offer significantly discounted rates to clients in the arts and charity sectors.
Gallup CliftonStrengths®
Originally developed by the award-winning American psychologist Donald O. Clifton in 1999, CliftonStrengths 34 is Gallup’s sophisticated scientific tool to help people understand and target their natural talents and strengths. Ninety per cent of Fortune 500 companies have used it, and over 25 million people have now completed the CliftonStrengths assessment.
As a Gallup-certified Strengths Coach, I work with clients around the world on how to recognise and activate their strengths to be at their best and to design an engaging and authentic future. It is a foundational element of understanding your IDEA Mindset.
Gallup research shows that people who receive strengths-based development have +18% increased performance when compared with their peers. If you have an opportunity to use your talents and strengths, you are 6x more likely to be engaged and 3x as likely to report having an excellent quality of life.
Watch the video here to understand more about the CliftonStrengths approach:
You can purchase the CliftonStrengths 34 assessment directly from Gallup. My own top five strengths are Maximiser, Strategic, Activator, Responsibility, Futuristic. That means I get energy from making good things great, I love simplifying complex things down to clear options, choices and decisions, I am the person asking “come on, why haven’t we started yet?”, I can be trusted to do what I say I’m going to do, and I’m anchored to a very clear vision of the future.
If you’d like to understand your CliftonStrengths profile in more detail then contact me!