10 coaching questions for every CEO looking to leave lasting impact

Being a CEO can feel like an incredibly lonely place.

You're expected to have the answer to all the questions that come your way. To be seen to have your sh*t together (whether you believe you have or not). It can feel like you're on a hamster wheel, constantly responding to requests, putting fires out, banging heads together, pulled in a million different directions! There's no where to hide. If there's a challenge, you're expected to be able to lean into it fearlessly and courageously like a super hero with all the answers.

There are fewer places to safely reflect on what you're learning about you, your team, the business, and what you might do differently next time.

So for those of you not yet working with an executive coach to support you in your CEO journey, I've collated ten topical and reflective coaching questions that emerge time and again in the coaching space, to help you make some sense of the world as you currently find it. I hope it resources you well.

Journal and a brew at the ready...perhaps there's one that stands out when you skim through or perhaps you're inclined to answer all of them? Follow your heart.

1. What legacy do I want to leave as a leader? Encourage your thinking and your vision to stretch beyond the pressures of the here and now
2. Am I leading with purpose, and how aligned is my personal purpose with the company's mission? Is your leadership motivated by powerful drivers that align to the company? Are you perhaps in the wrong business?
3. What is the most important challenge I need to solve right now, and how am I contributing to it? Are you enabling or disabling the challenge? What blocks and barriers might you need to move and to where? How can you enable and empower others in this challenge?
4. How am I cultivating trust and fostering a culture of accountability within my company? Powerful companies are empowered companies. They fully utilise the talents across all levels of the business and engage everyone in problem solving.
5. In what ways am I challenging my assumptions and embracing diverse perspectives in decision-making? Where does your unconscious bias get in the way of a more creative and resourceful company?
6. Am I prioritizing the long-term health of the business over short-term wins? Long term sustainable growth will always outperform the tantalising pull of short term dopamine wins!
7. How do I manage my energy and mental well-being, and what habits are helping or hindering me? As a CEO you have to put your own oxygen mask on first. If you are not equipped to do your best work, your people won't be either. Wider employee groups typically take their lead on 'how things really work around here' from management. Be the role model they need to see.
8. What is the quality of the feedback I’m receiving, and how do I respond to it? If you're not hearing feedback at all, get worried. There will always be feedback in your company and if it's not coming to you, the CEO, it's going somewhere else and most likely not a useful place. Consider how you might establish a greater amount of trust and pyschological safety to encourage more honest and constructive feedback.
9. How well am I developing future leaders and ensuring succession planning? Younger generations want to feel they are progressing more than any other generation that have gone before. How might you create opportunities for stretch, growth, development and promotion in you leadership community?
10. What am I most afraid of in my role, and how can I address it constructively? Everyone has fears and concerns, it's human. It's well documented that CEO's who are courageous enough to consider their vulnerabilities make for better leaders.

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