What’s the ROI of an Executive Coach

Andreas was promoted to Director following his exceptional performance as a sales manager.

"Congratulations, now the real work begins." The CEO tells him.

Andreas knows his job. He's been doing it for the past decade. But this is the first time that he's handling sales managers, who have people reporting under them.

The first month goes by so quickly. Andreas is working longer hours and putting in more effort. He sleeps less and spends less time with his family.

By month three, the performance is still the same. The team is unmotivated, and Andreas keeps doing everything on his own, because he wants to make sure he does everything right.

Six months into the role and he barely has time to sleep. The numbers are speaking for themselves - no change since the promotion. And most of the time, Andreas skips lunch, works until the late hours of the night, and barely gets any sleep.

Stress has become part of his life.

"It's only temporary", Andreas tries to convince himself.

A year into the role and Andreas looks like he has aged five years. His body shows fatigue. Puffy eyes, weight gain, back pain and heavy breathing are becoming increasingly common for Andreas.

One day he wakes up with a fever, but there's no time to go to the doctor. He powers through. Goes to work. Gets the job done, and then collapses.

He's rushed to the hospital and while he's laying on his bed, he asks for his laptop. He needs to finish the work, but the Doctor refuses to comply. "You're killing yourself".

Years later, one of two things will happen: Andreas either ends up back in the hospital, or something worse.

This is not a true story. Andreas does not exist, but his career journey, stress and need to perform are real.

Many leaders go through similar experiences, and rarely does anyone ask for help. The World Health Organization and International Labour Organization found that in 2016, working 55 or more hours a week was linked to an estimated 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease worldwide. I don't know how precisely that figure captures every case, but even ONE death from overworking is one too many.

You see, I was on the path that fictional Andreas was going through, and although I was lucky not to end up in hospital (or worse) I can tell you that I know people who have. And it's a scary ordeal, for everyone involved.

That's why I decided to leave finance and focus on the one thing that truly makes a difference: executive coaching.

Companies in Cyprus are not investing enough in their leaders, because there isn't always a clear return on investment for coaching. Management wants to see a number that represents growth in revenue, or savings in costs.

I can tell you that ICF-commissioned studies have reported returns on coaching in the range of 5–7x the investment (with variation depending on context), or I can point to research from Gallup, which estimate that replacing a leader can cost up to two times their annual salary, which is a cost that good coaching can help a company avoid.

But we rarely talk about the metric that cannot be easily measured: psychological and physical improvement.

As an executive coach, I practice active listening and complete presence with my clients. I focus all my energy and become an extension of the person sitting across from me. I've had executives talk for an hour, and then tell me that this was the best use of their time.

I don't know how to measure that precisely, but what I can tell you is that focused attention and the ability to think clearly are often the starting point for better decisions and better performance.

So when people ask me what is the return on coaching, I usually divide it into three metrics:

Investing for Growth

Investing in an accredited and certified executive coach is one of the best investments any executive can make. Let's say that a sales director has taken on new responsibilities and wants to achieve an almost impossible 30% increase in revenues compared to the year before.

The sales director has done this before, so it's not impossible. A plan is put into place and a strict budget is set to track the figures on a monthly basis. Every decision is made around the prospect of increasing the possibility of hitting that 30% target.

The sales director has regular team meetings, some on a weekly basis, others on a bi-weekly frequency. The team reports back with the progress. It's not good enough. The team is barely hitting 5% increase in sales compared to last year, and after two months - they will clearly miss the target.

Because the sales director is an expert, the target will most probably be met. But if the target keeps getting bigger every year, there will need to be different approaches to make sure that sustainable performance is possible, otherwise, there's a risk of burnout.

That's where an executive coach like me comes in. The experienced coach knows that the problem is not the 30% sales target, but rather the perspective of how to achieve this milestone consistently.

One way to think about the investment is through expected value. For instance, if the 30% increase means EUR 200,000 in additional revenue, and coaching increases the probability of success, then that improvement has a measurable value.

If we place a conservative 50% probability of success, and aim for a 5x return on investment, that would justify an investment of around EUR 20,000 in a dedicated executive coach over the specified period. It's not an exact formula, but a practical way to look at the decision, and a direct partnership between the sales director and the executive coach.

Investing for Efficiency

Another example would be to invest for efficiency. Let's assume that the same sales director has managed to hit the 30% sales target, and has been working late almost every night. The amount of hours spent on prepping the team, on sales meetings, and on documenting the returns, and anything else that takes time away from the sales director, are costs.

Let's assume that the fully loaded hourly cost of the sales director is between EUR 300 - EUR 500, which is a reasonable range for senior roles in Cyprus.

If the coach is able to help the sales director delegate more efficiently and effectively, that could translate to at least saving one hour a week. That becomes four hours a month, and 24 hours in six months.

With simple math, that means that over a period of six months, up to EUR 12,000 has been recovered in time spent, because of effective delegation.

Investing EUR 7,000 in an executive coach could therefore pay for itself purely in efficiency gains, even before considering the upside.

The biggest return on investment, however, is not just the savings. It's what the sales director chooses to do with the additional hour each week. That can be invested in new projects, mentoring, or personal development, which yields an even greater return to the sales director and the company.

Investing for Peace of Mind

There's one more return on investment that is more difficult to measure, which is based on psychological peace of mind.

There are scientific ways to measure changes in the brain, for example using EEG in research environments, but this is not how coaching outcomes are typically assessed in practice. Instead, we rely on consistent self-assessment.

Using the same example, the executive coach can ask the sales director to rate themselves on a scale of 1 - 10 on stress, with 10 being completely stressed. Over time, this rating can be measured to assess the changes on the scale.

The way that I approach this is to ask at the beginning of the coaching engagement to complete a simple high performance audit. The audit includes a subjective measure of stress, among other metrics such as communication, compensation and overall fulfillment.

That gives us a baseline.

Now, this is completely subjective, and depends on the time of the year, the external environment and other factors that are not in our control, but it still serves as a great way to put a metric on stress, which is not easily measured.

At the end of the coaching engagement, the same audit can be used to assess how far along the scale the sales director is.

What I've noticed from my practice, is that in most cases stress has dropped over the span of six months. This is not a strict methodological claim, but when I ask my clients how they feel, the majority say that they now see things from a different perspective, and having options almost always eases stress levels.

The value of this change varies between individuals. Some might even be willing to invest over EUR 10,000 to get such results, which proves that this is a real pain that many executives experience and want to improve.

Putting It Together

From these three examples, we can conclude that the return on investment for working with an experienced and accredited executive coach can be significant.

In some cases, it may reach multiples of the original investment. In others, it may be lower. It depends on the individual, the context, and the level of engagement.

But even with conservative assumptions, it is reasonable to expect that coaching can deliver a strong return, both financially and personally.

As an ex-investment advisor, a return of 5x gets my attention. Not because it’s guaranteed, but because the upside meaningfully outweighs the downside.

One last point that I want to make is that executive coaches have limited hours in the day, and so do executives. Timing, readiness and priorities matter on both sides.

What to Look for in an Executive Coach in Cyprus

Whenever someone in Cyprus asks what I do for a living, I pause. Then I test the waters: "I'm a coach."

The response is almost always the same. "Football coach?"

I don't blame them. Coaching is still in its infancy here. Compared to the United States or Western Europe, where executive coaching has been a boardroom staple for decades, Cyprus is only beginning to discover what the practice can do. But that doesn't make it any less powerful. If anything, the executives who embrace it here are getting ahead of a curve that is only going to steepen.

So before you hire an executive coach in Cyprus, it helps to understand what coaching actually is.

The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as "partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential." In plain terms: it's a structured conversation between you and a trained professional, designed to help you think differently, act more deliberately, and perform at a higher level without burning out in the process.

My mother still isn't entirely sure what I do for a living. And when I went to my insurance broker to arrange professional indemnity insurance for my coaching practice, we had the same conversation. Football coach? Eventually we figured it out. What I realised in that moment was the importance of meeting people where they are before explaining what coaching really means.

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So what actually happens in a coaching session?

I struggle to describe it sometimes. Because what happens in a good coaching session feels less like a meeting and more like something else entirely. Creative solutions to problems you've been carrying for years appear in the room. Not because the coach handed them to you, but because the right questions, asked in the right space, unlocked something you already had inside you.

That's what makes executive coaching different from consulting, mentoring, or training. A consultant tells you what to do. A mentor shares what worked for them. A coach helps you figure out what's right for you. And in a market like Cyprus, where business is personal and relationships run deep, that distinction matters enormously.

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So what should you look for when hiring an executive coach?

1. Accreditation

Coaching is not a regulated industry. Anyone can call themselves a coach, which means accreditation is your first filter. Look for coaches accredited by recognised bodies such as the International Coaching Federation (ICF) or the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC). These organisations hold coaches to defined ethical and professional standards. But accreditation alone isn't enough. It's the starting point, not the finish line.

2. Full-time commitment

Is coaching their primary profession, or a side project? This matters more than it sounds. A full-time coach has made a serious commitment to the practice. They've built their reputation around it. They have skin in the game in a way that a part-time coach simply doesn't. When someone is all in, you feel it before they even say a word.

3. Investment in their own development

I ask my clients to invest in themselves, so I hold myself to the same standard. Look at what courses, certifications, and development the coach has pursued beyond their basic qualification. A coach who keeps learning brings more to the room. A coach who stopped the day they got certified is already falling behind.

4. Experience and coaching hours

How many hours have they coached? Who have they worked with? Have they navigated the kind of pressures you face? A strong executive coach doesn't need to have held your exact role, but they need to understand the environment you operate in. The pace, the stakes, the politics, the pressure.

5. References, recommendations, and reputation

Ask for references. Read reviews. Search their name on Google. Look them up on LinkedIn. See what comes up when you type their name into an AI. In Cyprus especially, reputation travels fast. A coach who has been operating with integrity will have a visible trail of trust behind them.

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But none of that is the most important thing.

All of the above matters. Accreditation, commitment, experience, reputation. They are all worth checking. But the most important thing you can do before hiring an executive coach is have a conversation with them. Not a sales call. A real conversation.

Coaching is a partnership. And like any partnership, it only works when there is genuine trust on both sides. Not trust that is assumed, or bought, or rushed. Trust that is earned. I always think about it this way: trust between a coach and client is like two hands coming together to clap. If only one hand is reaching, there's no sound. The magic only happens when both hands meet.

That first conversation tells you everything. Does this person listen? Do they ask the right questions? Do you feel safe being honest with them? Do they seem genuinely interested in you, or in closing a deal? Your instincts are data. Use them.

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A final thought

The right executive coach won't rush you into a decision. They'll invite a conversation first. Because if they're serious about the work, they know that trust is the foundation everything else is built on. And trust, as any good coach will tell you, cannot be manufactured. It can only be earned.

That's the standard I hold myself to. And it's the standard you should hold any coach to.

High Performance Without Burnout. What No One Tells You.

There's a quote that has followed me for years, most often credited to Mark Twain: "The two most important days in your life are the day you're born, and the day you find out why."

I'm going to share one of those days with you.

The first time I experienced burnout, I was working as an investment advisor in Dubai. I woke in the middle of the night drenched in sweat. My body was sending me a clear signal, and I completely ignored it.

At the peak of my career, I was working up to 16 hours a day. I believed working more meant getting more done. The remaining hours were split between exercise, family, and sleep, in that order. I was convinced I was a high-performer.

In March 2022, everything changed. I contracted Covid and isolated away from my wife and two daughters. One evening, I meditated with no time restriction, chasing one question: What's my purpose in life?

After forty minutes of complete silence, I saw one word: SOLVE.

I had no idea what it meant. I went to bed perplexed. The next day, everything made sense, and that was the second most important day of my life.

Naguib Mahfouz wrote, "Nothing records the effects of a sad life so graphically as the human body." That's exactly what I saw when I finally looked in the mirror.

I had believed high-performance meant doing more. More hours, more effort, more output. I was wrong.

I now define high-performance as getting more done by doing less. It's understanding the small shifts that create the biggest changes, the essence of the 80/20 rule.

High-performance isn't a goal. It's a process. And burnout is not part of the formula.

Here are the three pillars I work from, and the practical insight each one offers:

• Habits. Our behaviours shape our results long before we notice. Audit what you do daily, not just what you achieve. Small, repeated actions either compound into high-performance or quietly erode it.

• Mindset. Your internal operating system determines how you respond under pressure. The beliefs you hold about rest, limits, and what "enough" looks like matter more than your technical skills. Shift one core belief, and everything shifts with it.

• Strategy. Intention without direction is just effort. Stop doing what no longer serves your most important goals. High-performance isn't about doing everything. It's about doing the right things with conviction.

One principle ties all three together. How we communicate with ourselves matters more than anything external. That inner dialogue is where performance is won or lost.

As Eckhart Tolle wrote, "The fire of suffering becomes the light of consciousness." 

High performance is not about squeezing more into the day. It is about removing what drains you, protecting what matters, and repeating the few actions that create disproportionate results.

That's true high-performance.