Cochran Coaching LLC

Want to earn more? Build better skills.

Experience alone has limits. The professionals who consistently earn more are the ones who communicate clearly, negotiate confidently, manage relationships well, and solve complex problems.

The market does not reward time served. It rewards value created.

Which skill are you focusing on this week? Drop it in the comments.

Why do some young professionals grow so much faster than others?

It is rarely about being smarter. It is about being more intentional.

Skills like emotional intelligence, negotiation, executive presence, and political navigation compound over time. One skill developed every month or two looks completely different three years from now than doing nothing at all.

The gap between where you are and where you want to be is usually a skills gap.

Follow for more career navigation advice.

Most managers only think about one on one coaching when they sponsor an employee. But there is another option worth knowing about.

Group coaching puts your employee in a room with peers who are also investing in their growth, also learning, and also navigating similar challenges. The result is they learn from the coach and from the people around them.

Sometimes the most powerful perspective in the room is not the coach, it is the peer who just went through exactly what you are facing.

Consider both options before you decide.

Sponsoring an employee for coaching is a great investment. Here is how to make sure it actually works.

Share what you need as an organization with the coach upfront. There is a simple model worth knowing. What can the employee do, what do they want, and what does the organization need them to grow in. All three should overlap.

Without that conversation, the coach will simply follow what the employee wants, which may or may not align with what you actually need. Set the direction early and the whole engagement becomes more powerful.

If your company is sponsoring your coaching, here is one best practice that changes everything.

At the end of every session, write a session summary email. Five minutes or less. Cover what was discussed, what was valuable, and what you are going to do because of it. Send it to your supervisor, and CC your coach.

It keeps everyone aligned, removes any questions about what is being discussed, and makes the case for why the investment is worth continuing.

Simple, professional, and it protects your access to coaching long term.

Is AI coaching actually coaching. Yes and no.

Yes because the right questions can help you uncover your goals and think through what you actually want. That has real value.

No because coaching at its best is relational. It is developmental. It is a real conversation with a real human who is invested in your growth. AI cannot replicate that.

Use AI as a starting point. but know its limits. Real coaching is still built on real connection.

Yes. I am biased. I am a coach. But hear this out.

Over 50% of executives have had an executive coach at some point in their career. And that kind of support does not have to be reserved for the top floor.

As a supervisor you have the power to create access for your team. through leadership programs, group coaching, or even sponsoring one on one sessions. It does not have to break the budget. It just has to be a priority.

Your team's growth starts with a decision you make.

Not on my bingo card when I started my coaching business. reading from my own book on social media about how to be a better coach.

Two guidelines from Chapter 12 worth knowing right now.
One. Coaching is a distinct hat you can put on and take off. Let people know when you are wearing it.

Two. Always ask for explicit permission before coaching someone. Without it the whole thing can feel like an interrogation.

Follow for more tips from the series. or grab a copy of Advance on Amazon.

A little irony. I am a coach who just published a book and only gave coaching one page.

But that one page inside Chapter 12 of Advance packs in 11 guidelines for managers on how to coach their direct reports more effectively. No formal coach training required.

If you manage people and want to show up better for your team, this series is for you.

Follow along for the next few videos as some of those guidelines get broken down one by one.