Ask your company to invest in you.

FOR CEOS & EXECUTIVES

Treat your growth as a business investment.

As an executive, you may approve development funds for others but rarely ask for yourself. Your request works best when it reads like any strategic investment: clear goals, a defined scope and results the business will notice.

1. Know who approves it. You may be able to approve it yourself. Otherwise, the request may go to your CEO, your board or a compensation committee. Founders often treat coaching as a business expense. Check with your finance lead or accountant on how to record it.
2. Connect it to the company’s priorities. Tie coaching to what the business needs from you now, such as leading through growth or change, aligning your leadership team or preparing for the next stage of the company.
3. Agree on what success looks like. Set two or three goals with your CEO or board, and decide how you’ll report progress. You choose what to share. The content of your sessions stays confidential.
4. Ask at the right moment. If you’re starting a new role, ask for coaching as part of your offer or onboarding. If you’re already in the role, tie your request to annual planning or a major transition.
5. Model it for your team. When executives invest in their own growth, it tells everyone that development is part of how the company leads.

FOR BOOTSTRAPPING FOUNDERS

Build the foundation before the funding.

When every dollar goes back into the business, outside support can feel out of reach. Yet the people decisions you make now shape your culture, your first hires and how you lead. Here are ways to start before your business is fully funded.

1. Start with what matters most. Choose the one or two priorities that will make the biggest difference this quarter, such as your first hire, your co-founder relationship or how you lead under pressure. A focused start costs less than a full engagement.
2. Ask about flexible options. We offer options for early-stage founders, including focused first steps and payment plans. Bring your timeline and budget to your free consultation, and we’ll design something that fits.
3. Check your support network. Accelerators, incubators, startup programs and investors sometimes offer development funds or perks for founder support. Ask what’s available to you.
4. Build it into your raise. When you raise funds, include leadership and people support in your plan for how the money will be used. Investors want founders who can build a team that lasts.
5. Treat it as part of the business. Coaching and HR support for your company may be a business expense. Ask your accountant how to record it.

FOR EMERGING & MID-LEVEL LEADERS

Make the case for your leadership growth.

1. Find out what’s available. Ask your manager or HR whether your company offers development funds for learning or leadership growth. Ask how to request them and when they’re set. Some development funds reset each year, so timing can matter.
2. Connect coaching to your role. Name two or three goals that matter to your team and your company. These might be leading a growing team, preparing for a promotion or acting on feedback from your last review, such as executive presence.
3. Be specific about the request. Share what you’re asking for, how long it lasts and what you expect to gain. A clear, defined request is easier to approve than an open-ended one.
4. Show how your team benefits. Explain how you’ll bring what you learn back to your team, through stronger one-on-ones, clearer expectations or better feedback.
5. Offer to share progress. Suggest a check-in with your manager on the goals you set. You decide what to share. The content of your sessions stays confidential.

FOR HR LEADERS

Put your own growth in the plan.

You often manage the development funds that help everyone else grow. It’s easy to leave yourself out of it. Your development strengthens the support you give every leader you partner with.

1. Include yourself in the development funds. Plan for your own development the same way you would for any leader in the company.
2. Choose the right development funds. Coaching may fit under learning and development, HR team development, leadership development, or certification and conference dollars.
3. Tie it to business results. Connect coaching to what your company needs from HR right now, such as leading through change, supporting leaders, retaining talent or building a stronger people strategy.
4. Bring a clear request to your leader. Share your goals, the length of the engagement and how you’ll measure progress. Treat it like any proposal you would want a leader to bring to you.
5. Model what you want to see. When HR invests in its own growth, it shows the rest of the company that development is part of the culture, not an extra.

FOR INDIVIDUALS

See what your benefits may cover.

Personal coaching supports the whole person, and that often shows up at work too. Some employers offer benefits that may help cover it.

Please note: we don’t currently accept health insurance.

1. Check your benefits. Look for development dollars, such as a professional development stipend, or a wellness or lifestyle spending account. Each plan sets its own rules, so read your plan details or ask HR whether coaching qualifies.
2. Decide what you want to share. You don’t need to share personal details to make a request. You might simply say you want support with focus, resilience, balance or a life transition.
3. Connect it to your well-being at work. Explain how coaching will help you show up with more clarity and energy in your role.
4. Ask for what fits. You can ask for full funding, partial funding or support for a set number of sessions.
5. Keep the receipts. If your benefit works by reimbursement, ask what documents you need and save them as you go.