CEO coaching
CEO coaching for the CEO carrying all the weight
He asks the questions you’ve been avoiding.
James Merrix, owner, Appoly GroupHe actually runs multiple businesses of his own across different sectors.
Gavin Mooney, Managing Director
An employed CEO answers to a board. An owner-CEO has nobody to answer to, which is the problem. Either way, when a challenge keeps you up at night, who do you turn to? CEO coaching from someone who ACTUALLY owns businesses and lives and breathes the P&L every day.
5.0· 23 Google reviewsFrom £2,500 a month plus VAT. Month to month, no fixed-term contract. Every price, with what to compare it to.
Not just one session a month: wrap-around support all month, my private number for when you need me, and the backing of the senior leaders in the businesses I own, who are living the skills your business needs, plus MentorBusiness.com. You’re not going it alone. A partner to call on, with entire organisations behind me to support you, so when times are tough you sleep easier knowing someone’s in your corner, and someone to celebrate with when you break through.
Most owners choose weekly mentoring, with training for their team included. Want something different? Request a tailored quote.
Book a virtual coffeeWhatsAppFor CEOs of businesses from £1m turnover and up, owner or employed.
The short answer
What is CEO coaching?
CEO coaching is one-to-one coaching for the person at the top of a business: the decisions only they can make, the senior team around them, and the results they’re judged on. It gives a CEO what the role takes away, which is someone to talk to who isn’t their team, their board or their family, and who holds them to getting a result.
If you own the business
Coaching for CEOs who own the business: nobody to answer to.
An owner-CEO carries all the weight with nobody to answer to. So who do you turn to? You can’t speak to your employees, because technically they finished at 5pm. They may help as a one-off, but they log it in an emotional bank account, and if anything ever happens in the business, it’s all clocked up to use against you.
That’s where a coach comes in. Not every coach, by the way. Most have their session a week or a month and aren’t there when the stress is building in the evening. My support carries on between sessions, on WhatsApp, Teams and phone, because I’m a business owner too.
If you’re employed
Coaching for employed CEOs: the brave face.
An employed CEO has usually come up through the ranks: employee, manager, senior leadership, then promoted to CEO. Now you’re under all the pressure from the board and the CEO before you, who may have owned the business, and they expect you to become like them. Work more than your hours. Carry all the burden. Manage every department and every person. Understand HR, marketing, sales, operations and finance.
And you have to put on a brave face, and show confidence and leadership through all of it. But we’re all human. We’re not robots. That’s where a coach can really support.
Fig. · From employee to CEO
You could put in 400 hours this month. If the business isn’t profitable, there’s no pay to pay you.
The mindset shift
From employee and manager to thinking like a CEO: what got you here won’t get you there.
Most owners started as an employee. They worked for someone else and thought: why am I working for this guy when I can do it myself, own the business and take all the profits? What they don’t realise is that if you keep thinking like an employee or a manager, it’s all on you. The 40-hour week becomes 50, 60, 70. You lose your weekends and the holidays with your family. And a lot of the time you pay yourself less than you would in a normal job. You get paid last.
If you want a business that grows without you, you have to start thinking like a CEO. That means a well-oiled machine and people who run that machine. The CEO makes them accountable, has the difficult conversations, leads, and stays resilient in the face of adversity. You have to step away from the day-to-day, the customers and all the small problems, and build managers who can run their departments.
Easier said than done. We’ve been taught since school to think like an employee: get a good job and get paid time for money. CEOs and business owners get paid for the results of the business.
What we work on · CEO coaching
- Where the business is going over the next 18 months.
- Who sits on your senior team, and who shouldn’t.
- The decisions you can’t discuss with your staff.
- The big-risk decisions, and spotting the next opportunity.
- Where to invest for the greatest return, so the board are happy with the ROI.
- What the business pays you personally.
- If you’re employed: your career, and what the board is looking for.
In the sessions
What does a CEO coach do?
A CEO coach works on what only the CEO can decide. With a manager, I coach how they lead their team. With a CEO, it’s where the business is going, who’s on the senior team, where the money goes and what comes back.
A big part of it is stopping you getting distracted by the things that got you here as a manager or an employee, and getting you to think like a business owner, as if it’s your own business. For coaching the managers under you, see leadership coaching. For you and your senior team together, see business and executive coaching.
For boards, shareholders and owners
Appointing a CEO? Why your CEO needs a CEO mentor.
If you’re a board member, a shareholder or a business owner appointing a CEO, this is why you bring in a coach who ACTUALLY owns businesses: I live and breathe the P&L every day.
A CEO is an expensive hire. They need support and accountability, and someone to speak to who isn’t just you, the shareholder, because that relationship is different. As a shareholder you may only see the tip of the iceberg above the water. I get under the water, and that’s where the results really start to matter.
Who it’s for
Coaching for CEOs: who it’s for
- Owner-CEOs carrying all the weight, with nobody to answer to.
- Employed CEOs under pressure from a board, shareholders or the owner who came before them.
- Boards, shareholders and owners appointing a CEO who want that hire supported and held to account.
- Businesses from £1m turnover and up.
- People who are open to coaching, and want results.
Who it isn’t for
Who CEO coaching is not for
- Someone who wants agreement, not challenge. I don’t collude with the CEO.
- An “I know” attitude: people who aren’t open to coaching and development.
- People who think they reached the top of their learning when they finished school.
- Anyone wanting motivation instead of results.
- Businesses under £1m turnover, where there isn’t a CEO role yet. For those, see small business coaching.
We may become friends over time, but my job is not to be a friend. It’s to be the person who holds you accountable to getting a result.
CEO coaching results
What owners and managing directors say
James MerrixOwner, software agency · Appoly GroupI’ve worked with Lewis as a coach and strategist while running a software agency. He understands owner-led businesses well, in particular how hard it is to stop doing the work and start running the company. Sessions are direct. He asks the questions you’ve been avoiding, gets you to commit to an answer, and checks that you did what you said. Since we started, the business has grown and I spend much more of my week on the things only I can do. If you’re the bottleneck in your own business, give him a call.
If you are a business Owner, Senior Exec, or Director, I recommend engaging with Lewis Haydon as a mentor or business coach. I have engaged with many specialist trainers over the years, and as much as they can be engaging and entertaining, there is a part of me that believes it's easier said than done when you are responsible for your business and other people's livelihoods... Where Lewis is different is the fact that he actually runs multiple businesses of his own across different sectors, so there is very much an ethos of practising what he preaches. (he also allowed me an opportunity to meet with people within his business ) During our time together, I have been able to reassess my personal and business priorities, allowing me to spend my time on the things that make a difference. If you are stuck on the next level of scale or need help to focus your leadership team, I highly recommend working with Lewis. My tip to anyone engaging with external consultancy is to leave your ego at the door and be prepared to listen & learn.
Lewis brings clarity and substance to business consulting. In a space full of big promises, his straightforward, practical approach stands out. He helps you get clear on your “why”, understand the numbers and identify the levers that can help your business scale. He covers the important questions around profitability, team structure and what you want the business to deliver for you as an owner. What stands out is his ability to turn those discussions into clear priorities and practical actions. An honest, knowledgeable consultant who challenges your thinking without overcomplicating things.
Price
How much does CEO coaching cost?
CEO coaching is from £2,500 a month plus VAT for a weekly session, with support between sessions, about the same as a junior hire. It only goes higher when more than one person is coached, such as a team of managers too, or when it’s custom priced. It runs month to month, with 30 days’ notice. Every price is published.
Not just one session a month: wrap-around support all month, my private number for when you need me, and the backing of the senior leaders in the businesses I own, who are living the skills your business needs, plus MentorBusiness.com. You’re not going it alone. A partner to call on, with entire organisations behind me to support you, so when times are tough you sleep easier knowing someone’s in your corner, and someone to celebrate with when you break through.
Most owners choose weekly mentoring, with training for their team included. Want something different? Request a tailored quote.
The real cost
What is the wrong ladder costing you?
Turning up to the same four walls every day, employed or owner, limits the opportunities you get to see. And it’s moving so fast now that if you’re not on top of it, your competitors will be. AI tools are great. What you need as well is a sounding board who uses them too, understands the look and feel of your business, and can see where to focus next.
The biggest risk is the rabbit hole. You climb the ladder, work so hard, and three months, six months or years later you reach the top and realise it was up the wrong wall. You can’t get that time back. I’m not talking theory. I’ve been there: 12 or 18 months would go by and I’d be in exactly the same place. I see clients of business coaches who went to events five, even ten years ago and aren’t in a different place now.
That’s why finding the RIGHT coach matters: someone who owns businesses today, not a success story from five years ago, with pure focus on what moves the needle. In the business, in the ROI and, if you’re employed, in your career, so the results you deliver pay off for you. I coach to be the coach I wish I’d had back then. Time is precious. Choose the right coach today.
First steps
First steps with me
- Write down the one decision you’re carrying that you can’t discuss with your team or your board.
- Bring it to a virtual coffee, 30 minutes on Zoom, no charge, or WhatsApp me.
- Want to see it first? You’re welcome to look round my businesses and talk to the people who run them.
Questions
CEO coaching FAQs
What is a CEO coach?
A CEO coach works one-to-one with the person at the top: the decisions only they can make, how they hold their senior team to account, and where they spend their time. A good one also understands the business side, the P&L and the return the board expects, because the CEO is judged on the results of the business.
What is the difference between CEO coaching and executive coaching?
CEO coaching is for the CEO alone. Executive coaching, as I run it, is for the owner and the senior leadership team together, with team sessions in your business. If you want your senior team coached with you, see business and executive coaching.
Do you coach employed CEOs, or only owners?
Both. Owner-CEOs carry it with nobody to answer to. Employed CEOs answer to a board, shareholders or an owner, and are expected to think like one. The pressure is different and the coaching is too.
We’re appointing a CEO. Should they have a coach?
A CEO is an expensive hire, and they need support and accountability from someone who isn’t the shareholder, because that relationship is different. As a shareholder you may only see the tip of the iceberg. A coach who owns businesses works on what’s under the water.
How much does CEO coaching cost?
From £2,500 a month plus VAT for a weekly session, with support between sessions. It’s £3,500 a month only when more than one person is coached, such as your managers too, or custom priced. Month to month, with 30 days’ notice.
How often do we meet?
Weekly, with support between sessions, from £2,500 a month plus VAT. Owners who want a fortnightly or monthly session start with business mentoring.
Is CEO coaching online or in person?
Both. Sessions run on Zoom or in person, with support between sessions on WhatsApp, Teams and phone.
How I compare
See how I compare to coaches, coaching franchise companies, and consultants.
Sixteen things owners care about, scored green, amber or red, with the reason for every score, including where someone else is the better choice.
See the full comparisonNext step
Ready for a business that pays off for you, and grows without you?
Bring your biggest question about scaling the business to a 30-minute virtual coffee, and leave with a straight answer.
Not sure I’m the right fit? Compare me with other coaches and mentors, honestly, including where others are the better choice. Want something built around your business? Request a tailored quote and I’ll call you to go through it.