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Executive Coaching Auckland

Executive coaching isn't a perk. It's a strategic investment that should be wired directly into your business outcomes. At Five NZ, we coach senior leaders and high-potential talent in Auckland across three integrated service streams: Executive Coaching, Traction Labs, and Outplacement Support.

Our approach

Executive coaching: the values to outcomes approach

Our coaching model starts with a simple truth: coaching only matters if it moves the business needle.

We use the Values to Outcomes model to connect individual coaching directly to organisational strategy and measurable business results. This isn't about self-discovery in a vacuum. It's about translating leadership capability into competitive advantage.

The triad structure

Effective executive coaching involves three players: the coachee, the coach, and the line manager. We bring all three into alignment from day one. Your line manager stays in the loop, ensuring accountability, embedding what your executive learns back into the work, and removing friction. This triad model eliminates the silo effect and makes coaching stick.

Two tiers

High-Potential Coaching (6×90-minute sessions)

For emerging leaders stepping up into bigger roles. We work through strategic thinking, stakeholder influence, delegation, and decision-making. You'll leave with clarity on your leadership identity and a playbook for your next level.

C-Suite Coaching (6–12 months, typically fortnightly sessions)

For senior executives navigating complexity, scaling teams, and making high-stakes decisions. This includes midpoint check-ins to recalibrate, a final review session, and an ROI report showing what shifted. We go deeper and wider.

Who does the coaching

Your coach won't be a generalist. They'll be a senior strategy or transformation leader who's solved the exact problems you're facing. They bring commercial reality into every conversation—because coaching that ignores context is just talking.

Traction Labs

Traction Labs: intensive leadership acceleration

Sometimes one-off coaching isn't enough. You need a more concentrated burst of work.

Traction Labs are bespoke, one-to-one executive intensives designed for leaders in transition—stepping into a new role—or established senior leaders who want to sharpen their strategic impact. Every Lab is designed and led by Sally Schmall, our Head of Executive Leadership Development.

How it works

We run confidential interviews with three to five of your critical stakeholders before you arrive, and that feedback becomes the spine of the day. This isn't a generic programme. Every Traction Lab is completely bespoke to your situation: your team dynamics, your market, your growth challenge.

The Lab itself is a single day, in person, one leader at a time. Over it we cover:

  • Growth mindset and capability stretch
  • Talent alignment and capability building
  • Priorities and focus
  • Stakeholder engagement and influence
  • Adaptability and resilience
  • A six-month strategic roadmap, in your own words

Afterwards you move into monthly embed coaching for six months to lock in the gains and navigate what emerges. That pairing is not optional: the Lab surfaces what needs to move, and the coaching is what makes it move.

Who it's for

Traction Labs work for anyone in transition—stepping into a new chief-level role, moving into a significantly expanded brief, or taking on a turnaround. They also work brilliantly for established senior leaders who want to level up their strategic presence and impact without waiting for a crisis to force the issue.

There is a fuller account of the five stages, what the leader leaves with and what we ask of you on our Executive Traction Labs page.

Outplacement & differentiation

Outplacement support: how you treat people matters

Here's a philosophy: how you treat people on the way out says everything about your organisation.

Departing employees shouldn't be left to figure things out alone. And organisations shouldn't just hand someone a checklist. Outplacement Support is a holistic, coachee-led, flexible approach that helps people move forward—whether that's into their next role, or into starting their own venture.

Three tiers

Outplacement (3×1-hour sessions, virtual)

Practical support navigating the job market: positioning, resume, interview readiness, networks, mindset.

Outplacement Plus (4×1-hour sessions)

Deeper work. We help you clarify your direction, build your narrative, work through the emotional transition, and reconnect with your network strategically.

New Entrepreneur (4×2-hour sessions, in-person)

For people exploring starting their own venture. We work through business viability, market validation, go-to-market strategy, mindset for entrepreneurship, and how to set yourself up for success.

Why this matters

Your departing employees will either become your best advocates or your critics. They'll speak to investors, potential hires, and your market. Investing in their next chapter—regardless of where it leads—builds loyalty and reputation.

How Five works differently

We're not a massive global coaching firm. We're a 19-person boutique consultancy in Auckland where everyone in the room understands both strategy and execution.

We coach from commercial reality. Our coaches aren't detached observers. They've built teams, navigated boards, driven transformations. They ask the hard questions because they understand the stakes.

We embed coaching into strategy. Coaching only works if it's tied to what actually matters—revenue, growth, market position, capability. We connect the dots between your leadership capability and your business outcomes.

We focus on delivery. We're not interested in warm conversations that feel good but don't change anything. We measure progress, adjust as we go, and hold you accountable to the outcomes that matter.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does executive coaching typically take?

Most programmes run 6–12 months with fortnightly sessions. High-Potential coaching is typically 6 sessions over 3–4 months. A Traction Lab is a single day, around six hours, with four to six weeks of lead time beforehand for the stakeholder interviews and design, then roughly six monthly coaching sessions after it. It depends on your starting point and what you're trying to achieve.

What should I expect to change as a result of coaching?

That depends on your focus. Leaders typically report sharper strategic clarity, stronger stakeholder relationships, more effective delegation, better decision-making under pressure, and stronger confidence in their leadership identity. We measure this—you'll get feedback from your stakeholders and a clear sense of what shifted.

Can you run Traction Labs remotely?

The Lab day is designed to be in person—it is full immersion, one leader at a time. The stakeholder interviews and the embed coaching that follows work well online, and often are.

Is coaching confidential?

Yes. Your coach works with your line manager to ensure alignment, but coaching conversations are confidential. Your line manager hears what shifted, not the details of what was discussed.

What's included in the C-Suite ROI report?

The report captures what you set out to achieve, the progress you made (both measurable and qualitative), stakeholder feedback, and the business impact. It's useful for your board, your line manager, or your own record.

How does outplacement work if an employee doesn't know what they want next?

That's the whole point of Outplacement Plus and New Entrepreneur. We help you clarify your direction. Some people know they want a CEO role but need to build credibility. Others are exploring a complete change. We work with where you actually are, not where you think you should be.

Ready to invest in your leadership?

Executive coaching should move the needle. If you're a senior leader or emerging executive in Auckland looking to sharpen your impact, let's talk.

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