Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.
If you’ve spent more than five minutes on Reddit, Quora, or even in a half-baked Twitter space this year, you’ve heard the same conversation on repeat:
“Is executive coaching legit?” “Why do all these coaches sound like influencers with a Canva addiction?” “What do you even do with a coach?”
Honestly? I get it. The skepticism is earned. 2025 is full of charlatans.
We’re in an era where anyone with a ring light, ChatGPT access, and a whiteboard thinks they can coach C-suite executives. These folks binge Gary Vee content, read half a book, slap ‘Coach’ in their Instagram bio, and start charging five grand for a program that looks suspiciously like a repackaged blog post.
Here’s what they don’t have: results, relationships, or receipts.
Coaching Isn’t a Program. It’s a Partnership.
Let me make this really clear. Executive coaching is not about a program. It’s about a relationship. A real one. Built on trust, understanding, access, and the ability to go deep and stay present when the stakes are high.
You can scale content with AI. You can build gorgeous funnels with zero code. You can even clone voices, faces, and fake credentials. But you cannot fake a decade-long reputation, access to world-class leaders, or the ability to sit with someone in crisis and actually coach them out of it.
That can’t be bought. That’s earned.
Why AI Is Exposing the Frauds
Here’s the irony. AI is actually doing us a favor. The rise of automated programs, plug-and-play templates, and shiny content libraries is going to destroy the average coach. It’s going to vaporize the $297 “course and community” crowd who’ve never led a team or carried P&L responsibility in their life.
Why? Because people don’t need more information. They need transformation.
And transformation doesn’t scale without a guide.
A 2023 study from Harvard Business Review found that 72% of executives who hired a coach said that the relationship, not the content, was the biggest driver of transformation. Not systems. Not worksheets. Not 5-part email sequences.
Relationships.
So What Is an Elite Coaching Experience?
Let me pull back the curtain and show you what elite coaching actually looks like. This is what my clients get every single week:
- A mindset recalibration so they stop playing defense and start owning the room
- A clarified, unshakable vision that gives every action direction
- A structure that allows their team to operate like a machine
- A strategy that adapts to real-world pivots, not some stale playbook
- Weekly coaching sessions that go beyond “accountability” and into actual leadership engineering
- Weekly actionable reports so no detail is missed, no win is forgotten, and every adjustment is tracked
- Weekly recap emails to clarify goals, measure progress, and document the journey so we never walk into a coaching session guessing
- High-level groups that challenge and sharpen them
- Access to networks that open doors to investors, VCs, advisors, and power players
- Measurable KPIs and business operating systems that track what matters
- Organizational assessments that decode blindspots and optimize team dynamics
- Fractional staff and expert recommendations when it’s time to scale
- A brand and message that doesn’t just look good but gets results
- A coach who also acts as a resident strategist and fractional executive when needed
We’re not just solving problems. We’re building a machine.
This isn’t a PDF. This isn’t a Slack group with GIFs and toxic positivity. This is high-stakes leadership, engineered for those who are building empires.
Why I’m Still in the Game
You know what helped me build a multiple six-figure coaching business? My team. My coaches. My clients.
You know what didn’t? A $19 eBook or some imaginary title.
Yes, I’m certified up the wazoo. Two master’s degrees in leadership and coaching. I’m in the books because I believe elite clients deserve elite preparation. But that’s the floor, not the ceiling. What really sets great coaches apart is the ability to see, know, and challenge their clients in ways no one else can.
The people I coach? Fortune 500 execs, entrepreneurs with exits under their belt, visionaries who could easily outgrow most rooms they’re in. What they want isn’t more hacks. They want a thinking partner who knows when to coach, when to advise, when to connect, and when to just sit still and ask the question that cracks it all open.
And you know what’s wild? A 2024 Forbes study showed that leaders who engaged in high-level executive coaching saw an average ROI of 788 percent. That’s not a typo. That’s what happens when you’re coached, not coddled.
The Geeks Will Inherit the Earth
There’s this obscure but brilliant 2000s song, “The Geeks Will Inherit the Earth” by I Fight Dragons.
And it’s true.
The future of executive coaching will not belong to the loudest or flashiest. It’ll belong to the ones who actually know what the hell they’re doing. The ones who’ve done the work in the dark. Who’ve studied, sacrificed, scaled teams, built culture, and walked through fire with their clients.
The future doesn’t belong to content creators. It belongs to creators of change.
So if you’re hiring a coach, here’s my advice. Don’t be impressed by Canva slides. Be impressed by clarity, strategy, trust, access, and results.
Ask for case studies. Ask for references. Ask what the actual outcomes were. Ask what happens when things break.
And if you’re a coach? Step your game up. Or find a new career.
Because AI is coming for everyone pretending. And only the legit will be left standing.
Want to work with an elite coach? Even if you’re not running a Fortune 500 company?
Good. That tells me you’re serious about building something real.
Whether you’re running a scrappy startup, scaling your mid-sized team, or sitting in the C-suite, I’ve built a coaching experience that meets you where you are and takes you where you need to go.
If you’re ready to stop guessing, start winning, and build something that lasts, then let’s talk.
DM me “LEGIT” or book a call. Let’s build the machine.
References
I Fight Dragons. (2011). The Geeks Will Inherit the Earth [Song]. https://www.ifightdragons.com
Coutu, D., & Kauffman, C. (2009). What Can Coaches Do for You? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2009/01/what-can-coaches-do-for-you
Forbes Coaches Council. (2024). ROI of Executive Coaching: Real Numbers Behind the Hype. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/
International Coaching Federation. (2023). 2023 Global Coaching Study. https://coachingfederation.org/research/global-coaching-study
About Michael King
Michael King is an award-winning executive coach and the founder of Teams.Coach, Gawker Traffic, and CatalystCo. With two master’s degrees in Leadership and Executive Coaching from Bellevue University, he helps high-performing executives simplify complexity, optimize their leadership, and build teams that actually work.
A certified executive coach, Michael has spent years guiding Fortune 500 leaders, entrepreneurs, and teams through the real work of leadership—creating clarity, building systems, and driving results without the burnout.
When he’s not coaching, Michael is an accomplished singer/songwriter and music producer with over 100 published songs to his credit. He’s also a Ducati aficionado, a die-hard Apple fan, and probably has a Starbucks in his hand right now.
